I have too much stuff. My inner nomadic soul is suffering from owning this much stuff. But I just love all of my stuff. I haven't figured out how to get rid of it all, but I just dream of owning little enough so that it wouldn't tie my down so much to where I'm living at the moment. I'm doing my second load of washing today, but I don't understand where I am going to put it after it's clean. My laundry basket is so full I can't fit any more clothes in it. My wardrobe is full. My chest of drawers won't even close. I have a clothes horse up, covered in pyjamas I washed yesterday. And guess what? The cliché: "I have nothing to wear", quite often describes the thoughts that are going through my mind when I'm trying to get dressed.
This is where I lived and how I dried my laundry in first year.
Why is that? Do I really have nothing to wear or is everything I'd like to wear in that overflowing laundry basket? What is all that stuff that is making my wardrobe full? Do I ever wear them? How do I find out? Should I literally just wash everything and start taking notes of what I am actually wearing? How many clothes does a person like me actually need anyway? Do I want to become a person who wears the same clothes everyday? Am I already that person without realising and am just trying to hide that truth from myself by owning all of those other clothes? When was the last time I bought new clothes anyway? When was the last time I donated some clothes to charity?
Home sweet home and all of my lovely clothes. In 2008.
Okay, the last time I bought new clothes was last week. I bought two new vests from Primark because the ones I wear all the time are so worn I'm worried they will fall apart soon. And the other week I took a couple of jackets I never wear to a swap shop at uni. So I am trying.
But maybe I should do more. Should I really start taking notes of what I like to wear? And create statistics? And renew my wardrobe so that it looks like a wardrobe that belongs to a 25 year-old (me). I'm worried there's a big "backlog" of my teenage years; clothes I am now keeping there just in case I decide not to do laundry for 6 months. Completely good clothes that I could definitely wear so that I wouldn't have to walk around naked.
Definitely not naked.
According to Jenna Marbles it's just embarrassing to keep wearing the same clothes all the time. I don't entirely follow that ideology but as a girl living in this society I am still probably affected by that. And also alarmingly I can recognise some similarities in my behaviour and this video:
My wardrobe is a lot smaller than hers though, you can see it in her "How Guys Get Dressed" -video. And I am planning to move house at some point in the not so distant future and I really need to get rid of a lot of it before that. I need to go through my sock drawer so that I could at least occasionally find matching socks. But I am sad to throw out all of those odd socks. But I honestly don't know what I could ever do with them. I am not a crafty person. And I don't like wearing matching socks anymore. I've done it. It was great, but sadly I have now moved on. I also need to get rid of my old clothes that I am saving as a backup. Perhaps, I should organise my clothes into categories when I take them down. Primary clothes and secondary clothes? And then I can donate all of those secondary clothes when it's time to move on with my life. That could potentially work.
Do you ever experience these problems? And how do you manage to throw out your old clothes?
This post has nothing to do with December. I just wanted to tell you why it's great to be a woman. I mean, a human.
This thought process started when I read one Finnish online article. A Finnish "popular lifestyle" website asked some women to list aspects of life where that they think men have it better. And because I tend to take these funny things seriously, I decided to write a very long blog post about it, talking about all of these 34 points. Are you ready?
Apparently these women are jealous about the following things:
1. No need to suffer from menstruation.
Itsestäänselvyys: ei tarvitse kärsiä menkoista.
Well, obviously it can be painful which sucks, but after I discovered menstrual cups it has become the only bad thing about it. No need to wear uncomfortable bleached plastic nappies (also known as menstrual pads) in my underpants or to push chemical-infused cotton sticks (also known as tampons) inside me. Periods are not stopping me from doing anything. I've spent a week menstruating on an uninhabited island without toilets, running water or electricity. I survived.
Plus by having periods you can make sure that there's no unexpected babies in their way. Men don't have that benefit.
2. No need to shave your legs.
Ei tarvitse ajella sääriä.
Honestly, I don't even remember when was the last time I shaved my legs. I go swimming at the local pool a couple of times a week though. No one has stopped me. No one has even looked at my legs that I've noticed. Why do women feel they have to shave their legs? Last summer my legs were very fluffy until I went swimming with my little sister. I removed some of the hair before that trip just because I didn't feel fluffy legs were appropriate at a Finnish beach site, but it was my choice. No one should force you to shave your legs.
Some men may become more charming with age, but so do some women. It's up to you what you want to become in the future. You can become charming when you want to and then you can develop your charm. It doesn't just happen to people — no matter what your gender is.
4. Your not embarrassed when you grow a moustache.
Ei hävetä, jos viikset kasvaa.
Maybe more women should be proud of their moustaches. Those huge bushy eyebrows are already in fashion, why won't we do the same with moustaches? Women do have hair in that area too, it's just often very fair. Some grow darker hair and then get it bleached or waxed. It's seen as a very embarrassing and taboo topic. I don't see a reason why it couldn't be seen as cute. We need to stop being embarrassed about our looks.
5. Barber costs less than a hairdresser, and you don't need to waste money on hairproducts anyway.
Parturi maksaa vähemmän kuin kampaaja, eikä rahaa tarvitse tuhlata hiustuotteisiin muutenkaan.
Do these women really think that men don't use hair styling products? I'm guessing that it's around the same percentage of men and women who do style their hair almost daily. I'm getting closer to some hippie-look with my hair and will just happily brush it. I don't even know what I would do with it. I tried to learn to straighten it, but then didn't see the point. It's naturally wavy, what's wrong with that?
I actually do find it unfair though, that men's haircuts are cheaper than women's. Even if it is exactly the same haircut. Why would your gender matter there? Shouldn't the hairstyle you want be the main factor deciding the price?
6. No need to blow-dry your hair in the mornings, style your hair or put make-up on
Ei tarvitse föönata tukkaa aamuisin ja väkertää hiuksia kampauksille, eikä meikata.
I've never felt a need to blow-dry my hair in the morning or make my life that difficult anyway. Everyone needs to get ready in the morning and what you need to do probably depends more on whether you're just popping to the corner shop or going to someone's wedding. It doesn't really have anything to do with your gender. There are many men who take longer than me straightening their hair and putting their make-up on than I do.
7. You can have children without streching your stomach or ripping your genitals.
Voi saada lapsia ilman, että vatsanahka leviää ja sukuelimet repeää.
Giving birth does have those aspects, yes. But it's not something all women have to do. Of course, some men are able to give birth as well. Adoption is a fair option available for everyone too though. But in general it is more difficult to have children as a single man than it is as a single woman.
8. Naturally smaller percentage of fat. No cellulite. Not fair.
Luonnostaan pienempi rasvaprosentti, ei selluliittiä. Ei ole reilua.
And none of those fantastic feminine shapes either.
9. Small phone bills. You don't have to waste time talking about nonsense.
Pienet puhelinlaskut. Omaa aikaa ei tarvitse tuhlata turhuuksista pälättämiseen.
Seriously? These women need to rethink their priorities. If you need to spend hours on phone talking about stupid things without enjoying it, it has nothing to do with gender. It's just your own stupidity.
10. Men can pee almost everywhere. It's also less embarrassing for men to go to the toilet.
Miehet voi pissiä melkein mihin tahansa. Vessassa käyminen ei muutenkaan aiheuta niin noloja tilanteita kuin naiselle.
What? Why is it embarrassing to go to the toilet if your a woman? And I think it shouldn't be acceptable to pee in public for men either. It's also possible for all genders to go and pee in a bush.
11. A man doesn't get upset or end up in pointless fights if he's not invited to a party or a shopping trip.
Mies ei loukkaannu tai joudu turhiin riitoihin, jos häntä ei ole kutsuttu juhliin tai shoppailemaan.
I think it would be upsetting to anyone to have everyone else invited except you.
12. Shopping doesn't take up much time.
Shoppailu sujuu nopeasti.
I think this depends more on the type of person you are. If you enjoy browsing shops it will take longer no matter what your gender is. And if you just want to go in and get what you need it will be faster. Unless you're me and shopping in Sainsbury's. Then it will take hours, but it's not because I'm a girl — it's because I don't know where anything I need is.
From Sex and the City.
13. You can wear comfortable shoes even in festive events.
Voi käyttää mukavia kenkiä juhlissakin.
I would never go to a party in uncomfortable shoes. Women don't have to wear high heels. I like high heels, but always prefer to wear comfortable high heels.
14. It's easy to get dressed to a party. Even to your own wedding a good quality suit is enough and you can wear that same suit to all the future festive events.
Juhlapukeutuminen on helppoa: omiin häihinkin riittää laadukas puku, jota voi pitää tulevissakin kekkereissä.
As far as I'm aware many women do dream of choosing their white dress, so I don't think that's something they are really jealous about. Also one good quality black dress will keep you covered to most festive events if you don't prefer to choose something different.
15. It's easier to make a career as a fighter pilot or a fireman.
Helpompaa toteuttaa haave vaikka urasta hävittäjälentäjänä tai palomiehenä.
I couldn't make a career as a fighter pilot because of my bad eye sight. I'm sure my brother would have the same problem. It is true that in the job market it is more difficult as a woman, but there's also a problem that many women don't pursue these careers.
16. Saving money! You don't have to spend money on menstrual pads or tampons. Or bras. Or make-up and other cosmetics.
Rahansäästö! Ei tarvitse laittaa rahaa kuukautissiteisiin ja tamponeihin. Eikä rintaliiveihin. Eikä meikkeihin ja muuhun kosmetiikkaan.
Lady, guess what? You don't have to spend money on any of those things either. I bought a £20 mooncup that will keep me sorted for the next 10 years on the menstrual front. I do like to buy bras though, because I like to feel supported. I've also spent most of my money that didn't go into food or rent on cosmetics, not because I felt I had to but because they made me happy. I'm starting to question my values on this and am planning on stopping buying so much.
17. Life without tights.
Elämä ilman sukkahousuja.
I can't imagine a life without tights. I don't wear trousers so tights are kind of necessary for me. I just wish they were cheaper and wouldn't break as easily. Women are allowed to wear trousers though if they don't like tights. It's unfortunately a bit socially questionable for men to wear tights today.
Robin Hood: Men in tighs is a very good film though, if you need some entertainment in your life.
18. You survive with fewer clothes when travelling.
Pärjää vähemmällä vaatemäärällä reissussa.
I have a funny feeling that if I went travelling with a guy, my clothes would take up less space. First, most guys boxers appear to take more space than my tops. And what I have seen of many men's packing skills, they have a lot of unnecessary space in their bags. When I was travelling with my brother, I had some things that didn't fit in my suitcase anymore, and asked him if I could put them into his bigger suitcase. He said that there was no space but that I was allowed to try anyway. And then I put a blanket, 3 jumpers and several pairs of shoes into his suitcase without any problems.
19. Men are likely to get an orgasm more easily.
Saa todennäköisesti helpommin orgasmin.
But apparently those orgasms are not as amazing as those fantastic female-orgasms you can read about.
20. Sports news. As a man you're more likely to be interested in sports and sports news are often well-covered amongst the most important news in the country. Also, if you're a male athlete you get to enjoy bigger audiences, reputation and pay, than as female athlete.
Urheilu-uutiset. Miehenä on naista todennäköisemmin kiinnostunut urheilusta, ja siitä kerrotaankin kattavasti joka päivä valtakunnan tärkeimpien uutisaiheiden joukossa. Lisäksi mikäli olet itse miesurheilija, saat nauttia paljon suuremmista katsojamääristä, maineesta ja palkkiorahoista kuin naisena.
The latter is true. But maybe sports news shouldn't be something to be jealous about. Not all men are interested in sports anyway.
21. As a man it's easier to carry your shopping bags and you're able to throw a ball further.
Miehenä jaksaaa kantaa kauppakassit ja heittää palloa pidemmälle.
Testosterone is great.
22. You can hold your drink better. And people have more tolerance for drunken men than drunken women.
Parempi viinapää. Eivätkä ihmiset katso kännistä miestä yhtä pahalla kuin viinanhuuruista naista.
It's to do with that body fat percentage thing. But I'm not sure about the social tolerance thing, because drunken idiot is a drunken idiot no matter what the gender is. Or what do you think?
23. You don't have to suffer with uncomfortable bras that are the wrong size.
Ei tarvitse kärsiä hiertävistä/vääränkokoisista rintaliiveistä.
24. You don't have to take the contraceptive pill.
Ei tarvitse syödä e-pillereitä.
No one has to. They are given to women as if they were candy or some miracle drug that everyone should take. It is not. It is one effective method of contraception but it's not the only option out there. It's also possible to make a male contraception pill but no one is going to fund that project because testing would take so long that it's not worth it for any pharmaceutical company to do that because the female contraceptive pill already exists. It was barely tested before they gave it to women — now there are more strict regulations in place.
I mentioned a little bit about my experiences with the pill in this post.
25. It's taken for granted that your last name will always remain the same.
On itsestäänselvyys, että sukunimi säilyy aina omana.
In many countries, including Finland, men can choose to take their wives last name when they get married. It's all optional, families are not forced to have the same last name.
26. Thicker skin that doesn't age as fast.
Paksumpi iho, joka ei ikäänny yhtä nopeasti.
I don't understand this argument. Surely the skin ages no matter how thick it is? Hormones do affect the skin, so often men do have thicker skin and women have softer skin. But women tend to make aging a huge deal and spend loads of money on different serums and creams that promise anti-aging properties. Maybe it's just another pressure on women needing to look perfect and young always, so it's something they want to feel jealous about? I don't think any of those women want to have a thicker skin though.
27. Army stories.
Armeijatarinat.
In Finland, it's compulsory for all men to take part in military service (or civil service, or go to prison). For women it is optional. I met one of my best friends, Jonna, in the army, when we had a one-weekend introductory camp there. We do still look back to those times and think about all the good memories, when having a fika. I can understand that men who have spent 6-12 months in the military service would do that to even a greater extent. But women, we have nothing to feel jealous about — we have an option to join the army!
28. You are able to order a giantic meal in a restaurant without needing to worry what your dinner partner will think about it.
Voit tilata ravintolassa hirmuiset jättiannokset eteesi ilman, että alat pohtia sitä miltä mässäilysi näyttää illalliskumppanisi silmissä.
If I'm hungry and I want to order something, I will not care what anyone else will think about it. Seriously.
29. A high number of sex partners is only a positive thing.
Seksikumppaneiden korkea määrä on vain positiivinen asia kanssaihmisten silmissä.
If you're a straight man and your mates think it's cool and you really care about that, then maybe? But maybe your future girlfriend won't find it any cooler than you would find it if she had the same number of sex partners.
30. Your voice has more auhtority.
Äänessä on enemmän auktoriteettia.
It's more up to your personality than your gender.
31. A man, who can't dance can be adorable, but a woman who can't dance is only embarrassing.
Mies, joka ei osaa tanssia, voi olla hellyyttävä näky, mutta huonosti tanssiva nainen on vain noloa.
Why are the women who made up this list so convinced that being a woman is embarrassing?
Personally, I only like to go to night clubs where everyone is happy to dance badly and "embarrassingly". It's only for fun! At many straight clubs the dance floor is only meant for people who are skilled dancers and if some one looks like Ross and Monica from The Friends it's only embarrassing. Lighten up people, have more fun! Being skilled at laughing at yourself and having fun will earn you more life time happiness points than laughing at other people will.
32. Apparently you dare to ask for a pay rise more easily.
Kuulemma kehtaa pyytää palkankorotusta helpommin.
You cannot really be jealous about something that you start with the word "apparently".
33. Men's clothes last longer: in the sense of quality and fashion. Miesten vaatteet kestävät paremmin aikaa sekä laatunsa että tyylinsä puolesta.
Maybe men only buy better quality clothes and prefer classic styles? As a woman you're just as allowed to buy good quality clothes that represent classic styles. 34. Men have balls: in their attitude and also literally. Miehissä on munaa: sekä asenteessa että ihan konkreettisesti.
Women can have balls too. In their attitude and also literally.
Any thoughts? Do you think other genders have it easier?
Eh, I've been playing Singstar. I'm really bad at singing, but unfortunately I really like to sing. Don't worry, I won't upload any videos of me singing here. Instead I will tell you about a couple of amazing songs I've discovered while playing this popular PlayStation game.
Recently we discovered that you can buy songs in Singstar and I wanted to buy this one so that I could practise Swedish:
Haha, this song is so much fun! Especially when you do the dance while you sing it. It's okay, I don't know what they sing about either... Something about four chewing gums and a Coca-Cola.
Do you want to live and do you want to dance?
Do you have the courage to laugh and to take a chance?
That's what life is all about right?
That song makes me so happy. We also bought another song which is not Sweden's Eurovision entry from 1987. But it is another awesome song from Sweden.
This is fantastic! Why did no one tell me about Amanda Jenssen before?
I don't know why I'm so excited, but maybe I just have a thing for really femme girls with a hint of masculinity? I'm glad that no one's tried to create statistics of how many times a day I look at a picture of Katy Perry. Eh, I'm only slightly obsessed.
People say that I drink too much
But I'm as happy as I can be
Hanging by my amarula tree
Amarula Tree is also a very happy song. Kind of hippieish. I haven't listened to Amanda Jenssen enough to say, if all of her songs are like that, but at the moment she reminds me a lot of Sandi Thom.
I love this song! I love everything about it. It was my favourite in 2008. Okay, okay, Sandi Thom is not from Sweden, she's from Aberdeenshire. But in my last post I said that I need more reasons for being enthusiastic for living here. And this definitely is one.
I think the world would be a better place if everyone would listen to more happy songs. I mean seriously, why are most Finnish songs so depressing? Most folk songs are fairly depressing too, they just play them as if they were happy.
It's been exactly a year since I first realised I suffer from migraines. Last November, I had the worst migraine of my life. It lasted for 2 weeks. I occasionally felt slightly better and occasionally just wanted to lie in a pitch black room and die. I had had headaches before but never for that long and I used to just take ibuprofen for them.
A year ago also stopped taking the contraceptive pill. 10 months earlier a doctor had given it to me, because I told her about periods that I had gotten every two weeks. To me, it didn't make sense to start the pill because of it. But I also hoped it would improve my acne so I tried it.
Photo from Mirror.
I wouldn't recommend the Pill to anyone who doesn't need it for something hormonal. I think it's too easy to start. Many young girls start taking it because they think it makes them feel more "mature". It's good to use contraception, but it's definitely not the only method of contraception there is. Bayer has been advertising the Pill as a "miracle drug" for all women's problems: it would provide contraception, lets you decide when you want to have your period (you can even stop having them completely!), it will cure your acne, help you control your weight, relieve PMS, etc. I think medicines should not be advertised like that, especially since it's misleading and has so many side effects. They are selling something as a product that makes women believe that their bodies' natural cycles are bad and that they should control them with chemicals that will mess up their whole natural cycle and hormones.
I might write a blog post about my thoughts on contraception at some point. But really, my headaches and migraines got a lot worse while I was on the Pill. Those were not the only side effects I experienced. In the end I stopped taking it mid-sheet because even the thought of swallowing one made me feel ill.
But even after I stopped taking the Pill, I've been getting migraines every week. I've tried a lot of medication for migraines, but everything seems to give me side-effects I'm not ready to live with. Triptans for instance did not keep the migraine away for more than a few days, and they made me really thirsty. When I say really thirsty, I mean really very thirsty! I went out to eat in a restaurant, and I had to drink three jugs of water during the meal. And I obviously had to leave the table several times to go to the toilet too. It wasn't normal, or safe either because being so thirsty probably meant that there was something even more wrong in my body. Recently I've been taking beta-blockers for the second time. They keep the migraine away, but they also keep me asleep. I haven't been able to stay awake for more than a few hours recently, which has made it pretty much impossible to function as a normal person who lives a normal life full of everyday things.
I went to Holland & Barrett's to get some proper multivitamins because I really had serious problems with lack of energy (which may have been just due to all the medication I was on). They advised me to get some multivitamins and B vitamin that could boost my energy levels.
It didn't help me stay awake though and I ended up talking to Kata about it. We were wondering what I could do, because I really had to stop my preventive migraine medication. Then, Kata made me realise that my migraines might be hormone-related. Maybe there still is some bad oestrogen in my body from taking the Pill? I think I need to get my blood checked out for all the hormone levels to find out why I cannot stay awake and why my head hurts all the time anyway.
A long time ago I wrote a blog post
about surviving womanhood, and all the things I have needed to face
after I realised that I'm a woman and that my life is filled with
feminine challenges.
These challenges included bras, periods, and hairiness - which is today's topic. This is an important topic, because it is something that can make people feel very insecure about themselves. It is also something that is very embarrassing to talk about. And because I should face my fears of being embarrassed about everything – I'm going to write about it!
Hair is a funny thing. Compared to our close relatives, apes, we're not really that hairy.
But our society likes to make us look even less hairy than we really are. I grew up seeing ads of all sorts of different hair removal products. The hairless female body image was all over the media. No wonder most men believe that women are practically hairless (that's probably the point of all this hair removal business we're engaging ourselves in) and most women believe that they are naturally hairier than other women.
Fortunately, I was never her biggest fan in the first place.
It was all very stressful, when I first hit puberty and thought that I have to shave. In fact, it was so traumatic that I didn't touch a shaver for 10 years after my first shaving attempt. In the meantime I tried out all sorts of different hair removal methods available. I tried waxing which mostly resulted in pain, mess, wax stuck everywhere and hairs still attached to my skin. I tried hair removal mousses that would allow you to scrub the hair of with a sponge or a "bladeless" shaver made out of plastic. Basically the mousse would first somehow corrode the hair so that it would just come of when you wash yourself. Needless to say, it's quite irritating for your skin - especially if you're not quick enough to get it off your skin. In the end, I discovered an epilator which works! It really hurts a couple of the first times you try to plug your hairs off with it, but it's easy after you get used to it. And mostly I enjoy the money I save when I don't have to spend it all on sticky waxes and corrosive mousses.
My interests sometimes take me to places where I get the opportunity to get as hairy as I like and no one will know. It's fantastic.
WARNING! Please do not read any further if you get easily upset about personal things such as hairiness.
After I had grown back all of my body hair, I realised all the benefits this hair had. Well, mostly it kept me warmer in freezing wind and rain. Extra layer of something on: always useful in cold conditions. Suddenly, getting hairy didn't seem so bad at all.
Haisuli!
But I have a secret to tell you: the hair that had started growing on my body was a lot more impressive than it was when I had started hair removal. I don't think it's because I had been removing it, but simply because I am now older. My legs, for example, were hairier than some of my male friends. After that experience, I feel that women are almost as hairy as men. Men have a tendency to get hairier and to grow stronger hair in places that women rarely get that strong hair growth – such as face, back and chest. But women do have hair in those places too. Did you know that threading* places almost always offer an upper lip hair removal service when you get your eyebrows shaped?
* threading is a method of plugging hair with thread. It's often used for shaping eyebrows.
Last spring, I actually stopped removing my hair for several months. And surprisingly the world didn't end. I had classmates who occasionally talked about hair removal, and for instance, about how disgusting arm pit hair is. I very consciously wore sleeved tops and coloured tights around those people because my self-confidence wasn't quite strong enough to hear anymore about how disgusting they find me than I already had to.
But apart from that I had no problems doing anything I wanted. I even went to a public swimming pool. And let me tell you: I didn't get kicked out of the pool. No one even looked at my hairly legs or armpits any longer than they did when there was no hair there.
There are actually several posts written by women who have stopped shaving completely. One good one was written by Emer O'Toole in theguardian.com. This was my favourite bit:
A scene from my life:
Small child: Why do you have hair under your arms?
Me: Because when girls and boys grow up into women and men they grow hair under their arms.
Small child: My mum doesn't have hair under her arms.
Me: She shaves it off.
Small child: She doesn't.
Me: She does. Ask her.
Small child: Mum, do you?
Mother of small child: Yes.
Small child: Why?
Exactly, small child. Exactly.
Should you remove hair? Why?
If you feel like you have good reasons, feel free. But I think it would do our society a lot of good if people who secretly want to be hairy, would just be hairy. It's not disgusting. Being a man increases person's chances of being hairier, but women have the same right to be as hairy as they like. It's also acceptable for men to shave their legs if they want to – people should really stop being shocked by it.
Oh, and since I've now talked about hair removal, I want to mention hair in one particular body area that no one ever talks about.
Please stop reading now if you do not want to read about the hair we normally tend to keep in our pants.
As a part of my attempt to do new things I've decided to visit two places that I haven't been to before. I can't believe I haven't been to those places!
I lived 18 years of my life in Finland and have never been to Estonia. I mentioned this to one of my best friends and she decided that she would take me out to Tallinn for a day. Finally, I will get to see what Helsinki was founded to compete against!
Tallinn.
Another capital that I have passed by several times is Copenhagen. I've been to Denmark but only spent time in the mainland. So now I have a day visit to Copenhagen planned as well. We're going to go and take a photo of that little Little Mermaid statue and eat sandwiches. How exciting!
But thinking about these short-visits made me realise that I don't have any suitable luggage for a one-day around-town and a nights stay. I needed something small enough to carry around with me but big enough to fit my pyjamas and a toothbrush in. So basically I decided that I need a very big handbag.
I went out and bought this:
My new travel bag!
It's big and has leopard print on it. A few years younger version of myself would be shocked. I did not like leopard print. Or pink. Last week I bought something that had pink leopard print on it. Teenager-me would not approve.
But then I thought that because I, for some unknown reason, like the bag now, I should just get it and enjoy this feeling. This bag and I have some great adventures ahead of us. It doesn't even matter if no one else likes this bag, because I do and it's my bag now.
I am not sure why I had to convince myself that it's okay to like this bag - it's just a bag after all - but maybe I care too much about what others might think, even more than "betraying" my old self.
I have recently bought so many things with leopard print on them... Besides this bag, I also have tissue boxes, shoes, a dress, pyjamas, a bra, multiple pants, things and I nearly bought tweezers today as well. But it's okay. I've stopped avoiding pink like plague as well.
I kind of like this dress:
It's Ruby & Grace Scuba Party dress.
I also like neon colours! But it's probably not a new thing. I gave my old neon yellow shoes to my friend who really wanted them, last week. I might want neon pink ones now. Maybe one day.
There
are a few sides of me that exist somewhere inside me, and only wake
up when they are threatened somehow. One of these sides is my
Finnishness. If someone mentions something false or offensive about
my nationality (for instance, calls me Scandinavian) or if there
happens to be a Finland – Sweden ice hockey match on, I suddenly
feel very Finnish.
But
today I am not going to talk about ice hockey or even Finland. The
Finland post will have to wait until the summer so that I can offer
you appropriate pictures with the post to help you understand the
essence of Finnishness.
Today
I am going to talk about something that used to make me want to throw
up. But now it feels like an appropriate topic to talk about because
it covers some things that people just don't talk about. Or if they
do, they do so whispering. But today I am going to blog about it and
even attach some colourful pictures. If this topic makes you
uncomfortable, feel free not to read this. I promise to try and write about something less socially acceptable the next time.
I
have just finished tidying a drawer that contains things that are
sold in shops under the label “feminine care”. Therefore, I feel
suitably inspired to write about what it is like to be a female. If
you for some reason are under an assumption that all girls do in
bathrooms is to powder their noses or take rose-scented bubble baths
– and you wish to maintain this picture – stop reading this post
now.
Prime Beauty Blog
The
reason why I needed to tidy the drawer was that I had bought a small
sauce pan last week and I needed to fit it in it. The drawer was full
of packets of sanitary pads, tampons, pantyliners, hair removal
mousses, bras and cotton pads. Pretty much all things that I used to
hate as a teenager. Being a girl sucked.
Becoming
a woman was an exciting idea when I was 12, but after that I had to
face the reality. The boobs did not grow as fast as I hoped they
would. Bras were uncomfortable but if you did not wear them you would
be laughed at in the changing room for PE class. Then the periods
started and instead of them making me feel like a woman (because
obviously the fact
that I could get babies meant that I was a grown-up) they made me feel
like a baby because I had to walk around wearing something that was
practically a nappy for adults.
Diapercoupons
And
to make it all even worse I was getting hairier. The beautiful,
smooth and soft picture portrayed of women in media was clearly
saying that it is unacceptable for women to be hairy. I panicked and
thought that I would never get a boyfriend if I didn't start shaving
my legs and armpits. And man, that was painful, uncomfortable and
expensive. And turned out I didn't even want a boyfriend.
But
after surviving all that, I am still in one piece and still a female.
I have just discovered alternative ways to express my gender identity
and to cope with all of the physical complications that come with
this gender. And I have noticed that being a woman is not such a bad
thing after all.
I
have discovered that I do not have to paint my face on every morning
and look identical to everyone else.
That
realisation also helped with the hairiness issue, and I stopped
worrying about it so much. Now I only practise magical feminine
hair-removing because I
wish to be less hairy, not because I think someone would like me more
if I was. And also an epilator scares me a lot less than blades do,
and using one means that I don't have to waste all of my money on
stupid mousses and wax.
The
bra issue was solved when a wonderful friend of mine dragged me to
Bravissimo where they fitted me into a bra that actually fits. Turned
out that my logic “they are only meant to cover my boobs” - had
failed. The problem with the new bras was that they only appeared to
be making see-through bras in my size. But I do actually prefer that
over the old bras that didn't fit. Bras are amazing when they are the
right size.
The
newest discovery however is that I don't actually need the
uncomfortable nappies pads and tampons. Which is exactly why I took
them out of the drawer to make space for the pan. If anyone has use
for them, I am happy to donate them to someone.
The
reason for this is that I have finally purchased myself a mooncup!
And the pan is there to help me clean it. And they are all I need!
Originally, I bought the mooncup to save money. But now I have
actually realised how much more comfortable it is compared to pads
and tampons. This is comparable to the whole “Oh, this is what bras
are meant to feel like!” -sensation. It is unnoticeable and I can
do anything wearing it.
Lunette
Now
the only thing I don't understand is why I didn't buy one before.
I've known about these things for at least five years. It seemed more
like a weird green-hippie thing back then though. And I didn't
actually know anyone who had one. Which is partly why I wrote this
blog post. If you are a person who has periods, this sort of a little
thing will make them so much more easier to cope with. You can even
go crazy and buy a coloured one. And there are glittery ones too. So there you go. I hope this post did not traumatise you too much. But these are things that most women have to handle everyday. And we've been hiding them for too long. It should be acceptable to mention these without someone getting a heart attack or getting sent out of the village. I might blog more about these things, I might not. But don't worry, the next post will be about something less controversial.
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