Ah, bed. Everyone’s favourite place to be. We sometimes forget how important a decent nights sleep is in order for us to get through the day; mentally, physically and emotionally. Lack of sleep has a direct effect on your hormone levels, moods, weight, concentration, and ability to deal with it all. And yet, the struggle
Read More
Whether it’s a beautifully controlled rendition of Swan Lake in front of an audience or a good old twerk to a bit of Nikki Minaj in your bedroom, there are so many reasons why Dance is good for you. You don’t have to be good at it to reap the benefits. You just have to
Read More
People are much more than just one label. The fighters and screamers and resilient-tough-as-old-boots change-makers are so much more than a protest and social media rant. I am sick of people pretending that they have it all together. News flash! NOBODY has it together! On the days when you feel like every other person on
Read More
Recovering from the physical side of anorexia is a horrible, uncomfortable time. And it takes many, many cries and tantrums to get through it. It’s definitely not a straight road and sometimes when you feel you’ve made it, you stumble back to square one and have to start all over. But when eventually you get
Read More
My name is Steph and I work as a counsellor in Waterford. Most of my clients are young people so I get to hear and see what it’s like trying to find your way in today’s world. I’m also the proud Godmomma of a beautiful 14-year-old warrior princess which helps too The issues that land
Read More
We are hiring a programme manager! 2022 will be an exciting time for the Shona Project. We are getting bigger, reaching more girls, and we need help to be able to do it! With this in mind, we’re hiring a programme manager to help us to deliver our workshops, summer schools and events. See further
Read More
Girls and women are often told that we’re being “too emotional” and it’s not meant in a nice way. Its purpose is to stop us from giving out about something or to make us “calm down” because we’re being so bloody emotional. And recently I’ve been thinking about what that word really means – emotional.
Read More
There is a cold reality when it comes to life. People are people, imperfect and flawed, and human in all the best possible ways. When it comes to friendships, you can do all the right things, and twist yourself into a thousand different versions of yourself, and still not be liked by everyone. You can love
Read More
We’ve been kind of feeling a bit out of touch with reality lately, anyone else? Who knew living through a global pandemic would be this confusing and chaotic? For almost two years now, our entire lives have moved online. And we thought we already spent too much time engrossed in social media. We don’t know
Read More
I reckon the most common thing we look for in life is happiness. With the buzz of the new year and all the resolutions that are supposed to go with it, I wanted to share the best resolution I’ve ever made. I actually think it’s the only one I’ve ever stuck to, and if that statement
Read More
Today marks day one of a new year. For many of us, it feels like the start of a new story, a chance to put past mistakes and trauma behind us, and to start fresh. Instagram is full of promises to lose weight, get fit, find a partner, learn a new language, get an amazing
Read More
This will be one of our last posts of 2021. We’re shutting up shop to rest and recharge our batteries because after all, we did just survive another year of a pandemic! We learned a lot about ourselves this year though. We realised how important it is to look after yourself and how to communicate
Read More
Making friends can be hard, especially making friends in a big school packed full of strangers. You might think you are sticking out like a sore thumb because you are shy and don’t really know how to approach people. Maybe you’ve moved on from your last friend group as you’ve simply grown apart, or maybe
Read More
Diet culture, something we are all too familiar with. Skinny teas, appetite suppressant lollipops, protein shakes, zero-calorie noodles… aka money-making strategies of corporations who benefit from our insecurities. It needs to stop. It saddens me to hear people talk about diets. I’m not shaming people who do, but I think they should be made aware
Read More
Having recently attended my first personal therapy session, I wanted to share with all you lovely ladies and let anyone know who is struggling that it’s ok not to be ok (cliché) and that reaching out for help is really brave! This post isn’t going to be about me and my first therapy session. It’s
Read More
Photo Credit: Gavin Browne You may have heard lots of chat recently about “Spiking”, or may even know someone who has experienced it. UCC’s Bystander Intervention Group have been doing great work to raise awareness and advise us on how we can empower ourselves against it. We are so grateful to them for providing information
Read More
Back in May, we ran a writing competition where we asked secondary school girls across Ireland to submit a piece on either: A lived experience they have overcome, and what they learned. A profile of a woman they admire. An opinion piece with a positive and empowering message. Here at SHONA, we believe in
Read More
A large part of the LGBTQ* community but one that is often silenced is the ever-growing transgender community or trans for short. Trans people often face more oppression than other members of the community with threats of sexual assault and physical violence looming over the very existence of these people. The often unaccepting social atmosphere
Read More
