The “Selfie Harm” Project

You may not have heard of him, but Rankin is one of the most successful photographers of all time. He has worked with musicians, models and royalty, including Queen Elizabeth herself. In his latest project called “Selfie Harm”, Rankin took stunning photographs of 15 teenagers aged 13-19. He then invited the teens to spend about

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How To Believe in Yourself

Most of us doubt ourselves and feel vulnerable at times. Even those who seem super-confident in social situations are often freaking out on the inside when it comes to small talk and meeting new people. Here is some advice from Dr.Phil on how to believe in yourself and fight that self-doubt. Thanks Phil, you lovely

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Happy IDOWAGIS19 Everyone!! 🔬🔬🔬🔬

Welcome to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2019! I am writing this to you, rather fittingly, from a celebration of the women of the Periodic Table (which I’ll be mentioning a lot this year!) in beautiful Murcia in the south of Spain. I’m here to give a talk about a secret

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You May Not Be Pretty, But You Are Beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

Do you feel like you’re not good enough? not pretty enough? not slim enough? Fit enough? smart enough? popular enough? So many of us feel like that, to the extent that it affects our mental health, our relationships, our friendships. It robs us of the confidence and self-belief we need to pursue our dreams. It

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5 Must watch movies about women in sport

Twenty five years ago, a movie called ‘A league of Their own,’ starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis and Madonna was released. It told the story of The Rockford Peaches, a women’s baseball team that competed in a women’s league created during the war, when all the men were away, to keep the baseball leagues from

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Whats the craic with….Birth Control???

Whether you are sexually active atm, or whether you think you might be in the next few years, its important to know all about the many types of birth control available to you. Luckily, we have our favourite GP to break it all down for us…. If you have decided to have a sexual relationship

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5 Times CXG Songs Nailed Mental Health

There is no other show around like “Crazy Ex Girlfriend”. On the surface, it is colourful, funny and whimsical. But despite the rainbows and flashy musical numbers, this show digs into serious issues like inequality, sexuality and mental health in a way that has never been done before. Through all 4 seasons, we’ve watched Rebecca

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The Periodic Table: Cooler than you think!

If you’re studying science at all, you need Dr Claire Murray in your life. (Note: you can’t actually have her as we own her and keep her in our filing cabinet.) Claire is OBSESSED with science and she has a knack of making every bit of it sound as amazing and interesting as it actually

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Letters To Our Younger Selves: By The Beat Girls

We are obsessed with the Beat girls. Paula, Shonagh and Trish are beautiful, successful, strong and full of confidence. Right? Well yeah, sometimes. Just like the rest of us, they are wonderful works in progress, and all have had times when they struggled, made bad decisions, were too hard on themselves, or forgot to focus

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On Perspective

Life is full of ups and downs, and its true that your perspective and outlook on life has a huge bearing on how you approach challenges, and how you react to and recover from them. This poem sums it up so well. It was written by an 11 year old girl called Chanie Gorkin, an

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“Sex Education” My Thoughts: By Joy

Sex Education is hard to describe as a TV show, its kind of a comedy, kind of a drama, kind of a documentary. Its also kind of sweet, kind of heartbreaking, kind of educational, and very very explicit, (its over 18’s for a reason people). Here’s why Joy thinks you should watch it….. I think

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Jameela Strikes Again

Jameela Jamil is on a crusade. The “Good Place” actress has been calling out the beauty industry for some time (we’ve talked about this before), for setting unrealistic standards and preying on the insecurities of women who feel like they’re never good enough in order to take our money. This week she had a go

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Aspergers and Me: By Skye

Hey there! So, again, my name is Skye Turner and if you read my last article for Shona, you’ll have read me talk on depression and the stigma around it and my experience with it along with social anxiety. But there was another aspect of my life I struggled with that I refrained from writing

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Why You Need To “Kondo” Your Brain

Its amazing how the surname “Kondo” has become a verb in the 3 weeks since Marie Kondo’s show was released to Netflix. Charity shops all over the world are heaving with bags of donations as we all say “Thank you, Next” to half our wardrobes, and clear boxes are flying out the door of Mr.

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How I Fought For My Own Future: By Tammy D

For many of us, going to college is an expectation, its not a case of ‘if’, its a case of ‘when and where’. Many others grow up in a different world, one that feels hopeless and helpless. Tammy Donaghy grew up in a home where addiction controlled everything. In spite of that, she created a

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Benefits’s New Brand Ambassador Breaks Boundaries

We were so excited to learn that Benefit Cosmetics had chosen a model with Down’s Syndrome to become the new face of their brand. We thought it was an amazing sign of inclusiveness, equality, diversity and universal beauty. Imagine our surprise when we found out that this trailblazer is Kate Grant, who hails from non

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What To Say Instead of “I’m Fine” When You’re Not Fine…

Most of us suck at asking for help. We’re not sure if that’s a girl thing, an Irish thing, or a human thing. Asking for help with our mental health is a whole other level of nope. “I’m fine, everything’s just peachy, thanks for asking.” According to Clinical psychologist John Mayer, this is often because

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Beautiful Apologies & Promises from the Tuam Girls

We travel all over Ireland meeting students in schools and speaking to them about identity, strength, influence, focus and, above all else, kindness. Yesterday we spent the day with the girls in Scoil Bhride Tuam, and the second years did amazing work. As a group the all promised to let go of any issues that

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