There was a period of time in my life where I’d have given anything to be white. I thought my life would be easier if I was white because I wouldn’t feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb when I walked into a room full of people or out onto a camogie pitch.
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In secondary school, it can seem like the course of action you choose after your leaving cert will define your entire life and future career. I‘m Maeve and I was a sixth-year student who had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do after the leaving cert. At the time, I thought I needed to know
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Alexandra is many wonderful things, and being a member of the trans community is just one of them. This is her story, which we originally shared in 2017….. I currently occupy what I like to call the middle space. The middle space is that gap between male and female. It’s the difference between ‘sir’ and ‘miss’
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Dear Steph, I can’t stop eating! I mean it! Ever since we’ve been at home, I’m eating non-stop. I’m not even hungry half the time. Some days I’m not bothered but some days I get really upset and annoyed with myself. What’s going on and how can I stop? Hi there, Thanks so much for
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The most important day is the day you decide you’re good enough for you. It’s the day you set yourself free. Brittany Josephina This quote means a lot to me as a young woman. My name is Sophie and I am an Applied Health Care student studying in Waterford. The reason I chose to study
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It isn’t in my past, it’s in my everyday. There’s a mental health condition that’s not often talked about and can sometimes be misunderstood: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a condition that can occur when someone has experienced or witnessed an event that threatened their life or safety. PTSD is most commonly associated with
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Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. – Rumi. If we’ve learned anything over the past year, its that the world can change in a heartbeat. We can no longer just look after ourselves. None of us can make it alone, we need
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Most people will tell you that the older they get, the more they learn about life. Your loved ones have made many a mistake and made many a blunder which is what makes themso utterly and eternally wise.The good news is, if you listen to them, and hear what they have to say, you may
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Dear Steph, I think my friends have set up a new WhatsApp group without me. I said it to my mam and she said I’m probably just paranoid and imagining it. But I know they have. Because we have a Snapchat group and in there one of the girls said, “go check our WhatsApp group”.
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Growing up, media representations I encountered of women always showed them hairless, smooth and shiny. I used to think only hippie type radical feminist women didn’t shave. Seeing body hair on women was something I never saw on TV or magazines. I think I was 11 when I first starting shaving, and from then on
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In the old days, girls were secondary characters in movies, one dimensional, superficial, sappy, weak and reliant on men to save them. Those days are over, and now we see a whole array of women and girls, who are girlie but strong, romantic but realistic, who fall in love easily while remaining fiercely independent. For
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My name is Naoishe and I’m 24. When I was 16 I went to France with my family for transition year. I loved languages and settled in really well. I was playing tennis, swimming, doing yoga, cycling through the French vineyards, and going to the beach with my new French friends. Life was great! I
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I have wanted to write this piece for a while now but I felt that I needed to do it properly and choose the right words and find the right message. I will say that if you are triggered by mentions of sexual harassment, it is discussed but not in detail. But if you know
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Phase One Everyone! As glad as I am to see a (smallish) light at the end of the tunnel and am glad to see that we are making small steps to get to a Post Corona World. Unfortunately, some damage has been done by Rona and a lot of things have been cancelled and postponed.
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Dear Steph, My parents are fighting all the time, it was bad before but now it’s awful. They don’t agree on anything, they’re always bickering…even though we live together, we don’t do anything as a family because they’re not getting on. It’s really getting me down because all I can hear is them shouting and
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Are you allergic to small talk? Do those awkward silences feel like they last for ten years and make you want to pull off your own ears? Does your brain start throwing random suggestions at you of things to say, each more ridiculous than the last? Part of becoming a social butterfly is knowing how
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Ugly girls are a bit like unicorns and the troll that lives under your bed in that they only exist in our minds. Do you only take pics on Snapchat because you are horrified at the thought of sharing an unfiltered selfie? Do you think all of your friends are way prettier than you? Are
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Hi Steph I’m staying anonymous as I don’t want anyone knowing who I am but why do I feel so stressed about school and cba’s (classroom based assessments) as we’re not in school? I have to do them at home I’m finding it hard to do them as loads of other teachers are sending in
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