Exciting news Shona fans. This Christmas, The Shona Project will be heading to Africa to spread our message to the young girls of Zambia. The workshops will be delivered by our newest team member, and you’ll never guess what her name is. Meet Shona. Nope, we’re not even kidding. Tomorrow, Shona will be heading to spend
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It is thought that up to 1 in 5 women have polycystic ovaries and that 1 in 10 have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). I am that one in ten. PCOS is basically a really common condition of hormonal imbalance that a lot of women and young girls have. The female hormones of oestrogen and progestogen are lower than in
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Hi everyone, Our names are Roisin and Jovana, two transition year girls from ArdScoil Na Mara in Tramore. We are both aged 14 and are in 2nd year. We have qualified for this year’s BT Young Scientist Exhibition with our project called “Cervical Check and the HPV Vaccine- Information, Opinion and Fake News”. This is
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Bipolar disorder is a touchy and difficult subject, being traditionally a very misunderstood mental illness. It is generally viewed as rapid mood swings, but these “mood swings,” are usually months long, having very extreme ups and downs. People affected by it experience crushing depression and then inflated, maniac-like happiness, receiving impulses (often self-destructive) that are
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Recently, I’ve thinking a lot about the word “feminism”. I always identified as a feminist, anyone who knows me will agree that it’s basically all I ever talk about. But I don’t know if I like that about myself. I think sometimes we get ourselves into these little bubbles where we don’t open up our
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1000 followers and 700 Facebook friends, but who can you call? I’m not good at making friends, I think it’s to do with my depression. I tend to shut people out or I take a long time to open up and let people in. Something I’m sure of is my family. There’s four girls in my
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One of our readers submitted this post in the hopes it would help anyone who is experiencing loss. Grief is a very difficult thing to understand or articulate and we felt that this reader told her story beautifully. Please read to the end for more advice… I have a box of Ikea sandwich bags which
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When I was 17, I became very ill with conditions that were later diagnosed as P.O.T Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and M.E. so being at home a lot sick has meant I spent quite a lot of time on social media! In fact, being at home so much with my illnesses often made me confused as to
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We are often told that we should love the body that we are in and embrace our curves and how strong is the new skinny. But do we actually follow or believe this advice or do we still focus on the areas of our bodies we want to change? The following 5 steps might help you become
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Hey there Shona readers! My name’s Skye, I’m a new member of the Shona Youth Ambassadors and for my first article I’m gonna talk to you all about mental health, specifically depression, anxiety and the stigma around them in the hopes it might help educate you on your own mental health or simply give you
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Why does society expect so much of me? That word “should” has really gotten me down lately. I should have so much experience gained by now. I should have a job by now. I should have it all figured out. I should be settled in a steady relationship. I should be happy… I was happy,
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I can still remember the exact moment when I decided that being a girl was bullshit. I had spent my first few formative years generally unfazed by gender roles. Sure, I had to wear horrendous dresses on special occasions, and that seemed unfair. My brother wore shirts and shorts and ran around like a loon
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When we are small, our parents read us fairytales. Stories about people from faraway lands, living in kingdoms dominated by dragons, unicorns, witches, warlocks, giants and fairies just to name a few. A common trope in a fairy story is the romance between a prince and a princess. Perhaps he’s a tall, dark, handsome stranger
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There was a time when tattoos were for bikers, the word “Mom” on a bicep, or “Love” and “Hate” across the knuckles. The elegant and refined world of fine art and the smoky, regret filled tattoo parlors on the ‘dodgy’ ends of town were as far away from each other as could ever be possible.
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So I get that everyone thinks that their mam is like the best person in the whole world but guys seriously, my mam actually is. She’s going to cringe so hard when she reads that line. When I first decided to this interview I wasn’t sure if I’d even mention that she was my mam
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Heather McGrath is a 21 year old singer/songwriter from Tramore, Co.Waterford. Following the release of her debut single ‘Intoxicate Me’, our ambassador Karen sat down for a chat with her about her love of music. The song has received glowing reviews and has been played on Rob O Connors ‘Irish Beats’ all within the first two
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Abigail has struggled for many years with her mental health. She is currently doing well and studying in Spain, surrounded by sunshine and good friends. Abigail has gained great strength and encouragement from sharing her story and working for a number of causes, including Shona, to promote the power of open and honest conversation. Here,
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Last year, Megan spent a year teaching in Vietnam (she told us all about it here). She loved every minute, and says that the experience has really opened her mind to the fact that whilst girls around the world grow up in very different cultures, deep down we are all very similar. Here, she chats
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