The Virgin and the Slut

Are you a virgin? 

This is the big question that some people avoid for embarrassment whilst others relish in the response that they are able to give. It's a simple yes or no question. For me it's a yes. I have not have sex. I'm not in the least bothered by this fact. I have never been in a situation with a guy in which I felt the need to take action to change this either. So it's a fact that I am a virgin. I'm totally okay with that because it's true.  What I'm not okay with is the hoard of negative connotations that are attached to this title. No, I'm not chaste or fallow or inept. I'm not undesirable or uncool and I would call myself anything but pure.  I don't push every guy away or hide from sexual activity. Nor am I celibate, stiff or religiously corrupt and therefore cannot force other people around me to follow my sex free life. 

These are the things that cause us all to lie and keep the real truth to ourselves. I have plenty of girlfriends who are so horribly ashamed to answer the "simple" question even when its asked in confidence and have lied to me about whether or not they have had sex. I know women who sleep with lots of guys, have lots of sex with one guy, have had sex only once, and I also happen to know some other virgins. The sad thing is 75% of these friends feel terrified to admit to the truth about their sexual activities. The fear that seems to accompany this question for many women is what fuels the judgments and accusations. 

When looking at the other end of the spectrum it appears to be no better as the label switches from virgin to slut. The second you lose your virginity people look down on you, it was such a burden to hold the title to begin with yet now you're wondering if you really have lost something invaluable - surely virgin is a better name than slut? You've heard from the beginning that a slut is dirty, diseased, some kind of home-wrecker or whore, or maybe all of that really comes to mind creating the image of a sleazy hooker making a living out of her bad habits. However by dictionary standards the definition is merely reads: Slut, /slʌt/, noun derogatory
, 1. a woman who has many casual sexual partners (synonyms: promiscuous woman). Not once does it mention that a slut is dirty or a hooker or diseased. It also claims that a slut has many sexual partners, which clearly means losing your virginity (which can only happen once) does not make you a slut. Just because your no longer a virgin does not give you the immediate title of becoming a slut, in all honesty humanity just skipped out on a label. 

In all seriousness the problem is that there is no defined in-between state, you’re not allowed to be sitting on the fence because it just doesn't exist. It's ridiculous that for a race that has the need to name and label everything nobody has been able to define what is normal. Its okay to have sex - it doesn't make you a slut if you do. It's okay not to have sex - because being a virgin means only that. We need to stop worrying about what is written on our name tags. The "hello. my name is ..." isn't important. What matters is how you're able to define yourself. 

Later Gator xx

A Series About Sex

Hello!

Over the last few days I've been brainstorming like crazy in order to come up with something a little more interesting for my blog. I want to make a little series of posts that will be up over the next few days dealing with a topic that most (if not all) bloggers try to avoid: SEX. I might just be going crazy for doing it however I've decided to take a massive leapt out of my comfort zone. Addressing the field that makes me absolutely terrified and the most uncomfortable is the action I'm taking to improve my writing. Whilst I'm inexperienced and only 17 I do have my own opinion about things like:

1. The ability to only be classified as a virgin or a slut
2. The unjustified judgement of detached recreational sex
3. The horrors of commitment aka making a sex into a relationship 

Until next time! xx

Road Rage (Off Road Style) !

Hello!

Once more I'm feeling the need to go off on a crazed rampage of hateful feelings, this time directed towards the absolute stupidity of the process needed to obtain a driving licence. In Queensland your 16th birthday becomes this massive deal because of two thing; the legal right to participate in intercourse (a story for some other time) and the ability to walk into the Department of Transport and Main Roads to get a leaner's permit. Now whilst the later option sounds easy as pie please allow me tell you a little tale. It begins on the 13th of April 2012 as I, Mackenzie Pringle, braved the aggravatingly long lines at the Department of Transport and Main Roads to achieve this wondrous piece of plastic that would put me in control of a car. After an hour of waiting I discovered that I didn't have any of the crap I needed to take the test. Disheartened I trudged back home to conquer the road rules another day. 

Later that week...

Everything was in order I had my ID and my appropriate forms all signed and dated, I'd passed several online tests and felt ready to receive my brand new permit. Excitement pumped through my veins as I strutted confidently into that dreadful building once more and sat down for the half hour pounding out the questions in a cinch. Determination cursed through my veins as I handed over the goddamn paper for the snooty lady behind the counter to confirm that I was indeed ready for my license. But no I had gotten too many questions wrong (only three!) so I was sent home with tears of shame for failing a test that stupid macho boys (who flunk all their classes) seemed to be able to pass. 

A whopping 3 months later I did finally achieve my learners permit after I got over myself and my shame. Yet the problems didn't end there. The next step on the way to an open license is getting your P-plates aka your provisional licence. To do this you must have your learner's permit for a minimum of 12 months and you must have driven for at least 100 hours over this period of time. My dad being the protective and worrisome man that he is kept me from constantly being behind the wheel for a good six months so for the final six I have struggled to get up my hours. It's bloody 2014 now and I still haven't reached the big 100. Booking my driving test to earn my provisional license has also added to my frustration as it is proving to be very troublesome. I've had to book my test in the next town over because in mine there are no spaces until mid February in which time I've already moved down south for university and will be about to start classes. 

As you can see I seem to attract the worst kinds of luck when it comes to being put on the road. I'm fed up with the complexities of the process and the little things that the Department of Transport are making such a big deal over. All in all if any one can learn something from my struggles is that if your driver's license is high on your priority list watch out for the mother load of hard work and organisation. Another thing however is to not worry about not getting your license either. A lot of pressure is put on teens these days by their peers who question and judge and my piece of advice is keep it to yourself, don't ask or advertise the maybes because that is all they are and they depend on so many varying factors. If i had the chance over I definitely would not have stressed as much over the fact of being able to drive or gotten so worked up by the anxiety of what people would think if I didn't have that capability. It's your life after all.

Until next time! xx

2013 Beauty Favorites!

Hello!

I thought for this week I'd give you a bit of a review on some of my personal beauty favourites from 2013. This year I've definitely built up quite the collection of products and as a graduating student I had to be very critical of what I bought considering I didn't have any cash to waste. So without further ado here are my top 10 items of the beauty world. 

This year I gratefully discovered Rimmel's Wake Me Up Foundation. I was taken aback when I began using this product as it was by far the best foundation I have ever used. It was brilliant for those school days when I was up at the crack of dawn as it literally "woke up" my skin. I feel immediately refreshed when using this product and i love the slight shimmer infused into the liquid as it really highlighted my face giving it a subtle glow. 

The Tony & Guy Reconstruction Mask is a new addition to my bath/shower products. After going on a bit of a shopping spree I came home with this wondrous deep conditioning hair mask. Before using this product my hair was always a little brittle especially in my ends however after one use I noticed massive changes in the quality of my hair. Now my hair is always silky smooth and feels stronger than ever before which I believe to truly be a miracle. 

Channel. I mean how could this be a favourites post without some good ol' Channel. This particular product is the Rouge Allure Velvet #40. It's such a pigmented lipstick that I find the colour to last for hours without reapplication, it also fades really well turning into a slightly lighter deep pink colour. The creaminess of this lipstick also allowed me to apply to moderately dry lips (when i was to lazy to prepare them) without looking cracked or ruining the stunning affect. 

This was the year of eyebrow discovery for me. This gorgeous little shadow by Artistry that is accurately named Java was the perfect fit for my brows. After dying my hair a very deep brown I needed to match my eyebrows to make the look work for me and that is when I fell in love with this shadow. The pigment is thick enough to fill in all the gaps and isn't crumbly at all so no little dust of brown is ever found on my skin when I apply it. I have loved this so much throughout the year (as I'm sure you can tell as I've hit pan) and I'd definitely invest in it again if I could find it anywhere.

Nivea lip balms have been my saviours during the dry winter months of 2013. The particular balm that shown is here is the Milk & Honey version as it is the only one I seemed to have on hand. However I have gone through various tubes of this stuff and have been through the entire range throughout this year. I love having it in my pocket because it's such a perfect size and really has come to the rescue many a times. 

Cinema by Yves Saint Laurent has undoubtedly been my scent for 2013. As you can see I'm down to my last dregs of the bottle and have become very sparing with it as I am so reluctant for it to run out. It has such an elegant and glamorous smell that reminds me of all things Gatsby. It's both delicate and fresh mixed in with something sinister and sweet and will always be one of my most loved scents as it is so complex and changes throughout the stages in which it is worn. 

How hard is it to find a good tinted moisturiser? Very, right? Well I can confirm that the Olay Total Effects Touch of Foundation Day Cream is the way to go. I have a number of days in which I do not want to wear foundation for various reasons yet still need to go out and wouldn't dare brave it with a naked face and this is where this product has come in handy. It so creamy and light and you don't need to worry about streaking when it dries. It even has SPF 15 so it was definitely a go to product in the summer months. 

Of course Maybelline's The Falsies is going to make it on to this list. It is the best range of mascara's out there and no matter how hard I tried to find a substitute for a bit of change I just couldn't. That said this particular bottle is "Flared" and whilst the photo doesn't really display the brush it curves and dips very differently from the other brushes in the range allowing for a thicker application on the outer lashes. 

I always struggled a bit when it came to perfectly matching my winged liner. I went through liquid, gel and pencil eyeliners to no avail until I discover the L'oreal Lineur Intense. I assume it has something to do with the brush that makes it so easy to apply, I can literally make the perfect winged liner look almost instantly with this wonder tool. I have this in the shade Black Mica but I will definitely be going to scoop up the liner in a brown shade when I see it on sale. 

Last but not least comes the L'oreal Gentle Eyes & Lips Make-Up Remover. I have actually lost count of the number of bottles I've used of this throughout the year. Applying a little squeeze on a muslin cloth or face washer and then holding against my heavy eye makeup for 10 seconds or so would literally dissolve all traces that anything was there at all. I use this product each and every time I take off my makeup and it has become a regular part of my nightly routine. 

Until next time! xx

Post School Freak Outs

Hello!

So it's been a while since we last had a bit of a chat and I found that I needed to vent about the stresses of leaving your final year of high school. Now don't get me wrong leaving school not really the problem because I honestly couldn't be more excited about getting out of that nightmare, but really I'm thinking of all the stresses that are caused afterwards. For me I was tackled by the looming darkness of the overall positions and university offers. I dragged myself down on the thought of what would happen if I didn't get the marks that I needed or wasn't offered an invitation to attend my number one university. I would end up on the floor in a heap of crippling possibilities that weighed me down. I just couldn't handle all the feels that I was bombarded with, which really became a problem. 

Now last weekend I begrudgingly stayed up until 12am to sneak a peak at my overall position. For those of you who aren't Australian (specially Queensland), your overall position or OP is graded from 1-25 (1 being the best, 25 the worst) and is purely based on academic capabilities and potential. It is also how universities decide on who is smart enough for particular courses (ie. medical courses only accept students who receive an OP 1, etc). For my university I needed to receive an OP 11 to even be considered being an applicant. With bitten lips and half a head of hair I discovered that I had gratefully received an OP that allows me into my preferred course. 

My advice for anyone who thinks they are going to go to university after school is to not worry as much as I did. It's not worth the bother as there are so many other paths that you can take to get into the courses you want to study. Funnily enough people don't tell you this earlier on (surprise, surprise for being kept in the dark all the way to the end) and hence the stressing commences as you think its your one and only way in. Even if your not off to university it can be just as stressful jumping straight into full time employment but I can guarantee that eventually things do tend to work themselves out with a bit of effort.

Until next time! xx

Holiday Highlights!

Hello again!

As you may know I've recently graduated from high school (sorry to keep bringing it up) and to celebrate I spent months planning an incredible three week getaway for myself.  Mid way through November I enlisted my incredible older sister to join me in my travels and together we jumped on the first flight out of my small hometown and headed for the big city of Melbourne. With flashy restaurants, breath taking sights, copious shopping facilities and bright lights it definitely had us wowed! We visited the zoo, chapel street mall, the queen vic markets and more all the while eating like queens and having an amazing time. Unfortunately the time came for us to leave however we vowed to come back as soon as possible. To follow on week 2 consisted of visiting my grandparents and my auntie in Toowoomba and spending some quality time getting fed an unhealthy amount of waffles and ice-cream! The final stage of my trip involved the wonderful town of Noosa that resides along the Australian Coast. With beach filled mornings and a luxurious house (including a king sized bed to have an afternoon nap in) I was relaxed and loving it. So now that I've returned I couldn't wait to share some snaps of the highlights!

Some yummy sushi from a cute little japanese restaurant on chapel street.

I made one of the cutest little friends in Melbourne Zoo! Ins't he adorable!

The view that I had from my room in the city!

 Me and my cousin reading on the beach in Noosa!

 The most amazing peanut butter hot chocolate from San Churro!

 Chocolate feast that my sister and I shared!

This is a cake can you believe it!?

 Incredible sweets in the craziest little cafe!

 Look at all the macrons!

 A selfie with my little butterfly!

 The best lamb sandwich, fries, and soft shell crab ever!

My sister sporting a lovely blue butterfly fascinator!

And my ticket to see King Kong in the theatre (i may have cried a bit)!

Until next time! xx

New Swimwear!

Hello!

For the past few months I've been searching relentlessly for a new pair of togs this summer. Now I think every girl understands how difficult it is buying a new pair of togs, so you can understand when I say I was having so much trouble! I looked everywhere I possibly could, yet only found the perfect pair to wear today! 

It got me thinking about how much us girls really try to pick out the perfect pair of swimmers for the summer. I mean if we're going to spend our money on them we want them to be right. For me I have a little checklist that I think is essential depending on what I was looking for and it looked  a bit like this:

- must be a bikini

-bottoms preferably have string tie sides

-yet still be able to cover my large bottom

- they can't be too busy

-keep it pretty plain in colour but not plain in style

-must must must be good quality (they do have to last me the summer)

-can't be too expensive

-and must be found before I go on holiday on Nov 19

This made my job a little tricky but i personally think 5 of those items on the checklist were essential if I was to by them. I'm not a slim girl I've definitely got some curves and that makes bikinis a task. I can't be having any skimpy cheeky bottoms or else I'll be facing the consequences of the togs making my bum look bigger (which is not needed!) and ride up into my "bum crack"(for lack of a better expression)!

These are the togs I found in the end (sorry for using the website pictures but I don't have a camera at the moment) yet I do have different colours.

(I got the black and white version)

The bikini top covers my chest so I don't feel too exposed and I don't have to worry about my top falling off in the waves because it's very study on. Luckily it doesn't flatten my boobs and it has keep the back very open and minimal which appears very flatting on my body type and seems to be in style this swim season.

(I got the black version)

The bottoms whilst a plain colour are so funky as they have those little mesh peek-a-boo holes in the front panel. I loved how they had the tie up sides yet still had a decent amount of fabric left to cover up my booty appropriately! They don't look at all saggy which can be a bit of a problem with string tie bottoms and the rise is high enough that I don't feel uncomfortable either!

If you'd like to go go check out these togs or any of Seafolly's swimwear, click here!

Until next time! xx

Turning Over A New Leaf

Hello!

 Last night I received my QUT acceptance of appliance letter or whatever the hell it was. Now whilst that's so bloody exciting from my point of view I realise you're all probably thinking what the hell do you really think we're interested in that. Never fear though as it was a writing book and short message in said book that I wanted to bring to your attention.

The message reads:

The next chapter of your life's a blank page. What you write is up to you.....

etc,etc,etc

Isn't that cute though!?

In short it's left me a small book with completely blank pages and asks for me to fill it with whatever I wish, whether that be goals, aspirations, likes, or ideals, the list is endless. 

And whist it's cuteness is admirable it made me think that a lot of people are held back by their past. I know that it's happened to me before and I think of how my past is going to affect me and drag me down, so I tried to hide it. Luckily I've turned over that stone and have started to accept that yes I have a past but it's not baggage and my past isn't who I want to be nor is it who I am now. This book reminded me of this thought and I wanted to utilise it and take note from it. I've decided not to let my past define my future, everyday is a new page meaning no grudges are to be hold, no problems that hassled me yesterday will persist and no judgements on myself or others regarding who they used to be. 

I hope together we can all turn over a new page in our little heads and hearts.

Until next time! xx

Living in the now!

Hello!

Today is another revelation discovered by yours truly. I can't even begin to imagine what the hell I'm going to be like in 5, 10, 20 years time; where i'll be, who will be important in my life, or even what I'll be doing with myself. And it used to bother me terribly! That little exercise schools do sometimes where they get you to write down exactly this on a piece of paper or speak it aloud caused me PHYSICAL PAIN because I just I found it impossible to answer, like come on who do you think I am, the Doctor? And whilst I do realise that the resemblance is uncanny I can't travel to the year 2023 to grab a glimpse, I'm terribly sorry.

However looking back on my past I can see that there has been significant chances and the decisions I've made along the way and the things I aspired to be at the time affected how I acted and who I was. Throughout primary school for example I knew undoubtedly that I was going to be a star when I grew up. So I joined choir, stage band, wakakirri (which is an Aussie storytelling competition), and was in spectaculars and musicals up until I left. It made me outgoing and enjoyable because I was loving what I was doing and I was headed in the right direction for where I wanted to be at that point in my life. Just like in primary school, my decisions in early high school changed my personality dramatically however it was much for the worse, but as a shitty 14 year old girl what else was there to expect. Wishing to stay in with the 'cool' crowd at the time I stopped all the things I loved doing (aka performing) and signed myself up for things I despised (aka sports, and I don't use the word despise lightly). It made me crabby and irritable simply because I hated the decision I'd made, turns out I didn't even like the popular kids, they were constantly bitching and were never supportive of whatever anyone tried to do (except for possibly cheerleading). But it just didn't work out well for me, I'd lost all ambition at the time and when I got really sick (for a 3 month period) I felt grateful in a way for the time I got to get away from them and distance myself so that when I came back I could join in with a new crowd.

These choices I have made so far have directed me on my path and although I can see that some obvious changes have been made, and that I've been able to grow and come to these kind of realisations there is still no possible way I can predict what is going to motivate me, not even in the near future like next month or tomorrow! So my main message here is that you HAVE to live your life in the moment literally, sure take onboard past decisions and learn from the mistakes you've made but don't go planning out what lies ahead because I can guarantee that you'll end up disappointed. If the future makes you scared or anxious it's just another reason that backs up my point. Be who you want to be now, forget about what repercussions that will make on you in 5, 10, 20 years because inevitably you'll be a different you by then with different goals and dreams!

Until next time! xx

Loving my body!

Hello!

Today's post is going to be a little bit overdone I feel yet I can completely understand why. Each and every girl on this planet will struggle to grasp the concept of weight and body shapes at some stage in their life. For me that stage finished very very recently, like in the last 3 months recently after having the trouble since I was 10/11 years old. Right now I weigh in at 71.4 kilos at a height of 176 cm (or 5'10), so it's clear to me that I'm not at all a 'skinny' or 'small' girl, and i'm completely okay with it. I can confirm that yes I've got slightly bigger than average boobies and quite a plump bum yet (thankfully) paired with quite a flat tummy and pinched in waist. I used to believe that I had gotten the worst of the family traits, whilst my cousin had gotten the best (with a small waist, average sized boobies and a normal stomach). That was until I started to accept myself more, I thank the universe that I got my aunt's flat stomach and my granny's height and my great grandma's curves, because it's what I now love most. 

Surprising that was the first step in me losing weight. For years I had tried to lessen my figure and even out the bumps and lumps to a more manageable size. I died to look like a runway model or somebody worthy for the cover page on a magazine. Yet during this period of crazy dieting and exercise I loss hardly anything at all because I was pushing my body to its limits causing me to crash and give in to laziness and cravings and then without rest starting up something else claiming that 'it just wasn't the right regime for me'. I was right of course, I just didn't take on the meaning of it until later on.

In the first 2 months of accepting my body I decided that switching my focus to staying healthy and maintaing my current body weight was going to be my new goal. After having set myself so many goals and standards previous it had become a habit to follow them to the best of my ability, what made a difference was that I stopped making the end result impossible. I took up little tricks of the trade like fidgeting in class or whenever I was sitting at the computer, and keeping a more relaxed diet letting myself have a donut or a chocolate if I felt like it for a snack whilst making certain that my main meals were organic and fresh. 

The most shocking change however has occurred in the last month were I have been constantly dropping of half of a kilo almost every day which is utterly incredible and extremely exciting for me. I think it's because I am now aware of what my body wants and when. If I feel like a salad I'll have a salad, if that salad is a chocolate bar well that works too. I've also found a way to ENJOY exercise. Yes  I am bloody well aware that I said ENJOY! People try music and stuff to distract them whilst they are running or working out etc, yet that has never been enough to motivate me. Instead I grab my little sister and we walk around until we get to a hill and have a race to the top, or I go for a walk with my friend who lives down the road and we have a good ol' chat. I have even started to do 'blogilate's' workouts on youtube (which you should all check out). 

(I am fully aware that i'm no dietician etc etc so this really is my personal story of how I've come to terms with my own body and what has helped me.)

Until next time! xx