Monday, 6 April 2020

10 Reasons you should do Camp America

If you're reading this you might be questioning whether or not to do Camp America or simply just intrigued on what it involves.  I was supposed to do it in 2018 and bailed and even in 2019 I almost bailed again the day before.  But honestly, I wish I could do it all over again!  As anyone who has spoke to me since coming back from America, you'll know I don't shut up about it but was just an amazing three months!

So if you're unsure, keep reading!


1. You get to make so many new friends from all over the world













2. You get to travel after

With the J-1 Visa you get 30 days travelling after you leave camp.  I managed to squeeze 10 states into the 30 days and despite it consisting of 18 hour coach jounreys and questionable hostels, it was amazing




















3. You get 3 months in the sun

Coming from the UK, you know our summer is usually a week long, so getting three months in hot weather is a bonus.  My camp was in West Virginia and it was over 30 degrees more or less everyday. By the end of the three months I was ever so slightly tanned which as a ginger is impressive for me

4. You get to expereince 4th of July in America

At my camp we had a 4th of July carnival day and everyone dressed up, even the horses! There was a boat race (which my team one ayy). We then ended the day with a picnic and fireworks on the beach










5. You get to wear baggy clothes, no makeup and crocs (yes, crocs) everyday and not care what you look like





6.  It's such a fun job!

I was a sports counsellor so I would do sports with the kids all day but everyday was so different.  From making smores to learning how to build a camp fire, swimming, tubing in the lake, singing competitions, rock climbing, camping under the stars and staff talenet shows just to name a few things. Oh and you'll be a pro at making friendship bracelets










7.  You'll get to look forward to future camp reunions




8.  It looks amazing on yout CV and you'll stand out


9. You gain so many skills


10. You get paid! 

Some people don't know you get paid,  it's not as much as a summer job at home but you're mainly there for the expereince and the pay is a bonus and can help with your travelling after!


Picking only 10 reasons for this post was difficult but I hope this helps anyone who's unsure on whether to go!  If you're reading this and have any other questions on the application process, what to pack or anything else just ask!

Thanks for reading,

Soph xxx


Thursday, 9 August 2018

BIC Pen for Girls...


So, I took A level English Language and for part of my coursework I had to write a persuasive article and I really liked this piece I wrote so I thought I'd share it.  This is a feminist piece on the BIC pen for girls which I think we can all agree is pathetic as I, very sarcastically, present in this piece (p.s I got a B for this...go me)

BIC Issue

I’ve wanted to write an article for a while but I couldn’t because I was unable to get my hands on the ‘right’ pen. But now, finally, BIC have released a pen…for girls!  After 188 years of us women using boy pens (gross, I know) we finally have a pink, girly, sparkly pen made to fit into the petite and delicate hands of girls. It’s about time really. I was worn down and weary of having to use masculine pens - thankfully, the new pens have good grip which helps due to my lack of physical strength. Not to mention, the packaging has flowers on so obviously I was drawn to them like a housewife to her hoover. Finally, a pen that matches my floral apron, how long does a girl have to wait? Now all I need is some pretty pink paper, a heart stamp and I’m all set! 💖💋💄

If only we could close the gender pay gap sooner so I could afford two pens because clearly we are happy to pay a higher price to show the world our femininity.

But this pen is a women’s sword. This gives us a tiny amount of power over men. With this mighty pen, men can only produce squiggles. They simply can’t write with it. But what happens when men are in desperate need of a pen but only a pen for girls is available? What would men do? Would their handwriting go all loopy? Would their dots over their i’s turn into little hearts? Scary thoughts.

To think I used to have to do a lipstick stained kiss as my signature before these revolutionary pens came into use.

You females reading may be desperate to know how you get your dainty little hands on these? Simple, ask a male companion to go earn the money to do so for you. Now, I must go back to writing my shopping list.

All jokes aside, Malala Yousafzai a young, Pakistani activist fought for education for women and went through hell in order to succeed - her next campaign may well be to provide a pink pen for every female? After all, how can women ever right anything of importance with a blue pen. I really hope she doesn’t hear about this as she may wonder what she was fighting for.

To uncover why its taken all this time to create a pen suitable for half the worlds population I turned to BIC’s mission statement for the company - “To connect people in business and industry with one another for the betterment of all.” What are they trying to better? If multi-national company BIC want to make “betterment” for all then I can point them in the right direction. There’s a charity for School for Justice in India. The School for Justice is a remarkable school that trains girls who have survived sex trafficking and have been forced into prostitution to become lawyers. Which, in turn means that the girls can aim to use their law degree to prosecute the traffickers, helping bring them to justice and prevent a new
generation of girls falling victim. So I say BIC, if you’re reading this, instead of making a useless pen for girls, make ‘betterment’ for those poor girls.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve made a lot of progress towards equality: equal pay act, freedom to vote but we obviously still have a bit to go. The United Nations views gender equality as a human right yet discrimination towards females across the globe still happens every day. Only last week did I finish up my run around the village upset as I had two idiots who felt the need to comment on my body as they were driving past in their crappy Vauxhall Corsa.

To name one of many ‘sexist pigs’, Donald Trump (surely no shock to anyone) known for his many highly offensive and sexist phrases. A few of his popular phrases include “A person who’s flat chested is very hard to be a 10/10, Okay?”, “if Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?”.  And to mention just a few of the names he’s called women: dog, slob, fat, pig and disgusting animal. We have a huge way to go, if the leader of the ‘greatest free country in the world’ still writes this down. It’s one step forward and five steps back.

In the news recently, retail giant John Lewis whipped up a storm by announcing they weren’t segregating the boys and girl’s clothing department anymore. A whopping 85% of people were offended by this. What’s their problem? This shows how slowly things are changing and how segregation between boys and girls is so deep rooted in our society. A lot of people feel threatened by the idea that girls can do everything that boys can do.

Seriously though, how patronising to market a pen to women that’s more expensive because it’s pink. I can’t quite imagine Theresa May or Hillary Clinton demanding that their PA finds them a girl’s pen to sign off public policies…

P.s I haven’t yet got a female keyboard so I hope you all can understand this.