TiLT :: Top 5 Favorite Models with Albinism

No longer is the modelling industry completely void of models with albinism. Its something that my heart cant help but be glad about. It makes me so happy that these people are able to follow their dreams regardless of something as little as a different in pigmentation and short sightedness. I think that their successes in overcoming the adversity of negative opinions should be celebrated. So, since i haven't done a 'Things I Love Thursday' in a bit I've decided to make this one about my top five favourite models with albinism.

1. American Model: Ellie

 

Definitely my number one favourite, likely because i love her look and style.

 

2. Russian @kiker_chan

 

A believe she is Russian. Love all the airy shots she takes

3. Chinese Model Connie Chiu

 

 

 

I consider her a legend, she's the first model with albinism i ever learned about and still waws me with her work.

American Model Diandra Forrest

Isn't she amazing working  those full lips and long legs?

American Model Shaun Ross

 Does a lot of high fashion, an area I'm not a fan of but i love his versatility and willingness to create art. Most may know him as the guy from the Katy Perry video or The Tyra Banks Show.


It makes me feel really good to see these people doing their thing. Its already so hard and takes so long to come to that glorious place of self acceptance and it's always made even more difficult when everywhere you turn no body looks like you do. This is true for so many, for the plus size girl/guy, the one with freckles, with thick frames, with braces, with super curly hair or with whatever society says in not in these days, I'm not sure, i try not to keep up, simply because i have no interest in letting anybody decide for me what i should or should not do or like.

Now when i meet students or even look in the media myself i can find representatives of the albinism community that are depicted as not just disabled but beautiful, unique, looked upon with favour and admiration. Though I've already reached a pretty darn good place of self acceptance this does do no less than help! No longer are people with albinism just the 'red eyed demons' being hunted down in Tanzania by witch doctors, or being shown as always the monsters in films about conspiracy. Now they are also models, beautiful people that hold the place on the cover of magazines.

They are normal people, children of the universe, they have a right to be here just like everyone else, like that song lyrics being blasted into my ear as i type this says. I know all these people and all these pictures have definitely helped me in a deep, resounding, fantastic, personal way and if i could say anything to any of these people it would be this: Thank you, thank you  for believing that you are beautiful, thank you, for daring to believe in yourself.

Is there anyone in the media that has helped you to dare to believe in yourself?

Peace. Love. Acceptance.

All photos copied from the Albinism Facebook page and are the property of their individual owners.

Musing Mind :: Tests & (maybe) Failing...

Sorry for the lack of blog post this week. I've just been at a loss as to what to write about and feeling guilty that my mind isn't completely focused on subjects as Monday uni has restarted for me and with that came the usual stress and anxiety. You'd think I'd get over it by now, every single time i put myself through this fear of failure scenario. Last semester i was tossing and turning, waking myself up  as i pleaded in my sleep out loud 'how do i do this...how do i do this...' over a class i couldn't figure out, yes, i am that much of a nerd, it is dangerous to be too driven. I was sure i was going to fail and my world would come to a screeching halt as i would have to come to terms with the fact that i'm not as awesome as i think i am and i kid you not, that is no easy task for anyone to come to terms with. Well, after weeks and months of self imposed bad joojoo i passed said class as barely as it might have been and walked away from the experience with a very valuable lesson.

Much like life itself, it's just a test.

It doesn't make or break or define you. What will happen if you fail at something? Okay, come back from that cliff you see yourself throwing your self off of mentally...after that. You will rise. You'll take a step and then another step. I think this is the part that will make or break you. The part where you decide if those new steps will be in a forward direction.

This is just the first bit, what really gets me down and staying down is that every time i feel this drain of creative juices. I know it's not ever lasting though. A means to an ends. So, in an unlikely event i thought I'd give you a glance at some completely unrelated pieces of me.

I wear suits to work and since i have been obsessed with Doctor Who for the last month and a half, one of my favorite suits now has even more appeal because of it's pin stripes reminding me of The Doctor.

 Also trying to be a better teacher so my new supervisor and i had a chat while he checked my books to make sure i was planning well. Teachers get stickers too! Who doesn't like stickers?

Also, discovered i could use my ipad as a teaching aid my student loves and is enthusiastic about learning from.

Chocolate is a lovely pick me up, yes?

 

It's been cold round here lately. What i like to call 'sock weather'

So that's what its been bout this week, I've been battling as i attempt to balance being a good growing full time teacher and being a university student. It's very difficult as i unfortunately face situations where i sometimes encounter professionals who seem more about their pride than whether their students, my students, pass, fail or feel comfortable in their skin and life as a student. This hurts me very much but i have full intention to continue my resolution to live with authority because this one isn't only for me, it's for my students too. Also, those moments when i meet other professionals who pick up the slack where others have failed my hope is renewed.

Trying not to be too impressed that I've stuck to my resolutions though. After all, it's still January ;) But hey! Thought of the Day: This Life Is Just A Test & School's Back In Session.

"Time asks no questions it goes on without you,
Leaving you behind if you can't stand the pace." ~ Des'ree

 

Peace. Love. Worth

Musing:: My Plush Palette : Dinner & A Smoothie

Lets be real, sometimes you just have to meet an old friend, for the first time for the year, embrace and twirl each other in the middle of the night street and go catch up in a crappy quiet park where you can't use the swings, cause people don't appreciate nice things and have broken them You can instead, sit on the picnic table like the daring rebel generation you stem from, under the glow of the streetlight, with nothing but crappy phone camera pics in dim light and good conversation.

This person can not hear you, all she can hear is her favorite chicken begging to be in her mouth. True Story. Then we moved to Umbrellas for smoothies and some more chicken but someone 'got rid' of it before i could take a picture.

 My Favorite Milkshakes! (She ordered the smoothie but they came back to let us know it wasn't gonna happen tonight.

Sometimes we be bout that life. Kick back, remember that company is what makes it great. Though things don't go as planned, sometimes they can go better. I love my friends, the conversation is always amazing, on any night it can range from the future of the endangered turtle population to where did you get that shade of blue nail polish. (which it actually did that night) My favorite quote of the night was from my friend Eli (in the photos) who loves chicken way down in her soul. Getting a thoughtful and concerned look on her face then turning to me and worriedly asking.

"You think if they liquified chicken....it would taste the same?' with despair on her voice. We had been talking about the future of food and how everything is being made to be had on the go now, she got very afraid i think.

School starts for us both on Monday. A time when inspiration and creativity becomes some what of an endangered species itself. Here we go again!

Peace. Love. Relax and Take Note

3 British Bombshell Song Birds ♫♪

  Fine fierce lyrically fit British Bombshell song birds whose music i had the pleasure being introduced to in 2012. Plus some of their lyrics to get you intrigued!

Who You Are

Cameo Lover

Marina and the Diamonds

Who did you discover musically lately?

Musing Mind :: Is It Meant To Be...?

Sometimes i read things and they move me not just to change or to talk or to think but to write. This happens sometimes with reading blogs but i tend to not do it because i don't want to have anyone feeling like I'm copycatting their intellectual property in anyway. Yet the other day i started musing the question: 'Does everything happen for a reason?' Inspired by this post

Yes, i would say everything happens for a reason. Most people are of the opinion that life is unfair right? So, i think what is important to note is that while it has been said that 'everything happens for a reason' who ever said it was a good or fair reason?

It is not a matter of whether the person who gets the job in a company that soon goes bankrupt over when you when you both were interviewed but you were passed over 'deserved' to be unemployed soon after, it is just that the company went out of business SO s/he had no work. There was an angry sick person who took a gun into a school where children were and started to fire AS a result they died...To every action, there is a reaction.

You know what I think? I think as human beings we could sit and pull reasons out the wazoo all day and all night but reasons, much like excuses, are not all nor always good or agreeable. We have to make sure we are looking for a reason, not 'a reason i'll like' when we're looking for answers because somehow, i suspect the world doesn't work like that...

It's so easy to not see the big picture in life when a huge bolder gets dropped in front of us....

Tunnel vision.

If we looked to the side maybe we could see that sometimes things are just the end of ONE road, the soil of many paths are still untrodden, the grass there is still green, there is not one destination, but many. As a wise local idiom says 'What is for you? is for you'  meaning If it's yours, you'll get it, regardless of bolder, moat or loss.

Well, except for stagnancy i believe, that's the one, sure fire way to end it all. That is, putting up a manual road block to ALL possible roads simultaneously, sitting still and refusing to move?! Game Over. Didn't you know that you can voluntarily be your own end all be all?\ Sucks don't it?

How do you feel about the topic Lovely Serendipity discussed? Do you believe everything happens for a reason?

Peace. Love. Live in Motion

Musing :: NOTD : Colour me Summer ☼!

Can you tell that i went back to work?  Way to mess up my steady blogging routine making a living! Oi! Lets have willing thoughts then...

Just keep calm and teach on i suppose but in my heart of hearts i'll tell you a secret: I'm already ready for summer time fun! I miss that airy feeling, i miss days when the beach is calling me even more than usual, i miss days filled with colour and the laughter of friends who don't have to work! But most of all i miss longer days! Anybody else guilty of this?

So my nails are reflecting that today, I'm totally sporting what i would deem a 'summer' look.

Its fun and bright and whimsical! Though I probably won't keep it long, its a bit bright for work and may distract the kiddies but i can sport it this evening when i go out now can't i? Even though it's rather rushed and kindda messy with chippy ends where i haven't reapplied but hey, stop judging me!

I don't know why it looks so much like L.A. Colours - Splash in these shot, maybe because its not under natural light? I swear my Sea Siren doesn't really look this blue in real life, its got a great pastely green under tone, much like the ocean!

As you've probably heard me say before Color Club's Pink in Love and Qirius's Yellow Tulip are two of my favorite polishes colour wise. Maybe because they make me feel like summer?

What makes you feel like summer?

Peace. Love. Colour

Musing :: Style + Mind : 'Tears Don't Mean You're Loosing" ♫ ♪

I thought i'd share with you what i bought me for Christmas :) It was not expensive and i got a percentage off yet because it was the display item, which is fine with me as it has no scratches or dents just the possibility of unknown fingerprints, which are easily whipped away. Every year i try to make it a habit of buying myself something for Christmas. I rarely succeed honestly. I'm bad at spending money as everything here is so expensive.

It even took me a while to convince myself and even be convinced to snatch this little beauty up, even though it was not too much i always feel guilty buying things, especially as i'm a student, even though i may need it.

My jewelry collection has serverly dwindled for the very reason of not wanting to spend. I always tell myself, later...when times are better, later...when i reach this goal, or that one or the next, there are more important things right now...Except that often leads to a point where one feels like you're working for someone elses money because very little immediate joy is derived from it.

This year i succeeded in remembering the importance of not winding my belt so tight that i bust. I already shared my New Year Resolute for 2013 but this year i don't want to just focus on 'heavy' stuff or goals. This reckless is a reminder of that. It's a reminder to stay true to me. That it's also important to have light thoughts. It's okay to dream, to believe and to wish because that's how goals begin. They start as a tiny flutter in our stomachs, they start as a longing, with us wanting something. Then with time, they swell and develop until they are an unbearable hope. Hey and if we're lucky, if we're stubborn even, they manifest from a hope into a plan.

Well, i've been known to be stubborn with my dreams so...

Dream. Believe. Wish.

40 Self Reflection 2012 Interview Questions

I used to do these a while back, i honestly found them immensely helpful to look back on at the end of the year, so thought provoking! I have no idea where these questions originated, in digging about i found them, so i thought, why not?

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?
Accept that failure is a part of life, yes, even mine.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for 2013
Nope! and Yes i did.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 

Yes I'm an auntie again! :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

 R.I.P Chad

5. What countries did you visit?
No place, no money to :/

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
~A DSLR
~better grades
~courage to do what needs to be done.

7. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

My birthday, i had almost all the friends who have had a positive impact on my life show up :)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year 2012?
I think I've become a better teacher. learned to plan better and more efficiently and come to understand why i am in this field, where i want to go and how i want to leave this field.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Didn't do well enough in school i imagine, still waiting for grades.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
More skin cancer scares but here i am!

11. What was the best thing you bought?
An Ipad2 for school to allow me to read at a similar pace as my 'normally sighted peers' as we put it at work ;)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
My mother, she continues to share with me her amazing wisdom.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
People in various work places who are required to help you who are down right rude.

14. Where did most of your money go?
School fees and food which isn't so bad i suppose, just a little depressing :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
My appearances as a performing poet

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2012?
None I've got a real bad memory....

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder?

My heart has surprised me this year...and not in ways i have enjoyed but over all, i think i'd have to say happier.

ii. thinner or fatter?
A bit thinner i think

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
i wish had gone to the beach more, seen my friends more, spent more time being creative? Creativity feeds my soul and i've been feeling starved

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Been understanding to rude people.

20. How did you spend Christmas?
The usual, home asleep for half the day. Around her Christmas eve is where it's at but even that i spent very laid back.

22. Did you fall in love in 2012?
No

23. How many one-night stands?
No.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
I'll only list the new ones:

The Walking Dead

 Doctor Who (Though i'm only still finishing season 4 of the 2005 version)

Korean Drama 'A Gentleman's Dignity'

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No.

26. What was the best book you read?

So Long a Letter  

Moll Flanders    

The House of the Seven Gables

My school books were pretty good. Which is great, cause they're all i had time to read!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
2012 was 'The Year of the British Bombshells!' for me!
I discovered: Jessie Jay, Kambra and Marina and the diamonds! (more on them in another post)

28. What did you want and get?
Ipad2

29. What did you want and not get?
DSLR

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
Oh man my favorite film this year was actually a international firm about sexual identity called 'North Sea Texas"
I also really liked 'In Time' with Justin Timberlake (who would have thought it possible !)

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
25 and had a large but moderate gathering of so many friends old and present who have a special place in my heart!

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
 Getting a DSLR to really give photography a good go at!

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?
I always describe my style as punk prep, heavy on the prep and inching towards the girlie. I like it and I'm keeping at it. 2012 saw me being much more daring with styles I've always said no to like shorts and still inching towards leggings. I also dared to try brighter colours and heels

34. What kept you sane?
Prayer.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Woo! i think i have a fever...i need a Doctor! ;)

I'm in love with this man!

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
So many in my own country but i don't want to get into it, lets just say there were many many bad decisions, the fall out of which i will have to suffer through for the rest of my life because there is ACTUALLY a time stamp!

37. Whom did you miss?
Lyssa

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Mr.Fortune - a new photographer friend!

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012:
People Suck. They can be extremely advantageous...yet still, i am built strong.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

 From the song 'Who You Are'  by Jessie Jay

I'm always learning so much more from myself than i realise!