Little Miss Lately

So, I don't update Little Miss as often as I should
and I can blame that on my eat/sleep/rave/repeat schedule, or rather, 6am starts, eight hour shifts
and editing articles for Elite Daily in between the sneaky glass of scotch or wine and winter escapes
down the local cocktail lounge.

Here's a little recap of what's happened this year, thus far:

1.  I turned 21!

2. I began my hairstyling apprenticeship and I have the coolest boss. Yay!

2. I started my column with Elite Daily, which you can find by clicking the above link.

3.  I became a bridesmaid (What is it with all my best mates tying the knot?)

4. Also became an auntie (again.) (Congratulations to my brother!)

5. I began writing my second novel Sabotage, which is its third trimester. (My little 150 page baby is growing! ;))

6. I decided South Australia was home. Boo to Melbourne! ;)

7. I went blonde, then brunette, then ombre.

8. I got to shoot implied nudity in the diameter of a square box.

9. My column continues to grow :) A big thank to you all my lovely new, readers.

 xoxo

I Want To See You Be Brave: Three Ways To Cope With Invisible Illness

Copyright: Glynn Jackson Photography

A customer said to me last week,  “Why are you limping today?” and then on the same breath, followed with “Fell over and had a big weekend, did you?”

I replied with “Long story” and walked away, but the truth is…I happen to have a broken hip. 

And no, not through some crazy sexcapade that happened at Coachella either.   I can usually conceal it quite easily as I’m on my feet all day anyway but on this particular occasion, eight hours of standing was taking its toll and my body was complaining.  Yes, the otherwise normal, petite, pretty looking girl was walking somewhat abnormally as she made a quick dash for the bathroom.

It gets tiring, having to tell the same story over and over to people who look at you with a blank expression and say "But you're too pretty, too young, too normal to be sick."  and when I consider the amount of strangers I must pass in the street, suffering MS, depression, chronic fatigue, cancer and other things that can be hidden behind a brave smile and a strong willpower, it’s an easy consolation.

 

Speak Up

No one can help you, unless they know what’s wrong.  This doesn’t mean carrying around a proverbial cross, it just means having the freedom to express when you’re struggling to get through the day.  Whether this means asking your boss for a time out, having a vent to a friend or being honest about your capabilities, you should remind yourself that, there’s no shame in being human.

 

Mum’s The Word

On the same token, you should never feel the need to explain yourself unnecessarily.  If someone asks you a question that you find unnecessarily nosy or inappropriate, you’re doing your integrity a disservice by answering it.   Unfortunately that old adage “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back” is especially pertinent for our generation, nevertheless, when it comes to your private affairs (illness being one of them), silence is key.

 

Know Your Limits

Yes, reaching for the sky is all very well and pushing yourself to achieve your goals, but what about when you’re faced with the kind of limitations that only get worse when you strive the hardest? The body isn’t bulletproof unfortunately and as it’s the only one we have, sometimes it’s not a matter of willpower, it’s a matter of nurturing yourself. 

Keep hydrated, eat regular meals and don’t tell yourself that you can function on three hours sleep, if you physically can’t. 

Little White Box

I shot in a little white box today.  Literally.
It was hilarious shooting with the lovely, Amy  because she's about three feet taller than me,
so we were all limbs and flailing arms.

It was also 9 degrees outside studio grounds as we were up in the country, so my footsies and nose were suffering too.

I'm wearing my lovable, ripped jeans and not a lot else and in the small diameter of four corners,
it feels pretty small.


 Find more images by David Leane on Facebook.

20 Facts About Me

1. I was born 3 weeks too early and had to be put

in an incubator...to cook. (joking) but as a result, I was a tiny four pound baby.

2. I'm Half Greek/Half Guyanese.

3. I first started writing stories at 5 and I haven't stopped since.

4. I involuntarily start crying in winter. My eyes just water uncontrollably in windy environments. It's so weird, and my dad suffers it too.

6. I considered being a professional actor before realising hairdressing and writing was my passion.

7. I write for Elite Daily.

8. My favorite fruit is watermelon.

9. I'm scared of the dark.

10. I'm OCD about being clean.

11. I wear a silver cross that I never take off.

12. I wish I had naturally wavy hair like my Mum.

13. I have two brothers.

14. I fell in love at 14.

15.  I've known my best friend since I was thirteen.

16. I'm only 5"3 and even my boss calls me 'little!'

17. I'm allergic to prawns.

18. I have a severe fear of flying.

19. I hate spicy food.

20. And last but not least, my name is derived from the word philosophy, meaning wisdom. :)

Electric

 

♪ He's no longer under cover 'cos you've got another lover underneath the sheets.
I should've listened to my mother when she said she'd find another who could handle me... ♪ 

Girl, You Can Tell Everybody...

"I'm not feeling it yet!" she said, downing another skittle bomb shot.
"Drink more" I said.
and then it hit her.

There's always that one friend in your life, that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt, you'll be nursing and reminiscing and generally being crazily familiar with well into your golden years.  That friend is this blonde bombshell.   For all intense and purposes, I call her Hazel Nut.

We see each other twice a year if we're lucky because she lives in Melbourne and I live down here, but when we're together, no time has passed between us.  And such was the case when she came down this weekend and we hit the town and made fools of ourselves.


She's the kind of friend I can stand semi nude in front of the mirror with, mascara wand in hand, lingerie in the other, and get lost in a plethora of deep thoughts and silly stories while she yells at me because I haven't curled her hair, the right way.


She's my fifty shades of familiar.

Dear 21 Year Old Me...

Dear 21 Year Old Me,

You made it.

You know how they say you're meant to have an epiphany on your 21st? Grow wings? become an elder? All that jazz?

Well, have you?

I think you have. 

I think you've come a long way

A long way from being a six year old queen bee, from colourful pencil shavings and having your hair pulled by nasty, naughty third grader boys. A long way from travelling back and forth from England to Australia. A long way from sitting alone on the first day of high school, wandering if your coffee complexion and frizzy hair will ever get you a seat with the 'popular girls' and whether you'll ever stop writing in recess break time to keep your thoughts from spilling out through your dreams.

A long way from a highschool romance that almost broke your heart, and the few affairs that followed that almost drove you mad, but taught you so many valuable lessons about your own self worth.

A long way from all the long nights spent working on your novel and the early mornings finishing hair exams and all the bottles of V energy and blueberry muffins you scoffed, struggling to keep awake long enough to get through the day and the frightening job trials with girls with perfectly styled blondes coifs of hair.

But most of all, you've come a long way from all the grief, hardship and hurdles that life brings and you've used all of it as a massive sandpit to grow and evolve in and ultimately, fall in love with life again.

You grew up.

Along with all the people, you love and cherish the most.

Your best friends, soulmates and the people that have watched you grow into the author, hair stylist model and beautiful human being that you've become.

 Love,

You xoxo