The January List 2017

January. This first month usually begins with optimism and heads steadily downhill afterwards. Mine definitely had a dip in the middle but I'm happy to report that it's ended on a major high. This edition of my Monthly List (so renamed because The Anti-Bucket List is a bit of a mouthful) is brought to you very late in the day, the closing hours of Jan, because I got distracted from my writing this afternoon by something very good. Very. More will be said about that soon - it's nice to have something good.

This month has been a muddle though, after all the initial enthusiasm of RESOLUTIONS and #GOALS. I nearly had my Apple ID hacked (a long and mildly amusing story), I went temporarily deaf for a week (another long but less amusing story) and Donald Trump officially became US president (nothing witty to say here but you can read my thoughts if you're so inclined). That aside, it's been an interesting start to 2017, a year that I think will bring great change. Here's January:

• I saw the year in with my very best friend, Jools Holland and some Doritos. We certainly have class.
• I completed (almost, the last day is tomorrow!) Yoga with Adriene's 2017 Yoga Revolution. I love this January tradition of daily yoga and I'll write about it soon. Here's last year's summary for now.
• I cooked a meal for all my grandparents together which happens so rarely now they are older and was lovely.
• I went to the cinema twice in Jan which is a lot for me! A Streetcat Named Bob gave my cat loving heart all the warm fuzzies and La La Land was a joy to behold. The hype is well deserved.
• I fell in love with porridge. A weird one to include but it's been a big feature of this month. I am Goldilocks.
• I started listening to the Witch, Please podcast and it is W O N D E R F U L. (Damn, I should have said magical). I've mentioned before that I'm oh so late for the Harry Potter party but this is spurring me on to finish the series. I read Goblet of Fire last week so we're getting there! 
• I had several friendy dinners out which were super sweet, as always. I want to make more time for them this year. 
• I applied for several new jobs, had two interviews, and one of them went ~very~ well indeed. More on that soon - exciting things are afoot. 

xoxox

Write to Your MP

The older I get, the more I realise that there is never any good news.

I wanted to write something about Trump's first week, the marches and everything in between anyway, then the news about the Muslim Ban came out and everything seemed to get a whole lot worse. This afternoon I wrote to my MP highlighting my concerns about Trump and this evening I invite you to do the same. It's not very much I know, and from past experience with the detailed MP I highly doubt I'll get a response, but it's your MP's job to represent you and it's the easiest way to take action (that and signing the petition - please sign the petition!)

www.writetothem.com makes it really easy to get in touch with your elected representitives and to invite them to take a stand, whether you are aligned with their politics or not. Put your feelings into your own words, it really doesn't have to be a lot - a paragraph will do, a page will do but if you want to make an impact then say something. 

Below is the letter I've sent to my MP - let yours know what you think too. It's easy to feel entirely powerless but together I think we could make some real noise.

Thank you.

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Dear Desmond Swayne,

Living here in the New Forest, the United States of America can seem very far away, but in recent weeks and months I have never felt more distant from Washington D.C. Donald Trump’s opinions, attitudes and actions are so opposing to my own that they seem other-worldly, yet this is the man that has been elected as Leader of the Free World and so I feel compelled to take a stand.

In the week following President Trump’s inauguration he has already begun to take action on removing essential healthcare measures, shown a willingness to use torture methods, continued to demonstrate revolting attitudes towards women and has most recently imposed a ban on Muslims from certain countries entering the USA. It is these last two points I want to draw particular attention to in a list that is nothing less than disgusting.

Although I may disagree with their personal and political stances on some issues, I am proud as both a young woman and a feminist to live in a country with two women as the heads of state and government. Donald Trump’s attitude towards women, along with his past actions and comments, are vulgar, misogynistic and undermine the capabilities of these strong and powerful female leaders and indeed of all women, myself included.

Equally, I am struggling to comprehend Trump’s ban on Syrian refugees and other Muslims from entering the USA. It promotes hatred, fear, speculation and suspicion of people that need to be shown love and compassion. It shows that the 20^th century taught us nothing and I am inviting you to publicly reject this ban as other MPs have done.

At time of writing, a petition calling to prevent Trump making a State Visit to the UK has reached over half a million signatures, 500 of which are from our constituency, and I am writing to you today to ask for your support in this cause when this issue is debated in parliament and beyond. To ban Trump from our country all together would reduce us to his level of outright discrimination, but to award him the warm State invitation usually offered to elected presidents would insult those women that lead this country and go against what so many of its citizens stand for.

History has taught us that we are much better united than divided and that excluding, mistreating and criminalising minority groups feeds into hatred beyond our control. I feel powerless in the face of news from the US and I am seeking ways to take action. Donald Trump is not a laughing matter anymore. This letter is my first step and I ask you as my MP to take action as well.

Yours sincerely,

Georgia Stephenson

2017 Resolutions

I never used to get New Years. I'd stay up to see it in, I'd watch the fireworks and mumble along to Auld Lang Syne with my family but I never got the big deal. It's just the clock ticking over like every other day, thought I, rolling my eyes, what's so special? However, in more recent years I have felt very differently.

Think of all the clichés you can: fresh start, blank page, new leaf, #newyearnewme. I get all that now, I am that person. I said to a friend last week that I was looking forward to the new year, not exactly because 2016 had been bad but because it was starting to feel stale. The end of 2016 was beginning to feel like a stuffy bedroom where the windows had been closed for too long - 2017 promised to be the clean air on the outside. We will soon see whether 2017 will keep that promise as we progress, but for now I'm hopeful.