No-Makeup Selfie

Cancer Research is a cause that is really close to my heart, not because I know loads of people who have died from Cancer, and not just because that is where I went to volunteer for Uni breaks, but because Cancer is something that more and more of us will be dying from in the future. There are so many preventable diseases, and Cancer is one of those that seems more inevitable than avoidable now. Yes, people survive from Cancer, but wouldn't it be better if we developed a solution to even getting it in the first place?

That is where the no-makeup selfie comes in. I have been kind of against the selfie for a while now, I think it shows a disposition that I would rather not be a part of; a way to show people how pretty you can look when you take pictures of yourself. Well, here's my issue, even with makeup, I really don't take good pictures. I could probably win an award for the least glamorous person to photo-shoot. I will admit it, I am goofy and un-photogenic, and I make particularly unattractive faces on a daily basis. However, this is different. This is to beat Cancer, and so I understand that it is morally OK for people to do this, even if it does incite people to say 'oh, you're so pretty naturally' just to make you feel good about yourself.

But not for me. There will be no pictures in this blog, mostly because you really don't want to see this without makeup, but also because I hugely dislike taking images of myself, and much prefer to take pictures of other people, or flowers, or animals. Maybe instead of a bare face, something that is entirely unrelated to Cancer, we should be taking pictures of our boobs. Not exactly PG, but it does prove a better point in my view.

Instead of posting a selfie, I will be ding something that I agree with even more. I will be scouring my room to find suitable clothing, books, home-wares, shoes, anything that might be remotely useful, and will donate it all to my local Cancer Research shop, and then I will probably be buying a multitude of books from them. I think I can raise more funds by doing this than by simply donating whatever meagre pennies I think I can afford via a website or my phone.

Then, after all that, I might post a selfie, just to appease you all.

Why doing tiny things makes a big difference

I went shopping today.

And as I was waiting for my sister to come out of Primark, I saw a man selling 'The Big Issue'. I had seen him before as I walked through the town centre. Once I bought a copy of 'The Big Issue' off of him.

But as I sat there I did something I didn't do before. I thought about his life. I wondered what had happened to him for him to be out on the streets, selling a magazine for income to live on. I wondered where he was sleeping, who he had to look out for him and whether he was eating enough. I wondered how the clothes he was wearing were, and how warm they could be come winter.

I bought a magazine from him.

Inside the magazine there was a story about a vendor who saved up £75 of his earnings to visit his daughter. He decided to sleep on the streets to have an early start in the morning and was mugged.

It really opened my eyes to the fact that these homeless people are vunerable, that they are still people, and the way they are treated by most people is with ignorance. I know too many people who would avoid eye contact with them and ignore them. I am one of those people. But after reading that magazine, I truly want to help.

I started with buying that magazine. In doing that small thing I felt a certain sense of pride in myself, for caring. I would like to encourage anyone reading this to also care, to do their bit for others. Even if it is simply a compliment to make someone feel good, or buying your books from a charity shop instead of Waterstones.

My sister currently volunteers for charity, working in a shop, and I think that I will do the same. Iwant to make a difference to other people's lives, for the better.

I hope that I carry this new thought with me from now on, as I think it has made me a better person for thinking it. I hope this has made you a better person for reading it.