Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps, till the legend, over steep ways to the stars, fulfills itself.

W. C. Doane

Thursday, May 17, 2012

So sick of bullies

A friend of mine has been harassed recently on campus for being gay. He's gained alot of attention because he's very outspoken about issues he cares deeply about. So in retaliation, apparently having no  ability to have a proper discussion around serious issues like racism, abortion, and homophobia, the people he's been having these discussion with (knowns as the campus Conservatives) decided to bully him for being gay. Of course, it's the next logical step right? Cant argue, so let's pick on his sexuality. He's asked me to spread the word far and wide. He's gone to the media, and really trying to get people to take notice of this issue, so I'm posting it here.

I've noticed alot of people have been popping in to read. Leave a comment if you feel comfortable :)  Support for such a beautiful individual like ArĂ¼n, is always welcome.

Here's his story:

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/Ottawa/1305550861/ID=2235726719

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/05/17/ottawa-police-probe-homophobic-meme.html

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

It's Prom season!

Though i'm well out of high school it's an important time for many teens here in Ottawa. I remember how excited i was to go, I had seen it on TV and couldn't wait to experience it in real life. Unfortunately i didn't have enough money for a dress. I was not earning much and had to shop at plus size stores to find a prom dress that fit. The problem was and still is for many, that the vast majority of plus size clothing is quite expensive. A dress that should be about $100 for an average size girl would cost 200-300 or more for a bigger girl.

As i listened to the radio on my way to school one day I heard an advertisement for Fairy Godmother Ottawa, a non-profit organization that lends out prom desses donated by people in the city. I found a beautiful halter neck, purple dress, that was big and poofy and made me feel pretty. Something that came very rarely for me. They offered me shoes, jewelry, everything i needed to look perfect.

So here i am several years later, graduating University. This past year i managed to loose 46Lbs. I went down from 206-160 and though my weight loss journey isn't over I am stuck with 4 beautiful dresses I can no longer wear. So i'm paying back the Fairy Godmothers that gave me a dress that,  like Cinderella, I could not keep. The only difference is that I didn't have to return the dress at midnight and glass slippers were not part of the deal! I did have to return the dress the following day though, much to my chagrin.

Here was my prom dress...I still look at it and just love it. I apologize for the bad quality, these are pictures of pictures.







I wore this one as the maid of honour at a friend's wedding. For some reason i can't seem to find a picture of myself wearing it at the wedding, so here's me in it today! I thank my armpits for holding it up. I loved this dress because it made me think of Sleeping Beauty, I would dance around my room singing "once upon a dream". Even though I was probably 23 by then I very quickly revered to childhood in a dress that called for it.





I wore this for my gr 8 formal. A friend of my mom made it for me. I remember being upset because i wanted it to be poofier....i think i just wanted to look like a princess. I'm starting to see a recurring theme here now that I think about it. What an impact disney has on young kids.



This was at some sort of family reunion or party. Here's what it looks like now and how it looked back then.



This was for my birthday 2 years ago, I could only find pictures of me sitting, where you cant see the who dress so here's what it looks like now and what you can see of it from 2 years ago. Because it was a bit small on me at the time, the waist seem to fit now, just a little loose, the breast area is quite big now. I hope some girl out there will enjoy it.



It's great to clean out my closet, it's definitely an ego boost to see the weight i've lost, but just imagining some young girl here in the city feeling down about her size, as I always did, and even just for one night making her feel pretty, it's a good feeling.


If you happen to live in the Ottawa area or maybe are able to ship some clothes to a Brown's location, or if you just want to learn more about the organization here's the link.
http://www.brownscleaners.ca/fairygodmother/whoweare.htm