Let's rewind back to the time when I was a sweet 13-year-old - just discovering the wonder that is puberty. 

I had a great set of friends, a girlfriend, and a loving family. I was excelling at school, especially at English, despite being the 'quiet' one in class all the time (it was my legacy other than being known as the 'Harry Potter freak'). My life seemed perfect to outsiders. I had no reason to feel down or isolated from others. 

I struggled for ages to think of a good blog over the holidays and still couldn’t think of one, until Twitter was exposed to the most questionable fashion release of this decade.

Luxury French fashion house Balenciaga has been one of the biggest labels in the world for decades now and has never been afraid to push the boundaries of conventional clothing. They are the third biggest fashion brand, according to the Lyst Index, which ranked them below Gucci in first and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White in second.

One of the first things you will be likely to find out about me by looking at any of my social media pages is that I’m a competitive Irish dancer. The elaborate dresses, deep rust coloured tan and ginger wig – yes, you did read that correctly – are a sure give away. Granted, it is not always immediately apparent exactly what all of this is for. One of my closest friends has admitted to me that she thought I was a pageant girl. This is completely understandable. 

WARNING: This piece of writing contains sexual harassment, abuse and assault.

*disclaimer: None of what I am saying to encourage you to go out and get harassed or assaulted. What I am saying is if you have ever been in any kind of situation you can relate to these, there can be good to come out of it.

At the age of 14 I started my first year of high school.

At the age of 14 I started getting sexually harassed in school.

At the age of 15 I was still in my first year of high school and in my first relationship.

Third year, as many will admit, is a stressful one for undergraduates even more so for history students, who must independently research and write a dissertation, whilst doing several other modules and trying to fit in a social life. It was also in my third year I made the intelligent decision to enter a student bodybuilding/physique contest, a very full time commitment.