'With Love' script- Episode one

Episode one of ‘With Love’- Small Steps Everday

Hey everyone, it’s Sophie! Welcome to the first episode of your positive getaway, ‘With Love’. I want every one of you to feel confident and empowered by the end of this series and know that you are worth so much more than you think! We need to recognise our power as the next generation and use this to our advantage.

Today I want to touch upon a very important issue in our society today- mental health and the stigmas associated with this. People automatically assume you are ‘weak’ for speaking out. We need to break this down and prove the strength it takes to admit that you are struggling. In a society which forces an unrealistic number of expectations on us, no wonder we are afraid of admitting defeat and fearing the consequences. We all need to speak up and be loud to prove how this cannot be tolerated. We are the future and deserve to be heard. I live by the power of ‘we’ rather than ‘I’ in making a change for the better.

I don’t know about you, but I used to be petrified at the thought of saying no. What would the other person think? Have I disappointed them? We need to realise the importance of working on and putting yourself first because you deserve it. It’s not selfish- it's a necessity!

Gaining this confidence in yourself will never be straight forward. Some days it feels like I'm stuck on a lift which won't stop going up and down. But that’s life. I know this may sound like a lie, but- we need down days. We need those days of just wanting to snuggle up in bed with your favourite movie, blanket and snacks. I don’t know about you, but my snoodie from Primark, paired with my fluffy socks have saved me many times! It's vital to rest and recover, otherwise we’ll drain our battery dry. Working towards your dream is tiring and we need to always be checking our body battery. Are we feeling more irritable or unmotivated than usual? Are you stressed or struggling to concentrate? If we learn the signs earlier, we will start to help ourselves and those around us more. I never used to recognise these signs and used to constantly push myself thinking I would reach my goal sooner. I could not have been more wrong.

For me, I have four ways to make me feel like a boss ready to take on the world again! Firstly, is the power of music. It can make you temporarily feel like you have escaped the reality of everyday life. My Spotify is full of playlists designed for every mood possible, from my girl boss walk when I’m needing that boost of confidence to get myself up and out there, or my throwbacks, when I want to relive the days of Little Mix and Katy Perry- there’s nothing wrong with a good dance party to S Club 7 or The Spice Girls to make you feel ready to take life on! Music is a force for us all to show our individuality to the world, even if our playlists may look like the worst pick n mix ever (believe me when I tell you that one minute I can be singing along to ABBA, then rapping to Stormzy!).

If I want a good duvet day, I always have my three go to movies- ‘The Breakfast Club’, ‘Dirty Dancing’ and ‘Bridget Jones’. I know this may seem like the cringiest choice to some of you, but some days all I want is to imagine that I’m living in the 80s! Believing I am in detention with ‘The Breakfast Club’ or that I am the one who carried the watermelon or got to taste the famous turkey curry makes me forget what I was stressing about ten minutes ago and feel comfortable in the shoes of somebody else.

Next for me is the power of literature. I have a strong passion for journalism and after visiting the Blue Peter studios and Media City for my twelfth birthday, have always known that this is something I want to pursue. Through being a writer and editor for my school’s magazine, EXiA, at CNS, which won ‘Best Overall Content’ in the Shine Media awards, I feel empowered to speak out for what I want to change. Last year, I wrote an article on women in sport and co-wrote one on the issue of sweatshops. This year, I have written an article on the concept of genderless parenting, as well as setting up a podcast, called ‘The Lion’s Den’, to prove the power of the student voice. I believe our voices are vital for our future and if we don’t utilise them now, it will be too late. I have spoken up, why don’t you join me?

And finally, the power of sport! Nothing beats going to a hockey training session after a hard day at sixth form for me. I play hockey for Norwich Dragons in their Ladies 6s team and the confidence, power and sense of community it has given me is unimaginable. Ever since joining a few years ago, I have always felt welcomed and never alone and the strength I feel from being out on the pitch is out of this world. I honestly believe the power of being in a team, whether that be a sporting one or another club, gives you the greatest boost of confidence you can ever get. Receiving the solidarity and strength of those around you and putting this together in order to achieve something as one brings the greatest amount of satisfaction imaginable. I am also competing in Run Norwich for Norwich City Community Sports Foundation this year to prove the power of making a change to somebody else’s life and highlighting my passion for promoting equal access to sport for all.

The journey may seem hard right now, but as Christy Ann Martine put it, we need to ‘keep searching for the colours, when everything turns grey’. Healing takes time, setbacks never equal failure and everyone is still learning and progressing on their own paths. Take time to ask someone ‘what have you done for yourself today’, ‘what colour is your heart today’, or ‘how can I support you?’, and soon we shall realise how we are in this together, not against each other. All our journeys may look different, but we need to empower and help each other reach our own end goals. It's time to come together as a generation and prove our power. Silence is dangerous and if we don’t act now, when? One we realise the power of our own voice; the future will never be silent, and we shall be unstoppable. So, what are you going to do now to make yourself heard?

Join me next time as I break down the danger of mass media and beauty standards and in the words of Marilyn Monroe, ‘you’re the beautiful one, it’s society that’s ugly’.

With love,

Sophie