Kitabı oku: «Think Pink»

big up yourself ‘CHICA, YOU RULE!’

‘It’s official, I rock!’

Whether it’s making friends, passing exams, getting an allowance increase or bagging a buff boy – being a feisty, fun, fearless and fabulous princess of pink world is a sure-fire way of getting what you want out of life and, once you’ve discovered the fantastic things that can happen when you Think Pink, it will quite possibly be the most exciting, sunshine-splashed experience…ever!

Before seeing the world through pink-tinted shades there were some days when I just didn’t feel like the star-shaped sparkle girl that I actually am. I’d look in the mirror and become queen of the putdowns, I just couldn’t see past the spot on my chin or the size of my bum. This would be an instant excuse for me to hide under the duvet indefinitely with a family size pack of biscuits wallowing in bad thoughts and self-doubt.

What you see when you look in the mirror depends on whether you’re a self-esteem queen or an esteem-lacking Lucy. Self-esteem is an essential item in the Think Pink vanity case. If you have it, you like yourself, you’re confident and you’re satisfied with being you.

Unfortunately, loving and accepting yourself is not something you can buy in a tub at the cosmetics counter (oh my stars, how fabulous would that be?) and for some it takes much longer to discover than others, but Think Pink and you will be well on your way to becoming your very own dream girl.

Are you a self-esteem queen?

Are you happy being you or are you in need of a bravado boost?

When you walk past a mirror, do you:

a. turn and run in the opposite direction

b. take a good look and smile at what you see

Do you believe you can do whatever you want to in life?

a. it’s nice to dream but they never come true, so no

b. with a lot of hard work you can do anything, so yes

You’re meeting your Pink Ladies for a slice of chocolate cake, but when you arrive they go quiet, do you:

a. feel awkward. They could have been talking about you

b. ask them what the latest gossip is!

When the cute boy behind the counter winks at you, do you

a. look behind you to see who he’s winking at

b. smile your sweetest smile back at him

When you think about how you look, do you:

a. feel uncomfortable and wrong

b. feel happy and content

Mostly a’s

You’re an amazing person but sometimes you need a reminder of just how cool you are. A quick way to boost your bravado is to try little confidence tricks like smiling at people and keeping eye contact. Try to set yourself some cool challenges like getting involved in a new activity, your confidence will grow and you’ll have a great time too!

Mostly b’s…

You’re a self-esteem queen! You seem to be blush-free, in control and sorted, you lucky lady. You don’t let anything hold you back and are positively filled-to-the-brim with self-belief – keep it up, chica!

Don’t believe the hype

I used to have the hugest hang up about my weight. This was due to an over-zealous stick-thin cousin who thought it would be mucho fun to laugh at my chubby tummy at every available opportunity. I remember feeling my curvaceous contours and despising them. They made me want to look like her, instead of being happy with being me. I’d feel so inadequate and unnecessary that I’d think nothing of eating five doughnuts in a row and telling myself how grimsville I was.

Most of us put ourselves down because of the unhelpful messages that have been fired in our direction by the ‘Negative Ninas’ of the world – teachers giving us a low mark, our so-called mate not picking us for the hockey team, parents saying we’ve done something wrong – the list is endless.

These nasty-rude comments and actions can knock our confidence faster than a ten-pin bowler, the trick is to not let this happen. Living the rest of your life according to what other people think of you is going to be a serious waste of your time and energy and will stop you from doing all the amazingly fantastic things you are destined to do. Let any negative vibes bounce off your sparkly-gorgeous tiara and, instead, lose yourself in thoughts of how fantastically fabulous you are because when you ignore others’ mistreatment of your gorgeous self, the world will become a decidedly deeper shade of pink!

Boost Your bravado!

Think about how great you feel when you put on your all time favourite outfit with those to-die-for pair of atomic-pink kitten heeled mules. You feel like you can take on the world, right? That’s because you’ve wrapped yourself up in a prize-winning package that makes you feel sparkly-gorgeous fantastic. Now imagine feeling like that every day…well, you can! You see, when you feel that great about yourself, you automatically stand taller, smile more and ooze confidence – this instantly makes you decidedly more attractive and a whole lot of fun to be around. Boost your bravado on a regular basis by:

* Making a statement

Start by looking in the mirror. Smile, grab your hairbrush and get that all-important dose of self-esteem pumping by belting out Christina’s ‘Beautiful’ loud enough to shatter glass. Alternatively, choose a positive statement that will have the same feel-good factor and write it down. Stick a copy on your mirror, in your school book, make it a screensaver on your computer, anywhere that you look on a regular basis, as this will become a constant reminder of how cool you really are!

* Be good to yourself

Don’t beat yourself up because you don’t look like someone in the pages of a magazine (I’ll let you into an industry secret – they’re all airbrushed by techno peeps on computers anyway!) Instead, love the things that make you the feisty, fun, fearless and fabulous YOU.

* Celebrate you

Here in Pink World anything from passing an exam to tidying your room deserves celebrating, so reward yourself with a treat of your choice. Naturally, mine would be chocolate!

Love Your label

I surprised everyone, not to mention myself, when I unleashed the real me onto the world. People had always thought of Lola Love as the ‘weird writing girl.’ They had given me a label that looked set to stick. Now don’t get me wrong, I was a little bit weird in a cool and kooky way and I did, and still do, love to write. But there was a whole lot more to me than just those things and I wanted the world to know about them. Except, I was too scared.

Y’see, the popular girls wore their ‘too-cool-for-school’ badges with pride and the fit, football playing dudes of the playground were more than happy to live up to their ‘sports jock’ title. Nobody really questioned their labels, even the people with bad ones like shallow diva’ or ‘flirty floozy’ so how was I ever going to lose mine?

By being who I was destined to be without worrying about what people thought, that’s how. I know it’s easier said than done, but by ditching the pressure of what other people thought of me, I became free to be the sparkle-shine girl I’d always wanted to be, not who other people expected me to be.

There are some labels I’m sure you’d be more than happy to carry around, Prada being one of mine, but if you’re not digging the badge you’ve been given, hand it back and make your own!

What label would you like to ditch?

What would you like people to know about you?

Shameless self-promotion

As any successful, kick-ass chick will tell you, if you want to get ahead in life, you’ll need to be super confident, know what you’re good at and maximise your potential. So, forget big name brands like Nike and Coca-Cola, make ‘brand YOU’ the most successful, exciting and fantastically fabulous brand on the market. Check me out!

Brand: Lola Love – Pink Princess

Main features: Feisty, fun, fearless and fabulous

Unique Selling Point: My pink hair!

Packaging: In-your-face, original and creative

Content: Funny, unique, kooky, determined and genuine

Tag line: I Rock!

In order to tell the world how sparkly-gorgeous you are, you need to sell yourself baby!

Brand: who are you and what do you want to be seen as?

Main features: what makes you so amazing?

Unique Selling Point: What makes you stand out from everyone else?

Packaging: How would you describe yourself?

Content: What are your kick-ass qualities?

Tag line: How would you sum yourself up in one sentence?

Now read it and believe it, start believing the hype, because when you believe in yourself and all the things that make you great, you will rule the world!

Motivating Mantras

For those moments when you don’t feel like the sparkle-shine glitter girl that you really are, mutter a marvellous mantra. A mantra is a few simple words, a phrase or a sentence that will boost your motivation and confidence and encourage you to Think Pink. I’ve got them everywhere, on my mirror, in my school books and I’ve even sewn ‘you rock’ onto my school bag – I’m so art girl! These are a few of my favourites, cut them out, tape them up and be inspired!

Take it ‘til you make it

Last year, when the poster went up for the school production of Grease, I wanted nothing more than to play the part of Frenchy – she’s a fun and fabulous, pink-haired kinda girl who rocks my world. Angel, my best friend and real-life Frenchy (you’ll meet her later, she’s super sassy and allsorts of fabulous) was relentless and would not rest her shiny-glossed lips until I agreed to audition. Thing is, I was scared, super scared. I thought I would make a prize plum of myself and I doubted my abilities. So I faked it.

I pretended I was Marilyn Monroe, all graceful and beautiful and adored by millions auditioning for the role. You see, Marilyn was far too cool and talented not to get the part. So as I stepped up to the stage, I instantly became tall, proud and confident. Thankfully, acting like you’re confident tends to make you feel confident and once I had belted out ‘Beauty School Dropout’ I knew I was rockin’! It worked, I bagged the role, the play was hugely successful and I was so confident in my own acting abilities that I left Marilyn at home throughout the whole production.

This technique can be applied to any situation. If you’ve got a date with that oh-so-fine, hot-to-trot chico then pretend to be a celeb type who everyone admires for their sparkling wit and melt-heart eyes. If you’re nervous about a sports match, pick your favourite athlete and pretend to be her. Faking confidence is a great way to prove you can do it, get through it, realise you rock and have the real confidence to go solo next time!

Lola’s top five confidence tricks…

1 Walk tall. I know it sounds like something your mum might say, but it’s true. Pull those shoulders back and move like you’re proud of who you are, soon enough you’ll actually feel it too.

2 Become an art girl and take some moody pictures with your camera, join a trampoline class or become a superchef – whatever you choose make sure it’s something you’ve never done before.

3 Think good thoughts. When you’re feeling a little bit nervy, remember good times for an instant boost.

4 Be nice to yourself. You’ll be hanging out with yourself for a long time so you’d better kiss and make up.

5 Smile. A lot.