Tag: Childhood

Looking Back at Barbie mania

Posted on by Han_A

That period of time just before and during the launch of the Barbie film feels quite surreal, upon reflection, doesn’t it? There were probably three groups of people – those who were swept up and all invested in the marketing mania, those who knew about it but didn’t care/understand the hype, and those completely oblivious.

For those of us in the marketing/comms industry, the Barbie PR and marketing team were the envy of the industry – because what marketing pro doesn’t dream of having what is essentially an unlimited budget to play with? Mattel reportedly spent 150 million dollars on marketing for the film, which would make sense when you saw some of the marketing stunts – from real-life Barbie dollhouse, limited edition Barbie Xbox to partnerships with food brand, Propercorn and Lush (think pink bath bombs.) It proved to be a worthy investment when Box office figures rolled in and Barbie had topped the list…by far. In fact, it was the first female-directed film to reach the billion mark. A very impressive feat to add to Greta Gerwig’s ever-growing CV.

One podcast commentator I listened to described the mania as happening because the climate right now made many desperate to be part of something light and fun. It was a welcomed distraction for many, a cultural moment even – some might say.

I personally wasn’t entirely swept up in the mania simply because I wouldn’t define Barbie as playing a significant role in my life growing up – yes, I did play with the dolls and watch the films but I wouldn’t say it played a large part in discovering my identity or defining my femininity. However, that was the case for many, so this deep-rooted sentiment combined with tailored and lavish marketing seemed to make a winning combo. I went simply to see what the fuss was about but I personally wasn’t blown away by the film. I guess I could see though what thought went into it so could at least appreciate that side of things. It was a film that had a lot of expectations on its shoulders, trying to appeal to a fairly large audience (age range wise) so it wasn’t going to be perfect or please everyone.

From the sounds of The Journal’s (WSJ’s podcast) on the movie mania (a recommended listen), which features talks with Mattel’s head honchos, this film will likely be the first of many in the Mattel universe  – so be prepared!

*Photo by Sandra Gabriel on Unsplash

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What were your thoughts on the Barbie film and the mania around it? Fan? Superfan? Or indifferent? Share your thoughts and let’s talk 😊

Opening the parenting rulebook

Posted on by Han_A

Parenting is something I find to be both equally fascinating and horrifying in equal measure. Note, I say this as a person with parents and observer of such relationships, rather than a parent or parent-to-be. You carrying something in your stomach for nine months and suddenly, after a lot of pain and anguish, it’s staring at you – in all its doe-eyed baby glory. Although I can imagine the euphoria a lot of parents feel in that moment staring at their newborn (‘I made that!’), I could imagine feeling a sense of blind panic too. You’re holding this little, dependent creature with a heartbeat and its own thoughts that YOU now have to take and be responsible for. After that your life changes forever, suddenly you enter parentland, with all of its blessings, stigmas and challenges.

There are no fixed rules on how to parent (despite what some self-help books may say) so, to some extent, the whole 18 years (+) feels like a social experience with unpredictable consequences. I can imagine it being slightly annoying because with physical health, yes there’s lots of straightforward rules to follow to nurture a thriving child. But mentally when it comes to understanding your child and fostering a relationship with them? The rules suddenly become a bit muddy. And to some extent you know but don’t know what you’re getting into but just hope, with God’s aid, the outcome is in your favour.

Parental relationships are the blueprint for all others one forms in their life so there’s a lot of pressure to get them right. I often hear some say, no one knows what they’re doing – they just make it up as they go along, and perhaps that’s an encouraging mindset. Because sometimes you look at people interacting with their children and it just seems like they have it down to an art, but you honestly don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. Yes, there may be screaming matches with their child(ren) but there may also be a creeping sense of loneliness, that I can imagine often pervades the lives of many single parents, mothers especially.

Watching the show Ginny and Georgia on Netflix (yes, I had to find an excuse to bring in my latest watch), makes you realise that yes, the art of parenting can in fact be one of the most challenging things in this life. Many parents battle lots of demons personally and that may not end with the entrance of a child into the world. Especially during their teenage years when you’re forced to take a slight step back to give them room to be independent, learn and breathe. The selflessness being a mother in particular requires is quite breathtaking. I’ve seen it in the little things my mum does for me like putting some of her food on my plate or rushing from work to my school assemblies regardless of how inconvenient or tiring the journey. Similarly, I’ve seen it in my dad; whether its him driving me places – no questions asked and at short notice- or hurriedly making me a late night omelette so I don’t go to sleep hungry. I’m thankful for the sheer patience and hard working my parents have never failed to show. Looking back on life and my childhood, I see the road for them has not always been easy but they’ve waded through God knows, how many storms praying they’ll see a day when my siblings and I were independent and thriving. I can only pray I get the blessing to follow their footsteps in such a way.

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Do you have any good or funny parenting or childhood memories with a parent? Comment below! 🙂

Nostalgic highs: thinking of ‘Better days’

Posted on by Han_A

We love to reminisce about the past as a species, don’t we? Thinking of better days, whether it was when we were younger and more naïve (a preferred state of living for some but I can’t necessarily relate) or when we had fewer responsibilities on our shoulders and more time to play with. It’s probably one of many things that distinguishes us from animals since – well as far as we know anyway – they don’t come back from hunting sessions and think to themselves ‘remember the days when there wasn’t climate change…’. Or maybe they do, who knows. They do say an elephant never forgets but do they just have impressive memories or do they interact with their memories like we do and experience feelings such as nostalgia and sadness as a reaction? One for any scientist readers to answer if you know! (😉)

Anyway, back out from that rabbit hole of a tangent. I’m very prone to nostalgia these days. Goodness me, all it takes is a good 00s or 90s Spotify playlist (think Destiny’s Child, Missy Elliott and Mario or Sugababes and Misteeq) to take me back and create feelings of happiness. For many of us, it can be a coping mechanism, particularly to deal with the harsh realities of the present. In fact, you see many businesses and industries even capitalising on nostalgia and its power to make money. Think of all the reboots and remakes of old TV shows gracing our screens over the last few years, for example (Fuller House, Raven’s House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot) which rely on the nostalgic, now adult audiences that grew up with these shows for their successes. And as I said, nostalgia is powerful, people will definitely fork out a decent amount of money just to feel it and dwell in happy parts of the past for a period of time.

Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, as they say. And like all drugs, it can be dangerous too. Because, let’s face it, it doesn’t really have much use after a while. There’s a brief hit of euphoria and then, bam – it’s gone. You eventually have to jump of the cloud high it produces and feel the damp earth of reality under your feet again. Secondly, the passing of time doesn’t change actual facts. Our memory can sometimes distort how we experienced certain events – it’s the effect of ‘rose colour glasses’. That is, thinking everything in the past was a ‘better time’ when in fact, if factually compared – you are definitely in that ‘better time’ now! I for example, have many fond childhood memories but I remember youth – particularly around teenage years being plagued with a feeling of powerless and just wanting to grow up already so legally and resource-wise I could do more. It doesn’t mean you can’t reminisce fondly every now and then (God knows I can’t stop you) but don’t get so lost in the haze that you start to lose appreciation for the present, because there is value in the now too!

Perhaps there’s something we can learn from animals, who I assume are more forward-looking if anything. Because we spend so much time looking back when in fact, the future is probably more exciting to ponder on. Yes, it’s unwritten and unknown so lowkey scary in many ways because only God knows what will happen but that’s also its beauty.

*Photo by lil artsy

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What evokes feelings of nostalgia for you? Let me know in the comments 🙂

Thought of the day: The missing bestie

Posted on by Han_A

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” – Proverbs 18:24

I feel like every year I learn something new and insightful about friendships. I strongly believe they have a God-ordained part in your life and are important for nurturing character and gaining wisdom. Every time I leave the house, I take a portable charger with me. The charger itself needs to be charged in order to boost my battery on the go. In the same way, we feed into other people, we need other people to feed into us – mentoring us, providing us with love and direction.

However, when I was younger, I remember being highly concerned that I didn’t have a best friend. You know, a BFF (best friend for life), a ‘bestie’. In children’s books, TV shows and even toy advertisements for girls, this idea of having a best friend who you always do everything and anything with is very prevalent. You make friendship bracelets for each other, go for sleepovers all the time and have birthday parties together. It filled me with a slight longing and sadness that I didn’t have one. Sometimes I thought am I missing out on something here?

Although, for the record, I did have a best friend when I was in my starting years of school (so around three to five years old) but we later lost contact when her and her family moved out of London. To be fair, last time I checked, long-distance relationships were not children’s strong point!) After that I just flittered between friendship groups at school like a social butterfly, gaining company where I could but not always feeling like I fully belonged anywhere.

I never really bothered giving anyone the label after that. Not because I didn’t want to but out of the fear that it wouldn’t be a mutual feeling; i.e. you call someone your best friend but to them, they actually think someone else is their best friend. To me that just sounded nightmarish since the whole point of ‘best friends’ to me was the element of a mutual agreement of your place in each other’s lives.

Yet, as I’ve gotten older it’s concerned me less as I find the pleasure many may get in one best friend in multiple people. I think my introverted nature also often means I enjoy my own company too, a lot more these days. In moments alone you find an incomparable peace, and for me, I am reminded of a God I have, who is everywhere and will never forsake me. (Deuteronomy 31:8) So although I may feel it sometimes, am I ever truly alone? Probably not.

*Photo by Walter Randlehoff on Unsplash

The (belated) Christmas Post

Posted on by Han_A

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! 🎄😃

Christmas is losing its spunk. Or so, that’s how it’s been slowly starting to feel over the last few years. Originally when I started to think this, I thought ‘surely not’, maybe it’s just a one-year thing, so I pressed the thought down and tucked it away. Kind of like a teen would do when tidying their room – stashing their clothes into a brimming wardrobe and slamming it shut, hoping they won’t have to open it again and experience the cascade of clothes that would occur if they did.

Lovely modern Christmas tree spotted in South London by moi

I suspect, at the root of this feeling is a fruitless comparison to the Christmas days experienced as a child – where it was a holiday that dripped with anticipation. I would watch fun films or bring toys into school to play with, eagerly open my chocolate advent calendar in the run-up to that day and help my dad set up the tree and streamers across the living room. My family would collect Christmas cards like Pokemon cards, often eventually running out of space in the house to hang them. Presents were always an expectation, as is still the case for many children today. I would religiously make lists of what to get each of my closest friends and would also sift for ages at a time through the Argos catalogue to create a present wishlist of my own for my parents.

Nowadays, the holidays aren’t too consumed with presents for me – I typically buy myself one or two gifts to get into the spirit and may also give gifts (if I can) to selected friends. We don’t really bother with a tree and decorations anymore so it’s simply an occasion of Christmas tunes, food and music now. To be fair, I don’t mind having Christmas this way that much, I think my celebrations are less consumer-ist focused now which means I can properly appreciate what matters most  –  family time, ending the year on a high and most importantly, for me as a believer, the significance of Jesus’ birth to [the fate of] humankind (John 3:16).

Thinking about all of this recently it was therefore profound to see this tweet which talks about dwelling less on the Christmas of our childhood and creating a new reality of Christmas which fits our current lifestyle and expectations as adults.

I think there’s an important point to be made there since otherwise, without making a deliberate choice to create this new reality, we’ll always be comparing Christmases that have passed to Christmas now and we’ll always be disappointed.

Who knows, perhaps when or if I have children I’ll change my tune and insist on Instagram-worthy Christmases every year but for now, this is where I stand.

Why Sharing is (not always) Caring

Posted on by Han_A

I realised quite a while ago that I hate borrowing things to people. As most things do, it probably stems from my experience as a child in secondary school (high school, for the non-British folks).  

Back then I was always eagerly borrowing people my pens, pencils – and even money but rarely getting my items back. At the time I had just started getting into graphic novels; I was reading a fantastic graphic novel series of Manga-version Shakespeare novels which I had borrowed from my local library. After talking to a friend – let’s call her Janie – about the series, something possessed me to borrow her the book, no harm, right? So I thought. After all, I saw her everyday so receiving the book back should be a straight forward process. Janie was in the year below me but we always hung out in the library together since we loved books, they were the main building block of our bond. Days stretched out to weeks and each time I asked Janie about the book she always had an excuse. After buying herself a few months she eventually coming clean that she had lost the book. I remember feeling a sharp pang of disappointment, although it was basically a confirmation of what I had already suspected. 

Don’t lend what you can’t afford to lose 

Now, as a fully-fledged adult, you wouldn’t dare catch me borrow one of my books to someone – they’re prized possessions. Also, my secondary school experience taught me something – once you borrow someone an item of yours, you do so with the optimistic belief that they will treasure it like their own. Of course, this is hardly the case in my experience. A random experience that comes to mind is when I watched someone use my pen in class (which I had loaned to them) and they started biting it. BITING IT. It was probably an absent-minded gesture, something they do with every pen or in the throes of concentrating, but COME ON – biting takes the mick. 

Nowadays I try to control the variables when it comes to borrowing or giving – it has to be something low value, that I can deal with losing or that I have many of, and has to be to someone I trust to a certain degree. So, chocolates or sweets – yes. Books or a prized pen gifted for my birthday – No, absolutely not. Boundaries such as these, I’ve learnt are the key to stress-free borrowing (if such a thing exists.) 

One of the reasons I take this seriously is because – like it or not – not being able to trust someone with your things can negatively affect your relationship with them. You may have to start reassessing their character or the things you trust them with. Of course, there may be legitimate reason why something can’t be returned to you but if this is a frequent occurrence? Then, yes – questions may need to be asked. 

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Inspired by Kindness 

I think the slightly sad thing about my aversion to borrowing is that it sometimes makes it a lot harder to give – especially in circumstances where it counts and can actually be lifechanging. For example, tithing in church used to be a constant struggle (things have changed in that department though, thank God.) Or even donating to a homeless person – my heart will be moved to action but my mind will put up a road block by whispering ‘won’t you need that money later, Hannah?’ 

I remember going for a walk with a friend and as we passed an off license, we came across a homeless person sitting opposite the shop. Without hesitation she offered to buy him a drink and listened as he weighed out his options. As we went into the store and hunted for his final choice – orange juice – I was moved by her kindness and the readiness she possessed to give. 

Admittedly, I’m still working on being more giving (so I’m not in much of a position to give advice) but I’ll end with that scene because to this day it still makes me smile. 😊 

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Have you had any bad experiences with borrowing people items or money? Comment below and let’s talk!

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