Check-Up #2.5

So I was thinking about my last post a bit today and it made me think of something a friend said to me a few years ago.

At times like this when a lot of people are cooped up, the news is rather bleak and even a simple walk outside or a trip to the shops can cause anxiety to sky rocket (as you know, normally I enjoy a shop but the present situation has ramped up my anxiety in the last few weeks) then dressing is probably the last thing on your mind. While I do it in some form most nights there are some times I just don't feel like it although at this time of year it's more to do with how damn cold it is. I remember I had just been to a party and the next day bemoaned that while most folks suffering with a hangover would doubtless be dressed in tracksuit bottoms and comfy jumpers, I appeared to be dressed like a preppie schoolgirl (white top, black cardie, grey skirt and black tights) when my friend told me that this was the most important time to do it when you don't feel like it. I've never forgotten that and its bucked me up when I've been feeling a bit down because times like these are when when need to bring the brightness and sparkles and girliness the most and there are a lot of times wearing a great outfit really cheers me up. So if you're in any doubt about whether this is the right time for you then please give it a try if you are able.

While I'm here I would also like to end off with a quote I've been meaning to put up for a while. I initially encountered it on Madonna's song What It Feels Like for a Girl (2000) but I now know that it came from the 1993 film The Cement Garden which was written and directed by Andrew Birkin and based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Ian McEwan. In the film the line is spoken by the character Julie played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. I'm afraid I don't know much else about it as I've neither read the book or seen the film but the quote has always stuck in my mind. I've taken the below from a lyric search on Google.

"Girls can wear jeans and cut their hair short
Wear shirts and boots 'cause it's okay to be a boy
But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading
'Cause you think that being a girl is degrading
But secretly you'd love to know what it's like wouldn't you
What it feels like for a girl"