So, about 7 months in we hit 200 Instagram followers. Yeah I know, not quite Zoella’s 11.1 million, but we can’t all get 500,000 likes for a photo of an ice-cream or a potted plant. I’m pretty chuffed with it anyway and thanks if you’re one of the lovely 206 at last count. Mwah! 

I turned to the dark side today and followed Zoella to see what the fuss was about. I don’t massively get it if I’m honest. She’s slim and pretty, clearly spends a great deal of time on styling and getting ready that mere mortals might struggle with. Has an adorable little black pug though, that’s acceptable. There are a lot of very professional duck face photos…. How do you get from a cute T shirt and a picture of an ice-cream to having a beauty range and a home ware range and various magazine photo shoots, clearly a very astute business woman I guess? Let’s be clear though. That’s not what I’m after. My beauty range would have factor 50 sunblock in it, take seconds to apply while fumbling desperately for a pair of glasses and come in shades so pale and for skin so sensitive only the gingers would buy it. My homeware range would in all likelihood be batshit insane and probably only appeal to people wishing to set up a Disney themed Victorian brothel. So I basically appeal to the faux-Victorian albino disnerd sex-pest market, which is somewhat limiting in terms of commercial appeal. 

The bit that worries me is, this kind of social media mega-stardom is so very vanilla. Where are the weirdos, the quirky, the original, the personalities, the one-offs, the nutters. Or do we all secretly crave Zoella’s hair and Joe Wickes’s abs, to be in with the “cool kids”? Knickers to that! 

Life isn’t about being cool, or looking a certain way, or being incredibly on trend, whatever the hell that is. It’s about being yourself in all your messed up glory and more importantly being ok with that, celebrating it even. I hate to think of kids feeling like they don’t belong because of comparisons with an unacheiveable ideal.   I also wish I could have this conversation with my 14 year old self, amazing what reaching your 40’s and not giving a shit does really. I recommend it highly, and fully expect to give less of a shit as time goes on. You can follow that journey in to senility or alcoholism right here folks. Or better still on Instagram. I’ll post a picture of my tea soon. 😘

TTFN xxx