She’s looking at you paper doll

It is not every day you find a paper doll looking up at you from the side of the road.

As I waited for the city centre traffic to pass by, I couldn’t help but relate to the very on brand paper doll, looking surprisingly chill for being forgotten about.

The first thought that crossed my mind was where did she get her fabulous boots.

The reality of why I even noticed the paper doll was because feeling flat has become a way of life lately.

There is no denying it or avoiding it, women have days where we are all different versions of paper dolls.

As history would tell us paper dolls were created to illustrate the social expectations on women. They also represented an idealised version of womanhood.

We feel the weight of womanhood and all the roles we play. How we look while doing said roles.

We try and cut and paste ourselves. We squeeze into different shapes and sizes.

There are days where we find it hard to amplify ourselves take up more space- at times it requires a lot of fake it till you pass out energy.

Yes, feeling flat is the new black.

I am so flat, being horizontal is my new favourite thing.

She is so flat her personality has become boring, thank goodness her outfit is working overtime.

I am so flat you can’t hide my vacant expression.

She is so flat her spirit is on a dreary holiday.

On this particular day I looked at this paper doll and thought, how many other women have days where they have lost their spark, the joy that make them who they are.

We live such busy lives, that ironically, we forget to take a moment for ourselves to stretch out or sprawl into nothingness.

We have forgotten who we are, because we are busy making sure everyone and everything else isn’t forgotten.

We no longer feel like the 3D version because others actions, expectations, bad behaviour and troubles have made us feel less than.

There is so much pressure on women to be all the things and do all the things, the moments to just be are limited.

So how do we go from flat liner to living large?

Maybe it’s somewhere in the middle, bubbling along, making boundaries, putting some of our needs first and putting our oxygen mask on before others.

Perhaps this little paper doll needs a breath of fresh air or catch a ride on a pink balloon - either way we deserve moments of feeling light.

To float and elevate through a confetti sky.

Not stuck on the floor of the asphalt jungle.

Big love,

Fallon xox