It's about to get Good.

Welcome to Just Good Things a corner of the internet to share the good stuff, nurture conversation, curiosity and joy. I hope you’ll give me a minute to share why I wanted to start this space and why I would love for you to stick around.

My time on the internet began in 2012 documenting my journey to confidence as a plus size woman who had been scarred by growing up in the cruel, diet culture obsessed 2000’s. My blog grew in success quickly and I was offered many incredible opportunities. Content creation wasn’t recognised when I started but it was an exciting time for many of us to democratise a space that was typically built on nepotism. Women were able to earn an income by working with brands and challenge the norms of the media landscape.

I couldn’t get over how lucky I was to connect with plus size women, create community and advocate in the media. But I quickly learned there was a dark underside to the digital world, especially as a plus size content creator. Over my years online as a body image advocate I received death threats, abusive emails, threats of doxxing and was subjected to cruelty in every comment section. It became commonplace to experience this and there was little to no support from social media platforms or even the police. Reading vile comments was so normalised that it felt almost un-usual to not get them. I never fully reflected the impact exposing myself to such venomous hatred over the years would have on my body, physically and psychologically, until the world pandemic hit.

Like many people 2020 onwards, was a catalyst for deep introspection and some hard truths. In the months following lockdown I became increasingly more anxious, some days it felt like the walls were slowly closing in on me, and opening instagram made me feel like 250k people were actually looking at me. A crippling paranoia and self awareness engulfed me, opening my phone was paralysing, each time I would go to speak on stories voices of criticism echoed in my brain. In truth a new addiction reared its head, one of mental self harm. Each bad comment, judgement, minor criticism was used as my own metaphorical beating stick, proof of my damnation.

Regardless of my feelings or declining health, my choices were limited, we were in a lockdown and I needed to work. People following probably wouldn’t have noticed any of this, as I tried, as best I could to maintain normalcy.

Part of that was accepting an opportunity to be on the cover of UK Cosmopolitan Magazine. It was known as one of the most controversial covers in UK history for its title ‘This is Healthy’ a title I knew nothing about until it launched. What I thought was an opportunity to talk about how plus size women and their mental health was ignored in the wellness space, set into motion a storm of abuse, debate and commentary. Everyone from right wing commentators, PT’s and even GP’s and nutritionists weighed in, making deeply painful comments. It was this that finally broke me.

Finally everything came to the surface, not just my experiences from life online but years of unresolved issues. With the help of my loved ones I went into emergency therapy, I took time offline. I cried more than I thought was humanly possible. I went on a radical, inquisitive journey looking at my coping mechanisms, my disordered eating, my pattern of seeking out pain. The biggest thing I learnt was self responsibility. Whilst I of course don’t condone the behaviour of others or think that being angry, upset, or affected by abuse isn’t normal. I personally realised that I was the key part in my own suffering. I knew that even if I left my platform online this pattern of emotional self harm would follow me until I finally addressed it head on.

Since this transformative time I began to purposively focus my energy into the travel, food and coincidently the wellbeing space. This is an incredible privilege, one I don’t take lightly. I would be nowhere without the community that got me here and at times I feel like I have let everyone down. It is my hope that in time I will find the strength to be brave with my words and my platform, but for now I hope that this explanation offers some insight into why I wanted to create Just Good Things.

I want this to be a positive, uplifting space, where we can foster community, but also to create a reminder to myself and others that there is so much good and beauty to be found in life.

So here’s what you will get from my Just Good Things newsletter.

Just Good Food - Restaurant recommendations, recipes, chats about the good things in at the supermarket, cocktails and picky bits, what’s in season for my fellow farmers market fans and condiment chat because I am a sucker for a jarred good.

Just Good Travel - Mini breakdowns of destinations, links to where I stay, things to do, see and eat.

Just Good Style - I’ll be sharing my style tips, outfit breakdowns, links to things I’ve seen both on Vinted, eBay and IRL.

Just Good Vibes - I’ll curate my favourite playlists, share my love of tableware, homewares, books, podcasts and TV. Plus lovely swim spots, inclusive wellness activities and all the things that create the perfect, lovely vibes in life.

Part of this journey I hope is for both you and I to let go of perfection, and instead start to embrace the good things in life. If that feels like something you would like to be part of hit the subscribe button and let the Good Times roll (pun intended).

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