The Illhueminati: a brand new lease for the writers of this generation?

Being an over-thinker, I tend to have a lot of thoughts. Most of which, I kept to myself... until I decided to make a private, anonymous twitter account, separate from my public account, in order to vent and rant with the comfort of my identity being concealed from my friends and peers. It was then that I discovered The Illhueminati; which I am now a member of. The Illhueminati (not to be confused with The Illuminati) is a Twitter community of writers and artists with solid colours or hues (hence, illhueminati) as their twitter icons. Members reject image-based culture and instead focus on the important of self-expression, making a point not to judge anyone and remembering that it is not what you look like that matters but instead, what you write, say and do.

I have always loved writing in many forms including short stories, essays, points of views and blogging in particular, as I've had many blogs from a young age. However, recently I've taken great interest and enjoyment in voicing my thoughts through poetry after being inspired by other members of The Illhueminati. 

One of my poems posted under The Illhueminati hashtag being:

"Despite a lifeless, corpse-like sense to my stationary physical being
my cluttered mind continues to race at a hundred miles per hour
refusing to stop for anything or anyone
despite my own powerless protests
the enemies that are my thoughts
remain flooding the already-full sea of my mind
imprinted, fixated
lik a permanent reminder
a constnat reel: my own personal cinema
however this is one film that I do not particularly wish to watch"


So is this online community a brand new lease for writers of this generation?

On Twitter there are a lot of anonymous accounts belonging to teenagers with mental health issues such as depression, eating disorders, self-harm addictions, etc. confiding within each other regarding issues that they feel they cannot voice to people around them in real life. Therefore The Illhueminati encourage teenagers to express their sadness and difficulty through the art of literature and turn something potentially destructive into something beautiful, giving each other meaning and hope.

With tweets from members such as:

 "i think the #illhueminati family is the first to actually accept my sexuality everyone else always ignores it and acts like it's a phase"

 "The meaning of life is to give life meaning. #illhueminati"

 It is evident that the optimism of The Illhueminati is helping teenagers today even more so than parents, friends, counsellors and doctors - solely by simply reminding each other that life is worthy of the difficulty that they may endure and that the world is beautiful.

Also, there are not many ways a budding writer of today can practice their skills within the company of other like-minded youths, therefore it is great for those who are wishing to enter the field of writing in the future.

With a lot of negative media attention focused on teenagers today, I find that positive stories such as this should be published more frequently, as teenagers deserve more recognition than the "juvenile delinquents" that they are stereotyped as.

Do you believe The Illhueminati is a positive influence for the teenagers of today? all comments are welcome!

To read more from The Illhueminati, search the hashtag #illhueminati on Twitter.

Happy Easter!

Do students with social anxiety have enough say?

The Office for National Statistics Mental Health in Children and Young People reports that one in ten children up to the age of fifteen suffers a mental health disorder, therefore possibly at least three students in an average class of thirty will suffer from anxiety - so is it fair that students don't have a say in their education?

Students are powerless regarding matters such as seating arrangements and having to speak aloud to the class, however are teachers of this generation trained to deal with students suffering with anxiety, or in the least - are they even aware?

Surely making a student with social anxiety sit at the front of the class or share their work out loud, only to find 29 pairs of eyes staring at them, will increase their anxiety and cause them to feel uncomfortable towards school?

Teachers and schools are made aware of the specific students with ADHD (Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder), nut allergies and diabetes yet alarmingly, not anxiety. 

Ssome may argue that if students are allowed more of a say at school, it will cause them to hide away and become comfortable with not socialising with the rest of their peers, resulting in discouragement of facing their fears and getting better.

What do you think? Do you believe students should have a choice in matters such as where they sit in class or do you believe it will discourage them to face their social fears and make them worse?