November 2013 Issue by RYL eZine

Editorial

Random Facts

This Month Last Year

A-Z of RYL

Book Review – The Book Thief

Bonfire Night Recipes

Book Review – The Divergent Series

Film Review – Keeping Mum

Image Collection

Photography Competition

Game Review – Rollercoaster Tycoon 3

Creative Piece – Love

Creative Writing – My Suicide

New Band of the Month – Outcast Youth

Membe Submitted Poem

Mini Member Interviews

Hey Guys! Wow! I can’t believe it’s already time for another issue of the eZine – time really does fly, and suddenly the deadline sneaks up on you and I’m once again sat here editing together all the hard work the fab eZine team have done over the past few weeks. Just like always, I’m so proud of the team for producing such amazing articles and I really hope you enjoy them too. I know NaNoWriMo has now officially started, so I wish everyone taking part this year the best of luck in reaching the 50,000 word goal. Make sure to post in the forums on your progress and perhaps you can share ideas and motivate each other when we hit that dreaded writers block, or we just don’t know how to get ourselves out of a sticky situation we got ourselves in! I’m taking part this year, although I’m slightly worried as I don’t have my plot fully formed up so once again, I’m winging it as I’m going along – it worked last year, so I’m hoping it works this year too! Also; I hope everyone had a wonderful Hallowe’en! Please show us any photos of you dressed up! Novemeber 5th is fast approaching too, so enjoy the bonfires, fireworks and toffee apples and the rest of the games but please remember to stay safe! Keep safe distances away from fireworks and bonfires, and always handle fireworks correctly. A little reminder as well – before lighting bonfires, please remember to check inside them to see if any hedgehogs or small creatures have buried they’re way inside to take a nap. I know Thanksgiving is fast approaching soon for everyone across the pond – so, from everyone at the eZine, Happy Thanksgiving! Next stop, the dreaded C word. Christmas! Grab those wolly hats and warm coats and get the hot chocolate ready. It’s the season, after all! Stay Safe over the next few weeks everyone. Take Care, Amy (Editor) GlitterTrashDoll

November to the Anglo-Saxons was known as 'Wind monath' (wind month). It was also known as and 'blod monath' because it was the time when cattle were slaughtered for winter food. November's birthstone is the topaz. It was the nineth month in the old Roman calendar, it got it's name from the latin word 'novem' meaning nine. Its birth flower is the chrysanthemum. November starts on the same day of the week as March every year. In the United States and Canada, it is National Beard Month or No Shave Month. Australians have a similar month were they grow a mustache instead of a full beard. In Finland they call November 'marraskuu' which translates as 'month of the dead' November is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and has 30 days. November in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere. American celebrate thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November.

By Kyaneos

September 2012 was a very important time for me, and I feel pretty excited about writing this down and getting to share it with you guys. There was a number of things going on that turned out to be the start of some positive changes in my life. My most favorite memories from that month are getting to see and spend time with my boyfriend and going to London with him to see some of our friends from RYL. This included a lot of traveling, something that is very anxiety inducing for me in several ways, but over time I have learnt to deal with those situations better. I still get anxious and stressed about it, but I am now able to reduce those without relying too heavily on security behaviors like compulsively checking tickets etc. By now I am actually getting pretty excited about traveling to places because it is a good opportunity to kick anxiety’s arse and be proud of myself for being able to do things that I struggle with. Another trigger for anxiety that goes with going to London is meeting people. Darn Jenna for inviting so many people ALL the time! [Sometimes I secretly wish she wouldn’t be so popular.] Even in cases where I have talked to someone online I find meeting them for real for the first time rather distressing. By now I have learnt some valuable lessons about these things though. Most importantly I realized how much the traditonal Man Up can do for someone, sometime you just got to bite the bullet and do it. It is the only way to learn that you will come out of the situation alive. Another thing that I noticed is that excitement and anxiety at times feel pretty similar to me and are hard to tell apart. Consequently, I decided to just push myself to do things that I knew I would regret if I wouldn’t do them. Which includes using every opportunity I got to have faceto-face contact with RYL members, because that is a rare thing and I found it to be a pleasant experience so far overall. I also consider September last year an important time for my relationship. Around that time Conor and I learnt to be more and more comfortable around each other and made some major strides as a couple. That did not only include positives, there were also negatives and we had to either find a way how to deal with them or be stuck in a dysfunctional relationship. Going through a crisis in August, it was extra hard struggling so much again just weeks afterwards. It was draining and stressful and made me think that we didn’t have a genuine chance of working things out. Most of our fighting could be attributed to being in a long distance relationship, we knew that but it wasn’t like we could do much about it at that time. Looking back, I can’t even say what it was that made it work out in the end. My guess would be that we just wanted to be together so much more than we wanted things to be easy. It wasn’t too long afterwards that we started discussing and actually planning to live together. Knowing that we could fight and get through the bad times ok was of major importance to trust ourselves that it wasn’t just a temporary impulse, but something that we really wanted and neither of us would regret. We’ve been living together for almost five months by now, and while it’s really hard at times I can definitely say that it makes life 100% better and that there are no regrets.

The one thing that I wanted originally to be the main focus of this article shall now be nothing but a short remark: September 2012 was also the last time I self-harmed. I wanted to make this a really big thing at first, but when I started thinking about all the other things that happened that month and had a much bigger influence than I thought they would, I noticed that it wasn’t of any importance to me really. And I mean that in a good way: cutting just isn’t part of my life anymore, it never was a big thing for me in the first place and I’d rather enjoy the normality of not needing it than dwelling on it for too much. By now, not cutting for me isn’t a bigger achievement than to not stop breathing. I know that it is different for other people, and I celebrate with every single one of you that manages to cut out self-harm out of your lives and move on from it. Due to my personal experience with it though and because it never was big for me in the first place I prefer to not celebrate ist absence, but to accept the lack of cutting as a given parameter in my everyday life. A lot of the things I talked about are developments over time rather than something that just happened at one single point in time. I am still ill and still struggling, but overall I am making progress. I haven’t been in a major depressive episode in probably over a year by now, my eating is better, mostly by lack of opportunity to be behavioral, but does it even matter? I am in treatment and have a good working relationship with my therapist, trying to tackle my issues one at a time to make life easier for me. I think my most important message for anyone who managed to read this to the very end would be that things get better. I have been ill for as long as I remember, and that is not an exaggeration, things got a lot worse when I was a teenager and it felt like I would never ever ever get back on track with things. And by now I still manage to feel at least semi-optimsitic and I know I won’t even do that much on some days, but I also know I will on the other days. And yes, it took me 27 years to even get that far and I had to go through a lot of **** to just survive and be able to keep going. I didn’t see it and would not have believed this just a couple of years ago, B U T: it was totally worth it, so keep fighting everyone. <3

Alpha Bitch

A is for Accepting B is for Boards C is for Chat D is for Distractions E is for Ezine F is for Forum G is for General Chat H is for Help I is for Introductions J is for Journals K is for Keeping Calm L is for Live Forum View M is for Meets N is for News O is for Opportunities P is for People Q is for Quirky R is for Recover Your Lover S is for Supporters T is for Teamwork U is for Unpredictable V is for Venting W is for Welcoming X is for [e]xcellent Y is for Your ability to succeed Z is for Zero to Hero

On.My.Way

Death tells us the story of Liesel Meminger, a young girl living in Nazi Germany. It starts out with the nine-year old losing her brother and being given away to her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Reluctant to stay with them at first the reader gets to know how she eventually bonds with them and meets a number of interesting characters in the little town of Molching [a fictional place that is described as being next to Munich]. She forms her own individual relationships with each of them, her childhood story being placed at the backdrop of Nazi Germany, WWII and the Holocaust. The chapters tell us a story about a girl whose life is full of innocence and also violence, filled with joy and pain, contains life and death. From playing football with her best friend Rudi [who always tries to steal a kiss from her] and the other children of Himmel Straße, book burning and hiding a Jew, learning the alphabet and learning to love words, to Heil Hitler! and drinking champagne that one summer’s day with papa, to stealing books, inhaling the words and giving them back in form of her own story, the book portrays a strong, kind and sometimes reckless young girl who grows up to lose everything. First things first: this book is one of the most depressing things I’ve ever read. But what else to expect given the setting? What makes the book an enjoyable read still is the writing of Zusak. His words are beautiful, carefully chosen and arranged to hit the reader right in his feels. [Excuse my derpy phrasing there.] The plot moves somewhere between “not much is happening” and “everything is happening at the same time”, eventually most of the narration is connected in some way and contributes to the bigger whole. While playing during WWII the war is not the primary theme of a lot of chapters. It is talked about a lot, but the focus of the book is Liesel’s personal story and in which ways her life got affected by several things, one of them being the War. That is exactly what makes the book so fantastic; it shows the almost normality of the time. At one point or other everything becomes a part of everyday life: discrimination of Jews, Hitler Youth, Air Raids, and Jews marching through town on their way to the concentration camp. The cruelty of war lies in its normality and omnipresence. I would recommend the book to everyone who loves to read. To everyone who appreciates the power of words, and the emotional and physical effects of a story. Also to anyone who loves books that touch you so deeply that they make you sob.

Alpha Bitch

Serves 4 Ingredients: 4 baking potatoes, each weighing about 225g/8oz olive oil for brushing For the sausages and glaze: 2 tbsp maple syrup or clear honey 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp wholegrain mustard 1 tsp tomato purĂŠe 8 pork sausages For the mayo: 8 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tsp wholegrain mustard 3 tbsp snipped chives or finely chopped spring onion Method: Rub the potatoes with a little oil, then sprinkle generously with salt (preferably flakes) and black pepper. Wrap each one in double-thickness foil and cook on the barbecue for 1 hour, turning frequently, until cooked. Or bake unwrapped in the oven at fan 180C/ conventional 200C/gas 6 for the same amount of time. Mix the maple syrup, vinegar, mustard and tomato purĂŠe to make a glaze. Brush over the sausages and cook on the barbecue, turning and basting often, for 10 minutes until cooked and sticky. Meanwhile, mix the mayo ingredients in a small bowl. Unwrap the potatoes and split down the middle. Add mayo and sausages (like a hot dog). Serve with a leafy salad.

Serves 10 Ingredients: 140g butter, melted, plus extra for the dish 375g self-raising flour 175g caster sugar 2 tsp baking powder 6 tbsp cocoa powder 350ml milk 3 eggs, beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract single cream or vanilla ice cream, to serve For the topping: 450g light muscovado sugar 7 tbsp cocoa powder 2 large handfuls marshmallows Method: Butter a large baking dish (about 2-3 litres in size). Sift the flour, Â˝ tsp salt, caster sugar, baking powder and 6 tbsp cocoa powder into a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, then pour into the baking dish. This can be covered with cling film and chilled for up to 24 hrs. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and boil the kettle. Take the pudding out of the fridge and uncover, if necessary. Sprinkle the muscovado sugar and cocoa evenly over the pudding, then pour 700ml boiling water over the top. Bake for 35-45 mins until the pudding is puffy and firm in the centre. Scatter over the marshmallows and return to the oven for 30-second intervals until they are just melting. Serve straight away â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it will be hot â&#x20AC;&#x201C; with cream or ice cream.

Kyaneos

Divergent is set in the future dystopian world, in a society where everyone must conform, where everyone is split into five factions – Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Each faction is meant to uphold a particular virtue of humanity. If you are in Abnegation, you are Selfless, if you are in Amity you are Peaceful, In Candor you are honest, In Dauntless you are brave and in Erudite you are Intelligent. Once you reach 16, you take the aptitude test which determines the faction you would be best suited to, to spend the rest of your life in – will you stay in your own faction, or chose a new one? But the catch is, once you chose a faction, they become your family. Faction before blood. Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior was born in Abnegation, but selflessness never comes easy to Tris – so when she reaches her Sixteenth birthday and takes the test to determine the future, she discovers she falls into more than more than one faction. Tori, the test administrator tells Tris to avoid telling people this – because if anyone found out, Tris would be as good as dead. So when the Choosing Ceremony approaches, it means Tris has an important decision to make – which faction to choose? Will she stay loyal to being selfless and stay in Abnegation? Or leave behind everything she knows and dedicate the rest of her life to a new family – a new faction? Once her decision has been made, she meets 18 year old Four in the faction she chooses to be a part of. Four draws her in, she can trust no-one and must find out who her real friends are – but she keeps being drawn back to Four, a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. How does she survive in a world where she doesn’t fit in? Insurgent and Allegiant continue the series following Tris discover her place in the world and her chosen Faction. But what happens when she discovers the whole world she has been living is a lie? These books will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions and draw you in as Tris uncovers secrets and tries to understand her new life, and the new people who have come into her life since she choose her faction at the Choosing Ceremony. The hardest choices lie ahead for Tris, and she has to 10

see herself leave important people behind and she tries to seek the truth in the only world she’s known? It’s a story of a choice. A choice the will change the rest of your life and define you for the rest of your life. ~ Divergent is being turned into a movie in March 2014, starring Shailene Woodley as Tris, Theo James as Four and Kate Winslet as Janine Matthews – the leader of the only world they know of, the leader of Factions. A trailer for the film can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmCrqGBlWPg or you can see the actors speak about the movie and the storyline here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP07VfwwnUY

GlitterTrashDoll

Released in 2005, Keeping Mum is British comedy at its best. Rowan Atkinson plays the lead role. His character, Walter Goodfellow, is the vicar of the parish Little Wallop. Walter is a very reserved character, always trying to please his parishioners but failing to see the needs of his wife and family which are staring him in the face. Walter's marriage to wife Gloria (Kristin Scott Thomas) has grown stale over the years and as a result Gloria's eyes wander elsewhere. Gloria quickly begins to form a flirtatious relationship with her golf instructor (Patrick Swayze). Holly, their seventeen year old daughter, has a different boyfriend every week which Walter fails to realise, whilst their son Petey is the victim of school bullies. All changes in Little Wallop with the arrival of the new family nanny, played by Maggie Smith. Grace seems to be a guardian angel for the Goodfellow family. Her arrival helps to calm the storm and resolve all the problems in all of their lives. Despite her mysterious ways, Grace has a secret which will come back to haunt her. This secret keeps watchers on their toes as they wait for the family to discover the ghosts of Grace's past. With a star packed cast and fantastic writing, Keeping Mum is a must see for anyone who enjoys British comedy. This film could be considered in the future to be a timeless classic and is certainly in my top 10 list of favourite films.

On.My.Way

Kyaneos

The theme for this issues photography competition was: Autumn. We asked members to submit a piece of their photography that they felt fit the theme. The response was overwhelming and it was fantastic seeing all the entries that were submitted. The eZine team voted for the winners and here they are: 1st Place goes to ThePrincessOfDenial:

2nd Place goes to Sketchy:

3rd Place goes to Pencils:

Thank you to everyone that took part, all the entries were brilliant and it was incredibly hard picking the winners. If you didn't win this time, don't be discouraged, there is always need issue! - Lavalamp.

Platform: PC Ever wished you could design your very own themepark? With only rides and attractions that you would want to ride or see? Well look no further! Rollercoaster tycoon is just like every tycoon game – you build your very own Themepark! You place where everything goes, where you want mountains for a rollercoaster to whizz down or simply for aesthetics. Or do you fancy a water theme park, where on every ride you are guaranteed to get soaked? Maybe a jungle themed park or a Western themed park? The choices are endless.. so many things to design, build and decorate with. BUT! The fun part? You design the rollercoasters, you build the track and design every twist, loop and drop your heart desires! Want it to go underground? No problem. Want it to have the most loops in a rollercoaster? Go for it! It’s your park, so build whatever you want! Just remember, if you build lots of loops and drops – keep a first aid station near by, those park guests might feel a bit sick! Especially if they have been munching on dino burgers in your prehistoric park or slurping spooky shakes in Haunted land!

GlitterTrashDoll

her eyes so sad she feels so lost Part of her is missing Fake smiles She says she's fine But it hurts more As the days go on The smile gets harder Fighting so hard To stop the tears from flowing Everywhere she looks Reminds her of what she had People walk on by No one cares to notice Everyone's to busy She stands up in the crowds The tears begin to fall She's crumbling The pain she can not numb Still no one stops to notice Maybe if they had They would see She's just a girl She made mistakes That haunt her everyday She struggles with this She can't take away the regret away It's harder to keep on going To Acknowledge your flaws To fight when you feel like your losing But remember your stronger than this You don't have to do it alone For I'll be by your side I'll hold your hand Toghether we will survive.

Banana_Bearxx

No one cried The night I died I was already a long time Dead inside My eyes were empty My heart was too Crushed into pieces Because of you I tried my best To put the pieces back together But it was too hard When I felt under the weather With you no longer in my life I had no reason To continue through the strife And so it was With a blade from a knife That one lonely night I ended my life

Nikki Kaulitz

Outcast Youth consists of rapper Paul 'Pabs' Melia from Liverpool. He writes real music for real people. He also does workshops on encouraging confidence and self esteem in young people. The first song I came across was a song about his friend 'Genevieve' who died of anorexia, I really related to this song and soon found myself listening to it every day and it helped me get through my issues at the time. I soon related to some of his other songs including 'A Million Eyes' which is about self harm, and 'Secrets' which is also about self harm and rape. Pabs runs an Outcast Youth street team on Facebook where members can get free downloads etc. and he also runs a support group for fans who need support with various issues. (I am also admin on both of these!) Pabs is not only a very talented writer/rapper, but he is also a very genuine guy who wants to reach out and help others. I strongly recommended checking out his music. Even if you're not usually into rap, you may relate to some of his songs. He has two albums so far, The Rebel Diaries and The South Sefton Mixtape, which can be downloaded free here. http://outcastyouth.bandcamp.com/ https://www.facebook.com/realoutcastyouth/info

Nikki Kaulitz

Fear and trepidation Fill your mind There is no peace That you can find You wake in the morning And your very first thought Is can I get through this As well as I ought? Take each day as it comes Greet it with a smile Be ready to walk That one extra mile And as days go on And you keep on going Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find your strength Gradually growing In all this you must Remember one thing Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not alone

Cheeky_Monkey

Too Shy

What's your name? Liv How old are you? 24 Where are you from? Sussex What inspires you the most? My family, especially my mum. What gives you strength and motivation? Setting myself challenges and achieving them. I do a sport and that helps especially, because there's always new challenges and new goals to work towards, and it's done so much for my confidence. What three things make you smile no matter what? My best friend, training, and Christmas! What are three positive things you like about yourself? I like that I try hard, I like that I care about people, and I like that I am stubborn! What is the best piece of advice you could give someone? Talk to people. Talking about things always helps. What animal would you be and why? A dolphin, because I love being in water, they are always so happy looking, and so free. :) What three items would you take on a desert island and why? Hm...my laptop, some books, and maybe a football or something to stay amused [nothing practical, obviously...] If you could combine two animals, what would they be? I think an owl and a penguin. No idea why! If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? Invisibility, just so that I could be nosy!

What is your dream career and why? I used to really really really want to be a police officer. But now I'm doing an MSc in Sport & Exercise Psychology, and I would love to keep doing research. :)

Zedebee

What's your name? Zed How old are you? 25 Where are you from? Manchester, UK What inspires you the most? Hope. What gives you strength and motivation? My friends and family and the hope that there will always be light at the end of a dark tunnel. What three things make you smile no matter what? Friends Ellen Degeneres Kittens What are three positive things you like about yourself? I have good fingernails. I am easily amused. My piercings are quite nice. What is the best piece of advice you could give someone? Never give up, no matter how hopeless things get because there will always be an answer. What animal would you be and why? A dog. They're so happy and content with the simple things and get lots of love and

whatnot. What three items would you take on a desert island and why? Fred, my teddy bear. Because I love him to bits and always need him with me. My phone with a lot a lot of books stored on it. Because what's better than chilling on a beach reading books. I guess some sort of knife or weapon would come in handy for catching food and whatnot. If you could combine two animals, what would they be? A giraffe and a koala. How cute and amusing would that be? A giant koala clinging to a tree.. If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why? To stop time. Because a little extra time is always necessary. I'm always in need of just that little bit more time and am more productive when given time to do things at my own pace. What is your dream career and why? I'd like to work with children with special needs to help them with maths. Or any sort of maths tutoring really. Not teaching, just tutoring. I find satisfaction in helping people understand things they couldn't understand before. Plus maths and numbers are wonderful..

GlitterTrashDoll