Learning the #artofboob

Hello wonderful people! 

Well, I'm guessing you're all wonderful, you did find your way onto my blog after all!

Just over a week ago I travelled to Farringdon in London to complete my Uni Boob Team Leader training. A wonderful day, full of boob-chat and it was completely inspiring. 
I even got to meet the founder of CoppaFeel! herself, Kris Hallenga, which for me was slightly surreal, as I'd only ever seen Kris on TV or in the media. So, although I know she's a totally normal, lovely person, I found myself fangirling a little inside. 

Being an outsider and seeing what Kris has achieved in such a short time with CoppaFeel! leaves me almost in awe, and meeting her was a complete surprise. It was great to hear her story straight from her own mouth, and it made the work I'll be doing with CoppaFeel! feel even more special and meaningful; to see first hand why their message is so important.

The training was held in the offices of one of their partners, Karmarama, in London. After getting a little lost (I was stood directly outside and didn't realise I was there!), I made my way past the llama and giant rainbow-coloured tunnel (yes, you read that correctly!) into our room for the day.

A rounded room with a table full of notebooks and biscuits, with a wall of TVs opposite brandishing the CoppaFeel! logo. I just felt so comfortable, and a table with stationary and food? That's all you need in life, right?! I wish I'd taken my own picture of the set-up - it was definitely the most awesome meeting room I've ever had the pleasure to be in, but luckily Sinead (who's in charge of us awesome UBTs!) took a picture on Snapchat. So, I shamelessly stole it. Below is a couple of pictures, to help you try and envisage where we were!

I met some other lovely UBT Leaders, from Glasgow, Sheffield and Leeds to name a few, and we chatted boob all day! We learnt how to approach people who may not know CoppaFeel!, and how to communicate the importance of boob-checking. Ideas were flying all over the room about how to do this, and how to raise awareness and money in fun and educational ways. I won't say anymore than that, but it's safe to say us UBTs have plenty up our sleeves this year!

One important thing to get across to young people is that, just because the chance of getting cancer at our age is a lot less likely, it's not impossible. We're not here to scaremonger people - quite the opposite! We just want you to be aware and we want you to know your own body, as it could save your life one day.

Something to point out is, just because it may not affect you now, doesn't mean it never will. We all know the horrifying statistics, but knowing your boobs and body now could very well save you later on in life. If you don't know what's normal or not, you may catch something in a later stage when it's far less treatable. Copping a feel doesn't take long, and it can make such a difference!

This year there are 66 Uni Boob Teams up and down the UK - we will be at your Freshers Fairs, and we will be at the big events as well as running our own. Look out for the boobs and come say hi to us!

We want you to sign up to a text reminder service, where CoppaFeel! will text you once a month COMPLETELY FREE to remind you to check your boobies! What's not to love? Almost everyone has a phone practically glued to their hands, so you can't possibly miss their text. And, thanks to the witty Sinead who is CoppaFeel!'s social media guru, the texts are rather entertaining. They certainly give me a little giggle when they come through!

If you're interested in signing up to the text reminder service, go to coppafeel.org OR text 'UBT BIMM' to 70500. It won't cost a thing - promise, hand on heart! Your university may have their own code, so it might be worth checking that out. But if you truly can't find it, sign up anyway! As long as you're getting the monthly reminder text, that's all that matters!

Overall, my day with CoppaFeel! was a truly great experience, and I can't wait for the boob-filled year ahead.

Check out these social media links below - irregular posts are thing of the past, and we've got plenty of cool things lined up, so keep a lookout!

CoppaFeel!
Website: http://coppafeel.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coppafeel.org?fref=ts
Twitter: @CoppaFeelPeople
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/khallenga
Snapchat: coppafeelpeople

UBT BIMM Bristol
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UBTBIMM?fref=ts
Twitter: @UBTBIMMBristol

Kris Hallenga
Twitter: @KrisPoB
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxuRna_Vn1AV5SQmKPChCcw

Until next time,

Caitlin xxx

A New American Dream

Hello boob friends! It's me again!

Sorry for the delay on this blog - I've been moving into university! Yes, you heard me, moving. I've moved all my stuff in, and then I leave on Saturday - not what normally happens, but hey ho, I'm looking forward to it! (Also there's lots of exciting CoppaFeel! things happening, so I'll update you on that soon!)

As you might have read in a previous blog post, I was in America working at a summer camp. For eight weeks I lived and taught music in the state of Maryland, and I loved it! (Tweet me @Cakey_Cait for more info, I'm a campus manager for AmeriCamp and I could help you work the American dream too!) BUT ANYWAY. This blog is boob related, promise!

Whilst I was there, I was lucky enough to make lots of friends, both American and international (Scottish, Israeli, Irish!), and I learnt a lot about their cultures and what they were taught in school. In turn, they learnt a lot about me, including my passion and future involvement with the charity CoppaFeel!

A few of the British councillors had heard of CoppaFeel! and the work they do, but none of the Americans had. This is, of course, completely understandable - CoppaFeel! was set up in Britain by British people (Kris and Maren Hallenga) in 2009, and as of yet their work has not travelled over the pond.

When I explained to my new American friends what CoppaFeel! was all about, and why I liked the charity, I realised that I hadn't heard of any American organisations or charities that were similar - none were suggested to me by my friends, and from the research I did afterwards, I didn't find anything quite like CoppaFeel! 

Of course, America is a big place. There may very well be charities that do work just like CoppaFeel!, who get young women to check their boobs on a regular basis. But, so far, I haven't found any. This got me thinking about how much my American friends knew about breast cancer. Knowledge on the subject is patchy amongst people my age, some know far more than others, and it is the same in America as it is over here. We are not overly educated on cancer in school, and for me personally I was not told at school that I should check myself or what I should be looking out for. My mum did a good job of teaching me about that, but not everyone is so lucky. There are still young women all over the world who don't know their boobs or bodies - so how can they know if the changes they are going through are normal or not?

What I would like to see in the future, a new dream if you will, would be:

 

1) the education system incorporating more boob and body chat into the curriculum (blogs on this in the future) 

and

2) CoppaFeel!'s messages being spread in other countries! This is a big ask, I know. I don't expect it to be any time soon - America is a huge place, and CoppaFeel! isn't the largest charity out there. But, what they do is so important, and one day it'd be great to know my American friends have the same access to their info/advice as I do.

As I said earlier, there are lots of CoppaFeel! things happening really soon - still so excited and happy to be a Uni Boob Team Leader! Find out more about those here: http://uniboobteam.com

Ta ta for now, speak to you soon!

Caitlin xxx

This Is My Fight Song

It's been a while... I have my reasons, honest!

For the last 3 months, I've been working and travelling in America. 
Being a music counsellor at Camp Louise in Maryland is definitely one of the best things I have EVER done - if you ever considered summer camp work across the pond, just do it. I can't recommend it enough; it's changed me for the better, and I've made some true life-long friends. And, as for travelling afterwards, it's made me even more independent than I already was, I'm far more adaptable to change, and I feel like a stronger person.

Which is where this blog's message comes into play.

But first, the title of this blog? Well, you might have heard Rachel Platten's number 1 hit song, I know I have - it's all they played at camp! What I love about the song, other than it's catchy tune and feel-good lyrics, is the different ways you can interpret what she says. It's not just about fighting back, not just about taking control of your life again - it's also about being a stronger person despite whatever life has thrown at you.

Which, for me, goes hand-in-hand with CoppaFeel!'s message. 

They want us to know our bodies. They want us to check, feel, understand, and then, we might need to be strong.

Fighting any battle takes courage, but fighting cancer takes an inner strength that I don't think we always know is there until we need it.

But the first step is copping a feel.

In 'Fight Song', Platten sings about having "a lot of fight left in me". This is something I believe we can all relate to in many aspects of life. But as I'm gathering a team at university to unite with CoppaFeel!, I want this to be a slogan we stick by. We're going to continue the fight started by those before us, we're going to continue spreading the message, we're going to use our inner strength but still have "a lot of fight left" in us.

I have another blog to come with some facts which, quite frankly, shocked me about the knowledge of the American ladies I met when it came to knowing the facts and checking themselves on the regular. It's very different to the amount we know here in the UK, and I have some ideas to combat this, so watch out for that blog soon.

Until then, future Uni Boob Team members, I'm so happy you're interested in helping! I can't wait for you to join me, we're going to have so much fun sharing CoppaFeel!'s awesome messages.

And lastly, I received my text message yesterday from CoppaFeel!'s reminder service, so why not give yourself a check before class, before you make that third cup of tea of the day, before you hop in the shower. It doesn't take long - and it could save your life.

Caitlin x x x