One of the questions I have been asked the most in the last couple of years is about what I do for a living. I've come across loads of people interested in knowing how au-pairing works so they can decide whether they can do it themselves or not, and others just want to know out of curiosity, so here's a post with everything you need to know based on my experience!

The main reason why I ever started aupair-ing is because I absolutely adore travelling, and this was such a great opportunity to do so. My job as an au-pair consists in looking after the family I chose to work for's children as well as doing some housework for a maximum of 30 hours a week, the rest of the time is off. It is very important to discuss what your tasks are when you speak to your potential host-families and make a wise decision, because if things are not arranged beforehand, they could ask you to do a lot more than they should once you move in with them. Keep in mind it is your right to work for a maximum of 30 hours a week, if you work more, you're considered an Aupair Plus and should be getting paid quite a lot more. Your working hours would usually be from the time the children wake up to 9 when they go to school, and from 4pm until their parents return home, unless you're looking after younger children, in which case you need to come to an agreement with the family. Two days a week off are another one of your rights but you will be asked to babysit every once in a while.
When it comes to salaries, you should be getting between £60 to £100/110 per week plus food and a room for you to live in. Each family will offer differet pocket money rates, also depending on whether you work less than those 30 hours a week or don't do any housework, or work the whole 30 hours and do loads of housework. Do not accept less than £60 though, considering the amount of free time you get you will be going out a lot and even if it's just for a coffee, once you've paid for your transport, your beverage and maybe a sandwich if you get hungry on your way home, you will be left with nothing by the end of the week.

Happiness
 ˈhapɪnəs/
noun
  the state of being happy.

Happiness plays what I consider the most important role in life, and seeing people putting it in someone else's hands makes me so uneasy.
I believe each one of us should be responsible for our own well-being, and sometimes that requires a little bit of selfish-ness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should all just do what we think is best for ourselves without keeping in mind anyone else's feelings, that is not the right thing to do, but in certain situations it is important to know how important we are. I learned the hard way making others happy is not my responsibility, and when someone tries to make you feel bad about not being up to their expectations and keeping them content, they're not worth your time. Having to worry about your so-called-friends as well as yourself is mentally draining and unhealthy. Those are toxic people and they're poison. Walk away from them, you don't need them in your life. And if you really were so bad to them, I'm sure they would have stopped being in contact with you a long time ago.

Feminism and equality are such important issues recently, I feel like I need to write about them at some point, and that point is today.

Maybe because I was raised in a pretty open-minded household, or maybe because I have travelled and experienced a lot of different cultures, or even maybe because I have spent way too much time on tumblr, I have learnt to accept a lot of different people, and also to fight against and for others I refuse to ignore. 

Racism and mysogony are real issues I struggle to comprehend. Up until just a few months back I truly believed closed-minded people like that didn't exist anymore, and oh boy, was I wrong. The only reason I never realised how fucked up the world is, is because I never learnt to acknowledge the signs. As a girl, I was never taught what my rights were, so I never knew when someone was being a mysoginist. The media shows certain news only, so I never knew how badly non-White, non-heterosexual people were treated.

What I have recently learnt though, is that, as a girl, I do have rights. I should not walk around at night thinking about whom I walk past, in my case, living in a dodgy neighbourhood in London, carrying around a whistler, just in case I get robbed/raped/whatever a man feels like doing to me. A black human should not be scared of a policeman who could take their life for no reason and end up not even going to jail. An Islamist should not be treated like a terrorist because of their religion. There are lots of things to fight for, and we can not ignore them. We do need equality for everyone, and we need to fight for it. Girls need to support other girls and fight the media. Compliment other girls, be nice to other girls, help other girls, and don't feel threatened by them. We need to stick together. Accept all sexualities, because sex should not be a threat either. Accept cisgenders, gays, transgenders, bisexuals, pansexuals, and every other sexuality you can think of. They are also fighting for their rights and are just as human as anyone else. BUT REMEMBER, never degrade anyone. Don't trash-talk butthurt white boys just because they're butthurt white boys- that makes you just as bad as they might be. Use words and arguments, it's the only way through. 

The world is a fucked up place, but I believe that, all together, we can fix it. If I ever am lucky enough to have a baby girl, I don't want her to live with fear of walking around the city at night, I want her to live in a safe place.