Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! Due to a drop in submissions admin took a break from publishing, but after a sudden influx of submissions we’re back and ready to go! We hope you all had a wonderful time during our break and enjoyed the many exciting events that passed in our absence. This weeks Flow Feature is on Elisia-Mel​ody Missen and how Florence + The Machine helped her to overcome ODC and self-harm.

Elisia and her sister have had a rough life. Their family is messed up, in drugs, fights, you name it. Both Elisia and her sister currently live in foster care. Elisia developed obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), making it increasingly difficult for her to concentrate, especially at school. Every time she saw the number three, Elisia would start to shake and would need to find a way to calm down. Before she discovered Florence, she was well on her way to developing triskaidekaphobia.

It was in 2009 that Elisia’s sister introduced her to Florence + The Machine. The first time she watched the music video to Kiss With A Fist she was too young to appreciate Florence, but now Elisia doesn’t know where she would be without her. Elisia has harboured a lot of anger inside, which often leads to thoughts of self-harm. Now that she has Florence, she just needs to put on Kiss With A Fist, and she can imagine taking her anger out on others, giving others a kiss with her fist rather than taking a razor to her skin. Once she puts on her ‘angry song’, Elisia is fine.

How did Elisia find help through a woman that she has never met? Elisia doesn’t know herself. One day, Elisia was coming home from a bad day. She was seeing the number three everywhere, and her mind was forcing her to say it repeatedly. Back then, which was only eight months ago, she would have been overwhelmed and would start crying from the stress. She got home to find that someone had bought her a copy of Ceremonials. Elisia remembers sitting and listening to that one Florence + The Machine song a long time ago (Kiss With A Fist) and thought ‘why not give it a go’. By the time she reached track four, Never Let Me Go, Elisia knew she was in love. Since then Elisia has spent a great deal of time researching Florence, following her social networking sites, doing fact files about her, and most importantly, wishing that she could meet the woman herself.

Elisia truly took on board the messages within the album, and shook it out. The OCD has waned, and has been gone for a long time now. Elisia refused the doctor’s therapy. For Elisia, Florence Leontine Mary Welch is the only therapy that she needs.  Not to mention her magical machine with their incredible musical skill that brings the music to life. Elisia was overwhelmed by the love that she had for this band.

But soon, the family stuff grew more difficult, and it became harder for Elisa to cope. She would shut herself away and just put on Ceremonials. She felt that she was breaking down. She couldn’t let the spectrum into her body with all the darkness surrounding her. She just wanted to keep following the heartlines, but couldn’t. Elisia was so scared that the OCD would come back to haunt her. So she bought Lungs. She played Hurrican Drunk. 3 minutes and 13 seconds long. Elisia looked up at her posters of Florence, the beautiful red-haired lady who had also been through so much when she was Elisia’s age and beyond. Elisia listened. Then she knew, for certain, that it was gone. Elisia knew that she would be okay, that she would get through this. There was bad stuff going on in her life, but through it all she had Florence. Elisia read the story featured in August’s edition of ‘The Flow’, and it made her cry to see how lovely Florence is and how much she inspires people. She would give up her own time for so many people, where other big stars may not.

Blinding. A song that means so much to Elisia. It’s about waking up in the real world, the bad world, and you can’t go back. Elisia was shaken awake to the real world, pulled away from her imagination at such a young age. To know that somebody felt the same way? It meant the world to Elisia. This is her song. Florence and her magical machine, and very single track on both Lungs and Ceremonials mean so much to Elisia. It doesn’t matter that Elisia may ot get to meet her idol, because she is never alone with their music. It was as if the music washed her away, and washed away the OCD.

“Florence, if you ever read this, my name is Elisia and you are the number one person in my life. You touched my heart. Thank you, stay strong, and for you other Flows out there who struggle....”

It´s Always Darkest Before The Dawn.

Thank you Elisia for sharing your amazing story! We wish you the best of luck with your life and that you may continue to find your support through Florence + The Machine and the Flows.

We hope you enjoyed this week’s Flow Feature! We have had a fair few submissions recently, but we are still waiting to hear what other incredible stories are out there. Inspire us.

Inspiring Flows Xxx

Welcome to this week’s Flow Feature! We hope you’ve all had a fantastic week and enjoy this week’s Flow Feature on Amanda C. 

Growing up Amanda was inseparable from her sister Natalie. A year older, Natalie was always there for Amanda, guiding her through everything as her sister and best friend. When Natalie was in senior she received almost every academic award the school had to offer. At the end of the year she received a
letter of acceptance for a scholarship to study at a prestigious overseas university. Amanda was happy for her sister, but knew that with her significantly lower grades there would be no hope of getting a similar offer, and would be a long time before she saw her sister again. 

Amanda’s senior year started, and she felt more and more isolated and lost. She had few other friends, and none of them as close to what she had with Natalie. While she was able to Skype her sister a few nights a week, it was never enough to fill the gap left in her life. Amanda spiralled further and further into depression and eventually isolated herself from everyone. 

Just when things were about to get even more serious, and Amanda was about to make a few decisions she would have regretted, a package arrived from Natalie. Inside was a stack of CDs with instructions to ‘listen to them alone, and listen to them loud’. Inside was:

Ellie Goulding – Bright Lights
Mumford & Sons – Sigh No More
Florence + The Machine – Lungs

Amanda was hesitant at first and took a few days to finally sit down and play them. Nothing could prepare her for what she heard. She had never felt more overwhelmed in her life. As she went through the tracks she was swept off, away from all of her problems. For a minute she even forgot that Natalie was missing. That night, Amanda tracked down Natalie on Skype and spent three hours discussing the albums. It was as if somehow these albums reconnected them, brought them together despite the distance. 

Amanda finished her senior year on a high, managing to get even better grades than she thought she would. She also received a scholarship to study abroad, and though it’s not in the same place as Natalie, she only needs to play one of three albums to close the distance. 

Thank you Amanda for sharing your story, and good luck with your studies! We hope you all enjoyed with week’s Flow Feature! We are most desperate for some more Flows to share their stories with us, if you are interested please email us!

Inspiring Flows Xxx

Welcome to this week’s Flow Feature! This week’s feature is on Abigail Reis! Abigail has been sitting on her inspiring story for a while, and with the help of a friend decided to submit to show other girls who have been in similar situations how she managed to overcome it. 

Abigail first discovered Florence + The Machine in the early summer of 2010 while searching through random videos online. She discovered ‘Dog Days Are Over’ and watched, spellbound, as her ears were filled with such a new, unique form of music. Abigail was obsessed with the song and the video, but at the time had no way of downloading it, and it was soon forgotten. 
 
The months following her discovery were particularly difficult. Abigail turned 12 and went through an awful experience in the Fall, becoming another victim of online pornography. Though it was not as serious as it could have been, it was still a big deal for a young girl. Abigail’s parents soon found out and their worry was mixed with disappointment, which led Abigail to enter a state of deep depression. It was always on her mind. Everywhere she went Abigail saw people looking at her and she would feel ashamed and paranoid. It
drove Abigail to the point where all she ever did was sit quietly in her room or go for walks, always avoiding social interaction. Finally, Abigail quit doing the thing that she loved most, dancing. As time went on she stopped taking classes and did nothing. This led to Abigail gaining unwanted weight which only dragged her self-confidence down further. 

By this time it was Christmas, and Abigail received an iPod touch. The first thing she did was look for new music, where she rediscovered ‘Dog Days Are Over’. She fell in love all over again, and went and listened to
and downloaded the entire album. Next thing she knew, Ceremonials Deluxe album came out, and she couldn’t find a single track that she didn’t love on there. She downloaded that immediately along with the Lungs B Sides. These songs became a total release for Abigail, from all the negativity that had been holding her down. She would listen to them for hours and her depression would melt away. Abigail was at peace, ‘only if for a night’. 

Thank you Abigail for sharing your inspiring story! We hope you all enjoyed this week’s Flow Feature! 

Inspiring Flows Xxx

 

Welcome to this week’s Flow Feature! Apologies for the delay but admin, like many other Flows, was caught up with exams. So sorry they affected the delivery of our weekly Flow Features, and good luck to any other Flows who are still going with theirs! This week’s Flow Feature is on Sarah from the UK!

Sarah first discovered Florence + The Machine in December 2009, when her mother bought her the album for Christmas. The only song Sarah knew by Florence + The Machine was ‘You’ve Got The Love’ which she disliked simply because of her mother’s attempts to overpower Florence’s vocals, always an unpleasant experience. For weeks she didn’t listen to the album despite constant nagging from her mother, too busy with whatever else was in the Top 40 at the time. It wasn’t until January that Sarah took the time to play the album, mostly on a whim one night when she was bored. Sarah picked up the album and read through the track list wondering what the rest of the music might actually be like, but nothing in her imagination came even somewhat close. 

Sarah lay back on her rug and closed her eyes, and hit play. From the first notes of the harp in ‘Dog Days Are Over’ to the last words of ‘You’ve Got The Love’ she stayed in that position, unmoving. Her mind, however, was racing a million miles a minute, exploring every realm that was opened for her with every passing second. The music was like the keys to a castle, every twist and turn in the music opening another doorway, revealing a whole new room. She didn’t want the feeling to end. She was so busy rushing around in this new world in her mind that she hadn’t even noticed the tears on her face, or see her mother standing in the doorway saying the one thing that need to be said in that moment, “I told you so”.

Sarah’s addiction for that feeling only grew and every day she puts on Lungs or Ceremonials just to try and get another glimpse into thatcastle. With ever new song that Florence + The Machine release another layer
  gets added on, ready to be explored, and Sarah can’t wait to see what else she
  will find…


Thank you Sarah for sharing your beautiful story with us! We hope
you all enjoyed with week’s Flow Feature! As always, we are most certainly in
need of more wonderful stories like this to share with you all, so please spread
the word! Until next time…


Inspiring Flows Xxx


 

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! We hope you’ve all had yet another wonderful week, and thank you for joining us again to read this week’s Flow Feature on Scottie M. from France!

Although Scottie only lived in France for just over three years, he always considers it his home. After his father lost his job in 2008 his family could no longer afford to live in their home. Both of his parents tried
to find work but were unsuccessful. Eventually they were asked to leave their home, but were fortunate enough to be offered a place to live by a close family friend in France. His parents jumped at the chance. Though they were usually too stubborn to accept help, it was preferable to living in the street back home, where all their friends could see how far they had fallen. 

Scottie fell in love with the property from the minute he got there. His room in the new house was small, but overlooked an incredible landscape. His parents had decided to home school Scottie so help save up whatever money they earned during their stay. He spent hours every day exploring, neglecting as much of his homework as possible.  The only thing that Scottie missed was his friends. He rarely saw any other teenagers his age in this town and he still hadn’t learned the language very well.

Scottie resorted to finding most of his friends on the internet through social networking sites (still neglecting his homework). He met so many amazing people online, chatting away for hours about everything from their life stories to favourite books, films and bands. He was given a long list of bands that he was told he HAD to listen to, including the strangely named ‘Florence + The Machine’. He ordered their album online and waited. He resisted looking them up on YouTube, knowing that if they were as good as he had been told, it would be worth the wait.

When it finally arrived he was almost wished he hadn’t waited. He fell in love with ‘Dog Days Are Over’ from the first line. He let the drums and Florence’s beautiful vocals sweep him off his feet, quite literally, as he spun, leapt and danced around his room letting go of all inhibitions. He had never danced like he did in that moment, and had never felt anything quite like the wave of pure emotions running through his veins. Florence + The Machine was like his drug, he could never, ever get enough of them. He spent every minute dancing in his room, through the property, or even in the middle of town when they went to get the groceries!

Florence + The Machine made him feel like there was something worthwhile inside of him. After what his parents had been through, Scottie felt like there was nothing to look forward to in life. He knew his parents might not be able to afford to send him to university and he felt he would probably end up as a ‘drop-kick’ getting favours everywhere he went. Now that he has discovered Florence + The Machine he knows that there is more, that there will always, always be more to life. The music makes him feel like there is this immense wealth of talent hidden inside him. He doesn’t know what it does yet, only that he has a deep need to express himself and let it run free. Even though they have left France and moved back to their old city, he has brought something special back from that place that he will never part with. 


Thank you Scottie for sharing your beautiful story! We can’t wait to see just how you manage to put that incredible inspiration to use!



We hope you all enjoyed this weeks Flow Feature! If you can
  please help us spread the word to any and all Flows who would like to share
  their stories with us! Until next
week..


Inspiring Flows Xxx


 

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! We hope that those of you who have been lucky enough to see The Great Gatsby have enjoyed it so far! Don’t forget to check out the Flows Book Club discussion to see what Flows thought of the wonderful book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Before you do that however, have a read of this week’s Flow Feature on Portia Maree from George, South Africa! 

Portia had always been a fan of Florence + The Machine, ever since a friend gave her a copy of ‘Lungs’. Though she saw its beauty at the time, it never truly reached her until the day that she needed it. 

In December 2011, Portia became seriously ill with tonsillitis which then turned into a viral infection.  For weeks she was unable to walk or even move. Finally, although she still looked sick, Portia got better. Towards the end of January 2012 Portia started to notice weird red dots on her skin. At first she ignored it, but then it started to get worse. When Portia spoke to her doctor about the dots he became worried and asked whether she bruised easily, which before now she never did. 

The doctor came to the conclusion that her blood was no longer clotting, and the red spots were the result of blood that was seeping from her blood vessels. Portia was monitored for the weekend after which it got better. Thankfully she didn’t need a blood transfusion, and all seemed to be well…

Unfortunately for Portia, the blood tests came back revealing an irregularity. Portia went for further tests and it was discovered that she had Lupus, an auto-immune disease that causes the immune system to attack healthy cells. She was immediately put on medication. It wasn’t until a month or two later that it finally hit Portia, that this was not something that would get better. It was something that she would always have, and she would need to be constantly monitored and kept in check. Everything that Portia does needs to be okayed by her doctor before commencement. Thankfully the medication worked with little side effects or further complications. 

Learning to live with Lupus was extremely overwhelming, and it became too much for Portia to cope with. Portia stopped feeling like herself and became extremely depressed. Portia works as a graphic designer at the local newspaper, and even her work began to suffer from the stress. Portia was no longer in the mood to do anything. She couldn’t so anything creative, and she was always in a terrible mod. Portia stopped going out, she just felt so low. 
 
One day, Portia was sitting at her computer trying to make something creative. She wasn’t in the mood and struggled to come up with anything creative. She decided to open up her media player, and browsed through the artists. The player skipped to Florence + The Machine, and all of a sudden something stirred in Portia and she clicked off the shuffle option. ‘Lungs’ finished and ‘Ceremonials’began. It was the best thing that ever happened to Portia. ‘Ceremonials’ just made everything come alive. 

Portia started listening to ‘Ceremonials’ at work, and suddenly the look of her ads improved. She even started painting too. Portia just felt so inspired. ‘Shake It Out’ is the one song that was able to break Portia out of every mood, taking over and making her feel lighter. ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’ made her feel braver than ever before. Florence just inspired Portia to be all that she can be and more. Now, every day Portia jst keeps following the heartlines on her hand…

Today Portia is a lot better. Portia now feels better about the Lupus, and she is now following her dreams. Portia is now doing photography and just finished her second short film. Everything seems better and easier now that she has Florence in her headphones. 

Thank you Portia for sharing your inspiring story! We’re so glad that Florence + The Machine has been able to reach you and give you the courage and inspiration to continue fighting your battles and following your dreams! We wish you all the best with your health and creative outlets!

We hope you all enjoyed this week’s Flow Feature! Again, we are keen to get some more stories out of our wonderful fanbase to keep running our features every week, so please spread the word! Until next week…

Inspiring Flows Xxx

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! Apologies for the delay this week, due to Mother’s Day celebrations. We hope that those of you who celebrate the day at this time of year had a wonderful time and spoiled your mothers rotten! This weeks Flow Feature is on Selene from the UK.

Selene didn’t discover Florence + The Machine until six months ago, but fell in love with Florence Welch long before. It was just after she first created a Tumblr account that Selene first saw Florence Welch. As she gradually followed a number of music blogs a beautiful red haired woman began to show her face on a regular basis. Selene had no idea who she was, but loved everything about her. Her clothes and fashion sense were incredible. Gradually Selene began to research the life of Florence Welch, and was completely in awe of this incredible woman. Selene took the quotes and attitude towards life that Florence shared with her fans as her inspiration in every aspect of her life. 

Just when Selene thought it couldn’t get any better, she finally listened to the music. As if she hadn’t loved Florence Welch enough already, the two albums blew her away in every way possible. Selene has now well and truly buried herself in the world of Florence + The Machine and the Flows, and she couldn’t be happier. Selene is now pursuing a future in fashion design. She is so grateful to Florence for giving her the inspiration she needed in her life. Thanks to this inspiration.

Thank you Selene for sharing your story! We hope you are able to continue with your future in fashion design with the inspiration from the lovely Florence Welch!

We hope you enjoyed this weeks Flow Feature! We’re desperately seeking some more Flow to share their incredible stories, please feel free to send us yours and spread the word! Until next week…

Inspiring Flows Xxx



 

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! If you can pry yourselves away from the stunning photos of Florence Welch attending the premiere for The Great Gatsby you can enjoy this weeks Feature on Janessa!

When Janessa graduated from high school she could barely contain her excitement. She was finally free from high school and looking at a bright future at university. She had her bags packed and ready weeks before she was due to arrive. When she finally started classes she didn’t even blink at the loads of assessment they handed over, she was just looking forward to being able to study what she was interested in, finally. 

What Janessa didn’t count on was what would happen to her friendships once she left for university. In school Janessa had been part of a fairly large group of friends. They all loved each other dearly, and spent all their free time together. Initially, they had all promised to stay in touch, to Skype every night, and make regular trips up to see her. As the semester went on the Skype meetings became fewer and the phone calls shorter. Before she realised Janessa was going weeks without any contact with her friends. To make  matters worse she was finding it impossible to make new friends outside her course. As the semester continued Janessa became more and more cut off from everyone, including her family. While her course kept her busy most of the day, the lonely nights became unbearable. Janessa felt isolated, left behind and forgotten by her friend. Even though she had only been chasing her dreams, Janessa began to wonder if she had done the right thing by leaving. She considered leaving the course and running back home to the safety of her family and friends.

Janessa discovered Florence + The Machine at just the right time in her life. At the beginning of every class her professor would play music, and on the same morning that Janessa had started to pack her bags the song of the day was ‘Heartlines’’ by Florence + The Machine. Janessa sat in silence, ignoring her classmates while the song played. She couldn’t believe how beautiful the song was, and how relevant it was to her in that moment. She knew that this had to be some kind of sign. After the song was finished Janessa left
the room, abandoning her class. She sat in the courtyard for hours, remembering the lyrics that she had heard, trying to let them convince her to stay. 

By the afternoon she had made her decision. She drove home and opened her laptop, downloaded Ceremonials and hit play as she began to unpack her bags. She left Heartlines on repeat for hours as she settled back into her room. She was not going to let anyone ruin her chance to achieve her dreams. Janessa knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but she was going to follow her heartlines until she found her happiness, and not let anything stand in her way. 

Thank you Janessa for sharing your inspiring story! We are so glad that you are able to continue following your dreams thanks to Florence + The Machine. Remember, you will always find a friend in Flows. 

We hope you all enjoyed this weeks Flow Feature! Have a fantastic week and remember to follow your own heartlines! Until next week…

Inspiring Flows Xxx

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! This week’s Feature is on Jessica!

Jessica first discovered Florence + The Machine in 2011 after a friend lent her a copy of Lungs. Jessica didn’t think any more of the album for another six months, leaving it to sit in a large pile of other albums that she had been meaning to listen to. It wasn’t until her parents began to fight that she finally picked it up again. Her parents began fighting every night, gradually getting louder and more violent. Jessica hated every word of it, retreating to her bedroom and locking the door to avoid getting caught in the middle. She tried reading and using the internet, but she couldn’t drown out the yelling below.

Around the middle of the year Jessica began to start playing through the pile of albums. By then Lungs had made its way down to the end of the pile. She played the albums louder and louder, discovering incredible artists and perfect albums. She had no idea what was waiting for her at the bottom of the pile. The night that she found Lungs was a particularly bad night, and she knew whatever she played was going to have to be loud. And that’s when she found what immediately became her favourite song, ‘Dog Days Are Over’. From the word go she was hooked. The drumming rang through her ears and straight to her heart like nothing that she had ever felt before. Jessica began playing the album every night, it became her only outlet from her frustrating life at home.

Eventually, just before Ceremonials was released, her parents decided to separate. If she hadn’t found that album, Jessica doesn’t know how she would have made it through that time. Though the divorce was tough too Jessica made it through with not only Lungs, but with Ceremonials as well. Jessica is so grateful to the band for showing her that she can make it through these tough times, and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. She found her way to be happy in the darkness, and made so many friends to walk with now that she is in the light.

Thank you Jessica for sharing your story! We’re so glad that you were able to find Florence + The Machine at the right time in your life!

We hope you enjoyed this weeks Flow Feature! Until next time…
 
Inspiring Flows Xxx

Welcome to this weeks Flow Feature! What a huge week for us all with the brand new Florence + The Machine song ‘Over The Love’ being released far earlier than any of us had expected. What a brilliant song, and for what looks to be a fantastic adaptation of the story. This weeks Flow Feature is on Jenna!

Jenna first discovered Florence + The Machine in 2010 after the re-release of ‘Dog Days Are Over’. From the minute she heard this song she was hooked. She spent days and days dancing around the living room to the point of exhaustion, completely obsessed by this beautiful, uplifting song. It was almost two months before she pried herself away from the track and had a listen to the rest of the album, and boy was she mad at herself for waiting so long. It was heaven, wrapped up in the form of this stunning red-head. 

Before she knew it Jenna was running around town trying to find every record by the band, and every magazine that had so much as a small mention of the band. The magazine covers have become Jenna’s prized possessions. Before discovering the band Jenna had never put any thought into the clothes she wore,
relying on a steady flow of jeans and plain shirts in her cupboards. Florence Welch changed all that. Jenna was blown away at the sheer magnificence of the outfits that Florence wore. Clothing that she would have either walked past without a thought, or even insulted openly, somehow Florence turned them into masterpieces. They were like Florence’s own form of artwork (other than her music). Jenna loved everything that woman wore, and made sure she covered her walls and floors with pictures of her favourite outfits. 

Around the start of the Ceremonials Era Jenna began to design her own clothing. Since then she has designed hundreds of outfits, using Florence as her muse for every one. Jenna finally found something that she was both talented at and passionate about. The difficulty came when Jenna told her parents that
this was where she wanted to take her life and build her career. Her parents were both journalists and had been leading Jenna on the same path for her whole life. When Jenna started to approach the end of her schooling they had begun contacting old friends and professors to make sure Jenna got into the best
journalism course around. When Jenna told them her plans they were not impressed to say the least.

Months of arguments followed, nights of yelling and crying every week. The only two things that helped Jenna get through those times were ‘Lungs’ and ‘Ceremonials’. Every night she would listen to both albums through, using them as her power source, her strength to get through the next day and keep fighting for what she wanted to do.

After a few weeks of silence Jenna’s mother finally came home and slipped a brochure under her bedroom door. The brochure was an application for a design course starting the following week. Jenna signed up right away and was finally able to start studying what she wanted. Since then her parents have slowly started to get used to the idea and even appreciate many of the designs that Jenna has brought home. Though their relationship still needs a lot of work they are all finally on the right path. 

Thank you Jenna for sharing your story! We are so proud of you for not giving up on your dream, and so glad that you were able to realise it through Florence + The Machine and their beautiful front woman. We wish you the best of luck with your career!

We hope you enjoyed this weeks Flow Feature on Jenna! Though it can be hard sometimes none of you should ever give up on your dreams. Hopefully if you need it you will all be able to find your strength like Jenna did in Florence + The Machine. Happy listening to our new favourite track. Until next time…

Inspiring Flows Xxx