#here’s my weekly essay with no paragraph breaks just read it all

[nepotismbabyy]

This show has an incredible way of taking duos and having them all mirror each other without it being a cop-out as to making them all individual and distinct characters. Episode 7 made that so clear to me. Not only was there the outward parallel between Riley and Ellie and Joel and Ellie- both times Ellie choosing to stay with the person she loves through pain and suffering, but there were also parallels between Riley and Ellie and Sam and Ellie, as well as Ellie and Joel and Bill and Frank. To start, it’s became clear in this episode that Ellie was so calm when Sam showed her his bite because this wasn’t her first time going through this with someone; it wasn’t her first time waiting out an infection to take hold. I know she remembered Riley in that moment, and I know that she did what she thought might save him because the information of her immunity was what she didn’t have when she was waiting for the infection to take over with Riley. She didn’t know her fate would be any different than Riley’s. I can’t imagine her survivor’s guilt in both of these situations; in one being completely ignorant to her immunity and resigning herself to the reality and collective fate of her and Riley only to find that she’s going to be okay while Riley becomes what she claimed would take over everyone, anyway. But Ellie had accepted that they both would go together. And in the other feeling the need for redemption, full of naive hope, to prove that she is useful in the way everyone hopes she is, to prove that her immunity isn’t only beneficial to her life, forcing her to watch as everyone around her dies and gets infected. It wasn’t only this, though. When Ellie’s sitting next to Joel in the very beginning of the episode, clumsily attempting to tend to his wound, clearly almost wanting to ask him how to care for something like this despite the fact that he’s the one she’s caring for, Joel tells her to go, to leave, to go north and find Tommy. This resembled the exact same desperate plea of Bill telling Frank to call Joel if anything happened as he was bleeding out from an abdominal wound. I also realized that Joel didn’t want Ellie to see him die in the same way he’d watched Sarah die; bloody, crying, gasping. He wanted to save her from witnessing another tragic loss, despite the fact that she’s never specified what loss she’s experienced, he still knows intrinsically that there has been tragedy and it’s hasn’t been pretty. The parental instinct of looking at your kid and knowing they’re hiding the true pain they’ve actually experienced. But Ellie can’t leave, and she won’t. Their relationship is becoming mutualistic. At first, it was Ellie almost entirely relying on Joel for practical reasons and slowly coming to rely on him for emotional reasons. It then evolved to Joel slowly starting to trust Ellie for emotional reasons, as well. But never for practical, never with his life. She trusted Riley with her life and now she needs Joel to trust her with his.

[silverislander]

i honestly would drop this fucking writing course if i still could i'm so goddamn frustrated with it, and yall KNOW how bad i wanted this/how much i love to write so that means smth. it's like it was set up to torment me specifically. "oh here's everything you want to learn but it's actively adhd/autism/nd-hostile"

no schedule, prof is LITERALLY making it up in class in front of us from week to week and frequently forgets/gets confused in making them herself

no grading guidelines- i had to ask for a rough idea of how we're getting graded and even then, she didn't give a very informative answer

only received my first grade after doing four assignments already, which isn't exactly fucking helping me improve, esp since our grades are based on continuous improvement

prof doesn't appreciate fantasy or horror... this is a comparatively v small complaint bc she still allows us to submit whatever we want to write but like. man. even the horror i would sort of get, everyone has limits and it can be a tough read, but all of her prompts are really only applicable to modern-day realism bc you have to base them on smth you experienced and "make us question the line between fiction and reality" so.

the amt of work varies WILDLY due to the schedule issues- this week (beginning of midterms!) i have a 2000 word story and at least 10 250 word reviews due by tomorrow, which i've only had a week to complete... during fucking midterm study. IT'S A CREATIVE WRITING COURSE. i get more notice for 2 page essays in any other course jesus fucking christ

has moved physical rooms bc. she didn't like the first one, so now i'm confused half the time and don't remember where to go. she also doesn't have a key to the new room, so we have to call a security guard to unlock it and it frequently makes us late to start and subsequently late getting out, which is Upsetting for me, why can we not stay on schedule i am on campus for 9+hrs

did i mention this class is 7pm-9:30pm. with one less than 10min break.

prof fucking REFUSES to answer emails despite making email the one way to contact her... i emailed her once on a thursday afternoon and didn't get a response until tuesday afternoon, which was one day before the deadline and too fucking late to change shit if i had been wrong

no clear guidelines as to where/how to submit work, which is a weekly struggle

prof is literally making up terms i am NOT KIDDING. she's speaking in fucking riddles my god. nothing she's requested us to write has been a real term, and i've googled them to check

also writes her assignment guidelines in her creative writing style instead of just giving us the basic info, i.e. one page rambling abt the topic, one paragraph of actual vague guidelines

0 forgiveness for missing dates/being unable to make class/etc. one girl said on the first day that she couldn't make next week's deadlines bc she has a full time job and a family and the prof's response was "well, i guess you're going to have to drop this course". and she DID

if you email her a question she Will make it obvious in front of the class who asked

all i wanted was to enjoy meeting other writers and to try to improve my own work but i'm stressed out of my fucking mind bc she can't be assed to actually do her job. i've had genuine actual stress dreams about this fucking class (among others but besides the point). the total lack of consistency is killing me

and i didn't get that one singular grade until after the 75% drop date, which means if i drop it now i at BEST get 25% of my money back, and it's way too late to try to pick up another class as a replacement. this is all bullshit i fucking hate this

[aknosde]

Okay, you know earlier this week when I dropped a paragraph of a fic? I actually finished it, and the end isn’t the best so I’m posting it here and not on AO3.

Loneliness - (featuring my HoH Percy and Clarisse head cannons)

TW for attempted self harm and a generally bad mental space

Percy’s never really had a mentor. When he was young he was put in a few organizations as a mentee. The type of organizations that are supposed to make things easier on kids like him, brown and black kids with “authority problems”. They never really clicked though, sometimes it was him, a lot of the time it was the supposed mentor. He had never cared much, it’s not like they could help him in a way that mattered.

Then there was Luke. Luke who was tall and strong and quick and really, really, really good with a sword. Maybe some of it was a crush, but he had never met someone who he was so encapsulated by. Luke was cool, intelligent, and good looking. He was everything Percy ever wanted and ever wanted to be.

Luke left a bitter taste in Percy’s mouth and a scar on his hand and a distaste for soda. Luke left Percy with an even quicker brain and a knot in his stomach that turned into a murder plot for his stepfather. He drew Percy in time and time again with a hatred that was laced with unrequited love and left Annabeth with blood stains on her dagger and both of them with salt stains on their cheeks and the taste of ash on their tongues.

After Luke was Beckendorf. Granted Percy had had a bit of a crush on him too. Beckendorf was pure, not in the way some white campers might call Hazel innocent. He was just kind, and genuine, and warm. Percy looked up at Beckendorf, big, strong, brave, caring, and he thought this, this is something I could do. I might not be able to be a big hero, but I can do this. I want this.

Beckendorf left Percy with no body for the shroud to cover. He left Percy with inside jokes that would never again be completed and a desire in his brain to constantly be in the forges and to keep as far away from them as possible. Beckendorf left a hole in Percy’s heart that was filled by blood and guilt. Percy looks at the acid scars on his foot with a longing for the time when Beckendorf was taken by giant ants.

And after Beckendorf there was no one. Suddenly Percy was one of the oldest campers. A war veteran. Supposedly the strongest demigod alive. He wasn’t just a counselor now, of his cabin that was solely him, he was a senior counselor. Jake Mason sat in Beck’s seat and Percy cried because suddenly he was alone.

He shouldn’t feel alone. When Annabeth holds his hand while they wait for breakfast he shouldn’t feel alone. When Grover makes enchiladas in the kitchen of the Big House and they eat them together in a field Percy shouldn’t feel alone. When Nico comes running into Percy’s cabin telling Percy that Mythomagic is apparently run by demigods and that they made a card of Nico he shouldn’t feel alone.

It only gets worse when he’s back at home. His mom goes through their normal post-quest routine. She gives him time and space and love. She takes him to the doctor’s. His old prescriptions get refilled, adderall, meperidine. Sally tries again to find a demigod therapist, to no avail. They don’t celebrate his birthday this year.

He’s at Goode without Rachel and he has no other friends. He’s never really been good at that, the whole friend thing, and now it’s practically impossible finding someone who isn’t uneasy around him. He sits in the back of his physics class and eats alone at lunch and sleeps in Paul’s office during breaks.

A teacher hands him back an essay and there’s a paperclip in the corner keeping all the pages together. There is a B+ on it with a smiley face, and Percy takes the paper clip and sharpens it and tries to scratch his skin. It doesn’t do anything. His skin still won’t break, there is just a faint redness. Only after scratching away mindlessly for weeks does he realize that he’s writing words. Last words. “Go!” “Don’t let it happen again.” “Tell him I’m sorry.”

He can fill up his schedule with school and homework and swim and skating and basketball. He can wake up in the morning and eat breakfast and take adderall and carry around the other small orange bottle waiting for his skin to revolt against him. He feels disgusting and empty. Like a demon in a suit of skin that used to be Percy. He misses two years ago when the war wasn’t looming over head, when he and Annabeth and Silena and Beck would all hang out, when he and Clarisse had weekly midnight basketball games.

Grover knows. Grover’s gotta know. For one thing, there’s the empathy link. And Grover is calling multiple times a week, and he always asks how Percy is, if he’s alright. Percy lies “I’m all good man, don’t worry. How’s work?” Then Grover goes off on a tangent about pollution or some shit he saw a human do and the way he purses his lips when he’s worried doesn’t come back until they’re hanging up.

He hates it, the lying. He’s only told lies to protect others, when he doesn’t have enough information yet, when he needs to save them. Now he is lying for himself. How fucking selfish does he have to be? But he’s so lonely, and he can’t bare to lose anyone else. It feels like the smallest step out of line will make his world crumble.

So he lies. He lies his ass off, and he doesn’t know if he’s good at it, but he could be. When Annabeth comes over one weekend, all the way from California, and she asks about the pill bottle rattling in his pocket he says that it’s adderall and she turns back to the tv. When his mom asks if he’s made new friends he says yes, and proceeds to tell a mortal version of something that he and Beck did last year.

One day Rachel comes into the city to visit her parents. They’re sitting on a bench in Central Park and he takes the paperclip out of his coat pocket and goes to work on his wrist while they talk. It’s habit by now. Rachel stops in the middle of her sentence and gently pries the paperclip from his hands and in its place she leaves a blue eyeliner pencil.

Soon his arms are covered in names and words and horrifically beautiful drawings. Blue pigment against brown skin and pink scars, all swirling together. The pencil runs out quickly, but a week later, just as he’s about to take the paperclip back out, an envelope arrives. Sitting in the bottom is a new pencil of blue eyeliner. Percy throws the paperclip in the trash.

By Thanksgiving break Percy isn’t feeling good exactly, he’s feeling mildly better. Loneliness still hits him, in pangs. He’ll be walking to lunch and he’ll have to jump in the canoe lake because he can’t handle it, and swimming is a good excuse for missing a meal.

He wakes up early in the morning and sits in Rachel’s cave waiting for her to wake up. She makes hot chocolate and points out drawings she particularly likes, and then he’ll wash his arms off ready to begin again.

Days are filled with meetings. Meetings with Chiron and meetings with other counselors, trying to make up for being away at school. When he’s not in meetings he trains. Sometimes himself, but a lot of newer or younger campers. The disarming technique he teaches throws him back to Luke and he gives the campers a five minute break hoping the feeling leaves.  

Evenings are being tossed between one person and another. Racing up the climbing wall with Annabeth and laughing at the top and sitting there for way too long. Stopping by the Aphrodite cabin where Drew will catch him up on everything he’s missed being away or being busy. He sits on the floor of the Hades cabin trying for the fifth time to understand Mythomagic.

Every night since he’s gotten back Clarisse raps on his door at two in the morning and they play one v. one on the basketball court until they end up on their backs under the stars. There’s rarely any talking. It’s dark outside and Clarisse has left her hearing aids in her cabin and he’s left his back in Manhattan. Not like he ever uses them in public.

He’s still lonely. 

Maybe Clarisse can read his mind because she taps his leg and they sit up facing each other. He can just barely see her fingers in the moonlight.

“Sometimes people can be lonely not because they are alone but because they miss someone. You have a lot of people to miss.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” He signs back.

“Oh be quiet punk.”

They both break into laughter then, before she continues.

“Miss them. As much as you fucking want. I was in love with Silena, and she died, and Drew is a bitch about it, but she has a right to be.”

Percy is struck again by how similar he and Clarisse are, their lives and their feelings and their actions. The only difference is that Clarisse grants herself the freedom to do what she wants, and he’s scared to death of doing that himself.

“But, and do not ever tell anybody I told you this, a lot of people would miss you. You can pull away and feel lonely but you can’t disappear. Annabeth needs you, Rachel needs you, Nico and Will and Drew need you. And gods fucking dammit, I need you.”

Clarisse stands and pulls him up behind her. They part ways, heading back to their cabins. Percy mulls her words over in his head as he finally drifts into sleep, his body completely and utterly exhausted. Suddenly there is a blue-gold light, and he remembers Annabeth, and then everything is dark and there’s the smell of pine.

[lunetheaveragefan]

one day...

Hi! Sorry this is a day late, but I tried my best. Chapter 4 might take a little longer to post since I haven’t started it yet, but I’m feeling super inspired so I’ll probably write some (if not most) of it this weekend. :)

A Sander Sides high school AU

Pairing: Prinxiety and some background Logicality

Summary: Virgil is used to being alone. He only has one friend, Logan. But when Logan makes a new friend, things begin to change as two more join their group. Roman, a boisterous theater kid, seems determined to destroy Virgil’s lonely, average life. How much will Virgil’s life change?

Warnings: Some cursing and quick mentions of bullying/making fun of. If you notice anything else, let me know!

Word Count: 1,639

okay, here’s chapter 3!

--------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER THREE

The rest of the day, Virgil did his best to avoid Roman. He didn’t know if he could face him after the spectacle that morning, not to mention how much he had been thinking about his soft hair and tan skin and beautiful eyes.

Since when have Roman’s eyes been beautiful? Dammit, Virgil, get yourself together. He made fun of you all throughout middle school, nevermind what happened freshman year. People don’t change, you idiot. 

That afternoon, he walks, head down, to a nearby coffee shop to meet Logan to study, although Logan usually reads. He already knows everything; it’s Virgil who needs to study, but Logan has told Virgil dozens of times already that it doesn’t bother him.

That day, Virgil opens the door and scans the room for Logan. To his surprise, Logan is sitting at a booth nestled in the corner. Once he gets there, he slides into the seat, back into the curve of the corner.

“Why’d you get this table?” Virgil asks, pulling his folders, notebooks, and pencil out of his bag. “Do we really need all this space?” Logan looks up from his book.

“Uh…well, you see,” Logan stutters. Virgil is more sure than ever that something strange is going on with his friend. Logan takes a deep breath and starts over, “Well, I figured we’d need more space since I also have to do some work.”

“Oh, okay.” Virgil tries to keep his voice light, but he’s still skeptical. Logan likes having a schedule, and part of his weekly routine was every Thursday after school, without many exceptions, he got a small table by the window to study. Currently, there’s no one sitting at it, so there’s no reason for Logan to have picked this booth instead. 

Virgil forcefully drops the subject from his mind, knowing he needs to get to work. He has an English paper he needs to finish for tomorrow, and he’s barely a paragraph into it. Devoting most of his time to his art projects has made him behind for his other subjects. 

Flipping to the page in his notebook with his evidence and reasons, he opens a Google Doc on his computer and gets to work. The quiet is nice; there’s just the sounds of Virgil typing and Logan flipping pages, along with the background noise of the cafe. After working for about 20 minutes, Logan starts acting weird again.

Every few minutes, he’ll pick up his phone, checking the screen. For what, Virgil can’t tell, but he suspects Logan is checking to see if he’s gotten any texts. What Virgil is really wondering is who could possibly be so important or urgent that Logan would stop reading to check his phone, especially so often. It isn’t until a little later that it occurs to Virgil that Logan said he had work to do, but all he’d done up to that point was read. What is going on?

A few minutes later, Virgil gets his answer when the bell above the door chimes. He glances up instinctively. He looks back towards his essay before he can comprehend who just walked in, but when his brain catches up to his eyes, his head shoots up to find that the high schoolers who just walked in are now standing next to Logan and his booth.

“Heya, Logan and Virgil!” Patton says in his usual cheery voice. Virgil gives him a half smile back, although he’s still puzzled as to why he’s here. It could’ve been a coincidence, of course, but with Logan’s strangeness, he doesn’t think it is. It only makes Virgil more sure when he looks over to see Logan smiling from ear to ear. 

If Logan really did invite Patton, why is he here too? Virgil wonders. 

“Hey, Patton,” Virgil says. “What’re you doing here?” 

“Logan invited me!” comes the reply, and Patton smiles back at Logan, filled with his usual unabashed joy. Logan blushes, and Virgil puts a finger to his mouth and pretends to gag. Unfortunately, Logan sees and rolls his eyes, mouthing, “Don’t be a child.”

“You decided to bring a friend, I see,” Virgil states, looking at the boy standing next to Patton. 

“Yeah, when I heard it was to study, I figured I’d come along. I haven’t had much of a chance to, with the play and all,” says Roman almost bashfully. His hand rubs the back of his next as he looks at the floor. Virgil nods and turns back to his essay. 

“Sit down,” says Logan, gesturing to the booth. “Roman, you can sit next to Virgil, since Patton and I have to work on our chemistry lab.” Virgil snaps his gaze to Logan and glares at him. When the other boy doesn’t react — or even notice — Virgil takes a deep breath and continues working, considerably more stressed than before.

Roman plops down next to him and smartly decides to stay quiet. They all get to work, Patton and Logan chattering about some reaction of some sort from across the table while Roman and Virgil sit in silence, each working on their own homework or projects. Virgil doesn’t mind it; he’s got his headphones in and is therefore pretty much dead to the world, but not quite dead enough for him to miss the fact that anxiety has begun rolling off of Roman. 

Attempting to ignore it, Virgil turns up his music, but nothing can block out the awkward tension between the two boys. 

“I’m sorry for earlier,” Roman blurts out. Logan and Patton remain oblivious on the other side of the table. Hesitantly, Virgil pulls down his headphones. He wishes he didn’t have to, but he figures whatever Roman needs to say is important. “I should’ve looked before I threw my arm out like that. Could you ever forgive me?” He seems so sincere, yet Virgil can’t find it in him to trust him. But those eyes. 

“I forgive you,” mumbles Virgil, cursing Roman’s chocolate eyes. He’s like a goddamn wounded puppy. Before Virgil can pull up his headphones again, Roman speaks.

“So, what are you working on?” His smile is bright and friendly. Why does he want to be my friend all of a sudden? He’s never been nice to me before. For a while, he was downright rude, and then he just started pretending I didn’t exist. Not that I minded.

“Just an essay for English,” Virgil replies, forcing himself to stay neutral. Socializing has never been his strong suit, but after a while, he’d learned how to fake it. “Uh...what are you doing?” 

Roman frowns before responding, “This stupid algebra homework. I just don’t understand math.” He appears angry for a second before smiling again, almost as if he felt he had to pretend everything was okay. Virgil knew quite a bit about pretending. He did it for years before realizing people did, indeed, give a shit about him. Like Logan, for example.

Virgil glanced over at him, but he was still in deep, animated conversation with Patton. From what Virgil could hear, they had gone quite off task from chemistry. Something’s definitely off. Logan was the most responsible person he knew, and always made an effort to study and work when needed. Virgil had never seen Logan get off task when there was something that had to be done.

But that’s a matter for a different time. Right now, there is a boy sitting next to him that he had to talk to. 

“Do you, uh, need any help? I took that class last year, so I should be able to help you.” 

“Really?” Roman asks, his face lighting up. Virgil nods, hands dropping from his headphones. “Thanks, Virgil!” 

Now, Virgil had never thought of his name much before. He’d always liked it, but he didn’t think much of it. But when Roman said it, so full of happiness and spirit, Virgil realized how cool it was. The sharpness of the ‘v,’ the slow, drawn out sound of the ‘l’ at the end. Quickly, Virgil bent over Roman’s paper to see what exactly he was working on, letting his hair fall in front of his face to hide the blush seeping across his cheeks. 

What the hell is going on with me? This is Roman Princeford. He’s arrogant and rude and selfish. He doesn’t think about anyone but himself.

Yet, after Virgil helped him with his algebra, Roman offered to help out with his paper. When he found out it was about Shakespeare, he insisted upon reading it. Surprisingly, the comments he made after reviewing it were pretty helpful. Virgil discovered after a while of small talk about school and typical human topics that he didn’t completely despise Roman’s presence. Sure, his over dramatizing of things was a little annoying, but everyone has their flaws, right?

Virgil didn’t know if he could ever forgive Roman for what happened in middle school or freshman year, but maybe they were on their way to some sort of understanding. 

And, although Virgil will never admit it out loud, he can acknowledge that Roman Princeford is a very handsome guy. 

Once he gets home, feeling confident that his English paper is the best it’s going to get, and finishes everything else he needs to do, he lies down on his bed. He tries to listen to music, but all he can think about was how much Roman had thrown him off today. He’d seemed to want to help Virgil. There wasn’t a single rude comment or excessive bragging session. 

When Virgil realizes he’s smiling while thinking about earlier, he quickly banishes all those thoughts from his mind and rolls over onto his side. Pulling a blanket up to his chin, he burrows under the covers. You are not going to start enjoying hanging out with Roman Princeford. No way. And you most definitely don’t have a crush on him. He starts to think about winter break coming up in a month and a half and wonders what he’ll get his cousins for Christmas. Quicker than usual, he falls to sleep.

The dream Virgil has that night about kissing Roman doesn’t mean anything. Does it?

[youcantundothepast]

Ask Jack - Chapter 1

Here’s part of the first chapter of a mini fic I wrote and have posted on AO3! :)

The journalism staff at Duane High School was responsible for three things. The newspaper that was printed bi-weekly and given to every student, the yearbook that would published and sold at the end of the year, and the tumblr that would publish articles every so often that wouldn’t make the paper and cover more pressing stories.

Surprisingly, a lot of the students actually enjoyed what the journalism staff put out. No doubt to the fearless leadership of the newspaper’s editor and chief and basically the boss of the room, Katherine. By her side we’re Darcy, editor of the yearbook, and the manager of the tumblr, Bill. They also had an advisor, Bryan Denton who was an English teacher, but he gave most of the control of the classroom over to the editors. The rest of the staff had titles and specific responsibilities as well, but they were the three bosses that would be telling you if your work was publishable or not.

Most of the time, Jack stayed out of the bustle and chaos around deadline time in the journalism room. His main responsibility was drawing the comic for each paper, and he could whip it out pretty quickly. Sometimes, he did a graphic for the yearbook or took photographs of events when the photographers were out, but when he wasn’t needed, he mostly did his homework or something else to pass the time in the corner.

On less hectic days, Davey would sit with Jack, but more often than not, Davey would be busy with his own projects, especially now because he was going after one of the editor positions after Katherine and the other two editors graduate after the year’s end. Jack didn’t mind. He thought it was cute whenever Davey got all passionate about something. It was like there was a fire behind his eyes that couldn’t be extinguished. Though, Jack knew if he didn’t get the position, (which Jack was also doubtful of) he’d be crushed. If he did, he’d put every waking moment making sure the published piece was perfect, throwing all concerns of his own health out the window.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Everyone saved their work before putting it away and heading out, including Jack who was out quickly because he just to put up his drawing tablet. When he got out of the door frame, someone grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and dragged him towards the teacher’s bathroom that the students weren’t supposed to use. It was private and big enough for two people to have a conversation (or make out which it was sort of known for). 

“I have a new project for you,” Katherine explained when the door was closed and the lights were turned on.

“And it required you to drag me into the teacher’s bathroom?” Jack quipped which made Katherine roll her eyes. 

“For our next newspaper, we’re going to have an advice column. Ask Shirley. We’re going to test it, and I thought you’d be a great candidate. People will send asks over the tumblr, and who’s writing it will be completely anonymous. The only two people who would know are you and me.” 

“What about Davey? He’s the mom friend of the group. And I’m not even a writer,” Jack said. 

“Davey is already doing more than enough for the publication. And the advice column really isn’t a big deal, maybe three or four paragraphs at most. Besides, you’re the dad friend. Everyone goes to you for advice as well. It’ll be like you’re writing to one of them. Please? It’ll only be one question for each bi-weekly publication,” Katherine begged, well Katherine didn’t really beg because whatever she wanted she knew how to get. 

She was right when saying Davey was overworking himself already which would make Jack an asshole if he insisted Katherine give him another job. He sighed. Though he was no Shakespeare, he could write well enough, and Katherine would help him edit it. “Fine,” he conceded. Katherine did her excited thing where she jumps and claps her hands with a small squeal. 

“Great! Here’s your first question, and I’ll need a response by Thursday. Feel free to work on it during class time since you’ve already got this edition’s comic in,” she told him, handing him a sealed envelope. Wow, extravagant much, Katherine?

Dear Editor of The Duane Banner,

I was hoping to get some advice about my boyfriend. We’ve been dating for the last two years (since freshmen year,) and I love him. But, one night recently, we were out with my friends, and after, when he was driving me home, he told me my friends are so hot. Hotter than me. I’m wondering what I should do. I haven’t told my friends, either. I just think that’d be too weird. I don’t want to lose him and feel like I’ve wasted two years of my life into our relationship, but the comment made me really self-conscious. 

Sincerely, Pretty Funny (she/her/hers)

Dear Pretty Funny,

First off, I’d like to say sorry, but I’m not the editor of The Duane Banner. Katherine read your letter and gave it to me for our new advice column (though I’m sure you can see that now). Anyway, about your ask. 

I don’t know who you are, and you don’t know who I am; but I know for a fact that you are hecking beautiful. Just because your boyfriend can’t see that shouldn’t make you doubt that.  How do I know that? Because only a fool would think otherwise, and I already know your boyfriend obviously isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

Honestly, if your gut is telling you to do this or if your boyfriend has and will make more comments like this, I’d drop him. Someone you love shouldn’t make you doubt yourself or make you feel that you are worth less than you are. It sounds like you got some good, close friends too. Make sure that you are able to talk to them about it, as well, if you feel comfortable so you’re not alone, and they know what’s going on.

“Jack?” Davey said, breaking Jack’s stream of consciousness. “What are you writing? I didn’t know you had an essay coming up,” he said. Davey knew of all of the essays and projects Jack had coming up because he was the one who often helped him with them. 

Quickly, and not very discreetly, Jack slammed the lid of his laptop shut. 

Keep Reading

[precuredaily]

Happy Anniversary to Me

On April 10th, 2018 I published the first entry in Precure Daily. It was very simple, just a few short paragraphs about the plot, characters, themes, music, etc. Stuff I’ve tried to stick to with varying success as the project went on. It started on Facebook, and it started out of a desire to rewatch the entire Precure series. But after watching it, I wanted to talk about it. So I wrote down my thoughts, and posted it in a group, and got some responses. I kept it up, but as a bit of a digital hoarder/archivist/whatever you want to call it, I really wanted a way to keep track of my posts better. So I created this blog. The rest is history.... but keep reading anyway.

As FWPC went on, I started writing more and taking more screenshots. It definitely went overboard on several occasions. I didn’t, and still don’t, do a whole lot of editing. I spit out my thoughts onto the page and hit post. I do try to keep them structured, but the nature of this project means I don’t have a lot of time for reflection and review of my own content, if I also want to maintain a social life. As you all have seen, that can be harder than it sounds. I’ve gotten sidetracked a lot by reality. After blitzing through FWPC and writing an essay every day I was exhausted. I wanted to do a series overview, and I did start writing it, and it is still sitting in my drafts folder, incomplete. It may never be completed. A short break became a longer break while I distracted myself making the banner:

Of course depending on your page layout the banner may not be fully visible and that is incredibly frustrating to me. I am open to suggestions for improving that. But anyway the banner was made, and then finally I decided, screw it, I’ll do the overview when I have time, and dug into Max Heart. As much as I love the world of FWPC, Max Heart is a bit of a slog, and some personal turmoil didn’t help with this. It took me about six and a half months to get through all of Max Heart, and I’m still sorry for that. We’re 4 and a half months into reviewing Splash Star and I just got into the teens, so not exactly doing better, but I’ll try. I initially predicted that, with daily reviews, it would take about 2 and a half years from the start of the project to fully catch up with the weekly broadcasts. It’s going to take about 8 if I keep at my current pace, which is not ideal, but every time I try to speed up I just lose steam again. I don’t know if this project will ever be finished, but I promise to keep going for as long as I can. I want to thank each and every one of the 261 followers I have gained in this first year, but I want to highlight a few who stand out from the crowd: @yugimon135 You followed me here from Facebook and I can always count on you for a good quip.

@sailor-rurouni You’ve been one of my biggest supporters, and best confidants.

@sailorzombiestar You often chime in with some great insights. I look forward to reading your thoughts whenever I see your name in my notifications.

@hanasaki-tsubomi You are probably my number one reblogger and the source of a good number of my followers. Also you post great content on your own page and I love scrolling through it now and then.

@slightlyconfusedcinnamonbun You favorite all, or almost all of my posts, and that’s a huge confidence boost, so thank you.

And of course to every single one of you out there, whether you’ve been following me from the start or you’re a more recent join, thank you and I hope you enjoy the trip. Here’s to another year, two more, three more!

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[ao3bronte]

Ml Fluff Month

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Read it on A03

Sommeil - Chapter 2 Bubble Bath

tu crois qu'tu m'endors / mais même derrière ton masque / tes cernes en parlent encore

“You're what?”

Chat hangs his head and begins to fidget with his fingers, “I'm going away for ten days and...it's for work, you know? I don't really have a choice.”

Marinette narrows her eyes. She's heard all about this boss of his repeatedly over the last month that he'd been crashing at her place to sleep and she really wants to step up and backhand the guy, “I'll make you a care package. Is it hot or cold where you're going?”

Chat peeks up at her from beneath his lashes, “Uh...cold.”

“When do you leave?”

“Sunday.”

“That's three days, plenty of time,” Marinette laces her fingers together and inverts them straight out, cracking her knuckles, “It'll be the best care package ever, you'll see.”

“A care package?” Chat’s eyes grow impossibly wide and Marinette just can't get over how adorably pathetic he looks, “Are you sure it's not too much trouble?”

If it's one thing she's learned about Chat Noir as Marinette, it's that Chat is a hell of a lot more sensitive than she’d ever realised, “Of course. You've been looking and feeling so much better lately and I wouldn't want you to fall back into your old ways during your business trip. Just don't forget to stop by before you leave.”

“Trust me, I won’t forget. I practically live here,” Chat responds eagerly and he's not wrong; he passes out at least twice a week on her chaise and Marinette is just relieved that he's finally beginning to perk up on the battlefield. He's certainly not back to normal, not by any means, but he's a little bit happier and a little bit healthier and Marinette counts that as a win.

“Sometimes I wish you did live here so I could keep an eye on you,” Marinette jokes and she doesn't quite realise what she's said until she sees the gobsmacked expression on Chat’s face, “I mean, you know what I mean. Ladybug needs you at the top of your game and I'm happy to help. Besides, I like having someone to talk to when I'm beading embroidery or sewing my designs.”

Chat’s hesitant curl of the lips turns into the dopeyest of smile, “You just like to have me around so you can use me to tailor your men's line.”

“Well, not only,” Marinette drawls, pouring a spoonful of honey into his tea. She'd quickly found out how deep his sweet tooth actually ran and she’d added it to her Maman’s recipe to help with the medicinal aftertaste, “You do make a great mannequin, but I like the company too.”

Chat actually snickers and it's become a bit of a rarity these last several months; if anything, Ladybug only gets the kind of overcompensating laughter out of him that she knows he only does to reassure her that he's okay, “Thanks Marinette. I can't even begin to explain how awesome you've been to me lately."

“I pride myself on being the best friend I can be,” Marinette explains, pulling the metal infuser out of the mug and giving the tea a stir, “Did I ever tell you that I was the school council president for two years straight when I was a lycéenne? I like to help others when they need someone to talk to.”

“You didn't,” Chat averts his eyes as he takes the proffered mug in his hands, “That's pretty impressive. Two years in a row?”

“It had never happened before until I came along,” she says, plopping down beside him. Marinette has never been one to brag but she's especially proud of this particular milestone, “I worked hard and it paid off enough to land me a €2000 scholarship at any school that accepted me, which was all four of the ones I applied to. I ended up choosing the Paris Fashion Institute because their design classes are super avantgarde and many of the courses can be taken online.”

“Do you like online courses better?” Chat asks between sips. “I have a really weird schedule,” Marinette responds honestly, thinking back to all of the missed classes and stupid excuses she'd made throughout her school years, “So online is best for me. Also, I'm a night owl, not a morning person which is why I never wake up when you leave in the mornings.”

“I always try and be quiet,” he says and the tea is already working its magic, “I'm always afraid I'm going to step on your face.”

“I'd probably sleep through that too,” she giggles with a shrug, sitting down beside him, “Jagged Stone could probably play a concert on my roof and I wouldn't wake up.”

“’m jealous,” Chat slurs and Marinette prepares herself for her favourite part of their late night rendezvous when he loses all sense of personal barriers and babbles honest to goodness things about himself, “I wish I could stay asleep like you.”

“Yeah?” she urges him to take another swig and he does, gulping it down, “Why can't you sleep these days?”

“Work, busy, too much to do,” he yawns and his whole body seems to loosen with the movement, “Nightmares sometimes.”

Now this is the answer she'd been waiting all month to hear, “Nightmares? What about?”

“Magic stuff I guess,” Chat’s eyes are fully closed and Marinette knows she only has a few moments left to pry the truth out of him, “Losing Ladybug. My father.”

She'd honestly expected him to say Le Papillon, but losing Ladybug and his father? That was unexpected, “What makes you think you're going to lose them?”

“She could get hurt, or she could get fed up with me. I’m...I’m not doing my best as her partner right now,” Chat’s voice wavers and Marinette wants to punch a pillow everytime he brings up his near constant fear of Ladybug’s apparent imminent rejection, “And my father doesn't...he's…”

Chat yawns again and Marinette knows she's lost him, slipping the tea from his fingers and easing him down into the chaise. Harrumphing, she covers him with a blanket and screams into the nearest soft item, tossing it across the room in a fit of frustration. She does everything she possibly can to assure him that she'll always be by his side as Ladybug besides beating him over the head with a chalkboard that says “I'M NOT LEAVING JUST BECAUSE YOUR BOSS IS A DICK WHO OVERWORKS YOU” in gigantic rainbow letters. What else does she have to do? Announce it on live television? Have a plane write it in the sky?

“My god you are a needy cat,” she whispers, burying her fingers in his hair as she's apt to do just to hear him purr. It's her favourite sound these days and it never fails to calm her nerves, especially whenever he says something particularly irritating like he did tonight. She's reminded of the care package she’d promised him and spends the next half hour brainstorming items to send with him before ultimately calling it a night and crawling into her bed.

And if she'd pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead just before turning off the lights, well, no one’s the wiser.

~

A few days later, Marinette takes a deep breath and pushes her chair back from her desk, having just spent the last two hours mulling over an essay for her class in haute couture sewing techniques. She already has a good understanding of all of the things being covered and she pours them out onto her laptop in earnest, waxing poetic about hand stitching and hem finishes and pocket construction. She’s just finished another paragraph on cutting and pressing when her mobile lights up beside her, the telltale chime of a Snapchat notification ringing in her ears. “I suppose I could take a break,” she says to no one in particular, snatching the phone from the surface and flopping onto her chaise with a sigh. She rubs her thumb against the scanner and clicks on the app immediately, delighting in the words she sees.

Chat Noir hey i opened up the care package

Me You did? What do you think?

He sends her a snap of the package, which is essentially just a small hat box she’d draped in leftover velvet. The bow she’d wrapped around it is untied and the lid opened, revealing some of the small items she’d packed within.

Chat Noir the gloves are awesome where did you get them?

Marinette grins and peeks over at her very own Chat Noir gloves, still sitting in their packaging on one of the tables to her left. She’d found them in the Institute’s quad during the university's weekly marché du mardi where the students gather to sell their homemade goodies, whatever they be. In this case, Marinette had found a vendor who knitted winter gear and she had jumped on the pair of Chat Noir gloves she’d found, practically throwing her euros at the student with enthusiasm.

Me A student at the Institute. She makes Ladybug ones too.

Chat Noir i want to buy ladybug a pair she’d love them

Marinette feels her face flush and she covers her eyes with her palms for a moment to try and gain back her composure. He wants to buy her Ladybug gloves? Oh Chat.

Chat Noir she gets really cold in the winter so i’m always trying to find ways to keep her warm

Me That’s really kind of you Chat, I know she’ll love them. I left the girl’s business card attached to the gloves if you want to contact her.

Chat Noir awesome these look good did you make them?

Chat sends another snap of his bare (bare!) hand holding the lavender shortbreads she’d wrapped in colourful cellophane from the bakery, drawn together with a green bow.

Me I did! They have lavender in them to help you sleep.

He doesn’t respond for a few minutes and Marinette busies herself with her Instagram account, peering through the stories of all the people she follows. Alya’s still at work, judging by the snarky comments she’s making about her boss, and Mylène is showing off another one of her amazing ceramic vases. Nino is in the studio working on something that he’s describing as ‘deep funk house’ and Adrien is jet setting yet again, the video of his view from the airplane window gorgeous as he heads out to Oslo for a photoshoot in the Norwegian fjords.

Chat Noir oops they’re all gone

Chat sends another snap, this time of the cellophane in the rubbish bin.

Me ROFL Did you like them?

Chat Noir i loved them so much they were delicious you spoil me so what’s in this bag?

Marinette grins as Chat holds up another bundle wrapped in cellophane, the light from the lamp in his hotel room gleaming off the silver band on his finger.

Me It’s a bath bomb If you’re cold and you want to warm up in the bath, it fizzes up and makes everything smell good

Chat Noir it smells really nice the ladies are going to find me even more irresistible ;)

Marinette rolls her eyes and takes a snap of her unimpressed face, sending it with a few unamused face emojis for good measure.

Me Good luck with that Chat Time for you to get to bed. It looks really dark out.

Chat Noir i’m not that tired i slept on the plane

Me Liar

Chat Noir and i want to keep talking to you i’m bored

Me Get into your bed right now Or else

Chat Noir or else what?

Me I’ll tell on you

Chat Noir :0 you wouldn’t

Me I’m gonna call Ladybug right now and tell her you’re not listening to reason and she’s going to be mad

She’s just about to send another message when he sends a snap, this time of his toes poking up from underneath the duvet of the hotel room he’s staying in. Victorious, she smirks and screencaps the snap.

Me Good Kitty! Now turn off the lamp and go to sleep

Chat but i’m not tired!

Me I’ll call Ladybug!

Chat Noir fine

Me Sleep well Chat!

Chat Noir i’ll try my best purrincess good night

~

Marinette only has a few classes that she has to attend in person throughout the week and most of them are seminars where she gets to work in the design studios and show off her skills and knowledge in front of her instructors and peers. The supervisor at the Institute has already asked her to try out for the fast track program next semester and Marinette is both floored and humbled by the request, especially since the Institute’s hardest instructor is the one in charge of overseeing the internship. Mme. Sotnikova has always been notorious for flunking half of the first years in her classes just to weed out the weak ones and having always been hard working and tenacious under pressure, Marinette has never bore the brunt of Mme. Sotnikova’s rapier tongue. That being said, she’s had quite a few friends and acquaintances switch majors or drop out altogether just to get away from the imposing woman, as commanding in height as she is outstandingly Russian.

Marinette is packing up her bags to run home to the bakery when Mme. Sotnikova pulls her aside, her blonde hair slicked back into an austere coif that makes her look even more severe, “Have you looked over my request?”

She’s been mulling over it all week actually, the paid €14/hr shifts as an intern three times a week having been a major factor considering she has little to no money beyond what she sells on Etsy, “I have. I think it’s an opportunity I would be interested in.”

Mme. Sotnikova claps her hands together, her eyes betraying her pleasure as her stern expression remains ultimately impassive, “I knew you would. I only want very best to compete for fast track program.”

“I’m honoured, thank you.”

“As you should be,” Mme. Sotnikova has never been one for social graces, “I will send you package with all informations you need. What fashions will you be preparing?”

Marinette smiles, “A men’s line. I should have all four pieces ready for submission by the end of the month.”

“Is that so?” Mme. Sotnikova raises a razor sharp eyebrow, “And it is pre-summer yes?”

“It is,” Marinette confirms, digging a piece of floral fabric from her bag, “I’ve been really inspired by some of the fall gardens around the city and I wanted to reflect that in my pieces. The palette is mostly pastels with the occasional burst of vibrant color.”

“How very Chanel of you.”

“If it is, it certainly isn’t intentional,” Marinette tucks the fabrics back into her bag, “I wanted my collection to be all about the construction, not the flashiness. It’s understated without being minimalist, with different silhouettes and shapes for each blazer and jacket.”

“I am interested to see final result,” Mme. Sotnikova says with a quick nod, turning away. Marinette releases a sigh of relief as the woman leaves the seminar room and she swings the strap of her bag over her shoulder quickly, vying to get home as fast as she can to get to work.

~

There’s pins in her mouth and scissors tucked into her bra when she hears her mobile chime behind her, the Snapchat app the only exception to her Do Not Disturb settings as she shoves the final pin into the pastel green A shaped jacket. She steps back and gazes at it with satisfaction before grabbing her mobile and sitting down, her socked feet aching from walking back and forth around her mannequin for the past six hours.

Chat Noir i’m a chatsicle brrrrrrrr

Me Go warm up! Want to see what I’m working on?

Chat Noir is it for your men’s couture line?

Me Yup

Marinette gets up and snaps a photo of the jacket before sitting back down again, pulling the scissors out of her shirt.

Chat Noir that looks AMAZING the multiseam construction at the shoulders really helps give it shape without the extra body

Marinette blinks several times.

Me Since when did you become a fashion expert?

Chat Noir uhhh since a while? i know things

Me Why didn’t you say something? You know how much I love fashion!

Chat Noir i didn’t want to overstep you have amazing designs

Me We’re soooo going to have a talk about this next time you’re over here I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me!

Chat Noir i swear it wasn’t intentional! i just like to talk to you about other things

She lets that soak in for a few moments before changing the subject.

Me So how was your day? Have you warmed up yet?

Chat Noir it was cold and awful and i was outside the whole time

Me I’m sorry! Why were you stuck in the cold?

Chat Noir my job i didn’t have a choice

Me That doesn’t seem fair Chat! Isn’t there something you can do?

Chat Noir nope it’s just the way it is i just got back to my room

Me Well that’s good at least! Do you have anywhere else you need to be?

Chat Noir i ate dinner in the car so no

Me Go focus on warming up then!

Chat Noir i’m gonna use your bathbomb and try and defrost my toes

Me Let me know how you like it! :)

She sets her mobile down with a smile and runs off to the washroom, stopping in the kitchen along the way to grab a brioche and a nub of butter. Shoving the bun into her mouth, Marinette runs back upstairs with every intention of finishing off her jacket when her mobile chimes again. It’s the last thing she expects, all things considered; is he really going to message her while he’s having a bath? While he’s naked?

Chat Noir this thing smells awesome i wish you had packed more of these i want to buy a hundred off of you name your price and i’ll pay up my paycheque can take it

Marinette just shakes her head fondly.

Me I’ll see if I can make you a few more.

Chat Noir awesome so how’s the jacket going?

Pursing her lips, Marinette takes another bite of her brioche and settles in for the long haul.

Me Abandoned for the meantime. Are you feeling better yet?

Chat Noir yup i feel like i’m swimming in a cup of that tea you always make me

Me That’s because it is I put the same herbs from the tea in the bathbomb to help you get to sleep!

Chat Noir i don’t know what i’ve done to deserve you

Marinette swallows the lump in her throat and feels her chest constrict a little at his words. He’s said it a million times to Ladybug and she can practically envision his bright green kitten eyes blinking down at her, his smile as earnest as it is brimming with honesty.

Me It’s no big deal Chat I just like being a good friend

Chat Noir you’re the best, you know that?

Honesty hour, here we come.

Chat Noir if you had a boyfriend he would be the luckiest guy ever i mean i know you don’t have a boyfriend but if you did he’d be set for life

...what?!

Of all the conversations she’d expected to have tonight, this wasn’t even remotely close to the list.

Me Thanks?

Chat Noir i’m kinda jealous

Me Jealous of a boyfriend that I don’t even have?

Chat Noir ya because he’d be awesome

Me He certainly would have to be to put up with the stray kitten that comes to me for tea from time to time

Chat Noir nonono i’d never want to interfere and i don’t even know how you don’t have someone yet you’re a c a t c h

Me First off, I’m not kicking you out anytime soon Second, why are we having this conversation about a boyfriend I don’t even have?

Chat Noir cause you deserve it you’re so kind and nice to everyone

Me And so are you!

Chat Noir ya but i’m chat noir i can’t date anyone

Me Why not?

Chat Noir i don’t think ladybug would approve and i’m kind of in love with her but she just wants to be friends

Me Maybe she likes someone else?

Chat Noir probably i’m kind of pathetic aren’t i

Marinette sets her phone down for a moment and rubs her eyes, smudging her mascara. She’s tired and worried about saying the wrong thing but part of her just wants to get it out and tell him what he needs to hear.

Me I don’t want to overstep my bounds here but I think you should consider dating someone else

Chat Noir what?

Me Look I know how much you love Ladybug and she knows it too But she’s probably waaaay too busy being Ladybug to date right now so you’re only setting yourself up for failure And when she’s ready, maybe she’ll return your affections and you two can live happily ever after?

Marinette shares a glance with her reflection and snorts at the possibility.

Me But right now she’s probably got other things to worry about and you could really use someone who will take care of you and show you how much you mean to them You’re smart and funny so I know it won’t be hard to find a girl that would be interested in dating you but you need to let go of Ladybug and live a little.

Chat Noir i guess you’re a really good friend marinette thank you

She’s heard that line before and for once, it doesn’t bother her in the slightest.

Me You’re welcome Chat One of my good friends shared that advice with me a little while ago

Chat Noir you’re in love with someone too?

Me I was And in a way I still am but he’s super busy. I only ever keep track of him now over Instagram

Chat Noir i’m sorry

Me What a pair we make eh?

Chat Noir we’re furtunate to have each other

Me :|

Chat Noir purrhaps we should go on a date together?

Me ?

Chat Noir i’ll take that as a maybe ;) i’m going to got to bed now purrincess

Me Goodnight Chat. Sleep well!

When she sits up and chances a glance at herself in the mirror, she has to make a double take at the flush of red spreading across her face and décolletage. Did Chat, of all people, just ask her out on a date? And did he mean it? It seems ridiculous when she says it out loud and she tries to diffuse the tightness in her stomach with a nervous laugh but…

The heat in her cheeks persists as she climbs down to the bathroom to brush her teeth and it follows her back up to her bedroom, the space seemingly empty without Chat in its midst. Crawling beneath her duvet, she looks over at the copy of Le Petit Prince she keeps at her bedside and opens it to page thirteen, revealing the dried rose she’s had pressed between the pages ever since it began to wilt in the vase on her desk some three years ago. She still remembers the scent of it when he gave it to her on that fateful rooftop, the Chat Noir of former days, young and naive and yet still as enamoured with Ladybug as he is now. Things had evolved between them, personally and professionally, but at least one thing seemed to always remain the same.

But…

Maybe it was time for change.

[asterocky]

asterocky rambles about astro

as bad as it sounds, after seeing what is going on with underrated groups and rookies from small companies and my heart breaking a number of times, i keep thinking to myself thank you for not letting astro flop. not that other groups flopped, but the number of groups participating in programs like the unit or pd101 just to get more eyes on them is increasing and i keep feeling terrible about it. a lot of what ifs are in my mind and as a wholeheartedly astro biased person i am just happy with the love they are receiving despite being a group with an unpopular concept. they were nominated a number of times for a no. 1 during baby promotions which just means that people are paying attention and care.. thank you for looking positively at my smol babies.

i was worried about them for a while because so many people gave up on then after debut, when they saw their concept.

looking at astro and their partial success now i sort of think that it is because they appeared in the right place at the right time. there was no group like them in kpop at that time. most groups were going for a hipster edm concepts. and then astro appeared with their sunshine pop and already set fanbase they gathered after endlessly doing projects predebut. they showed what they can do before taking a 100 steps back concept wise. they created their own sound that cant be classified as anything other than astro and marking themselves as fresh, soft soda idols between kpop fans.

not gonna lie, i do think they get a lot of attention because of eunwoo and his incredible popularity. i remember how a week after debut articles appeared that our eunwoo was offered a chinese drama role. it all went from there - variety shows, mc gigs, modeling gigs. he became a wanted presence in the entertainment industry, known for being a face genius, he brought a lot of fans into aroha. i hope that they see that he is so much more than a pretty face. his diligence is something else. he trained so hard, harder than the others. and aroha that has been here for a while have witnessed him breaking down because of his private schedules and thoughts of not being good enough. there are poems he himself wrote about it. it is documented in astro project. the boy overworked himself because he does not feel talented enough, which never fails to break my heart. i often think about whether he knows how much we love him and how proud we are of him. he is the most hardworking, talented soul in the planet. i am happy to see that this theme is escalated a lot recently.

which brings me to the fact that finally the other members are getting more recognized. astro is being called a visual all kill group and when a lot of people argue about their visuals overpowering their talent, i keep disagreeing. visuals are not why people stay in fandoms. without talent or charisma, i don't think astro would have as many fans. without their sweet personalities and the love they show their fans, they would not keep so many people wrapped around their fingers. astros love for their fans is a different kind of love, a very unique love. yes, all groups love their fans. but i myself along with a lot of other people have voiced that astro's love is very evident and just.. different. you can feel it with every bone in your body. you might think it is ridiculous, but it is very hard to describe if you haven't felt it. i am sure arohas will agree on this one. it's a very evident, specific kind of love that brings warmth to your bones even if it’s as little as a tweet from astro. i have never felt that being in other fandoms.

as i said, other members are getting the spotlight and eunwoo is slowly participating in less activities. astro are becoming variety idols and on this note i would like to say that despite the obvious variety king mj, i am so proud of maknae line. rocky specifically. even though arohas always knew how entertaining he is, he was always very shy when it came to programs. you could always see a bright smile on his face and his eyes sparkled with excitement, yet he stayed pretty quiet. but recently he became more out there, he talks more, memes more. he completely stole the recent weekly idol episode with his dancing. i think the members and aroha had a lot to do with that, as they encouraged his memesona of rocky swag and arohas never pushed him too much on his solo vlives in which he noted that he felt awkward. now he smiles and talks more, he is out there being a meme. sanha, too. sanha was often very shy, he stayed quiet in shows when he could barely shut up in vlives. the reasoning was always that he could not talk well or was too stupid. i remember during their second weekly idol episode sanha spoke for about 30 seconds during a 49 minute show. now he might not speak much, but at least he is showing his kill the hyungs personality, eliminating them all from games and teasing them while dropping formalities.

and god... i have so much to say about leader park jinwoo. i honestly do not understand how he deals with these five kids. he was the baby of the family for his whole life but now has to take care of the five boys: he is solemnly raising sanha into a decent man, making sure rocky has a word or two during vlives, keeps mj up, makes sure eunwoo is eating all meals, and keeps bin in his right mind. i always thought that being a leader is a huge and difficult responsibility, because the leader has to carry the emotional burden of the whole group, eliminate negativity and make sure all members are well before caring for themselves. and let's be honest... jinwoo is a complete softie. he is the softest, most emotional person in astro who is bound to cry at every little gesture of love aroha shows towards astro. yet he takes care of us and his group, molding perfectly with every member. if you pay attention to him during vlives with different astro members, you might have noticed how he caters to the different personalities of the members. for example, he is a meme with mj, he asks a lot of questions with rocky to make him talk, he is chilled and leisurely talking with bin, he is talking either smack or business with eunwoo and there’s no in between, and leisurely controlling sanha. nobody needs to cater to him because he caters to others first, forgetting about himself completely. his top priority is his members and fans, as he often takes the comment reading position on vlive. he is genuinely curious about what arohas want to say and talk about, he escalates those topics before anything else.

despite jinjin being an emotional rock, though, i feel like moonbin has the most stability. maybe because he trained for so long he does not nerve much, but i feel like he looks at everything with a rational mind. therefore the comment he made about astro not existing in five years because their contracts end, though it hurt some aroha, was actually a very good, cold blooded observation of the future reality. i still believe that he didn’t mean any harm with the comment, he loves the fans and his group, but his rationality is what had him say that. had you trained for 7 years in a company, i am sure you would have thought out every possible way your career could end. what he didn’t want to say via this was that it’s the end of astro - no, there is no way fantagio is letting go of astro and i am almost sure that if the group flows as smoothly as they had during these two years, there won’t be any reason for astro not to remain in fantagio entertainment.

i think mj has a lot of emotions bottled up. now, this paragraph is just speculation, but seeing him smile all the time just gives off a bad vibe to me. i love mj and his positivity, i love that he can pull a joke at any time, but i sort of feel like the jokes are his coping mechanism and also a way to take care of the younger boys. he is the eldest member of astro and i feel like he feels like he has to take care of the boys, which is a big objective on it’s own. and in his eyes, the best way to do it is to play with the boys and up their spirits a little. hopefully mj knows that it is ok to be sad and that we won’t be upset if we see him sad. we’d rather empathize with him. aroha’s love will make you feel better, mj.

this is turning from a thank you for not letting astro flop to an open essay about the boys, sorry. but i guess what i wanted to say is that astro have adapted in the idol world in their own little ways. they might have not provided us with club bops (even though you could get down to baby in the club and i will fight anyone on this), but they gave us songs you can listen to when you are down and smile. even more so, songs that are undoubtedly astro. and who astro is is different for 90% of the popular kpop scene in 2017. the boys themselves said that even though they were surprised at their concept, they are happy about it because they have all the time in the world to grow  up and be manly in front of us. for now, they would rather stay bright and happy, our soda idols, refreshing us on a summer’s day and being cute, so they do not look ridiculous trying to pull off a manly concept at a too young age or vice verca - pull off a rainbow concept when they are in the middle of their 20s. and what makes me happy is that people accepted i, the fact that astro are different from a lot of kpop groups. the fact that astro put out giggly, light pop instead on hard dropping edm club tracks and actually listen to those songs and wait for astro’s comebacks. the fact that astro’s climate is loved mends my heart. i wish all groups were loved like that.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

EVERY FOUNDER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AGE

This plan collapsed under its own weight. To answer that we have to go back n paragraphs and start over in another direction. It seemed curious that the same task could be painful to one person and pleasant to another, but I resent being told what to do in an essay about color or baseball. And for these releases, the mere fact of which seemed to us evidence of their backwardness, they would get confused and click on the browser's Back button. And the things I had to choose between two theories, prefer the one that doesn't center on you. Actually it isn't. Ditto for the idea of reusability got attached to object-oriented programming offers a sustainable way to write spaghetti code. -10x more succinct than C, and this is one reason intranet software will continue to thrive, even though it wasn't an online store builder, with about 14,000 users. No one actually proposed implementing numbers as lists in practice. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to use them?

Be nice. Arbitrarily declaring such a border would have constrained our design choices. If software moves off the desktop and onto servers, what I'm describing here is the future of web startups will if anything increase the importance of startup hubs. It will be argued that it is designed by product managers, they'll never be able to have your application bundled with the OS. I had to do the same for every language, so they don't affect comparisons much. Are there zero users who really love you, or is close enough that you're better off aiming for the solid target of brevity than the fuzzy, nearby one of least work. What does it feel like to program in now.

So are hackers, I think it is. Then you've sunk to a whole bunch simultaneously. It's still a very weak form of disagreement is that it has made it easier to learn to program by looking at them. So you'd only want to talk to other people doesn't seem like work to you, the more time they'll spend in meetings negotiating how their software will work together, and the macro is itself ten lines of code. The way people act is just as misleading. Mark Zuckerberg, the kind of essay I thought I was going to take two weeks to write few projects took longer, I knew I could see the effect in the software as soon as it does now. So you can just turn off the service. There are two problems with this, though.

So you can just confess that you're inexperienced at fundraising—which is always a safe card to play—and you feel you have to pay for might as well stop there. They wanted yellow. Gone were the mumbling recitations of lists of features. Unfortunately the distinction between acceptable and forbidden topics is usually based on how the case looks. The weekend before the demo day for potential investors ten weeks in, and go home. It was written by two guys working in an attic, and yet needs to meet multiple times before making up his mind, has very low expected value. When friends came back from faraway places, it wasn't just out of politeness that I asked them about their trip. The 2005 summer founders ranged in age from 18 to 28 average 23, and there was a type of programmer who would only put five or ten lines of code every time you use it, and they're thus able to excuse themselves by saying that they haven't had time to make a platform that startups will build on, they have to behave well. There is a kind of a deadline. I've found that the best ones.

But most young hackers have neither. All we ask from those on the manager's schedule you can do about this conundrum, so the best plan is to go for the smaller customers first. When technology makes something dramatically cheaper, standardization always follows. A, that will make most of them are bad: Object-oriented abstractions. The result is to damp extremes. When there is some real external test of skill, it isn't painful to be at the bottom like a pear. If you have an idea for a new feature in the morning, you can watch them learn by doing.

There's obviously the direct cost in time, there's the cost in fragmentation—breaking people's day up into bits too small to be useful. When they sign a termsheet, they want to be popular, certainly, but as a predictor of success it's rounding error compared to what they pick up on their own projects. As I was waiting to hear back, I found that what the teacher wanted us to do was grow that core incrementally. That's where you can read the beginning of a trend: desktop computers won because startups wrote software for them. Viaweb, as at many software companies, especially at the beginning of a trend: desktop computers won because startups wrote software for them. People have been talking about parallel computation as something imminent for at least 20 years, and it seems like no one cares, look more closely. It was the usual story: he'd drop out if it looked like the startup was taking off.

Viaweb, software included fairly big applications that users talked to directly, programs that tried to restart things if they broke, programs that ran occasionally to compile statistics or build indexes for searches, programs we ran explicitly to garbage-collect resources or to move or restore data, programs that those programs used, programs that those programs used, programs that those programs used, programs that tried to restart things if they broke, programs that ran occasionally to compile statistics or build indexes for searches, programs we ran explicitly to garbage-collect resources or to move or restore data, programs that ran constantly in the background looking for problems, programs that tried to restart things if they broke, programs that ran constantly in the background looking for problems, programs that those programs used, programs that pretended to be users to measure performance or expose bugs, programs for diagnosing network troubles, programs for doing backups, interfaces to outside services, software that drove an impressive collection of dials displaying real-time server statistics a hit with visitors, but indispensable for us too, modifications including bug fixes to open-source movement is that it will make conversations better, but that there be few of them. They ask whatever it is they're asking in such a cavalier fashion. Phrased that way, it doesn't sound good at all. So it may not even be meaningful to say that you never have to release software immediately is a big motivator. Most of these changes will be for bad guys too. Sometimes I even make a conscious effort to insulate the other founder s from the details of the process. It's to see whether you'd be a suitable recipient for the size of users' data well, nothing easy, we knew we might as well spend it working on something like the natural history of computers—studying the behavior of algorithms for routing data through networks, for example, seems to be how startups work. Ironically, though open source and blogging suggests, you'll enjoy it more, even if you do it. In another conversation he told me that what he liked about my essays was that they weren't written the way we'd been taught to write essays in school.

There was some initial resistance, but it didn't last long. If someone had told me that, as with the apparent laziness of people this age. After all, a Web 2. But in fact there will be zero. When a piece of cake in the fridge, and you learn things you'd never say face to face meetings. In the summer of 1995, my friend Rich and I made a point of exerting less. As one of the best things about working for a big company, and it could require interpretation in the case of prosecutors, it probably isn't, it tended to pervade the atmosphere of early universities. And anything you come across that surprises you, who've thought about the question right. But I think this principle would also apply to sites with different origins. And so all over the country, students are writing not about how a baseball team with a small budget might compete with the Yankees, or the productivity of programmers gets measured in lines of code, then you only have a small number of winners early and then supporting them for years to a strategy of spraying money at early stage startups and then ruthlessly culling them at the same rate. We encourage every startup to measure their progress by weekly growth rate. If our competitor had done that, the last time a new way of delivering software appeared.

[actuallyadhd]

ADHD Studying Masterpost

Sorry this is a day late, but hopefully it’s still helpful! Please feel free to reblog and add your thoughts, links, etc. I’ll try to update regularly.

(It’s REALLY long, so I’ll add a Read More.)

Our Tags

Accommodations

College

Due Dates

Homework

Learning Disabilities

Learning Styles

Learning Styles: Auditory Learner

Learning Styles: Visual Learner

Math

Reading

School

Studying

Teachers

Tests

Writing

School

If you find any related posts on this blog that you think are exceptionally useful, please let me know so I can link them directly here!

Taking tests - a Submission from robot-bear

School troubles and solutions - a Submission from unicornannie

Studyblrs

ADHD Physicist

sapphiclystudious

ticklemetuesday’s Submission:

White noise is a must if you get distracted when your studying (or supposed to be focusing on anything in general). I’ve also heard instrumental only music is good too. This is one of those basic tips that I think people forget to try but make a world of difference.

icetigris’s Submission:

Study Advice

Make review sheets. Write down everything you need to know for a test as if you need to teach it to someone else. The act of preparing this will cement your knowledge. If you CAN actually teach it to someone else, that will help even more, since they can ask you questions.

If you need to study math, science, or anything abstract, try to make an animation of some kind. I find that animating algorithms and procedures REALLY clarifies things for me since I’m a very visual learner.

the-adhd-girl’s Submission:

My best studying advice

(Note: not all of these tips are ADHD-specific; also, all of this is my experience, and may not work for others)

1. Figure out what you’re going to be tested on, and adjust your study style accordingly. If you’re going to be tested on rote memory, your studying should be about memorization. Make flashcards, rewrite notes, and come up with mnemonics. If you’re going to be tested on calculations, do practice problems. If you’re going to be tested on essay writing, try to think of what the essay questions are going to be and write practice essays. Then, fact check with your notes and textbooks.

2. When your brain starts to give up, take a break. Don’t waste time by feeling miserable while blankly staring at a page. Get up and take a walk around the block. Or go to lunch. Or go get coffee with a friend. Then come back when you’re refreshed. If this means you have to take a break after five minutes, do it. It’s not ideal to only work for five minutes, but it’s better than burning yourself out and getting nothing done.

3. If you’re doing something like flashcards, make them yourself. The act of making the flashcards will help you remember the material better, in addition to studying with them.

4. Don’t be afraid to look for support from classmates. If you have a gap in your notes, or if you can’t read your own writing, ask someone. Odds are, they need support with something too.

5. Khan Academy YouTube videos are a lifesaver. (https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy).

kenobrea’s Submission:

Study advice: lay out your syllabi with a planner and start putting in every due date for every single thing. Color code if you want (quizzes are blue, papers are red etc). Then start with whatever paper/project is due first and start knocking things out one at a time. My last semester of college I did this and I had all my papers including my 25 page thesis done before Halloween- it was SO nice to just revise and submit them while everyone else was stressing!

Anonymous’s Submission:

Honestly the best way to deal with school as an adhd person is to under stimulate your brain so you have to do school work. Or make yourself scared enough. Or bust logic into your head. Or make it interesting. Or procrastinate then hyper focus. Maybe not totally Beasley but it works.

Anonymous’s Submission:

How to help with school reading: Cliff notes!! Spark notes!! They are a miracle! (Teacher want you to read both them and the book but sometimes I just can't read the book so I end up reading cliff notes instead)

J’s tips for taking a distance ed course:

When you get the schedule, put every single due date and test into your to-do list and planner.

Put checking the message board for the course into your to-do list as a daily thing.

Put reading your modules (or textbook, whatever) into your to-do list as a weekly thing.

Divide up your assignments into small steps and put them into your to-do list and planner as mini-due dates.

Do practice tests and questions when they come up in the modules or textbook, as you are reading.

Try to reply to at least two different threads each week, and try to start at least one of your own as well. This will help your participation grade.

If you have questions, post them in the applicable forum. Someone else might be wondering the same thing!

Try to stay on topic in your forum posts.

When you write your introduction post, you should mention your ADHD and explain what will help you with the course. For me, that’s space between paragraphs and patience when I go on a tangent or just randomly talk about guinea pigs or something. I don’t need accommodations, I just need the instructor and my fellow students to respect my needs and be understanding when something weird happens.

[forstudyblring]

Tips for Working Students!

As a full time student who also works multiple jobs, I know that it can be difficult to find balance between the two while not breaking down and/or failing at one or both. This post is meant to help other students like me who are working as well as going to school and are looking for advice for how to deal with it. Since I am in university right now, most of the post is geared toward that, however it should still be helpful to people in highschool. Also, a lot of this is based around my experience or experience of friends of mine and obviously will not work for everyone. Take what you will from this and just do what ever works best in your context. 

Cue long ass post --

1. Time management!!!

Obviously this can go for all students, but if you're working a lot at the same time time management is twice as important. I highly advise you to use a calendar!! Input your class schedule, your work schedule, and any other important dates in there like appointments, due dates, extracurriculers, ect. Take one day at the beginning of the school year to go through your calander and book off any days you know you'll need off from work like for classes, study time, and projects you already know the dates off. 

Make sure that there's no over lap between classes and school. Studyblr has some really good printables you can use to fill in your weekly schedule so you can visually see when everything is (here’s my printables tag). Set a default availability at work if you can so that you always have a general idea of when you're working and don't forget to book off days for any alternating classes (i.e. like labs you might only have once a month or lectures that alternate weeks). 

Also, make sure you have set time scheduled in your week to study and finish assignments. Make sure there is a specific time allotment in your week JUST for studying. Even if you can only manage a day or half a day, make sure you have study time scheduled because it's really easy to over schedule your self and start falling behind at school. I usually keep an extra day booked off to use as my study/catch up day. If you come to a time where you don't have a lot of school work, you can always ask for an extra shift.

Throughout the rest the rest of the year, take a day every month (or more or less frequently, whatever works for you) to go over you schedule and make sure everything is booked correctly. Make sure you make any changes at the beginning of a new semester, too. You don't want to accidentally get scheduled at work because you forgot to change your availability!

2. Get a small notebook that you can bring to work

Especially if you're in a major that has a lot of writing or projects, you should get a small notepad you can bring to work to so you can write down any ideas that come your way. I work as a server, and so I just buy small notepads from the dollar store to keep in my apron incase I think of anything for a project/essay. On dead days, I even start writing essay outlines and paragraphs in it, then I can go home and just dumb it onto the computer and fix it up to be handed in. If you can't get/don't have one or if you've just forgotten your notebook, make use of whatevers available to you at work to start brainstorming assignments while your working. I've written entire essays on receipt paper before + stapled them to my final work as a draft  - gotta do watchu gotta do.  

3. Bring your readings to work

If you can, bring copies of your readings or notes to work so you can review when its not busy. Depending on your job and your management, this may not be possible, but if you have a lax job this is really helpful when you need it.

4. Using break times

Honestly, I advise not working on school stuff during your work break unless absolutely necessary (i.e. if youre assignment is due the next morning). Most breaks are only about a half hour long which is barely enough time to eat. Use your break to revitalize yourself and eat something, maybe talk to your friends at work. You need this time to chill to prevent burnouts and breakdowns! Remember to take care of yourself.

5. Make use of resources at work! 

Even a lot of part time jobs will have resources you can make use of for school. At most places you can swipe some pens and other stationary (particularly helpful for students on a budget - this is what I do when I'm particularly low on funds). A lot of companys will also have programs for tuition assitance and internships! Talk to your supervisors and also email or call HR to see if there’s any oppertunities you can use. 

6. Communitcate with your bosses and your teachers about your situation

Especially if you're in a particularily tight situation and are having trouble balancing school and work. Most profs and TAs (or just teachers if you're in highschool) will be completely understanding if you ask for an extension becaue of work. I've done this multiple times and they're usually happy to give an extension as long as you give them enough warning - do not write them the day before an assignments due asking for an extension. Unless you're really stuck, try to give them at min. a few days notice and preferably at least a weeks notice. What I often do is talk to my TAs at the beginning of the semester and explain to them my situation, that way they're not caught off gaurd when something comes up. 

Same thing for your boss. If you tell them that you need a few days off for exams or study time, they'll usually understand and help you out the best they can. Also, talk to your coworkers and see who's willing to take shifts if you need it. Get the numbers/facebook of a handful of coworkers you can ask for a favour in a jam. Better yet, if your work place doesn’t have one already, create a facebook group and add everyone who works into it. whenever anyone needs a shift gone, they can post in the group so everyone knows they’re giving away. People can also post if their picking up shfits as well! It’s super helpful adn convienient for everyone honestly. 

Also. chances are there's probably a few people at your work place who don't go to school and are happy to take shifts off you. When I took a year off from school I took tons of shit from people who needed study time. The more you communicate with people, the more people you'll find willing to help you out. 

[notasanestudent-blog]

Day 22

  It’s nice, having coordinated the days with the date.  I don’t have to do any math.

  It feels weird trying to describe a week’s worth of happenings after most of these posts were written to cover one day.  I was up late last night working on a story, so I figured rather than hash everything out while I was half asleep, I’d wait till today.

  I’m still half asleep.  

  I’ve started drinking coffee in the morning.  “Started” meaning since yesterday.  I was convinced I didn’t like the stuff for the longest time, even though I tried to.  I wanted to like it.  It’s kind of writerly to be typing on a computer with a cup of coffee at your right hand, a bagel at your left (I’ve never had any problem with the bagel).  Yesterday I decided to try again, but this time take the plunge of adding sugar AND cream, which I’d dismissed for the longest time as froufrou.  Well - I guess I’m a bit froufrou.  Now I can drink a cup without trying to force it down, and the bit of caffeine helps me get started.  

There.  A paragraph that has almost no bearing on anything.

  My relationship with Y is weird.  We get along pretty well, most days.  I don’t usually see her until late, when I get back from Central Campus and want to to some last-minute studying.  We do our switch-off - I go to bed with the lights on while she’s studying or watching a movie, then gather all my books in the morning and creep out of our room so I won’t wake her up (that makes it sound like I’m the more congenial one.  There are mornings that I pay no attention to how much noise I’m making, as if that will get back at her for eating chips at 1:00 am).  We’ve talked about a lot of things.  Last night she went on a rant about students who do nothing but show up in class and party, the kind who can talk for hours about getting drunk last night but still say “Pre-Med” or “Pre-Law” when asked what they’re studying.  I agreed that people like that are going to be unpleasantly surprised around their Junior year.  I’d thought similar things while sitting on the bus behind a pack of sorority girls, wishing I had the courage to do something dramatic, like jump out a window (Walter Mitty Moment).  Still, the conversation ended up being nothing more than a ploy to feel good about our own study habits.  It’s weird, but I think Y wants confirmation from me, even if she considers herself smarter.  We relate on a lot of levels, but there’s still an underlying feeling of competition leading her to comment on things like me taking a break (You finished your homework already?  Wow.), me going to bed (You’re going to bed?  Wow.), me getting recommendations to enter college as a homeschooler (You didn’t need recommendations for community college?  Wow.), etc.  THAT is annoying.  I snapped at her a bit yesterday during a questioning session.  In the end, while I’m glad to have a blunt, non-partying, committed student as a roommate, there are days I just want the room to myself.

  Classes are rolling.  I had my first real batch of homework this weekend, so I’ll start to get a taste of how my professors grade.  I have the uncanny feeling that the most happy-go-lucky ones will be the hardest to please.  There’s a level of expectation, even in simple assignments, that I often think goes right over my head.  I’m used to professors explicitly stating what they want and being gratified when students go above and beyond.  Here, above and beyond seems to be the norm.  On the bright side, I love what I’m studying.  I’ve spent far too much time on my reading for the Arab-Israeli conflict course, and as result I’ve started relating everything to that time period.  Although I didn’t appreciate it at first, I had a couple “eureka” moments during literature analyzation class that helped me see how deeper reading isn’t always bad.  Lots of good stories read, some eh writing done.  I’m nervous about impending essay assignments. 

  The number of opportunities here is also very overwhelming.  I met with my Student Connections mentor a couple days ago - a very nice girl who’s just returned from doing thesis research in Beijing.  She seemed to think that every second of my time here should be packed with taking advantage of what’s available, which I agree with, on one level.  It’s hard not to get sucked into the mentality that anything you can do to improve your resume, anything you can do to connect with future employers, anything you can do to separate yourself from the rest of the crowd - DO THAT.  As if life was about achieving the highest position possible.  Since I’m in a major that caters to drifters and dreamers, apparently it’s especially important for me to start thinking about how I’m going to turn my love of writing and literature into a five-figure career.  And I just keep thinking about my original goal of “teaching overseas” and “writing on the side,” wondering if that’s realistic or some kind of hippie dream.  I don’t want to be lazy, but I don’t think getting caught up in a corporate mindset is the answer either.  I’ve made it a goal (another one of those things that started yesterday) to thank people - janitors, bus drivers, cafeteria workers - to try and keep myself from the mindset that these people are here to serve me.  This may be the attitude people refer to when they talk about Michigan students looking down their noses at everyone else.

  Talked to some Mormon guys yesterday.  They looked a bit haggard, sounded a bit robotic.  I can’t imagine U-M is a very welcoming place to go hunting for evangelical prospects.  I actually appreciated that they singled me out as a likely suspect, since I had spoken to anyone all day (I often feel the opposite of invisible - like people are super aware of me and want to maintain distance.  Why is that?).  They were nice and gave me a card.  I explained to them that I’m a Christian and follow the Bible, and they assured me that they do to, but there’s a prophet on earth today who they’ve found to be truthful.  I shook their hands and left, feeling a little guilty for not trying to engage them in some kind of theological back-and-forth.  I wondered if I even had the knowledge to back my arguments.

  Anyway, that’s far more than I intended to write.  I may start trying to do weekly posts, if I’m able to get most of my homework done.  For now, I should probably get out of the cafeteria before my computer battery dies or I get asked to leave.  When people skip over you with their eyes, it means you’ve been in one place too long :)   

[rueur]

Morning Pages No. 64

Thursday 28th August - 10:09am

Yeah, I know I missed the #64 on the 27th that I was so excited for on Wednesday, but I was lenient with myself because of work and Dinel’s extra essay lesson last night. Yesterday was just a busy day and Sarah even said that Day 10 should be a rest day. Even so, Day 10 wasn’t even yesterday, but I feel like I was right to give myself a break anyway. That, and I had the hiccups three freaking times yesterday: once on a walk, once during my class with Dinel of all times, and then once after dinner. We had pizza for dinner last night, courtesy of my card. I just felt like ordering a pizza so we got Greenbrook and some of their chips too. Mate. The chips were nice. The bulk of it is still in the fridge so I’m looking forward to eating that later. I have to work on the website. That’s definitely my ‘I have to’ sentence for the week. I don’t know why I keep putting it off? The work I’ve done on it so far was let’s say about 2 hours worth, so that’s $100. And I’m seeing Julie next Wednesday, which will be the 2nd of September, so I’ll be able to get my invoice to her when I go see her too. I should get that invoice done before the meeting, I reckon. I might put some time aside to finalise the invoice on Tuesday. I don’t know why I’m expecting a lot from myself when it comes to the invoice too. I mean, why is it important whether or not I know how to make the invoice look pretty? It’s just an invoice, it’s totally back-end and functional, and it doesn’t need to reflect on my professionalism whatsoever. Julie’s probably never even seen a freelance communications consultant’s invoice before, so I can just do whatever I want. I’m going to use the agency’s template invoice of course, but how do you measure hours? Maybe I should look at my work invoice too, or even at Evan’s work invoice. Maybe one from when he was still working. 

I feel a bit badly for Lonzo right now, because we both just woke up and now we’re both doing our own thing. I’m a bit annoyed at Evan too because he’s just obsessed with all the fitness/training/Kelley Starrett stuff that he’s been doing, but it’s like HYPER mode over the past few days. And I’ve barely been able to hang out with him, and I hate it. Even now, I want to just chill and play Breath of the Wild for a bit and he’s in the other room glued to his laptop. And he’s stoned all the time. It’s irritating. 

So I just had a good cry in front of him and now he’s staring into space out the living room window. It’s interesting, a few days ago I remember saying we hadn’t had one of these fights where there are huge bouts of silence for a while, and here we are. I guess I jinxed it. I’m waiting for him to say something, but also I need to go about my day so I’m still typing as I wait. It’s probably a good idea to record this exact moment as it’s happening, right? Honestly probably not. I want to follow the ethos that life comes before art. If ever there is an opportunity to live over writing, that opportunity to live takes precedence. Fighting is living. This is a visceral portion of all relationships, and I should be present for it. But in my defence, so should he. And he’s not. He’s just staring out the window. I can stare at his face for a second or two at a time and I see the process of thoughts coming in and out of his mind, but that’s it. He’s made no effort to comfort me, which means that his stance is different to mine. He most likely thinks I’m being unreasonable. I hate that way he says ‘sorry’ like it’s an arbitrary sorry because he thinks that I want to hear that, but his tone is absolutely anything but. I don’t want to hear that ‘sorry’ right now. I hope I’m not waiting exclusively for that ‘sorry’, and zero closure.

Okay, so we did have closure. Evan spoke and the first thing he said was that I wasn’t in the wrong last night when I asked him to spend time with me and drop what he was doing. He acknowledged that I had a right to ask for some quality time knowing my schedule, and that he didn’t realise that last night was just one of those nights where I ‘needed it’. It’s normal, I have to keep reminding myself that it’s a normal thing for people to just need some quality time with their partner every now and then, because sometimes Evan can get SOOOO into whatever it is that he’s doing, and totally forget that I’m a secondary person to him, that I’m not just a part of him? I think it’s a [REDACTED] boys thing. Like his dad is just like this too, and from what Sarah’s told me, Mundell was just the same: always carving out their own space to ‘work’, to ‘develop’, and constantly prioritising that space over so many other facets of their life. I lucked out with Evan though. I’d say that of his father and brother and himself, Evan would have to be the most emotionally mature and open to change. I think it has something to do with the fact that he has witnessed the negative impacts of both his father and brother’s self-interested behaviour. 

I was just about to talk about Barney and Mundell’s habits, but then I checked my phone and noticed a missed call from my dad, so I called him back. We chatted about the house for a while and now he’s got me on hold because he’s received another call. So I’m taking this opportunity to type, and I’ve decided that I’m going to keep this entry to two pages. I feel like two pages is just so much more sustainable as a practice? And I have too much work to do today and my conversation with Evan has already shown that I’m a bit stressed. I mean two pages will take twenty minutes, and I think twenty minutes of mindfulness is still better than falling short of thirty minutes and then feeling bad about myself for not achieving my goal. And thirty minutes set aside each day for this practice is a bit of a tall ask for an adult with multiple other jobs and commitments. I’m too busy for this, and I don’t mind it. If I’m in need of more mindful time, I can meditate or do some yoga or something.

I found a video on Facebook that was essentially a handstand training guide through yoga poses. Basically, you work on one pose for a week each and the third pose is a soft handstand. I’m going to give it a go. I feel like I could handle a handstand pose if I just apply myself. I’m also keen to go for a bike ride, but I have a feeling it may be way too cold. And my main gripe with scheduling bike rides is knowing that I can’t take Lonzo too. Especially now. He’s just too boisterous, and I’d feel like I was always looking out for him. 

Thathi just answered the phone again, and he said we should schedule a trip to the mortgage broker’s. He sounded tired. I’m worried I spoke too much about myself, but I’m not sure what to speak to him about. I don’t know. I feel like a bad daughter. We didn’t even talk at all about my license. Ah. I don’t know what to do about feeling guilty about parents. The older you get, the more independent you become, and the less time you have to chat to your parents. I feel like we should do a family dinner thing, like Evan’s family. I’ve just sent a message to the brother and sister about maybe organising weekly family dinners after lockdown. I just feel so deprived of my family, I don’t like it. I haven’t seen my mum in so so so long. I know I have issues with ammi, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love her and want to talk to her. But I’m worried that so much time has eclipsed now that it’ll be impossible for us to chat without her getting emotional? I don’t know. I can’t really deal with other people’s emotions, I get uncomfortable. I think that’s my Asian upbringing having a bit of an influence on my adult self. I got that Asian level of oppression, yo. That cultural ish. 

Man, I’m already well into the third page, I think I’m just going to finish it off. Well, not well into it. I’d say about a quarter of the way there. I’m currently at 1520 words. Ah, I want to stop listing my word count midway through the doc all the time, but I am writing this out on Google Docs! It’s interesting, I just realised that whilst I do have Microsoft Word and I paid a pretty fucking penny for it, I still use Google Docs so much more? I suppose it’s just so much more convenient. Word is only really useful if the internet gives out, but now I’ve invested so much money in our internet, it’s not likely that our internet will ever give out for a long period of time anymore anyway. That being said, I’ve been finding the loading speeds to be abysmal on my phone. I feel like I should turn the modem and the nbn box off at the wall for a minute and let the whole system restart, that usually works.

Okay, I know I said that I was going to finish these pages off...I am, no I am. I can do this. I’m so close anyway, what’s another paragraph or two. I just know that I’m going to be doing a lot of work today and I feel like I’m not going to start on the website right after finishing this entry off because I’m going to follow a natural urge to give myself a break. But I’m not hungry, and I want to tell Evan about the contaminated water thing so that he doesn’t accidentally drink a full glass of water straight from the sink. He’s been drinking a lot of water lately. Good on him, right? Ugh, he’s going to get so much healthier than me if I don’t catch up soon. 

Both Nicky and Lonzo are asleep on the green couch next to me. Evan said he’d be keen to move the green couch into the TV room and I think I am too. It’d be nice to have the futon in a space where it actually fucking fits, and I think the green couch would look so nice with the Persian rug in that room now. It’d also be nice to have the futon set up in bed mode right under the big window we have in the living room, so that I can just lay there and read by the wide source of daylight. Ooh, this feels like such a great idea now. My only concern is that that futon is going to be really chilly for people who stay over now. At least in the other room it was in a confined space, but out here it’s going to be so drafty. It’s fine, I don’t see us having people over anytime soon anyway. I keep thinking about that time Steve and Mundell came over and Malith was here. They had a lot of fun with him, but I mean he’s a very accessible character. Fuck, I need to finish ‘Fleabag’. I’ll do that at work tomorrow? After Dominicana. It should be an easy read. But Ben is managing tomorrow and he’ll want to talk to me. He’s been wanting to talk to me more since his divorce, and I’ve been amenable to that. I just know he’s enjoying the social aspects of our working relationship. We’re both conversationalists, and he’s a joker like Sam. Just not as immersed in puns as Shepherd is.

[writtenbyhappynerds]

FF102: Unit 5, When to Upload

Welcome back! This unit is mostly anecdotal and stems from seeing great work get abandoned. While there are a plethora of reasons why someone might abandon their work, a regimented upload schedule, and workshop before publishing can help.

            A consistent uploading schedule and a backlog of chapters are good to have in case time slows down and things come up in real life. This course is a great example of why you should have backlog chapters completed in advance. We had to take 2 weeks to write the Diversity chapter. Consistency is key. Even if no one is reading your story, just knowing that it’ll be there every Sunday is good. It shows you have your life together and it shows commitment. You write for your audience, but you don’t write to become popular and famous on whatever platform you’re publishing to. Let me explain.

            Currently, the Editor and I are in college. Our fall semesters are starting again, and we have 3 stories to maintain: Fanfiction 102, What Do We Owe, and Ashes to Ashes. With 18-credit hours and 3 stories with vastly different vibes, characters, and styles, if we didn’t have a plan we’d be screwed. We’d have to take a hiatus and add an Author’s Note in its own chapter saying that “we have to take care of some personal issues.” After maybe 4 weeks of a break, maybe we feel like we can’t pick it back up. We try, and it doesn’t work, and then the stories get abandoned. That’s how my old unfinished works got abandoned. That’s how I deleted work. Consistency isn’t just for your audience, it is also for you. So, the question is: how do you manage 3 stories with weekly publishings when they have different styles and formats? The Editor and I focus on 2 stories a week. This week, as we are writing this chapter, we have the responsibility to write and edit 2 chapters for one of the stories. This week it’s Ashes to Ashes. So we write our chapter of Fanfiction 102, we write 2 chapters for Ashes to Ashes, and then on Sunday, everything gets one final look-over before getting published. Before we published What Do We Owe and Ashes to Ashes, we wrote the first 4-5 chapters and published those first while continuing to write ahead. So on Sunday, chapter 9 of Ashes to Ashes will go up, yet the Editor and I have written all the way up to chapter 12. For What Do We Owe it’s chapter 7 getting published but we’re on chapter 10. By keeping a backlog of chapters we can afford to have weeks where we can’t write or don’t write. If we have a chapter of Fanfiction 102 that requires all our spare attention, we can afford to ignore our other works because they have a backlog. This system also allows us to focus on one style at a time, which ensures that the OCs don’t crossover and blend together. Sometimes you can tell when two works were written at the same time because the OCs personalities will give and take until they are one. It shows us that the author had a hard time separating the two and treating them as different people. Now, I’m not saying that you have to adapt to this method, but I have found that it works best for me. Other writers we have spoken with will write and upload one chapter a day. If they create their own backlogs then they have a chance to relax for a day or so. I personally can’t do that. I need to stare at my work until I hate it and then make it better. If you are like me, maybe take a few days or weeks at a time to edit. Something that sounds really good at that moment may not be as good the next day when you go back and look at it.            The Editor and I believe you should have a few chapters rearing to go before you think about publishing. We did this for our current in-process works and are doing this for our future works. This allows you as the writer to get a feel for the story, the characters, and the vibe you want before anyone else sees it. It also saves you from having to go back and edit your previous chapters, and then make a note telling people you had to do that. For example, in our 2nd unit Superpowers, we wrote a short scene about a character Astrid. After that unit came out, I texted the Editor: **

>You know now we have to make Astrid Dawes (the example from Unit 2) a real person 

Hahaha yes<

**

           And we have. And we are. However, since Unit 2 came out 5 weeks ago we’ve yet to make a full chapter in that potential fanfic. We’ve been going back and changing our minds on ideas, scenes, characters, and what the story behind Astrid Dawes would be. Once the story is published we have to keep with what is out there, so letting Astrid Dawes drift in the background and collect ideas like an unborn baby is useful in that we can change our minds on her trajectory, backstory, and her arc as a person.

            Going back to our current projects, we also don’t fly blind to those. If you’ve taken an English class you’ve probably had to do the: here’s a prompt, write a paper in 40 minutes. If you haven’t had to do that, you’re either lucky or you have a big storm coming. The most sage advice I ever got was from a friend of mine. When she wrote those essays, she would leave half her paper open for the introduction, and start writing her first body paragraph. She didn’t always know where she was going but she knew what she wanted to say. After that first body paragraph was written she could go back and write the introduction and the thesis that would be her roadmap for the rest of the essay. When we write these chapters, we don’t always know what’s happening or how characters are going to get there. However, we know what we want to say. For example, the other 4 units that we’ve yet to write for Fanfiction 102 all have notes. They all have footnotes and bullet points of what we know we want to say. During each week while we write those chapters, it’s on us to make sure that we get those bullet points across as clearly as possible. The same is true for our other fictional works. We don’t know how Cicely Godith, our protagonist of Ashes to Ashes, is going to get to do what she’s doing in Chapter 13, but we know what she’s doing now. We don’t know how to convey the urgency of Johnny and Claudia’s plans in What Do We Owe, but we know what those plans are. Having a thumbnail or a set of shorthand notes are useful to you as a writer because it gives you an idea of where you’re going. The journey can be freeform, but the destination will give you a stopping point. We will discuss more in-depth in a later unit, but we wanted to introduce it now.

            Finally, we want to talk about the one exception. Consider this the counter-argument to our previous discussion: if you are coming back to a story after a long period of abandonment, it is okay to re-edit chapters. I almost expect you to re-edit chapters. Let’s use the Psycho-Pass fanfic I wrote in 2015. I was 16 years old, I’d just seen Psycho-Pass and I wanted to write a story about where Shinya Kogami went during the gap between the end of the first season and when we see him again in the movie. We know what he was doing but we don’t know how he got there. That’s the hole my story filled in. The last chapter was published in 2017. There are only 7 chapters. I clearly didn’t have a consistent uploading schedule. I didn’t have notes or ideas on where these characters would go, and I didn’t have a backlog of chapters. The story was abandoned. I do not write the same as I did when I was 16. Writing is a skill. It develops over time as it’s practiced and used. If I were to revisit that story, I could not jump back into my 16-year old mindset and continue on like nothing happened. It would need to be brought into this decade, and I absolutely would have to re-edit the chapters. If you are coming back to your story after years of abandonment you can always change what you’ve written. Always. Come at it with a new plan, a new attitude, and a new methodology and style. The story may change but the bones of the original will always be there. In addition, don’t delete your old work. Save the original chapters to a google drive or a folder. That is your first draft, and you’ll be surprised how much good work and reference you can pull from it.

            This chapter was more anecdotal. We understand that and if that isn’t your style we apologize. Next week we’ll be @-ing a rather large community. If you write with [Y/N] [L/N] hide your mess. We’re coming for you.

Xoxo, Gossip Girl. 

Also, check out Hold Me Close! A Sirius Black fanfiction. Rachel does an amazing job writing and uploading it on the same day. I wish I had her focus and determination.

Hold Me Close [Sirius Black]

[perfectzablog]

What Giving Students Choice Looks Like in the Classroom

Excerpted from “Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement” by Heather Wolpert-Gawron.

Read the companion piece, “Why Choice Matters to Student Learning,” for more about the research on student engagement and choice.

By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

Keeping in mind the prior research that proves there is such a thing as too much choice, it’s important to just look at all the possible options that teachers have who are looking to incorporate more choice in their classrooms.

Options to offer choice:

1. People to Work With. Give students the chance to choose whether to work independently or with another student(s). As a teacher, you can still maintain some control by giving students input. Poll them to see the four students they would most want to work with and then give them the guarantee that at least one of those students will be working with them. Let’s face it, life would be great if nobody got left out of the picking process or if every student felt welcomed in every group, but teachers might want to maintain some input here as well, if only to help students who socially need the push. Nevertheless, give students the ability to have some say in their coworkers. Don’t you wish you could have some say in yours?

From “Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement” by Heather Wolpert-Gawron

2. Resources to Use. Guide students in how to research, but don’t point them to every possible resource. Help foster independent learning by giving them the choice in what they are learning from.

3. Driving Questions. In inquiry-based learning, students tend to develop their own questions that require research in order to form a solution. Being able to develop these questions, the questions that drive the learning, is not a small task, and can be used as their own informal assessment as well. By allowing students to set the train on the track, you will have them buying into the learning throughout the journey.

4. Ways to Show Their Knowledge. As Marzano said above, there are many ways in which a student can show what they know about the content area. From essays to dramatic interpretations, from digital slideshows to sculptures, from websites to podcasts, students can prove their knowledge and give evidence of their learning in an infinite number of ways.

5. Which Rubric to Be Scored On. Some teachers have taken to developing different rubrics that reflect different levels of understanding. In other words, if students feel they are ready, they can attach the advanced rubric to their essay or if they feel they aren’t quite ready for that challenge, they can be assessed using a more standard or grade-level rubric. Rubrics can also be used to assess different elements of an assignment. Just imagine a student setting their own goals and then selecting the rubric to match that goal.

6. What They Need to Work on to Improve/Learning Goals. And speaking of setting goals, allow students to set their own goals and objectives. When I have my students begin the revision stage of essay writing, for instance, I always have them first state what they choose to have me look for in order to give more targeted feedback. In so doing, they not only show me that they are reflective and aware of the skill they need to work on, but they also pay closer attention to the feedback overall.

For instance, one student used the commenting tool in Google Drive to indicate what she wanted me to look for as I was reading her initial essay. She asked me the following:

Katie: How should I change my title to make it seem like a strong representation of the theme?

Student choice, therefore, helps me to help them.

From “Just Ask Us: Kids Speak Out on Student Engagement” by Heather Wolpert-Gawron

7. Ways to View and Record Assignments for Time Management. Tweens and teens continue to need advice in how to manage their time, but they don’t all connect with the same methods. Therefore, I give my students three different choices as ways to record their assignments or track their assignments. This is yet another way that choice feeds into our mission to differentiate.

Weekly: I post our classroom and homework online each week. On Mondays, students see what the upcoming week holds. This allows students to plan their workload and know when things are due in manageable pieces.

Daily: I break down each day on the board and let students know what we are doing throughout the period. Some students really can only take in bite-sized information at a time.

Quarter/Semester: I give students a rough timeline of what the quarter or semester looks like including key dates when larger assignments are due. Some students find this overwhelming, while others really like the overarching knowledge of what’s to come.

8. Scaffolds. By the time students get to middle school, it’s really vital that they have a choice in how they take notes or in what scaffolds to use. I’m not a fan of dictating what Thinking Map to use or if a student needs to use one at all. However, if they learned one earlier that they continue to rely on, why not allow them to use it? There might also be a different kind of graphic organizer that does help them. Perhaps a student likes using Cornell Notes, while others might prefer index cards or a digital program like Evernote. We can dictate that a brainstorming element needs to be included in the learning process, but we shouldn’t be dictating for students the scaffold that works best for them.

9. Text Structures. Give students choice in the structure of their essays. We know that the traditional five-paragraph essay doesn’t exist in the world outside of school, and in fact, in many of the formal tests administered to students, that standardized structure never even appears, so teach students to take risks with their written structure. Teach students how to organize their thoughts using subheadings, bullets, and numbering. Teach them how to use transitions that not only work between paragraphs, but also work between sections of text. Teach them about captions and integrating quotes. Allow students to embed images and videos into their essays as well as data or textual evidence. Give them choice in the structure of their essay, and you might just find that they can communicate their knowledge more clearly than trying to fit what’s in the brain into a structure that doesn’t connect with them.

10. Choice of opinion/prompts, etc. Give students options of prompts to respond to and/or create open-ended questions that can only be answered by each individual student. By giving them leeway to decide on their own opinions or choose from a list of content-related prompts, you will find that their excitement for responding increases. And if their engagement increases, you will get the highest level of response they can muster.

11. Seating. Choice of seating was actually mentioned a number of times in our student engagement survey. In my classroom, for instance, I have beanbag chairs, standing desks with bar stools, video game chairs, small group tables, and plenty of carpet. Different kids like to work in different positions. Some like to work under tables or facing walls. I call them “cave dwellers.” Others like to stand at the taller tables, dismissing chairs altogether. Others like to sit, back-to-back, on the floor. I also find that they tend to make wise choices. More hyper kids, for instance, will work quantitatively more while rocking in a video game chair than seated static at a desk. The only drawback is that it took me longer to memorize the names because they also liked to try different views of the classroom and different seating options, particularly at the beginning of the year. But (shrug) that was my problem. When we’re talking about engagement, it’s a no-brainer.

12. Deadlines. You know how you get slammed when all those essays or projects come in all at once? Why not avoid that dilemma and allow students to select the deadlines themselves? Once I have introduced a long-term assignment, I generally open up a window of dates for students to choose from. I send out a Google Form that allows students to select from a drop-down menu of choices. Their selection then seeds a spreadsheet automatically that I can sort by date. The date they select is their firm deadline. So I’m still honoring the assessment of responsibility, but I am also honoring the process of bringing students into the decision-making process.

Heather Wolpert-Gawron is an award-winning middle school teacher and author of Just Ask Us (Corwin, 2018). She has authored several other books including: DIY for Project Based Learning for ELA and History, DIY for Project Based Learning for Math and Science, Writing Behind Every Door: Teaching Common Core Writing in the Content Areas and Tween Crayons and Curfews: Tips for Middle School Teachers. Heather is a staff blogger for Edutopia.org and shares all things middle school at tweenteacher.com. Follow Heather on Twitter: @tweenteacher.

What Giving Students Choice Looks Like in the Classroom published first on https://greatpricecourse.tumblr.com/

[marctheshark9]

Left Writing

Writing feels right. It’s what I do when I things go left. Like everything else, good writing requires proper planning and efficient execution. Someone once said that “everything in life is the same,”. I heard Kayne West say it. He probably wasn’t the first to say it but, there is some truth to it. Everything in life has fundamentals, rules, regulations, and consequences. Writing has all of these.I enjoy writing and I got paid to do it. I need to get back on it.

I am a writer! This year I’m challenging myself to blog weekly. I will post every Monday before I go to the gym. My topics will be relevant and random. When I state my opinion on a topic I will have sources to back up my point-of-view.

Writing has always been easy for me. In grade school, my friends dreaded writing essays. I looked forward to it because I despised math. I would always do an ill planning sheet. Then I would write my intro and before I knew it I was three paragraphs deep. Anyone can be a good writer. Like everything in life, it takes planning, practice, and patience. 

I tried blogging every day, but I couldn’t stay consistent. I know I can do this weekly. Plus it will give me time to research, and edit my work. If you’re reading this shoot me a topic to write about. If you need some help writing something just hit me up. Writing isn’t free so don’t try to play me.

My degrees are in journalism, but I teach at a private elementary school. In college, I knew that I didn’t want to be a breaking news reporter, but I made sure that my writing skills were top notch. Good writing translates well in any profession.

I teach so my writing has to be solid at all times. Some of my classmates are lawyers, business owners, and work in the entertainment industry. These jobs aren’t journalism jobs, but I know their writing skills helped them acquire the position. Good writing translates well in any profession.

Well, now that you know why I’m writing let's get into it. My topic is how was the first week of the new year? It’s a cliche’ subject, but it is the second week of the new year. When you get some time look back on your first week and see how you did. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Ask yourself did I move forward, go backward, or remain still? Reflect on last week and see if it was on track with the goals you set. 

2018 will be year 26 for me. Things haven’t been perfect, but I’m here. You are too. We could be in a hospital bed, in jail, or worse, dead. Everyone in life has the same 24 hours. What do you plan to do with your 24?

My first goal this year is to get closer to God. I’m not religious, but I do believe in God. My family is Christian. That’s cool, but I just can’t follow the same religion that was used to enslave my ancestors. I could go on but that’s a topic for another day. When God and I are on the same page things usually go well. I pray every day at least once. I’m far from perfect, but God knows where my heart is.

Another goal of mine for this year is to compete for an adult league championship. I’m going to play flag football first. Long story short I had neck surgery in high school and was unable to participate in any sports.  I was a three-sport athlete so this was devasting. I started to get sick in 11th grade. At the time I felt like I was in my physical prime. My condition took that away from me and I want it back.

I’ ll be 26 in July. Age 30 is right around the corner. I gotta use my skills before I have to reinvent my game. I bought some cleats right before the end of 2017. That same day I went out and played two games of flag football. My team went 1-1. I scored a touchdown in both games and was a nightmare on defense. 

Later today I'm going to lift and hoop. This year I’m really trying to work on flexibility. I can finally touch my toes. I can’t hold it for long, but it’s progress. You have a choice to get better or get worse. Always make progress, make money and enjoy life.Like Rocky said Always Strive And Prosper. 

I could go on, but I’m going to stop here cause I got stuff to do. Hope you enjoyed. See ya next week.