#i'm not stupid i am mentally ill and i am working on it and my grades do not define me
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I'm not going to pretend it doesn't make me angry that I spend months and years trying to peddle my work to make ends meet, that I spend so much time mentioning my books and comms and everything, and people ignore that consisently... But the moment I finally break under the hopelessness - when it's obvious that it's fucking futile, that almost no one deems my work good enough to share with anyone else - suddenly they're concerned and scolding me. I'm working several jobs, bathing, generally keeping things clean, and I do this with several health problems including chronic pain. I found out that one of my cysts is growing and I may need to have it surgically removed. Which means potentially missing work to recover. Which means more money I lose. I spend so much time crawling out of the hole and it goes ignored, but the moment I just give up bc I don't have any strength left, suddenly that's my fault and I'm mentally sick. And that kind of makes me wish my entire situation upon people, and when they whine that it's hard, well fuck you, you thought I could ace it so surely you can, babe! I hate being angry about this, but it's just so exhausting to tell people who accuse me of not trying that I HAVE I HAVE SO FUCKING HARD AND YOU DID NOT PAY ATTENTION THEN Or you know you're attempting to gaslight me by claiming I didn't try despite that I obviously have worked my ass off trying, and that's so much fucking worse
#mcalhen personal#and I'm not saying I'm not mentally ill but ffs stop using it as a weapon to discredit people when they have the solutions right there#feels like people hate my writing and me and that's why I didn't go “I got the job” bc friends who never support me would be like#“I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU CONGRATS” cool I'm not I spend an entire day usually recovering from very calm shifts at a job I like#but the moment I publish a book it's not congrats it's I don't know this guy I don't know Cal and I'm gonna pretend I never saw anything#I don't even hate my goddamn job even tho it can be stressful but it's the easiest thing for mostly just 2 days a week#but it is not sustainable and I cannot survive on this and disability would be invasive as hell and y'all don't know shit about how they#treat disabled people in this country but goddamn I have watched that shit unfold with my autistic brother who can't work#and I can never help him at this rate#bc I can't help myself#I can't help anyone#and saying that is a big fucking issue with people who think if they say 'it gets better keep going' I'll magically unfuck my life#as if I haven't spent the entirety of my life trying to unfuck things#as if I didn't give myself an education in spite of my family#y'all never been threatened with physical violence bc you weren't supposed to ask for school supplies and it fucking SHOWS#I have learned so many things on my own time out of sheer desire to better myself and my situation#but at a point where nothing works out and each day is just filled with more bad news#at what point am I actually allowed to give up?#or am I supposed to just keep this up until I die with 40 more years of collected bullshit pain#bc if you want me to live like this for 40 years then... you never cared at all#and what's so stupid is that I really want to earn my living by doing the work#I work on my art and writing but let's just admit that it's pathetic already#no mental health services or pills will erase that I'm a pathetic garbage can of uselessness#also I realize no one owes me anything like boosting my work or w/e#but also don't ask me to turn rotten ingredients into a feast and say I'm not trying when I can't fucking do it
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technically the contract for my new internship (signed & submitted, but i haven't actually started yet or turned in my payment info or anything) states that i'm supposed to start on monday. so strictly speaking i haven't lost hours on the job due to being sick this week, i guess. but in communication it was agreed that i would start this past monday for a lighter possibly part-time week of mostly onboarding and getting-to-know-the-office type work. which obviously i've missed due to hacking my lungs out in my house for the past eight days...it's not the end of the world for me to start next week, my boss is totally fine with it and wants me to be okay before starting, and it's not like i will have missed anything terribly important like a performance or something. and missing one week's worth of a paycheck is not going to ruin me financially, thankfully. but still, y'know, disappointed to have lost a week of productivity, especially in such a lucrative (job experience wise not necessarily money wise. but the money isn't terrible either.) internship i'm super lucky to have gotten in the first place. very much looking forward to finally starting on monday and putting this shit behind me
#i am SO fucking done with being sick#just waiting for my stupid immune system to get with the program already :/#i am recovering. today was mostly okay. i think by the weekend i will be human again#(which is good bc. concert on sunday for youth orchestra i have to work. and i missed the rehearsal yesterday bc of Sick. wheee)#i really am extraordinarily lucky i think. in multiple regards#that my fellowship bosses and coworkers were supportive of me staying home when i got sick on the last day of the term#(therefore having to miss helping out with two of the biggest events of the year and force them to last minute cover for me)#and that my bosses/coworkers at my youth orchestra job are patient and accommodating with my being sick too#(right before the last concert of the season)#and that my new boss/coworkers for my internship were willing to give me a week to recover from unexpected illness#the same week i was supposed to start#also that i'm still getting/have gotten paid normally for the fellowship and the youth orchestra jobs despite missing a day each#and shaving a week off from my internship isn't going to strain me financially#truly i am lucky. and i'm grateful for that#for the ability to stay shut up in my house for ten days feeling physically and mentally miserable.#but not actually worrying about if i could afford it#i wanna talk about me
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please don't look too closely at the fact I crave unconditional love and attention in the way pets get unconditional love and attention. because they're adorable and lovable without having to earn it or actively put effort into being so in the eyes of others. they just are. please don't psychoanalyse me and my trauma and mental illnesses through that lense
#therapists would have a field day with my late night mental illness posts and realisations tbh#also still stuck in the stupid thought loop of: i am traumatised and mentally ill BUT ALSO i am totally fine and just a whiny weak baby#who needs to just tough up and shut up and just Be Normal because nothing really traumatic happened to me and i'm just too stupid and soft#but also!!! there was physical and emotional abuse !!!! but it wasn't bad!!!!! but it was there and it did something to my brain!!!#BUT IT WASN'T BAD AND I SHOULD BE FINE ACTUALLY!!!! AND I SHOULDN'T BE SO WEAK AND SICK FROM IT#but i am!!!! but i shouldn't!!!! because it wasn't bad. it was almost nothing!!!! and almost nothing should NOT fuck your brain up so much#so i should be fine and go on with normal adult life!!!! but somehow i CANNOT and it is frustrating as hell!!!!!!!#just WORK like you SHOULD you silly brain body thing!!!!!!!!!#rinse and repeat rinse and repeat
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sorry i showed you my cringefail grades do you still think i'm hot
#ilana says stuff#i'm just sitting here like 'but what if the people at this community college see how stupid i am and think i'm an idiot'#i'm not stupid i was severely depressed and coping with undiagnosed adhd i'm not stupid now even though i'm still depressed and have adhd#i'm not stupid i am mentally ill and i am working on it and my grades do not define me#feels very bad to look at them but they do not define me and i can and will earn a degree#it's fine everything's fine and everything will be fine and i am not at all scared about going back to school it's fine
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Ok it is rlly late for me rlly early for others so fuck it I'll make a post here . If I remember to I'll delete it later if not it's not like anyone stalks my blog that I know of so whatever
But gotta ask , partially as just a depressed person but especially as a trans Floridian . Like . What's the point. Of anything. Anymore. What's the point.
#I hate that I#Gotta fight and claw and scream every day so stupid old dudes dont take away my constitutional rigjts and it doesnt even work#and I Cant fight#I got like three diagnosed mental illnesses and god knows how many undiagnosed physical chronic ones#I dont know how to drive#I dont have the energy to fight .#So I guess some day#the people who are supposed to protect me will kill me#fine#I am too afraid of what might come after to die#but I#sure don't want to live#and I'm#supposed to interact with people and be nice and do things in spite of everything?#What's the fucking point#neg#ask to tag#behind the tent
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I really wish the four day work week / four hour workday was standardized bc I'd be a lot more willing to get a standard job on top of my freelance job if it was
#i am sooo tired of being broke#but also i am a crippped mentally ill tranny so like#normal jobs are a very hostile environment for me lol#i need to get my stupid brain to work and try applying for EBT and/or disability#but like. it's so difficult for me to start unfamiliar processes#and i'm scared of getting them wrong#ugghhhhhhh#i hate this country#negative
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they should invent a me that's good at everything i want to be good at. [thing from the addams family pokes out of a nearby box and hands me a piece of paper] thank you, thing. what's this...oh! why, it's a paper that says i have to be the one to do that for my future self! huh.
#bluebird.txt#post brought to you by IM FRUSTRATED AND ANNOYED BUT GRITTING MY TEETH AND KNOWING THAT I WILL NOT LET MYSELF FAIL IN THE LONG TERM#EVEN IF FUCK UP NOW YOU GOTTA FUCK UP A LOT BEFORE YOU GET ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE YOU WANNA BE#AND I'M DOING GREAT#AND ALSO I HAVE GENUINELY BEEN GOING THROUGH SO MUCH HEALTH SHIT RECENTLY THAT I LEGITIMATELY WAS COMPLETELY UNABLE TO THINK OF#ALMOST ANYTHING SCHOOL RELATED AT ALL CAUSING ME TO FORGET MULTIPLE ASSIGNMENTS AND BE LATE TO A MIDTERM#AND IT SUCKS BUT SOMETIMES THERE REALLY IS A GOOD REASON FOR WHY YOU COULD NOT DO AS MYCH AS YOU WANTED#AND MAYBE YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO AS MUCH AS YOU WANT AT ONCE#BUT TAKE IT SLOWLY AND ONE DAY AT A TIME AND SOME DAYS YOU WILL FEEL LACKING BUT JUST THINK OF ALL#THE GOOD WORK YOU'VE ALREADY DONE#MORE WILL COME YOU WILL BE FINE#I AM FRUSTRATED NOW AND THAT IS FINE AND I AM NOT WHERE I WANT TO BE IN MANY WAYS BUT I HAD A HEALTH SETBACK#THAT FORCED ME TO BE UNABLE TO DO SHIT I NEEDED TO DO AND NOW YOU SIMPLY JUST GOTTA GET BACK INTO IT#EVEN IF ITS SLOW AND EVEN IF YOU 'SHOULD' BE BETTER#SHOULD IS A BULLSHIT FUCKING WORD IN THIS CASE#YOU ARE. I AM. AND I WILL CONTINUE BEING. I WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THIS YEAR AND ACTUALLY IT WILL NOT KILL ME.#I'M JUST GONNA MAKE IT THROUGH THIS YEAR. AND THIS ORCHESTRA CYCLE. AND THEN I CAN GO ON VACATION. AND DO MENTAL PRACTICE.#AND MY BEST. AND YOUR BEST DOESN'T MEAN PERFECT OR EVEN THAT FOOD SOMETIMES IT JUST MEANS DO WHAT YOU CAN.#me when im taking it easy but taking it#sorry i gotta hype myself up cuz if i let myself feel bad about myself that's stupid and dumb and im better than that#if im not aggressively positive ill explode and my life will fall apart around me and i will NOT let myself be miserable again#last month was out of my control mostly. i will however not take 19 credits next semester!#girls when. RAAAGGGGGGHHHH RIPS OFF MY SHIRT I AM ALIVE AT LEAST AND THATS PRETTY COOL#me when i paused like seven times typing this to cough hard
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i love my therapist but i hate being in therapy. 10 minutes before my appointment, i'm in a meeting with my boss - we discuss my artistic choices; my boss recommends i artistically choose less. 10 minutes after therapy, i wash my hair and think about everything that was said, and then i have to switch it off, like a lamp, and go back to work again.
i was on a walk the other day and someone had the perfect combination of his cologne and whatever-else. it was almost exactly his scent. i fucking hate that. after all these years, i remember that? i tell my therapist - i feel like a fucking wolf. try telling a middle-aged blonde lady. oh i scented him on the air. i'm 30, and i'm having a panic attack over something that would be a plotline in the omegaverse.
what they don't tell you about mental illness is that if you are lucky enough to survive it into adulthood; it becomes a weird slice of your life. because you do, eventually, have to build a life. i realized in a panic somewhere around 22 - oh. i don't know what i'm fucking doing, because i always assumed i'd just go ahead and die. i didn't die, and i'm grateful for that, and i'm very happy about that choice. but it does mean that i am an adult in an apartment, living with my conditions side-by-side like. oh, that's my roommate, adhd. ignore the glass, bytheway, that's ocd.
so you pick your stupid life up by the scruff of the neck and you're, like glad for it (so much laughter and light and friends you would have never thought possible, when you were in the worst of it). but it feels so strange to be dancing around these odd little microcosms, these patchwork moments of your symptoms. if you have a panic attack at night, you still need to wake up and walk the dog in the morning. if your depression is making everything boring, well, you don't have any sick days left, and a job's not really supposed to be that exciting anyway. your ocd tears out each individual leg hair, and then, an hour later, you sigh, patch up the bloody bits, and go get dinner with friends. and the life is kitten-quiet, mewling and pathetic, but it's also like - it's yours, so you're fond of it.
and it's like - you're real. so you still enjoy pushing the shopping cart really fast and then riding on the back of it down an empty aisle. and you're not, like, so sick anymore that when you accidentally drop a mug you burst into tears (except for the days you do that. which are bad). and no, you're not allowed around certain items anymore. oops! but you've learned to be good about brushing your teeth most days of the week. and yeah sometimes in the middle of the day you have a little freak-out about how fucking unfair it all is, how fucking hard, how other people can just do this without having to fucking hurt the whole time. and then you sigh and force yourself to sit down and fucking journal about it so you can tell the nice middle-aged blonde woman yeah i had a hard day but i practiced grounding. you still sometimes want to burst out of your own skin, but you force yourself to eat kind-of healthy and to take your vitamins. you let yourself chop off all your hair in the sink in a dramatic poetry of control and relief - and you also have developed good hobbies that help you move your body more frequently. you feel helplessly behind, lost in the shuffle - but you also practice gratitude, taking stock of what you have garnered. because you're trying. even if you're never gonna be normal, you have something... close enough.
and the little kitten of your life, this mangy, starlit tigercub, this thing you expected to rot so young: in your arms, it turns itself over, belly-up. exposing this new soft part, all the organs and guts. like it's saying i trust you now. you won't give me up.
#does this even MAKE SENSE!!!!!#writeblr#btw what im trying to express in that first sentence is EXPLICITLY the feeling of logging off therapy to immediately go back to work#like :) haha!
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I guess the thing that makes me not so fond of Jon's addiction allegory is that it's only coherent to a certain extent? Like I think people sometimes forget that he's actively violating these people
anon, through no fault of your own you have accidentally hit upon my sleeper agent trigger phrase. I have layers of answers to this.
so first off, yeah, it's not a 1:1 direct metaphor, it's a soupy dream logic fantasy plot device with flavors of a lot of different things. there's quite a lot of addiction in there, there's some abuse of power, there's some cyclical nature of trauma, there's a dash of disability, there's a few notes of gendered violence, there's a good bit of just. violence violence and being kind of a motherfucker because goddammit it feels good to be an active agent about something in your life, even if it's just choosing to be a worse version of yourself than you strictly need to be. a lot of tma's worldbuilding is very allegorical, but apart from aspects of individual statements nothing really matches up quite 1:1 with a real world counterpart, and if more things did then it probably wouldn't be a fantasy show anymore.
secondly. okay to contextualize this answer a little bit I have a kind of hypothetical video essay project about vampirism and addiction that I like to spend a few hours thinking about every so often but am almost certainly never going to make because the full research burden required is a lot higher than I actually have the time to properly do. but because of that I've spent a lot of time sorting through why framing vampires as addicts really works for me in a way that it doesn't seem to for everyone, and I think a lot of my thoughts on that also apply to jon. there's going to be a bit of a detour here before we get back to talking about tma, but we'll get there, I prommy.
I've seen a lot of people take issue with various paranormal addiction allegories because, a lot of the time, the act that is meant to metaphorically represent the act of use itself is something that is directly and inherently harmful to others, e.g. drinking human blood, handing over power to your hedonistic Evil alter ego, holding the cursed amulet and going crazy going stupid, slurping trauma out of the head of some guy you ran into on a boat to norway, etc., and yeah, I do get that. substance use is not inherently harmful like that to anyone except sometimes the user themself, and addicts are not inherently fucked up and destructive people; those are dangerous stereotypes that often lead to the demonizing of a whole group of sick people.
here's the thing for me, though: those are definitely truths I want explored and represented when it comes to portrayals of non-allegorical actual addicts, but fantasy fiction isn't for showing the world as it is, it's for showing a subjective fun house mirror version of reality where certain aspects are minimized and magnified depending on how it feels to live through it. and yes, absolutely in real life drug use is not an inherently evil act and it does not make you an inherently evil person, but... doesn't it kind of feel like that? sort of? absolutely no one is living their best life nor on their best behavior while experiencing any kind of major mental illness episode, and when it comes to addiction you've got a very clear tangible symbol of when The Episode is happening that it feels like you have much more control over than when it comes to other illnesses. it's also a thing where people are a lot more likely to be openly angry and distrustful of you if they find out it's happening. so you mix together the ideas of "I know I get worse as a result of doing this one specific thing" + "I act less like myself when I'm using, it rearranges my priorities and I care less about hurting people because that's what happens when you're experiencing The Horrors" + "society at large/people directly around me are pretty quick to say that doing this is evil," and you get the subjective emotional result of "I hurt people by using and it makes me monstrous." I tend to respond to those kinds of paranormal allegories like they're just cutting out the middle man of those subjective fears. "using makes me monstrous" -> "using is monstrous."
anyway. jon archivist.
don't get me wrong, I totally understand if this aspect of metaphor doesn't gel for some people and they only like taking it exactly as far as the text explicitly makes them, but I really get a lot out of reading jon's connection to the fears as addiction precisely because he does genuinely awful things to people as a result of it. he's a person in a very bad physical and mental place with little to no support who is constantly being told by both allies and enemies that he's already a monster just by being alive, and he copes with that by secretly falling further and further into an compulsive act of consumption that skews his priorities and makes him care less about hurting people because at least sometimes getting to be the cause of pain makes him feel a little bit less powerless when he has to be the subject of pain the rest of the time. then he's found out and is made to stop, and he has to grapple not just with the physical toll of withdrawal but with knowing there is a not insignificant part of him that will excuse any act of malice if he knows he'll feel better afterwards.
the end of tma is very explicit in the fact that the rules of its world are shaped by the subjective worst fears of those who live in it, it's "an exercise in unreliably reality" as jonny sims put it once, and I think that principle extends backwards in some ways to apply to the rest of the show. I don't think the fact that there are only entities of fear and not hope or love is meant to be a full commentary on the total nature of the real world, it's a reflection of what fear and suffering can make the world feel like. eric and melanie both go to really harsh extremes to extricate themselves from the fears and live peaceful lives, and in both cases something happens that foils their plans (getting murdered + the apocalypse, respectively), but I don't think the intended message is to say that is definitively how real life works, they are metaphors for the limits of individual agency in larger systems and represent two types of worst-case-scenarios. similarly, I don't think reading jon as an addict implies that addiction inherently involves violence or that the reactions of those around him were completely unjustified, it's just a subjective exploration of the kinds of fears that can come with addiction dialed up to 100.
#also to be clear after the first paragraph I'm using 'you' in a general sense not directly to You The Anon Who Sent This#I'm not trying to insinuate anything about whether You The Anon Who Sent This does or doesn't have any experience w substance use#tma#answered#anons
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I have ten billion WIP sketches I need to finish, but for some reason I stayed up from 9 PM to 4 AM conceptualizing, making patterns, sewing, painting and applying makeup on this stupid fucking felt squid......the detailing needs to be cleaned up cause there's only one coat of paint so far, but he's pretty much done
my neighbors probably think I'm insane because I was running around the yard clenching this toy kallamar in a death grip and flying him around like an airplane/putting him in the barbecue/poking him with a stick. I want to tie him to a string and recreate the opening of napoleon dynamite >:) ALSO I MADE HIM SMOKE OUT OF A STUPID CRYSTAL PIPE BUT PLEASE DON'T ACTUALLY USE THOSE, THEY ARE SUPER TOXIC LMAO MINE IS FOR DECORATION
I don't have any process pics because I had tunnel vision autism style and forgot the rest of the universe existed while I was working on him. BUT if you're curious I'll ramble below the cut
Okay I am not a seamstress by any means. I've sewn my entire life but very, very infrequently. I've done plushies, clothes, cosplays, fursuits, accessories, etc. but I only do one like once a year, so while I planned to make all 5 bishops, I'm not really sure I'll get them all done. The material cost was like 20 bucks tops so I'm not too upset if I don't finish them. I AT LEAST WANT TO GET SHAMURA OR HEKET DONE.
here is the concept sketch ft. heket's toes and shamura's fingers. I decided to do his pre-schism version so I could fit him with jewelry! I did him first because like I said I sew infrequently and don't know wtf I'm doing, everyone else seemed a lot more complicated.
So I basically just traced this drawing on a printer paper-sized canvas in SAI, and guesstimated how everything would look in a 3D space. His head is four pieces, one triangle identical to the one in the picture, two wide triangles that are sewn together in the back, and a circle for his chin. You can't really see it in any of the pics but he's literally like a black cylindrical stick with little tentacles sewn on where his mantle connects to his cloak. The leg tentacles are one piece of felt that look like tassels, where they're connected by a rectangle but branch off into individual pieces. He can't stand up very well, so his cape keeps him up (that's gonna be an issue for every other bishop too except heket cause she's gonna be ROUND). Mostly everything like the crown, cloak, head, etc. are cones so I just had to make a lot of wide triangles.
For the details, I just used acrylic paint that was watered down so he's not especially crunchy, and for the blush tone I used a makeup palette my mom bought me 10 years ago in hopes I'd get in touch with my "feminine side", but I grew up into a nonbinary butch lesbian so OOPS. Kallamar looks better with makeup than me anyway. I'm kinda sad I couldn't get his freckles as lopsided as I draw them but it probably looks better in plush form to have them even anyway....
I could just post the pattern so I don't have to explain this but 1. I am mentally ill about the thought of my kallamar being in someone else's house and 2. the original pattern had to be tweaked while I was working on him so the final pattern straight up doesn't exist, I winged it the whole time
OH and the jewelry is just scrap pieces I had laying around, I might repaint it all to be gold instead of silver + bronze. I used 20g aluminum wire for his armlet thing, jumper rings for his earrings + ring (+ a diamond dot from my mom's kits for the gem) and chain for the bracelet. I made him an amulet as well but it felt like overkill so I took it off. I'm probably gonna make him a plague doctor mask and medicine bag sometime because I think about nurse kallamar more than I probably should :') I've already sewn one as a prop for a toy raven before so it shouldn't be too hard
#cult of the lamb#cotl#kallamar#plushie#felt craft#does this count as a plush or is it like a doll idfk#I just make shit because I feel like it not cause I can categorize it in any way#drug cw#ONLY CAUSE OF THE REAL PIPE#THERE IS NO ACTUAL DRUG USE HAPPENING
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Extremely controversial writing opinions that will make you mad (but I'm going to say them anyway)
I don't know why but I am in the mood to be pilloried. Before I start, I will show you a picture of my dog so you realize I'm not a heartless monster.
Anyway, obviously this is just my opinion and you are perfectly free to disagree.
None of this is some hard-and-fast rule or even a universal truth.
It is just my opinion as someone who has 15 years of experience, has written about 2 million words, has an English degree, tutored dozens of students, etc etc etc.
Even if it seems like I am universalizing, I am not. Take what you like and leave the rest. Ignore it all if you want. That's your right.
Here we go. Please, don't throw your tomatoes until the end of the post. It distracts me.
Your first book probably sucks (with caveats).
Ideas are pointless if you don't do anything with them.
You are not a writer unless you consistently write.
Making moodboards, playlists, etc, before you have started the project is a form of procrastination.
No one cares about your idea as much as you do and never will.
Most people in your life will not care about your book.
A lot of peoples' opinions about writing are useless to you.
You need to develop healthy self-esteem if you want to be a good writer.
You also need to be humble and have a beginner's mindset forever.
Being mentally ill doesn't make you a better writer. It just means you're mentally ill.
Your real actual life matters more than your writing.
You will burn out if you don't have other hobbies.
Okay, okay, let's make you hate me.
Your first book probably sucks (with caveats).
If this is your first ever long project in writing, it is likely not going to be publishable (or, perhaps, even readable). It takes years, sometimes decades, to learn how to write well.
Do not think that because you have one singular idea and have slapped a book together that you can publish it to widespread acclaim. People who do this are deeply overestimating the quality of their work, seeing it through rose-tinted glasses.
One of my first long-form writing projects as sort of an adult was utter garbage. You can read it if you want; it's a BBC Sherlock fanfic. And it's fucking awful. I had written a lot of smaller things before this, but nothing to this scale. That much is quite obvious.
I'm grateful I started my journey writing fanfic, because otherwise I would have thought this was brilliant life-changing stuff.
In fact, I actually put together a copy of all my Sherlock fanfics called 11 Ways of Playing a Stradivarius that is probably floating around somewhere on the internet (though it got smacked down for copyright infringement eventually, because I was stupid). It sold absolutely zero copies, and rightly so. It's bad.
And that is okay. Shitty writing is par for the course when you are learning. It doesn't mean you'll never be good. It just means you're not there yet.
I have, to my great relief, improved immeasurably over the years, to the point where I have felt confident selling my work for real human money. You can purchase the culmination of that hard work right this instant, if you so choose. Should you do so, I am certain you will see exactly how much I've grown as a writer.
Ideas are pointless if you don't do anything with them.
I know I have said this before but I just need to drill it into your heads. Your idea means nothing unless you actually write the damn thing.
Millions of people have story ideas. Most of them will never do anything with those ideas. At best, they'll daydream about it but make up a billion excuses why they can't. At second-worst, they will badger actual writers to do the idea for them.
At worst worst, they will use AI to do it for them and call it a day. And we will all hate them for it.
You do not need to be protective of your idea or hide it, because someone has already thought of it and then made excuses as to why they can't be bothered to execute it. You have to be the one who doesn't fall into the trap and does the damn thing.
Look, I'll give you all the story ideas I have if you want. I don't care. In fact, I share them frequently and encourage others to give it a shot if they want to.
I'm not hiding any ideas because I know you will not do it exactly as I will. My voice is unique and it doesn't matter if there are dozens of people with the same idea: my story will be mine, and no one else's.
You are not a writer unless you consistently write.
This doesn't mean writing for five hours every day, or even doing 100 words every day. When I get to the tail end of the project, I tend to start slowing down because I have to think more critically about how to tie everything together. During the active drafting phase, I might do 2,000 words per day, but things ease up at the end, both because I'm sad that this phase is almost over and because I don't have much left to do.
But you don't get to call yourself a writer if you write like 100 words a month and spend the rest of the time doing moodboards and talking about your ideas. Whatever your rhythm, you need to stick with it and develop discipline, or you just have an idea and nothing else.
Making moodboards, playlists, etc, before you have started the project is a form of procrastination.
Note I said before you have really gotten into the meat of your project. Moodboards are a great way to promo your project and get peoples' attention, because visuals are more interesting than a wall of text. (That's why I start these kinds of posts with a picture.)
Oh, there's another one!
The thing is that a lot of would-be writers get trapped by the "oh this is research, this is plotting, this is giving me ideas, this is inspo." It's not. It's visual daydreaming and nothing more.
Any time that I have done a moodboard before starting a story, I give up on that story, because then I feel like I've done most of the work when I categorically have not. When I do moodboards once I get to the halfway point, I'm already in the home stretch and have no reason to stop. When I do a moodboard after I am already done and in the revision stage, then I'm good to go and building hype for my project.
Do not waste your time doing moodboards and playlists and visuals before you do the real stuff: worldbuilding, plotting, hammering out characterization. Get started before you start playing around with pretty pictures because it's not really getting you anywhere.
No one cares about your idea as much as you do and never will.
This is pretty self-explanatory so I won't expound too much. Your writing is the most important thing to you, but everyone else has their own stuff going on. If you're building hype with other writers, they have their own projects and are not going to be your free promotional team. They want your attention for their stuff, not yours.
Most people in your life will not really care about your book.
Again, everyone's got their own things going on. Also, most non-writers don't really understand how difficult it is to write a whole book. They are consumers and see the finished project; it's content to them. They care about you, to be sure, but your book doesn't really click as a big accomplishment because they're not familiar with the process.
You may notice, and seethe slightly, that relatively mundane things like weddings, graduations, and baby announcements will get WAY more attention than your book. A friend showing their ultrasound pic will get dozens of likes and comments and congratulations, while like 1 person will say "good job!" when you announce your book.
This is because these kinds of announcements are more relatable to the average person. They may have gotten married, or graduated, or had a baby (and of course probably know dozens of people who have) so they are aware of the challenges and joys.
Unless you are friends with exclusively other writers, your achievement is abstract, and your friends can't really sympathize. Your book is just a way to pass some time.
A lot of peoples' opinions about writing are useless to you.
I do not really like getting beta readers from places like r/betareaders because I have no idea how much that person actually knows about writing. Being able to visualize and suggest ways forward requires an understanding of the craft, but many people think that because they like to read, they know how to critique, when they are completely different skills.
Yes, unknowledgeable beta readers can give you a "man on the street" perspective of your book, but they tend to forget that beta readers are meant to help you fix your book as it is. Not turn it into something they personally would enjoy reading if they are not the target audience.
This requires recognizing audience and putting aside one's own preferences to focus on how the book would come across to an imagined ideal reader. Not everyone can do this. Actually, most people can't.
Some of the dumbest comments I've gotten about my work are from people who want to wrest control away from me and make it their preferred genre/plot/etc. These are useless suggestions.
Wonderful beta readers help to enhance your story, and they are golden. Instead of demanding you do something different, they offer their honest reactions of the work as it is and suggest opportunities to enrich the writing, tweak it, deepen the characterization, and so on.
Helpful beta readers are typically other writers regardless of their specific writing level. Newbie writers can be an excellent resource! And you're helping them, too: they will see your mistakes and know what not to do, and they can learn from your strengths. It's a positive experience all around.
Writers must come to understand what is good advice and what is not. Essentially, anyone who suggests things that are completely out of left field and totally unrelated to what you're trying to do is giving bad advice, and you should ignore them.
You need to develop healthy self-esteem if you want to be a good writer.
When you constantly put yourself down, complain about how bad your first draft is, say you have no idea what you're doing, and insist that no one will ever enjoy your work, guess what: you're right.
But you're right because you're essentially telling other people that your work sucks and they should not give it a chance. What you say about your writing will influence how readers interact with your work. You are priming them to dislike your writing and telling them what to think.
Imposter syndrome strikes all of us at times, but you need to push through it. One of the best ways to do so is to just continue writing. Keep going. Soon enough, you will develop experience, and experience will create confidence, and that confidence will shine through in your work.
When you consider saying something self-deprecating about your work, stop. You're going to make it come true.
You also need to be humble and have a beginner's mindset forever.
Doing so means understanding the difference between being self-deprecating and being humble.
Self-deprecation is when someone says your work is great and you immediately go "oh you're saying that to be nice, it's awful, I hate it."
Humility is when someone says your work is great and you go "Thank you!" and leave it at that.
You're not gloating or bragging by saying thank you, but you're also not cutting yourself off at the knees and making people uncomfortable by self-flagellating.
Honestly, the best thing you can ever say when you get a compliment about anything, including your writing, is just "thank you." Nothing else. Maybe an "I appreciate it" or "I'm glad you think so!" You don't need to go into detail.
But humility also means acknowledging that no matter how long you have been writing, there is always something you can do better. You will always be learning and making mistakes. Thinking you've peaked is when your writing gets stale and boring.
I have been learning rock climbing, and one of my favorite things to do is to watch pro climbers critique their own technique. They're not self-deprecating or saying they're horrible, but they're also not claiming they are perfect and can never do anything better.
Magnus Midtbø is incredible because even though he is a truly masterful climber, he posts a lot about his fails or when other climbers make him eat shit. This is an amazing video of him getting wrecked by an Olympic climber and taking it on the chin! He doesn't whine about how bad he is, he's just like "hmm, yeah, I can see where I screwed up, I'm so glad that I got to watch you climb, this is an honor."
That is the perfect blend of confidence and humility. He knows he can improve, but he doesn't deride his own skill. This is the mindset you need as a writer.
Being mentally ill doesn't make you a better writer. It just means you're mentally ill.
Anyone can be a good writer. Mental illness does not give you a super-secret advantage. It actually puts you at a disadvantage because your brain is expending so much energy staying stable that it does not have the same capacity as other people.
Fix your mental health issues instead of using them as a crutch or deluding yourself into believing they make you special. Like half of the population will develop some type of mental illness during their lifetime, and insisting that you need your mental illness to write is trapping you by making you not want to get help.
I have severe bipolar. This does not necessarily make me a great writer. In fact, it can make my writing suck ass if I am not stable. And no, you are not somehow exempt from having consequences for refusing to take care of your mental health. I promise you that you will be a better writer when you have sorted out your mental health issues.
Your real actual life matters more than your writing.
This is related to the above point. Your mental health, your stability, your social circle are all crucial elements of being a good, productive writer, and you can't ignore them in favor of suffering for your art.
The quality of my work has skyrocketed at two significant points in my life: once when I got out of a relationship that was hurting me and once when I ditched a toxic friend. The first one was when I started writing fanfic again, and the second was when I finally began The Eirenic Verses.
I would not have written 2 million words if I still had those nasty influences in my life, and I would not be living my best life. I likely never would have found my favorite hobbies and started going to therapy if I was still trapped in those negative cycles. Attending to my real-life problems both enhanced my writing and made me a better, more likeable, more functional person. I expect you will find the same thing.
You will burn out if you don't have other hobbies.
Hobbies. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have other hobbies that have nothing to do with writing. Yes, it means you have less time to write, but it also means that when you do sit down and write, you have better focus because you've fulfilled your other needs.
I picked up horseback riding again in February of this year and go once a week. I can't stress enough how good this has been for my writing and for my overall well-being. I have pretty bad agoraphobia, but since I started riding again, I have been less scared of leaving the house and less worried about what people think about me. My world has become larger and friendlier.
Now I'm doing rock climbing too. The physical and mental stimulation helps me focus better when I write, and I get way more done in less time. Plus, the quality of that writing is better because I'm getting more bloodflow into my brain and nourishing the tissues. There's also the fact that when I do have time to write, I'm not burned out and frustrated because all I've been doing all day is writing.
I look forward to my writing sessions more because they feel like a treat, and I have gotten a self-esteem boost by doing well in the gym. I am happier, calmer, and sleeping better due to the exercise.
Well-adjusted humans need social outlets, physical movement, a strong support network, good nutrition, and opportunities to relax. Our horrible capitalist system makes it very hard to balance all of these, but you must at least try.
Your hobbies don't need to be expensive. It can be something as simple as drawing, or going for a long nature walk, or learning origami, or buying a used camera and learning photography. Go to your local library and take a free course! Join a cheap gym and go a few times a week. Teach yourself something using YouTube. Buy secondhand equipment on Craigslist. There are so many affordable options.
Again, caring for your overall well-being is a true godsend when it comes to writing. Having something else to fulfill you will help you push through those hard days when nothing is coming to you, and it offers your brain a break from plotting, writing, revising, etc.
So that's it. If you read this to the very end, you're quite the gem; I know this was excruciatingly long. And mean.
Since you're here, maybe you will consider purchasing my debut novel, which was written by applying all these tips. (And not using AI - fuck off, NaNoWriMo.)
9 Years Yearning is a coming-of-age gay romance set in a fantasy world with poetry magic. It follows two young men as they grow from sorta-enemies, to frenemies, to friends, and finally to lovers.
If you do read it, please don't forget to leave a review!
Even if it's mean. Don't worry, I won't be mad. Reviews are essential to getting visibility on Amazon, so every single one is golden to me.
#writing#aspiring writer#aspiring author#writing advice#writing tips#beginner writer#writer stuff#writing problems#writing community#writers of tumblr#writeblr#writerscommunity#writers community#creative writing#writing life#on writing#writers on writing#am writing#writers on tumblr#writer#writers#writers block#writers life#writer problems#writer things#writerscorner#writerslife#tumblr writers#writers and poets#writerblr
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(Don't) Say You're Sorry, Please.
Pairing: Peter Parker x fem! reader
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending!
Warnings: harsh argument, cursing, mention of alcohol and reader getting drunk, explicit emotions, symptoms of mental illness.
Summary: you and peter were no longer happy, it took a big fight, harsh words and some time apart to realize how much love you felt for one another.
Words: 3k!
you didn't know how it got to this point, when the calmness of a silly discussion turned into a heated argument and a silent competition of who could scream harder horrible things to the other.
It got to the point where you had been crying for so long it was hard to breath and your eyes sting every time you blinked, it felt as if your stuck in the middle of a panic attack and couldn't get out of it no matter what you tried to do.
You didn't even remember when everything went wrong and you ended up here, it was like all your memories had been swept away and now there was a recognizable emptiness that the both of you shared.
you knew everything but could remember nothing.
you didn't had what it took to fight like this with Peter. You didn't have the voice, the feelings or the calculated thoughts to defend yourself.
You threw weak attempts of calming the situation but nothing worked so you let the venom that was boiling in your chest spill over and make you say things you would regret.
The love was long forgotten.
"just shut the fuck up, peter! for once in your fucking life shut the fuck up. You aren't the voice of truth all the fucking time, sometimes you are in the wrong, get over it for fucks sake!" You screamed at him and pulled your hair in an attempt to let out some of the anger you felt.
"i should shut up?! You're the one who acts like a fucking bitch all the goddamn time. You are fucking insufferable, i swear to god sometimes i can't fucking understand why i even put up with your shit!" peter screamed back at you, he was pointing at you the entire time. blaming you for this.
"you put up with my shit?! I'm the one who has a fucking super hero for a boyfriend. If anyone is putting up with shit is fucking me!! You always get hurt and put yourself in danger. you run to saves stranger from small fucking crimes, but who takes care of me?! You love playing hero but always end up getting hurt, What is going to take for you to realize that you are not prepared to save anyone!!" You screamed as loud as you could everything that came to your mind.
You were so done with this shit, with the argument, with the super hero bullshit. It was draining, being there to help peter get healthy every time he got hurt stopped being out of love but obligation.
While he took care of the city you were left to take care of him, but who was making the time to take care of you? Nobody. Nobody was taking care of you.
"i'm not prepared?! I have saved the world more than once! I've gone through hell trying to keep everyone save!! Im more than capable of saving people from small shitty crimes!" peter said trough gritted teeth.
"then why, tell why the fuck you can never help me?! Why you can never save me?! Am i not worth your stupid help!!?" you felt tears starting to leave your eyes harder than ever.
You knew that there was no way you could ever recover from this fight and be like you were before; this was a breaking point that was long time coming in the relationship.
"i don't help you?! every second that I'm not being spiderman im by your side fucking teaching you to not fuck up like you always do!" Peter screamed and raised his hand, closed his fist before letting his arm fall back down.
"you are so full of shit" this time you didn't shouted, your voice was trembling and soft, your throat wasn't prepared for any more screaming.
"you are so full of shit, Parker. we are never together, if you're not being spiderman you're busy doing shit to get better at being a super hero. You are never here for me. Im sorry that when i see you after a long time i want to tell you how my life has been. Im so fucking sorry i want you to be here for me." Your eyes filled with tears again your vision was blurry because of it but you didn't let any more tears fall. This wasn't worth the pain.
"im full of shit for being a super hero? Im so sorry if I'm not here because im saving people's life. I have so much shit going on that the last thing i wanna hear is more problems you want me to fix. I am so fucking sorry i can't fix your fucking life, you won't believe how much bigger problems i have to deal with outside of this fucking room" peter spoke his voice was stern.
In that moment, you realized something. You weren't his first priority. You weren't even on the list of things he worried about.
Why were you still here with him? Why haven't you walked away from a place you clearly weren't wanted in?
You loved peter so much to the point you forgot that he should love you too to be together.
"i think we need a break from each other" you whispered and rubbed your eyes to get rid of the tears.
Silence.
Peter didn't said nothing, just stood in the middle of your room looking completely lost. his eyes for the first time tonight filled with tears and his lower lip quivered in what you could only describe as pure sorrow.
"you don't mean that" peter said and tried to get close to you but you took a step back and embraced yourself.
"it's for the best, peter." you reassured him. it was really for the best. This time it had gotten too far to not notice the two of you needed space.
"no no no, I'm sorry, ok? Im really sorry. Please don't break up with me" peter pleaded.
"don't say you're sorry, please. we just need some time alone." you hugged peter one last time.
"we'll fix this, right?" Peter whispered in your ear and tighten his hold on you. It was so hard to let go.
you couldn't respond, no didn't knew if this could be fixed.
peter just took in your silence and kissed you for the last time, just way to promise to not let the relationship die tonight.
___________
Three weeks had passed since the fight.
thinking back to that night felt like a dream, you could feel the guilt of everything you said weight heavier and heavier every day.
You regretted everything you said, every word you let out that night. you may have ruined one of the only good things in your life out of pure selfishness.
peter and you rarely talked, there was nothing to say, no. There was too much to say and that scared the both of you. what if one you had realized the relationship was going to be fixable?
The fear was ingrained in the both of your minds, both of you suffering because of the same fear.
"how is she?" Peter asked mj, who was concentrated eating her lunch.
"your ex girlfriend?" Mj said sarcastically and looked at peter with boredom.
"we didn't broke up" peter said quickly, the title of ex girlfriend made his heart clench in pain.
"she's sad and doesn't look good at all, Parker" she said honestly and looked at her food before continuing.
"if your dumbass checked on her you would know that" she said and took a bite of a mini carrot.
"we are taking some time apart" peter defend himself, it was true but that wasn't the reason he checked up on you. He was scared of seeing what the decision made to you.
He had shattered since that night, crying anytime he was left alone with his thoughts. He feared to see you in a worst condition than he was. Scared to see how his words bruised you.
"yeah? maybe try spend a life time apart because you don't want to see how you left her, Parker." Mj said in bitterness, you were her best friend and seeing you in pain because of him didn't sat right with her. She understood the situation but would always make the people that hurt you hurt too.
Peter just sat there, looking worried and sad.
You were feeling like shit, every inch of your mind was filled with sadness and your body reflected your state of mind so clearly it was embarrassing to go out looking like the human version of sadness.
right now, you were in one of the stalls of the girls bathroom, trying to eat your lunch but you had no appetite, you stopped feeling hungry two weeks ago.
You couldn't eat, so you took supplements like candy, trying to keep your body healthy but it didn't worked. You lost weight and looked pale.
But it didn't really mattered, nothing felt like it mattered. In your mind, you had no reason whatsoever to care about yourself or anything at all.
_____________
It was Friday night and you were drunk as fuck. not in a party, just in the solitude of your living room, lit cigarette in hand and a tall glass filled all the way with pure vodka.
the tv was on, the movie 'The perks of being a Wallflower' playing but the sound acting as a background noise because all your attention was on your phone, waiting for a message from him to pop up.
How much you wished you had the courage to message him first.
You took a big sip from the glass and felt the familiar warm spread in your chest, your empty stomach had been suffering all day and now was experiment the harshest treatment you had ever put it through.
Not even in your high school years you were careless enough to not eat anything before drinking strong alcohol.
"say you're sorry, please?" you whispered to yourself, trying to force yourself to call him, to admit your mistakes and beg for forgiveness.
You spend two hours staring at your phone, all the vodka in you glass had already disappeared and the entire bottle followed soon after; before you even realize it
"I'll say I'm sorry, please forgive me..." you whispered and pressed to call peter. you put the call on speaker and held your phone close to your mouth.
You had your knees to your chest and had wrapped a blanket around yourself, trying to stay calm and collected.
"hello?" Peter answered the call.
"hi...pete" you said, voice dripping evidence of your drunken state.
"how are you, y/n?" he asked and you heard how he sat on his bed from the way the springs made a uncomfortable sound.
"i'm.. I'm drunk" you admitted and laughed a little.
"I, I really wanted to talk to you, pete." you're voice broke, and your eyes glossed over with tears.
"I wanted to talk to you too, flower" the pet name made your heart clench.
"really?" you asked, your tone filled with the warm that the pet name created in your soul.
"yeah, i was thinking about you, i used my telepathic powers and you called" he joked and you giggled.
"thanks for using your powers, pete" you took a deep breath.
"i called because i want to tell you something" you said and heard how peter took a deep breath.
"tell me, flower. Im all ears" he spoke sweetly, so sweetly you felt your heart clench again.
"i just, i wanted to tell you that i'm sorry, i'm really sorry about everything i said when we were fighting." you took a pause and to stop the tears from falling.
"i don't 'up with you', i honestly don't even know why i said that. you are amazing to be around and i was wrong for saying differently. you're a great super hero and the fact that you put yourself in danger and get hurt just to save other people is admirable. You're more than prepared to be the biggest super hero the world has known" you let out a shaky breath, your eyes betrayed you and multiple tears fell from your eyes.
"and you're right, you do help me to not do stupid things. I just...i just feel like i'm not worth it enough of more attention than the one you give me to save me from my stupidity."
"and lastly, you're not full of shit. That's me, not you. I know you have bigger problems than giving me attention just because i feel like im entitled to your time. I feel really guilty for everything i said. Forgive me, please?" You finished speaking.
Peter was speechless, and his heart already broken heart, ended breaking completely when you bed for his forgiveness.
You beg him for forgiveness? how could you feel sorry for saying the things he needed to hear to wake up and realize he wasn't a good boyfriend? You opened his eyes when you spoke up about how abandoned you felt because of him never being there for you.
If anyone should apologize was him.
"flower..." Peter sighed.
"yes?" You responded, voice shaky and anxious.
"I'm sorry for everything i said too. I shouldn't have called you a bitch. You're not insufferable, your the sweetest and loveliest person i have ever met. i'm grateful that i have you in my life."
"and you're right about me never being there to give you anything other than help, i love you and i thought that just because you knew that i didn't have to remind you every day. you have all the right to tell me how you feel or what you're going through and i should always be there to hear you. I know that you don't want me to fix your life or your problems. You only wanted to be heard but i didn't care to listen at the time."
"thanks for believing I'm a great super hero and I'm sorry that I've been saving people without thinking about how me getting hurt so much and running to you to heal me affected you. I've been selfish in our relationship just because i wanted to be selfless and save people. Forgive me, please"
Peter asked and you took a deep breath.
"if i forgive you will you forgive me too?" you asked back, you also wanted to be forgiven.
"of course, flower" peter answered and your heart skipped a beat.
"then, i forgive you, pete." you said and felt a smile forming on your face.
"i forgive you too, flower." Peter smiled too.
All the weight you have been carrying on your shoulders was lifted just like the light on your soul, you could finally live again. No more sorrow and pain.
"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" You asked with hope.
"yeah, we'll see each other tomorrow" peter made the plan of showing up at your apartment tomorrow, make everything right and give you all the affection and time you deserved.
______________
(a few months later)
you were sleeping peacefully in your bed, wrapped up in blankets and softly breathing. It was spring break and you have spent all day cleaning so you were having your well deserved rest.
that was until you starting hearing something hitting your window, being a light sleeper you woke up almost immediately, you checked the time on you phone '01:23am'
Still being half asleep you didn't even thought about what who hitting against your window because it was obvious, you stood up, walked over to the window, opened it and turned around to lie down again in your bed.
"hi baby" you said when you were back in your bed, this time your back against the wall to give peter space to lay down with you.
"hi flower" peter pressed the spider in the middle of his suit making loose and fall of his body.
He picked up the hoodie that was on your desk and put it on before laying down beside you, almost instantly he hugged you and you wrapped one of your legs around his waist to bring him closer to you while one of your arms wrapped around his next. Your free hand started caressing his hair sofly.
"how was night patrol?" you asked, your eyelids already closing in tiredness.
"it was calm, i just helped a few drunk guys get home" peter said and rubbing your back, drawing random shapes with his fingers.
"that's good" you whispered.
"go to sleep, flower." peter whispered against your ear and tighten his hold on your waist making you be totally pressed against him, your face in the crook of his neck.
"goodnight spidey" was the last thing you said before falling asleep.
"goodnight flower, i love you" peter kissed the top of your head before falling asleep too.
The both of you finally being the happy couple you deserved to be. The love you felt for each other was no longer forgotten in the pain of misunderstood emotions, now it was more alive than ever, burning and keeping you warm and safe from all the sorrow you had to go through to be happy with peter again.
Everything was fixed and was better than the first time you started to love each other.
There was no longer pain, just peace and the comfortable bed of love the both of you slept in for the rest of your life.
How beautiful it was to love Peter, forever save in his arms.
#peter parker#peter parker fic#peter parker x fem!reader#peter parker x reader#spiderman#tom holland spiderman#spiderman fic#peter parker angst#peter parker fluff
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Practicing with adhd.... (A kinda long commentary on how to work with ADHD in your practice instead of against it)
(disclaimer: I'm making this post as someone who has a struggled with ADHD. In no way am I glorifying mental illness or symptoms of mental illness. This is just something I've dealt with all my life and i know other people have too. I'm just posting my own experience and advice. You do not have to use this at all.)
I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was either 7 or 9 and have been struggling with it ever since, idk why I never grew out of it. Over the years of practicing, I've encountered a lot of practitioners with the same problem as me, only all of their advice was to try to get rid of ADHD has much as possible, well I tried that, I'm still the same. But that's just it, ADHD is apart of me, whether I like it or not. For years, I've always hated my ADHD, I constantly feel stupid, childish, and not responsible, but I am, I just need to work with my ADHD instead of around it. And that my friends is what Im going to teach you all here today, so grab a nice comfort TV show and a fidget bc your ADHD ass WILL READ THIS POST!!!!!!!!
My biggest problem with adhd and witchcraft
honest to the Gods, my biggest problem has got to be that witchcraft isnt dogmatic, you aren't going to get a rule book, there is no duality, you pick what's right from wrong, you make your practice your own. I had such a hard time figuring that out because I'm a very hands on learner. I grew up in a Christian household, most historical events that I wanted to research I could read in the Bible, or go to a church, or if I wanted to find community to help me figure out where to go well....it's basically all around me. But we don't have that with witchcraft. We only have ourselves (unless you were born into pagan/witchy family then lucky you I guess 😭😭). So obviously the only thing we can do is research.
"but omg chaos,,, I can't research I have executive dysfunction!"
I understand. Executive dysfunction is so weird why do humans have this??? Why was this built into my system??? Anyways, the best advice I can give you for executive dysfunction is that you can either go one of two ways:
1.) while you are laying in bed, cursing yourself to get up and do something. At least do something, but you just can't. That's ok. Dont beat yourself up about it, honestly the more you do that the more you're not going to want to do it. Allow yourself to be like this, allow yourself to just lay there. If you need to give offerings but you just can't get up, say sorry out loud, I always find that this brings me comfort and that my deities will know I'm truly sorry. Then forget about it, now it's time to allow yourself to just be. And then you wait until you find the strength to do it. That's it. Just be.
2.) you're laying in bed and you really need to give offerings to your deities. Get up. Just do it. Immediately once you have the thought in mind don't even think about it just do it. I know this doesn't work 100% of the time but it does for me. So 🤷
"how do I know if my practice is my own or if it's just a hyper-fixation?"
OK OK. I don't know anyone else who has this struggle but I have. When I started out, I was just a bright eyed kid filled with questions about the "unholy". I really started practicing when I was like 13-15. During these times, I didn't know how strong my hyper-fixation was with Greek mythology and religion until I fell out of that fixation. It was very disappointing to see myself gain so much momentum only to come crashing down. One thing that helped me decipher whether my practice was my own or not was simply asking questions to myself about my own beliefs and upg. If I couldn't answer these questions then I knew I wasn't really practicing I was just researching. Without my own experience, my own UPG, my spells weren't working correctly, and my rituals were failing. If there is no emotion behind it for me then the spell is just a bunch of herbs in a bottle.
"I struggle with grounding and meditation, how can I become better at that?"
Firstly, I need people to realize that I don't believe there is one right way to meditate. For me, starting out, I listened to guided meditations which helped me A LOT. Guided meditations I feel like are really slept on but I got a lot of communication done with my deties through this way, I met one of my guides this way bro. Another way you could do is laying down. As long as you are allowing yourself time to get into the meditative state, and if you can't, oh well, don't beat yourself up about, you can always try again.
"I have trouble remembering herb properties, correspondences, and holidays"
Write. Everything. down. Every spell you've ever created, every experience you have with your deties, every tarot card reading. Write it all down. Cross-research everything until something sticks. Give up the idea that grimoires need to look a certain way or give off a certain vibe. Just start writing shit down. In any book.
How I work with ADHD in my practice
Have you guys ever seen those post, I think they were floating around here around like 2019 or 2020?? They we're like "spells to get rid of ADHD" or "spells to get rid of depression" and shit like that. Yeah, I never understood those. I don't understand why we are treating these illnesses/disabilities like they are monsters?? I hate the ideology that all illnesses are bad, because yeah they impose a great risk to our health, but we can always look on the brighter side of things. My ADHD allows me to feel more deeply, because of this I feel connected to the gods always. My ADHD makes me passionate about my Interests in the gods, my ADHD can work with me.
Some ways I work with ADHD in my practice is by making a schedule and sticking to it but a bigger importance to that is recognizing when I need a break. During days that are dedicated to the gods, or holidays, I often times have a big thing planned that might take up a lot of energy. I allow myself breaks with things that aren't witchcraft related at all, then when I'm ready I pick it back up from where I left off.
I honestly think if you are reading this and you're like "yeah maybe I should start working with my ADHD instead of against it....but none of this stuff is hitting for me."
Then I advice you to look at your own symptoms and try to see if you can find any way you can work with yourself. For example, if one of my symptoms was that I was impulsive, one thing I would do is dedicate something impulsive to one of my gods. Like dying my hair, going out of town for the night, getting drunk on a Tuesday afternoon (keep it stable buddy.), who gives a fuck. You are using your symptoms in a way that works with it instead of against it.
In conclusion....
I've had this post in mind for a while I just never had the words for it until now, and I still don't even know if this makes sense😭😭 I just hope to help atleast someone (it's 3 am and I literally decided to write this like....20 minutes ago.) this post was also me bashing on people who think ADHD is "all bad." Anyways, if anyone has any other advice or suggestions on how to work with ADHD, please leave them in the comments! I would love to get as much advice from adhd practitioners as I can! Alright I'm going to sleep now
#hellenic deities#hellenic pagan#hellenic worship#hellenism#witchcraft#aphrodite#pagan#hekate#paganism#adhd problems#actually adhd
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Not Alone.
Adam x Sick! Reader (Gn)
So this one shot is a little self centered. Its completely a Reader One shot, gender neutral.
It is Angst & Comfort
But everything the Reader Experiences is true symptoms & a true epsiode of a unoffical/Unknown diagnosis sickness that I am being seen by a specialist to find a possible diagnosis amd hopefully meds.
This is also about my bad epsiode from last night, and im still trying to mentally recover from it, and so i decieded to write.
I wrote this as a way to self comfort but also to confort anyone out there that has similar experiences and for them to know that.
Your Not Alone.
As always, All my works are 18 plus, no minors allowed.
And To anyone who reads/likes/reblogs/relates to this post, Your doing amazing, and your so strong.
To the one shot fic.
Heaven was supposed to be eternally peaceful, All those with pain, illness & sickness in their past life would face it no more in heaven.
That was how it was intended to be.
So when you had passed away and entered those pearly gates you had thought your own illness had too poofed away like the heavenly dream and promise should have been.
But it didn't.
Yours had followed you, clinging to you unwanted and despite many heavenly high angels coming to aid you, the sickness had stayed attached and clung to you despite it not being a thing of peace and tranquility.
The high angels did their best to console you as you wept after your first bad episode of the persistent sickness that had followed in your devine afterlife.
They didn't understand it as much as you didnt understand, but they consoled you trying to tell you that perhaps it was heaven's plan for you to continue on with it, That maybe you were the key to stop it from happening on earth or at least an aid in finding cures for earth.
It was unfair.
But you couldn't openly say that, and so you tried ignoring it as you tried finding work to do to occupy your mind, the less you thought of it the better for your mental state.
It was in your official heavenly work records that it would be best if you did not have a super laborious job, and for some reason, the work division department decided to assign you as the First Man… Adam's Assistant was the perfect job for you.
Your new boss was…..definitely labor intensive.
He seemed to not understand the concept of paperwork leaving you to do piles and piles of backwork, reading and organizing reports, compiling and binding them and sending them all out. Top of that the man did not seem to understand that his flirting, pick up lines and continuous offers to “treat you to dinner” was uninvited and unwelcome.
You would have thought after the third kind no, and afterwards the short and curt blatant rejections to all his advances would have the Man gone and uninterested in you.
But oh were you so wrong, if anything it only drove him to up his belt at flirting, and all that much to your displeasure. He always seemed to know where you were in the office and whether it was a door frame, fridge, table, desk he would lean or perch against it to start up his flirting.
“Heya babes you free later tonight?”
“Whatsa man gotta do to get your number?”
“Your looking fucking hot today, like always babes.”
“If I had to pick you or an apple, it would be that fine ass anyday.”
You hated how the last one had made you snort. It was so stupid, That it actually had made you laugh and you had regretted it when you saw the first man's masked eyes crinkle and sharp toothed grin only widened, which had made you immediately shot back.
“go choke on an apple Adam.”
Before you fled the break room with your cup of coffee, warm in your hands, you had heard the man make a noise similar to amusement and he had shouted after you.
“Did that Babes, would rather choke on your instead. “
“I'm filing another HR report.”
“Ouuu Spicy!”
You never knew you would be so grateful for him always appearing out of nowhere until now.
You had been taking reports somewhere when you felt your body's red flags start to fly.
Your vision of the office hall growing longer and shorter. Your breathing started to pick up and yet slowed down as your head started to feel like it was fading. Thoughts become hard to formulate and your legs grow weaker with a tingling numbness that starts to rapidly climb.
You had leaned against a wall trying to relax, trying to breathe, as time seemed to freeze and slowly tick away as you struggled to keep your eyes open.
Your breaths heavily leave you as you begin to feel light and yet so heavy as you felt the tremors start to shake internally and knew it wouldn't be long before they showed outwardly.
It was going to be a bad one.
You dreaded as your mouth started to go dry, and tingled with a cold sensation before it started to taste as if you bit into a raw steak.
The metalic taste of dirty pennies feels in your mouth as if your body's iron had decided to gather and party into your mouth all at once.
Your ears began to ring and tingle as your hearing like your vision started to fade away and echo making things far sound near and things near sound far away.
How long were you there for? How long since it started?
You were going to fall. You were going to fall and you can't move to catch yourself!
Your gonna-
“You good babes?” Adams voice cut through the internal trapped dialog of your brain and ass your flicked your non stop fluttering eyes trying to see him, your vision being blurry and yet hyper focus at the same time as his voice echoed no stop in your ears far away and yet close you didn't even know how long it had been since he had asked.
Your brain constantly jumps forward and yet lagging severely behind as your jaw and mouth muscles spasmed as you fought trying to open your mouth but couldn't.
You can't move.
And your going to fucking fall and collapse and fall on your face and you cant move.
“You ain't gonna pass out on my babes are you?” Adams words echoed sounding near and far as you felt pressure start to take over your body, your gravity being utterly ripped apart as the Episode sunk its teeth and claws into with a vicious grin and glint in its eyes as you felt your eyes start fluttering and body start to fall back into the wall.
“Ah shit. Nope, Nope, easy down you go.”
Hands grabbed at your shoulders, sending jolts through your entire body focusing into your numbed and useless legs as the hands led you down the ground safely, moving you carefully onto your back, a hand holding your head from the floor until it made contact with something hard yet soft.
The need to talk burned through you but your jaw would correspond with your wishes.
Your eyes burn even when closed, tears don't need a conscious thought to form as your eyes flutter open and close talking in nothing but the harsh lighting, black and sparkling spots that dance across your eyes as you struggle to breathe.
When was your last breath? When did you breathe?!
Something moving through your hair sent more jolts through your frozenly stiff and limp body.
“It's okay babes. You okay..I got you, just breathe for me okay? Just breathe.”
The voice echoed in and out if your ears as your eyes fluttered shut the trembles coming out of you starting with in and making its way out as the numbing pains started to take hold into your legs.
Tears streaming from your eyes as your jaw keeps tightening and loosening.
Hell, this was hell.
You were having a good day, today was a good day, so why? why?
“Just let it out babes, you're okay, just breathe, I'm here, I got you.”
“Im….sor…ry” You managed to barely get out as your mind fogged once more and body stole away the ability to speak once again locking your jaw as your tremors became more casing your chest to heave as your struggled to take each breath.
You felt like you were dying.
Are you dying this time? Which breath would be your last?
Would you have to feel yourself suffocate slowly while you couldn't move?
“Don't say that shit, You dont have a thing to be sorry for, i got you, just breathe Darlin.”
Fingers moved through your hair feeling like they were going to split your head and skull right open.
It was painful as much as it was comforting.
Your hearing started ringing again you could hear muffled echoed voices, your brain struggling to put pieces together and when you could finally open your eyes again you saw bits and pieces of Adams face, and another, a woman.
You struggled to recognize her for a moment.
Lute.
“Sir I brought the wet cold towels and water as you stated, what else can I do to help.”
They were helping you?
They weren't going to leave you?
More tears moved down your cheeks, they felt so cold, you felt so cold, you felt like you were on fire.
“Thisbis all we can do, There body has to work it out on its own, I got this okay Just close off the Hall, dont allow any fuckers in. Give them privacy. I got this…Hey babes, I got you…Fuck your burning up..hey hey its okay breathe for me okay? soft breaths”
Your eyes fluttered back close, involuntary jerking as something freezing surrounded your forehead making you out a noise of pain as you felt like daggers scratching and piercing your frontal skull dance around.
Another when another cold thing shoved behind your neck right against your brain stim.
The tremors worsen as you fight to breathe. You didn't need to hear them, you could tell each struggling inhale and shaky exhale was raspy as if it was a death rattle.
Warmth covered your hands, making the tremors only worsen and the numbing splitting pain shot through your arms and into your legs making you clench your teeth and cry more.
This is humiliating.
“Fuck your hands are like ice…Hold on…”
Rustling fabrics heard and your eyes tried finding it behind your closed eyelids, you couldn't open them as the lighting behind your eyelids were so bright and pure white you were sure if you opened them you wouldn't have vision at all.
Something so unbearably heavy covered you, making you jolt and twitch, Your chest wracking as you struggled to breathe more gasping, gasping for air.
“It's okay, let it out, I have you, you're doing so good.”
You're doing so well.
How such words utterly broke you as you sobbed between broken gasps for air, the tremors bringing nothing but agony as your body felt like it was being electrocuted internally.
“I…m…sorry.”
It was the only thing you could raspily push out as you suffered trapped in your own flesh and bone as the very vessel you care and tended for failed you and imprisoned you.
Allowing this greedy sickness to steal your life from you.
Hands holding your head on the hard yet soft thing.
“Are they conscious?!” A voice echoed, sounding so far away.
“Yes they're just in and out, they're okay. The report said this happens. We just gonna stay nice and calm and chill..They can hear us…aint that right babes? You just can't talk right now and that's okay. Just breathe, you're doing such a good job.” Adams comforting concerned words echoed each one fading in and out of your hearing as your brain tried to associate meaning.
How long has it been? It feels like years, god what if it was years.
You couldn't tell how long you were there, how much time had passed as you suffered in forced silence.
“You want some water?”
Yes.
Yes you wanted water, that sounds so divine.
Water to wash away the blood taste in your mouth? You needed it more than anything.
Your throat and Jaw and tongue are failing you, making some strangled noses as you fight your body to try to move.
You wanted to sob when you felt a hand move under your head and tilt it to the side, something pressed to your parted lips and cold, precious water slowly trickling in.
Each small and allowed sip Adam had given you felt like a life line as if life was being allowed back into your husked of a useless failing body.
You only had a couple of sips before your head was moved back and a hand found its way back to your hair.
“That's it…We will try again in a moment.”
That moment will feel like centuries.
But as promised Adam provided you little sips of water, let you rest and breath for a moment and then continue the repeated steps.
Over time you would finally, Finally, feel your body to allow you full utter consciousness.
Becoming more aware as you flutter your eyes open slowly being allowed vision again with nothing obstructing your viewing privileges.
You could see the lights of the hallway, the walls, how high they looked when you were forced to the ground. You took in soft golden eyes, not led lighted lines but real golden eyes. Tanned dark skinned face, with a stubbly chin of facial hair and the fluffiest and curly hair you ever seen with the strongest cowlick possible.
Your brain struggled for a few moments before understanding that this was Adam. And that Adam was not wearing that strange mask thingy.
As if seeing your sudden spurt of Alertness Adams golden eyes filled with relief, a soft encouraging smile forming on his real natural lips as he looked down at you.
“There you are.” He speaks softly as if he was so utterly proud of you.
There you are.
You cried, you couldn't help it, all you could do was cry as you felt the numbness leave your body slowly, Adam only offered soft words.
Soon With his help, You was able to sit up, feeling your head go light and foggy to slowly clearing as He offered you water.
“You can't come down this hall, find another route.” Lute's voice echoed down the hallway to you, making you too embarrassed but grateful.
At least no other coworkers saw you collapsed and paralyzed on the floor.
“I know you probably wanna be a bad bitch and all independent n all, but like, Can I fly you home, just to be sure you're safe?” Adam asked gently, something in his voice that caught your attention.
You assessed your wings and took into account how they felt so utterly weak, there was no way you were flying. And how your legs still felt useless when you gave him a weak smile.
“I couldn't walk if I wanted to.” You told him and Adam moved, His arms finding way under your knees and around your back to effortlessly pick you up with ease.
It made you really take in just how Large he really was.
Adam was practically a giant and sometimes it was hard to get that with all the slouching and leaning on things it's easy to forget
that Adam was pushing twelve feet tall..
“Don't worry I got you, just relax babes.” Adam told you and for once you did, melting into his arms in relief as he moved out to a flying window and took off, His golden wings stretching out widely as they cut through the air with ease, Rotating and flapping when needed as he carried you in his thick yet strong arms. You stared at his face realizing Adam left his mask behind in the hallway and you couldn't help but notice how alluring Adam really was.
“You want me to stop and grab you some food so you can just relax in bed or something?” Adam softly asked his golden eyes moving to land on you making you realize you had stared at him for a moment.
“Uh..No i'll just order in.” You told him,You already felt like a burden enough, you didn't need to add onto it.
Adam looked like he wanted to protest, but as he stared at your face you watched as it died immediately and he focused on getting you to your home.
“You know where I live?” You asked after a few minutes as if it dawned on you.
“I know where all my Employees live Including an emergency contacts.” He states a serious note in his tone as he keeps his eyes ahead.
“Just like I knew how to aid you, I read all my Employees files. Shits are important like allergies in shit, I make sure everyones good..”
You didnt..You didn't really expect this level of responsibility maturity from Adam. You always thought he was just some Ass who wanted to sleep around…..which you were sure he still was but maybe not that much of an asshole.
Soon he was landing on your house's landing dock. He walked inside your home holding you.
“So erm…, ya bed or couch?” He asked that change in his tone still ringing in your ears, yet it wasnt pity or any of that, more so like he was genuinely trying to be serious.
You kinda miss one of his crude jokes.
“My couch is fine.” You tell him and he took you to the couch settling you down easily before he kinda stared at you.
“Welp, see ya when you're ready to work again, text me if ya can't or if ya need anything and i gotcha.” He said before waving awkwardly at you and heading out to your house's loading dock.
You watched him a thank you falling from your lips as you stared blankly at the tv, a hand grabbing your phone as you could hear Adams Wings spread outside.
Your fingers tapping away at a screen and before you heard him launch up into the sky. a ringing sounded.
You heard rustling from his pockets knowing he checked his phone, A noise leaving him before he was back in your house and on your couch, you turned on the Tv as he plopped on the other side of your couch.
When you turned you saw how bright his g9lden eyes were, gleaming a wide excited smile on his face, his phone in his hand.
“Course I'll watch a movie with a baddie like you, what kind of ribs do you eat?”
_____Bonus______
Phone
Contact: Dumbassmcgee. (Adam)
(xxx) xxx-xxxx
Adam a previous date: Meeting at 9, be there
Adam a previous date: Wanna grab lunch afterwards? 😏🍕🌭
I'll be there: You, a previous date
No thanks.: You, a previous date
Adam, a previous date: Offer still stands Hottie 🙊
Trip and fall (Censored emoji): You, a previous date
Adam, a previous date: LMAO LAME ASS KEYBOARD!! 🤣🤣🤣
Adam, A previous date: Here 🖕🖕🖕
Thanks.: You, a previous date.
🖕🖕🖕: You, a previous date.
Hey to not be a burden anymore than i have…..Do you By chance wanna stay and watch a movie. 🥺👉👈 Friends of course! 🧍♀️. : You now
#hazbin hotel fanficion#Hazbin Hotel Adam#Adam x reader#Hazbin Hotel#One shot#Angst & comfort#Writing from experience#Personal Experience#hazbin hotel fanfic#Hazbin Hotel Adam x reader#X reader#sickness/illness
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Anon wrote: INFP, 25. Feeling pretty lost in life. After a long battle with mental illness (runs in the family, I'm surrounded by people that as of now don't want to go to therapy and keep reliving the same patterns, hurting everyone who hasn't gone through the process I've - THANK GOODNESS - gone through thanks to therapy and medication), I find myself unemployed, without friends, without money, still studying for my degree (I'm almost finished though) and for the first time seeing things so, so clearly.
I wasted most of my teenage years trying to understand what the fuck was going on in my head, battling anorexia, depression and social anxiety - and the latter still has a big impact on the way I speak to people since words don't come to my head, plus depression really wrecked my memory and it can take a whole 20 minutes for me to remember a specific name that I wanted to bring up in a conversation. I feel like I'm cooked.
I don't hate myself nor I feel like I have low self-esteem; actually, I really like who I am when given the time and emotional space to make my true self and inner creativity shine. I think I could give a lot to people but because of a general lack of understanding of common references cause I was detached from everything most of my life and I've missed them all, I tend to be perceived as cringe/weird/naive/childish and none of my conversations are surviving past the first week.
I'm really trying hard to develop my vocabulary, catching up with tv shows characters or even basic history references, but it feels like a huge toll of notions that I can't possibly internalize in such a short amount of time. These people dedicated years (consciously or not) to common knowledge, their family members had culture and raised them to be curious about the world - I'm only now waking up and looking at the world for the first time, with the intention of developing my social and verbal skills.
Basically I need to step up my life and I don't feel like it's working cause everyone can tell I'm so behind and I'm not up their standards - especially in my age range, and considering my economic state. Whenever they ask "what's your job" or "what's your favorite music genre" and I can't really give them an answer to either, I feel ashamed. I know it's not my fault, I had to survive violence and ignorance growing up and I was never given the time to discover who I am or to become a functioning member of society or even feel "safe" enough to try ANYTHING, so yeah, I do have self-compassion, I guess - but others seem like they don't, and I'm so slow when I speak, I'm so slow when I wanna come up with a joke and in a social setting everyone looks at each other like they think I'm stupid.
Is there any advice you can give me? I know I can make it. I am exactly like everyone else, I can develop the same abilities and have a good future. Am I right? Or is this just some lie I'm telling myself? Am I deluded? Will people always look down on me and avoid me altogether?
--------------------
I'm not in a position to tell you that you're lying to yourself; it's something you need to determine through honest self-reflection. There's nothing wrong with talking yourself up in order to motivate yourself to do better. It's also a good thing to try to focus more on the positive aspects of life, especially when you have a history of getting stuck in negativity or narrow-mindedness. This would certainly help you with Ne development, which should be an ongoing project.
As far as I can tell, the root of the problem you're describing isn't psychological but social. Not everything in life is under our control. In fact, studies have consistently revealed that people are far more influenced by their social environment than they care to admit. You don't get to choose which family you're born into. As a child, you have no say in which neighborhood, city, or country you live in. Yet, upbringing, community, and culture are three major factors that influence the trajectory of your life, everyone's life.
If you're unlucky, you grow up experiencing a painful mismatch of personality and environment. And it is down to luck. You shouldn't fault yourself for accidents of birth. And you also can't really fault the "environment" because it's not really a conscious entity that intentionally sets out to harm people. Although the social environment is created by the people comprising it, it's not within any given individual's power to change or control it. This is why, historically, you see people migrate far from home, in search of better environments with better opportunities.
You're young and, because of your upbringing, you didn't really get a chance to participate properly in the world. This means you haven't really experienced firsthand just how big the world can be. There is such a diversity of people, places, and culture in the world, which I take to mean that there's a place for every person. Somewhere in the world, there's a place that will allow you to be your true self. Somewhere in the world, there's a place that will help bring out the best in you and allow you to contribute the best of yourself.
However, that place may or may not be where you were born and raised. When you feel like you don't fit in despite all your best efforts, it might help to ask whether this is really the place you're meant to be and the people you're meant to be associated with...
I've known a lot of immigrants in my lifetime, so I have taken part in many complicated discussions about how to fit in, culturally. Some people find it easier to pick up mainstream culture as they go, looking up references and remembering them as necessary. Some people like to be more prepared and put effort into studying cultural history. I've had a lot of people ask me for help getting to know western culture's most important artists, writers, books, musicians, songs, movies, and tv shows by decade.
It used to be easier to learn cultural knowledge when media was more centralized. Nowadays, people are more siloed, ironically because of social media. Subcultures abound, appearing and disappearing with short-lived social media trends. In today's chaotic media landscape, trying to keep up with the latest cultural trends isn't really worth the energy anymore because collective memory has become so short. What's the point of remembering a meme or viral event when most people will have forgotten it a month later?
What is one to do when faced with this kind of information overload? There are two helpful strategies that go together:
(1) Narrow Your Focus
One reason people are so interested in cultural knowledge is because culture is an important avenue of self-discovery. Have you ever noticed that when they put together a boy/girl band, they find four or five guys/gals with very different and distinct personalities? They're hoping to ensure that teenage listeners will find at least one band member to relate to on a deeper level. It's a way to cover all the bases and maximize the chances of turning someone into a fan. While it sounds like a cynical and calculated ploy, it's actually an important way for teenagers to learn more about their own likes/dislikes, in contrast to others.
One could argue that the reason we have so many genres in music, movies, tv shows, and literature is because of the diversity of human beings. We're all born with a personality that we express in our own unique way, which means we all have a propensity to like and dislike certain things. As much as I've tried to get into death metal, I just can't seem to resonate with it. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as I'm not out there trying to stop other people from appreciating it. We are all entitled to our personal tastes.
You're hoping that by learning more cultural knowledge, some of those factoids will eventually pay off during a social interaction. But what are the odds that they will? Pretty low because it's too random. Is it really worth the energy spent in remembering all that information only for a small portion of it to come in handy at some random time in the future? Sure, there are people who have a head for remembering trivia, but if you're not one of them, it quickly becomes a waste of energy that could be better spent elsewhere.
But wastefulness aside, cramming yourself full of factoids isn't a good strategy for two reasons. Firstly, when learning is motivated solely by a desire to obtain external rewards (e.g. approval or money), people don't tend to achieve true mastery or genuine appreciation of the subject matter. In other words, it's a shallow way of learning that doesn't help memory retention, as you're finding out. Secondly, doing something just to impress others is basically contorting yourself to conform with other people's expectations. This doesn't help you learn about yourself, quite the opposite, it takes you farther and farther away from yourself, which is why it doesn't feel right.
While we often associate identity formation with adolescence, the fact is that learning about who you really are is a lifelong task. Thus, the question isn't about when you started (early or late), it's more about whether you're using a good approach that actually gets you incrementally closer to the truth of who you really are.
If participation in culture is an important pathway for learning about oneself, what you should be doing is exploring different aspects of culture to learn about potential likes, dislikes, interests, and hobbies. For example, you're not going to know whether you like horror movies until you watch a few. But once you've watched a representative sample of the genre and realize you don't like it, let it go and move onto something else.
It's almost as though you believe you have to know everything so that you can relate to anyone. I don't think this is a good or efficient socializing strategy, unless you love researching and have a great memory. You need to accept the fact that you're not going to be friends with everyone. It's okay that you're more compatible with some people more than others.
To improve your chances of social success, you have to know what you're looking for and how to find it. When you go fishing, you don't just throw a hook in the water and hope for the best, right? You have to use the right kind of bait. In the context of relationships, "bait" refers to the things that attract people to each other. One of the best and fastest ways of connecting with people is through common interests. However, this pathway won't be available to you as long as your interests aren't genuine or you haven't developed them properly.
(2) Prioritize Quality (Over Quantity)
One reason people feel easily inundated with too much information is lack of critical thinking skills. Critical thinking helps you sort through information and evaluate its quality. It's like learning how to quickly spot the rare diamonds amongst the pile of cheap shiny jewels. This also helps with the first point of narrowing your focus.
When you have a better idea of what you like or find intriguing, you open up opportunities to dig deeper and nurture a more sophisticated appreciation of the subject, to refine your tastes. A like/interest (feeling) can be transformed into an edifying intellectual pursuit (skill). But this can only happen if you value learning for its growth potential and not just for the social approval it might bring.
You seem a bit too concerned with how people judge you as a "weirdo". It could be the case that you've met some nasty people. But it could also be the case that you're projecting because you low-key feel ashamed of being "behind" in your development.
There's nothing wrong with being ignorant when it happens through no fault of your own. Nobody comes out of the womb knowing everything and we don't all have equal opportunity to learn what we need to know. It's pointless and illogical to compare yourself to others when you didn't begin life at the same starting line. And being human means having blind spots. Ignorance only becomes problematic when it is willful, that is, a person denies their ignorance and refuses to remedy it with proper learning. Given your motivation to learn, it's clear that you're not stuck in a state of willful ignorance, so there is nothing to feel ashamed about.
On occasion, people come to me asking about a psychology book they've read, only for me to break the bad news to them that it's a terrible book, full of misinformation. Should they then walk away and give up out of embarrassment? I sure hope not. I hope that they would learn to choose their learning resources more carefully.
The trouble with being a newbie is that you don't yet know enough to separate out the good stuff from the junk. To counter this, instead of becoming too reliant on one resource, communicate with a wide variety of people who seem to exhibit more knowledge than you. Eventually, you'll get a better feel for the quality of the knowledge. For example, if most experts are in general agreement, then you've probably stumbled upon trustworthy information. But when nobody can seem to agree on what the "truth" is, then be more careful.
Following from that, instead of slinking away in shame when you're caught not knowing something that seemingly "everybody should know", why not just be honest about not having had the chance to learn and welcome the person to enlighten you? Allow yourself to be humbly schooled. I can't tell you the amount of useful information I've picked up by simply letting people go on and on about their passions and interests.
Doing this could also take a lot of pressure off you, in terms of having the opportunity to: 1) sit back, relax, and listen, 2) learn and absorb information in a more natural setting, and 3) get some valuable tips about which direction to take your learning and where to find quality sources of information to speed up your learning. You might even get inspired to pursue something new and interesting.
The concept of "quality" also applies to people. Every person is a mixture of positive and negative qualities, but some people exhibit more of their negative qualities. When you meet people like that, it is fine to feel repelled and get away from them. But don't then overreact and overgeneralize and believe that everyone is bad.
If the people you're interacting with are truly judgmental jerks, it's better to find out sooner so that you don't end up in a toxic relationship. You truly like yourself? Then wear it proudly. Be open, authentic, and transparent about who you are and the struggles you've been through. Observe how willing people are to accept all of you. This should help you quickly separate out the good from the bad eggs. A good person should be:
empathetic and compassionate
willing to give you the benefit of the doubt
inclined to see and acknowledge the good in you
curious rather than judgmental
sensitive and accommodating, within reason
Every place has its good and bad people, and meeting new people is luck of the draw. When you meet bad people, there's no need to waste time with blame or anger. It's their problem, not yours. Simply walk away and keep looking for good people. And if your social environment isn't overflowing with your kind of people, you might have to migrate to a new and better environment.
Generally speaking, the process of improving yourself and your life goes a lot more smoothly when you know how to tune out noise and keep focused on your main goals.
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Hello
Version 5.5
Introductions Are stupid.
Hey. How goes it?
I'm 36. Caucasian male. Goth-punk. I live in a small-town of 2000 people right in the center of the drunken state of Wisconsin. It is not even close to as fun as that sounds, and it doesn't sound all that fun to begin with. For work, I am a kitchen manager at one place and a line cook at another. I work seven days a week, because I've really got nothing better to do. Forces me out of the house. Makes me be social. And I actually really like what I do. I've been working in the industry for twenty odd years.
I listen to all music, and I'm not just saying that. I actually do. You can go through my main playlist, and you'll find everything from Slayer to Britney Spears to Alan Jackson to The Casualties to Katy Perry etc.… My favorite band of all time is the Descendents. But standing tall in second place is Amigo the Devil and Frank Turner rounding out my top 3. But you should tell me your favorites song, or one that means something to you, I need new music to memorize.
I'm mentally screwed and quite medicated. I have come to peace with this fact. I've been as stable as I can get for a good four years now. So that's neat. I am a raging cynic. I am a recovering addict, long-term. 8 Years. I am sober a little over two. I am a major cinephile, especially when it comes to the glory of the 80's slasher movie. I absolutely adore weird movies. The last film I watched that I really liked was Kinds of Kindness. I thought it was brilliant. My favorite movie of all time is Tommy Wiseau's masterpiece "The Room." I mean that 100%. That movie is the best thing to ever be put on film and I will fight and die upon this hill. I write more than any sane and healthy person should write, but I'm far from sane and I'm far from healthy. I post at least once a day, but sometimes I can post over ten. My notes app on my phone is scary looking.
I do not write for anyone's actual approval. Not even my own really. I do this because it's the only addiction I have that isn't actively trying to kill me and is actually trying to better me as a person and get in touch with unresolved feelings and places that will never have closure.
I will always love constructive criticism. But please, for the love of all the love in the world, don't just tell me I suck. I get that. It's a massive part of my whole gig. Please, give me a reason why I suck, what I'm doing wrong in your eyes. Help me to better this craft I play with. Seriously, I love it. But if you can't give me a reason, maybe it's best you keep that food-hole shut, and stop trying to be a dick, dick.
So since, I write some much, what topics to a tap dance to the grave with? I'm pretty predictable. So, this stuff: The Girl with the Ocean Blue Eyes, Kid, The Broken Mirror Girl, My Junkie Angel, The Girl from California, The Best Friend, The Drunk*, love, lost lovers, hopelessness, isolation, drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, forgotten acquaintances, mental illnesses, rage, hate, rejection, joy, insignificant moments, slices of life, laughter, beauty, self and self-reflection, self-hate, art, other writers, panic, infatuations, obsession, therapy, group homes, rehab, jail, grace, nature, loss, hope, fear, grief, anguish, philosophy, anarchism, nihilism, religion, god, the devil, ugliness, politics, serial killers, cults, suicide, death, destruction, chaos, music, validation, closure, memory, enemies, friends, rock bottom, sex, violence, rock and roll, sin, self-exploration, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, pain, self-destruction much more.
Consider this little spot your trigger warning.
I make music as well as the writing gig. Go tell me I suck at it.
I know about the typos. I am very aware. You don't need to tell me, because I'm probably not going to fix them anyway. Besides, you can figure it out.
There's bare bones about me and what I'm about and where I stand. If there is anything else you'd want to know for some godforsaken reason, go ahead and message me. I may not be real good at it, I do enjoy having fifteen second conversations.
*NOT REAL NAMES
#writing#introduction#introductory post#blog intro#intro post#pinned post#pinned intro#introduction post#hello#hi#my writing#about myself
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