rae. @22097 - Tumblr Blog

“My stepfather would come to my side of the room when everyone else was asleep. I’d heard about these things on television, but I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. I told nobody. I was ashamed. I didn’t want anyone spreading rumors. I couldn’t even tell my mom because who would she believe: him or me? So I just left the house when I turned seventeen. I started sleeping at the houses of my friends. It was so lonely. I never stayed in the same place for long. And my mother grew so angry with me. It ruined our relationship. I had been helping her raise my siblings, so she thought I was abandoning my responsibilities. Even today she doesn’t know why I ran away. I haven’t even told my husband about this. But what does it matter anymore? I’m older now. And my stepfather’s dead.”

(Manila, Philippines)

greystripe

finding out picasso died in 1973 feels like the fakest thing ive ever heard. everyone talks about him like he lived in a cave with nothing but a torch and paint he made from berries or bear shit or somethin but nah this dude probably sat down watchin looney tunes thinkin “damn i should draw some dude with a nose on his forehead thatd be dope” i feel so lied to

humansofnewyork

“I’d always been very curious as a kid. I remember taking apart electronics and putting them back together, just to see if they’d still work. But I lost all that enthusiasm during my teenage years. My house became very dark, literally and figuratively. The lights were always off. My parents were always fighting. We never spoke to each other, and if we did, it was always in short sentences. All I cared about was getting out. I put the minimal amount of effort into school. I was angry all the time. I went through life without any goals and ended up getting a job that I wasn’t passionate about. But then one day I downloaded a program onto my office computer that gave me control over the entire network. It was my introduction to hacking, and I’ve been addicted to it ever since. I feel inspired every day. I started learning everything I could. I even discovered you can do it legally, so I’m back in school, getting my degree in information security.”

(Manila, Philippines)

philosophybits

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”

— James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time (via quotespile)

boyy-bait

Life of a Customer Service Rep.

blvckgeezus

Lmfao the pause

philosophybits

“If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.”

— Epictetus, Fragments

humansofnewyork

“Soon after my father passed away, my mother got addicted to gambling. We began falling behind on the rent. I realized what was happening when I found a Casino Filipino membership card in her wallet. I tried confronting her, but she got furious. She told me I had no right to tell her what to do. She began to disappear for days at a time. There was no money for my thesis project at school. I’d borrow food from our relatives just to feed my younger siblings. Then a few months ago our landlord finally kicked us out and we moved into a slum. It was so noisy and dirty. But I did my best to ignore it and focus on my schoolwork. We live in an evacuation center now because the slum burned down. My friends at school have been helping me with clothes and food. And during it all, I’ve kept up my grades. I’m graduating on April 3rd with a degree in Secondary Education. I’m going to become a teacher. I think I’ve already learned a special skill that teachers have to keep their personal problems out of the classroom.”

(Manila, Philippines)

re-cut-off-blog

humansofnewyork

“My boyfriend left as soon as I got pregnant. I was terrified to tell my father, but he discovered my pregnancy test hidden in a drawer. He didn’t speak to me for a few days. We’d always been close, so I knew something was up. Finally he asked me if I wanted to tell him something. I began to cry. I thought he was going to kick me out of the house. But he just went to speak with my mom in the other room, and when he came back, he asked what I planned to do. I told him I wanted to keep the baby, and from that moment on he was very supportive. He cooked me all kinds of dishes whenever I had cravings. He gave me words of encouragement. He started saving money in case I needed a cesarean section. But during my seventh month he came down with a fever after wading through floodwater. The next week it turned into a cough. We took him to the hospital, went home to get clothes, but he died by the time we got back. It was so sudden. I had no idea what I was going to do. I got all my strength from my father. It seemed like keeping the baby had been a mistake. It’s been a tough few years. I had to drop out of school and find a job, but my son is doing well. He’s very smart. He comes home from school with stickers and stars. He’s a ‘Mama’s boy.’ It’s been hard, but I’ve proven to myself that I didn’t have to end a life just because I couldn’t face it.”

(Manila, Phillipines)