gracefully gritty

If I think I'm funny, does that mean i'm not? 

[ashmeijer]

Remember how Ron Weasley sat with Harry on the Hogwarts Express his first day of Hogwarts not only because it was the only place, but because he saw that Harry was sitting alone? 

Remember that time when Ron Weasley wrote home to his mother that Harry wasn’t expecting any Christmas presents so that she could send him something?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley told Neville Longbottom that he was worth 12 of Malfoy?

Remember when “Ron was the only one who stood by him”? 

Remember when 12 year old Ron Weasley sacrificed himself to a chess game so that Harry could move ahead to stop Snape (Quirrell) from getting the Philosopher’s Stone?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley fiercely defended Hermione when Malfoy called her a mudblood?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley was terrified of spiders but went following them into the forest anyways for his friend?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley turned up at Harry’s house in the middle of the night to rescue him because he was worried that Harry wasn’t answering his letters?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas because he didn’t want his best friend to be lonely?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley completely took over the studying for Buckbeak’s trial?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley stood on a broken leg in front of his best friend and told the man they thought was a mass murderer that if he wanted to kill Harry he would have to kill him as well?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley was personally insulted and guilty about the fact that he had been keeping the man who had betrayed his best friend’s parents as a pet?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley told Harry that they were coming to get him whether or not his aunt and uncle liked it?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley was the thing that Harry would miss most, even after he had fought with him just earlier that year?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley gave up time he could have been studying for his exams to help Harry prepare for the third task?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley used his powers as a prefect to defend Harry to the students who thought that Harry was lying about You-Know-Who?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley kept standing by his best friend all year even though it labelled him as a liar as well?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley fully supported the idea of Harry teaching them Defence Against the Dark Arts and stood up for him to Zacharias Smith who was being extremely rude to Harry?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley was absolutely furious about what Umbridge was doing to Harry in his detentions?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley removed the junk from on top of the knitting that Hermione put out to free the house elves because he knew it would be insulting and rude for them to pick it up without realizing it?

Rember that time when Ron Weasley supported Harry’s decision to talk to Sirius telling Hermione that Harry could “make his own decisions”?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley immediately agreed to go and save Sirius from the ministry?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley stood by Harry even after hearing about the prophecy which said that his best friend would either be killed by Voldemort or kill Voldemort?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley helped Harry find out what horcruxes were and get the memory from Slughorn? 

Remember that time when Ron Weasley told Hermione to lay off on Harry about the Potions book and cursing Malfoy, because obviously Harry never wanted to hurt anybody?

Remember when Ron Weasley supported his best friend even though he was dating his little sister?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley stayed and defended Hogwarts when Death Eaters broke into the castle, even though he could have stayed safe by staying away?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley agreed to leave school to help his best friend destroy the horcruxes and told him that they would be there whatever happened?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley risked his life by taking the form of Harry to help him get safely away from Privet Drive?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley was a source of comfort to Hermione when she was upset about the fact that her parents didn’t remember who she was?

Remember that time when Ron was the source of all of the important information on the ministry when Harry, Ron, and Hermione needed to break in to get the horcrux?

Remember how Ron kept wearing the horcrux even though it was affecting him in a way much stronger than it did Harry and Hermione? Remember how he did that without complaint, accepting that it was all of their jobs to wear it?

Remember how Ron Weasley regretted leaving the moment he did?

Remember how he came back and saved Harry’s life?

Remember how Ron Weasley knew there was no excuse for him, but came back anyways, not expecting his friends to forgive him, but because he had promised he would be there?

Remember how Ron became the driving force of the trio after he came back, keeping them moving and on track, trying to make up for his mistake, still not expecting to be forgiven or even feeling like he deserved it?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley flat out refused to hand over Harry to Xeno Lovegood in exchange for Luna?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley screamed for him to be tortured instead of Hermione at Malfoy Manor? Remember how he ran around screaming her name and sobbing, wishing it was him instead of her?

Remember when Ron Weasley discovered a way to destroy the cup and made sure to get it destroyed?

Remember that time when Ron Weasley defended the House Elves saying that they couldn’t order them all to die for them?

Remember how Ron Weasley screamed out in defiance against Voldemort after they believed Harry to be dead? Remember how he continued to fight even though he knew what would happen if they lost?

Remember when Ron was the very best friend that someone could ever even ask for and how he was so loyal, kind, brave, and just an all around great guy?

Remember how Ron Weasley was a teenage boy who made mistakes but always acknowledged them and apologized, and never tried to make it seem like he didn’t do anything wrong? Remember how when he messed up he always worked hard to make his relationships stronger afterwards?

Ron Weasley is a great friend. Anyone who disagrees can fight me.

[badsciencejokes]

…I almost killed myself

I put on my sunglasses, to hide my swollen eyes, over my tears. I cried all my makeup off. Went inside to have a milkshake. I don’t know why. I wanted something to drink as I figured out what I would do. I got a soda and a milkshake. Medium. The cashier looked at me and with a line around the corner of the counter he rushed away from the counter “Hold on “ he yelled to a coworker.

I filled my soda and went back and saw him looking all over. I go up and he gets close and says “I made it a large”.

That was seriously enough for me not to do it. His kindness. Someone went out of their way and as I went back in my car to cry I realized I could muster through a few other days. A few more weeks. Then I came down from that panicky high of anxiety, depression, and pain. I finished my shake. And it was enough time to let me feel better. I… I’m alive. I’ll make it through.

Try and be nice today. Tomorrow. Something as much as a smile. It helped so much.

Thank you man at McDonalds.

The milkshake saved my life

[blackheartseverywhere]

I hope you all can read this and remember to be kind

[the-quiet-priestess]

The smallest of gestures can save a life. My Mum answered her phone when I called and I am alive today because of that.

[badsciencejokes]

I’m glad you’re here.

It’s a phone call, a milkshake, a friend.

[badsciencejokes]

I feel like I shouldn’t keep reblogging this but when I do more people see what kindness can do…. I don’t know. Love everyone as yourself.

[nunyabizni]

Nah, keep rebloging it. It gives hope.

[evilerthanthou]

walked sobbing around a city once wearing a summer dress in mid-september thunder and rain. basically dragged myself into LUSH as the smell of the store always made me smile. the shop was empty and dead due to the weather, just this blonde short woman behind the counter who smiled at me. i stared at her feet and asked ‘do you have anything for people who are scared a lot?’ (i was so out of it i had no clue). she showed me two bath bombs, one pink and one blue, and said both were good - i chose the pink, paid for it and left. i then sat at a bus stop clutching the LUSH bag in one arm and my prescription meds in the other - i’d lied and ordered a refill so i could just drift away with sleeping pills. when the bus arrived and i was out of the rain, i decided to have another look at my bath bomb, smell it and what not. opened my bag and saw she’d put the blue one in there for me as well and written on the receipt ‘feel better soon :) hope you like x’. 

no one had ever been so selflessly kind to me before, i didn’t know what to do with it except hang around long enough to use the other bath bomb. 

[maggie-stiefvater-deactivated20]

Actually I’m going to reblog this again because of the truth of the inverse: think of any time you have been casually cruel or petty to someone for humor or because you weren’t in a great mood. 

The power of small gestures goes both ways.

[dutchovny-blog]

i’m just gonna leave this here as a reminder that “hitting bottom” doesn’t mean “staying on bottom for the rest of your life and dying as a piece of crap”

[grumpysammy-deactivated20151222]

I will never, ever, not reblog this. 

[nsnicket]

*huggles RDJ*  Anyone on here who loves him, someone posted an amazing story about him when he was younger.  I wish knew where the link was so I could share it.  Instead, it’s just cut and pasted below.  If I find the link, I’ll replace it with that.

I will also say that I have read this several times now and it still makes me  cry.

“True story: His Name is Robert Downey Jr.” by Dana Reinhardt

I’m willing to go out on a limb here and guess that most stories of kindness do not begin with drug addicted celebrity bad boys.

    Mine does.

    His name is Robert Downey Jr.

    You’ve probably heard of him. You may or may not be a fan, but I am, and I was in the early 90’s when this story takes place.

    It was at a garden party for the ACLU of Southern California. My stepmother was the executive director, which is why I was in attendance without having to pay the $150 fee. It’s not that I don’t support the ACLU, it’s that I was barely twenty and had no money to speak of.

    I was escorting my grandmother. There isn’t enough room in this essay to explain to you everything she was, I would need volumes, so for the sake of brevity I will tell you that she was beautiful even in her eighties, vain as the day is long, and whip smart, though her particular sort of intelligence did not encompass recognizing young celebrities.

    I pointed out Robert Downey Jr. to her when he arrived, in a gorgeous cream-colored linen suit, with Sarah Jessica Parker on his arm. My grandmother shrugged, far more interested in piling her paper plate with various unidentifiable cheeses cut into cubes. He wasn’t Carey Grant or Gregory Peck. What did she care?

    The afternoon’s main honoree was Ron Kovic, whose story of his time in the Vietnam War that had left him confined to a wheelchair had recently been immortalized in the Oliver Stone film Born on the Fourth of July.

    I mention the wheelchair because it played an unwitting role in what happened next.

    We made our way to our folding chairs in the garden with our paper plates and cubed cheeses and we watched my stepmother give one of her eloquent speeches and a plea for donations, and there must have been a few other people who spoke but I can’t remember who, and then Ron Kovic took the podium, and he was mesmerizing, and when it was all over we stood up to leave, and my grandmother tripped.

    We’d been sitting in the front row (nepotism has its privileges) and when she tripped she fell smack into the wheelchair ramp that provided Ron Kovic with access to the stage. I didn’t know that wheelchair ramps have sharp edges, but they do, at least this one did, and it sliced her shin right open.

    The volume of blood was staggering.

    I’d like to be able to tell you that I raced into action; that I quickly took control of the situation, tending to my grandmother and calling for the ambulance that was so obviously needed, but I didn’t. I sat down and put my head between my knees because I thought I was going to faint. Did I mention the blood?

    Luckily, somebody did take control of the situation, and that person was Robert Downey Jr.

    He ordered someone to call an ambulance. Another to bring a glass of water. Another to fetch a blanket. He took off his gorgeous linen jacket and he rolled up his sleeves and he grabbed hold of my grandmother’s leg, and then he took that jacket that I’d assumed he’d taken off only to it keep out of the way, and he tied it around her wound. I watched the cream colored linen turn scarlet with her blood.

    He told her not to worry. He told her it would be alright. He knew, instinctively, how to speak to her, how to distract her, how to play to her vanity. He held onto her calf and he whistled. He told her how stunning her legs were.

    She said to him, to my humiliation: “My granddaughter tells me you’re a famous actor but I’ve never heard of you.”

    He stayed with her until the ambulance came and then he walked alongside the stretcher holding her hand and telling her she was breaking his heart by leaving the party so early, just as they were getting to know each other. He waved to her as they closed the doors. “Don’t forget to call me, Silvia,” he said. “We’ll do lunch.”

    He was a movie star, after all.

    Believe it or not, I hurried into the ambulance without saying a word. I was too embarrassed and too shy to thank him.

    We all have things we wish we’d said. Moments we’d like to return to and do differently. Rarely do we get that chance to make up for those times that words failed us. But I did. Many years later.

    I should mention here that when Robert Downey Jr. was in prison for being a drug addict (which strikes me as absurd and cruel, but that’s the topic for a different essay), I thought of writing to him. Of reminding him of that day when he was humanity personified. When he was the best of what we each can be. When he was the kindest of strangers.

    But I didn’t.

    Some fifteen years after that garden party, ten years after my grandmother had died and five since he’d been released from prison, I saw him in a restaurant.

    I grew up in Los Angeles where celebrity sightings are commonplace and where I was raised to respect people’s privacy and never bother someone while they’re out having a meal, but on this day I decided to abandon the code of the native Angeleno, and my own shyness, and I approached his table.

    I said to him, “I don’t have any idea if you remember this…” and I told him the story.

    He remembered.

    “I just wanted to thank you,” I said. “And I wanted to tell you that it was simply the kindest act I’ve ever witnessed.”

    He stood up and he took both of my hands in his and he looked into my eyes and he said, “You have absolutely no idea how much I needed to hear that today.”

[thekristen999]

will always re-blog this story.  @tari-aldarion

[gracefullygritty]

life update?

So, a whole lot has been going on. Sometimes, it feels like nothing. Other times, it feels like the earth is crumbling beneath my feet because I just don’t know.

I’ve been trying to live in the moment. And for the most part, it’s been working.

I chose a law school. Actually, I just submitted the seat deposit. God willing, I’ll be a law student in the fall.

The boyfriend has intentions to start saving for a ring. It’s terrifying and wonderful all in the same thought.

There’s too much family stuff weighing on my mind, as always it seems. But, we all have our health and for that I am grateful.

I know it’s been a while, but how is everyone doing here?

[gracefullygritty]

I’m in at 7 law schools with scholarships at most! I’m also at my highest weight in half a decade. 272 this morning. Yesterday, I️ went on a true pace treadmill walk for 30 minutes. I️ just wanted to see where my body felt most comfortable. Let’s see how this goes.

[naramdil]

you have this idea in your head that the only time you’re worthy of being loved is when you’re at your best. you’re still worthy of being loved when you’re at your lowest. you’re still worthy of being loved when you don’t want to go on anymore. you are still worthy of being loved even when you don’t love yourself. you are a human and therefore always worthy of being loved and don’t you fool yourself into thinking otherwise. 

[jamesniall]

HERE, HAVE A JOKE IN SPANISH:

“-sabe inglés?

-si

-como se dice ”un zapato” en inglés?

-a shoe

-salud

-gracias”

[ayellowbirds]

[gracefullygritty]

So... let’s talk about that half

I didn’t finish it.

I was crushed. I made it to the 8-mile marker and decided with my cough that seemed to close my chest and blisters on my feet it would be best to call it a day.

So, I ran past the 8-mile marker. The patrols guys said, “good luck, you can catch the pacers!”... ran for about .1 mile and then turned around for the bus.

I’m disappointed in myself. I was so excited to be running the Princess half. Yet, the cough coupled with my random crying because no one from my family was there, it just made so much more sense to stop. I told everyone that I’m doing it again next year. 

However, my friend completed her first half marathon and I couldn’t be prouder!

So little victories :)

I’m going to start training again as soon as I get whatever sickness is out of my system.

[gifcraft]

[healthy-lindsey]

THE GUYS IN THE BACKGROUND MAKE MY LIFE. THEY’RE SO PROUD OF HER. FUCK YES

[mermaidmuscles]

This is one of the very first things I reblogged and I still love it

[finding-avalon]

Always reblog her 💖💖💖💖💖

[gracefullygritty]

So I’m here!!

[natalia-james-deactivated201807]

this cast ❤️

[chants-de-lune]

Millennials watching Gen Z organizing huge rallies and standing up to zero-action politicians 

[gracefullygritty]

I️ went skiing today instead of going on my long run. The half marathon is next week and I️m definitely going to walk the majority of it. I️ can feel it in my bones. Something needs to give. I’m at the point where it’s hard to put socks on... and I️ need to take breaks on the slopes. I’m a little scared.

[gracefullygritty]

Yesterday, I️ ran for 90 minutes. Today, I️ can’t move. 😂

[gracefullygritty]

Fun fact: Our basement flooded at the start of January and I lost all of my LSAT study material.... June 2018 LSAT here I come!

[gracefullygritty]

Alive and semi-well!

I’m alive and semi-well in Pakistan.

I don’t think I have ever travelled here and been this sick. At least not since I was a child.

Life is interesting. I received my LSAT score, didn’t get nearly the score I was hoping for, but I think I’m still going to apply to programs and see where my cards fall.

I’m debating taking 6 months off of work to just focus on what my next step will be.

The boy is still good. Though, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I have hardcore engagement envy right now. My childhood best friend just got engaged to a guy she had been dating for 6-ish months. Also, with all of the Holiday Engagements, I feel as though all of my girlfriends are now tied to their guys. When will there be girl time?

Anyways... that’s it for now :)

[allthingsshabbyandbeautiful-dea]