words

[unreadable]

[aidashakur]

daily rituals 🦋

[oldfilmsflicker]

[soracities]

Octavio Paz, ‘The House of Glances’ (selected lines), A Tree Within (trans. Eliot Weinberger)

[beyonce-knowles-carter]

If it’s what you truly want … I can wear her skin over mine. Her hair over mine. Her hands as gloves. Her teeth as confetti. Her scalp, a cap. Her sternum, my bedazzled cane. We can pose for a photograph, all three of us. Immortalized … you and your perfect girl. I don’t know when love became elusive. What I know is, no one I know has it. My father’s arms around my mother’s neck, fruit too ripe to eat. I think of lovers as trees, growing to and from one another. Searching for the same light. Why can’t you see me? Why can’t you see me? Why can’t you see me? Everyone else can.

LEMONADE (2016)

[clem-style-deactivated20191229]

[1dietcokeinacan]

I will never let a man try to tell me about myself ever again. I will never let a man think for a single second he can see into me, or through me, or for me. I’m done entertaining the notion that men can perceive even a millimeter further than what’s currently hitting them right between the eyes. The days of longing desperately for the approval of those who do not recognize me, who cannot recognize me, are long over. I will no longer flatten myself to placate you. Not anymore.

[yekkes]

Woman: *attempts to set a boundary*

Man: Woowww :( so you like, hate me? You’re mad at me? Can’t you like, compromise your comfort a little bit for my convenience? I honestly think you’re being a little too sensitive here! Maybe you should look inward and consider why you’re so cold and heartless 😔

[sheabutterbitch]

What I hate most about “someone always has it worse” rhetoric is that not only is it minimizing, it also promotes the act of using other people’s misfortune to feel better about your own situation. Instead of actually caring about the people who “have it worse,” you’d rather use their situations to say “Well, at least it’s not that bad.” I think that is such a hideous character trait and it’s very interesting that it is so often associated with good qualities like optimism and appreciation.

[nevver]

Abridged Classics, John Atkinson

[asoftwrongness]

[bluethundabomb]

[ankosv]

I don’t like to own things, I feel freer when I don’t own things. Silence is very important to me. I find being alone rather relaxing.

Rei Kawakubo in i-D, 1992 (via ankosv)

[universal-invariants]

[sewnintowords]

You cannot have adoration without being criticized.

Raf Simons (via fromthemouthsofgods)

[brutereason]

In America, we learn that Hitler and the Nazis committed the Holocaust; in Germany, German children learn that they all participated in it, because the Germans came to believe that acknowledging their collective culpability as individuals was the only way to prevent it from ever happening again. Americans, meanwhile, continue to debate whether the Civil War was fought to preserve the institution of slavery, as stated by actual Confederates at the time, or to settle a far more abstract and nebulous quarrel over the less morally indefensible concept of “states rights.” History isn’t always written by the victors, especially if there’s a version that makes everyone feel a little less guilty.

A People’s History of the Third Reich - The Baffler (via brutereason)

[chemistri]

In honor of my 5th semester in a row of all A’s (hell yeah boiiiii) I’m going to make this post. I don’t know how I did it because I am honestly so lazy.

Grades are reflective of your work ethic and your ability to strategize, not your intelligence.

Be real with yourself. Are you sure you are ready to commit to perfect grades? Are you ready to work, day in and day out, when it sucks and classes are boring and hard? Are you ready to feel satisfied for all of the hard work you put in? If the answer is yes, congratulations. You are on your way to becoming a straight-A student.

Prioritize classes. Not every class requires the same amount of work, and you should find out the hardest classes early on in the semester. These will take the most time, and you will have to spend extra time and effort to get a good grade. When choosing classes, make sure you will be able to handle them. Make sure you will be able to ace all of them, at the same time. That being said, don’t shy away from hard classes. You have to challenge yourself. Take a few AP’s. They are worth it.

Make friends with teachers/professors, especially the ones that teach hard subjects. I am very close with my chemistry professor, and this has proved invaluable because I am able to get free tutoring, as well as a great recommendation letter for college apps.

Have other goals. You need to do something that is not studying to keep you productive. I would highly recommend joining a sports team or club. I exercise (usually running and weightlifting) at least 2 hours a day, usually more. Playing 2 sports made me more healthy, social, and productive. Running calms me down, and weightlifting makes me feel strong. Do whatever makes you feel good, as long as it’s healthy.

Learn to manage time well. How do I play 2 sports, get straight A’s, have a studyblr, and have time to spare? The answer is that I take care of myself well. I go to bed at 10:30 or 11 each night so I can get 7 ish hours of sleep. I do homework during lunch or in class so I don’t do it at home.

Slack off. Yep. I said it. I complete assignments strategically, spending the most time on things worth the most points. Things that will only take a few minutes can occasionally be done in class right before the teacher is collecting homework. I have done this all too often. That being said, small assignments really do add up so make sure you do an acceptable job and turn them in on time.

Turn something in. It is ok to sometimes slack off in quality, but if something is due, you better turn something in. Something is better than nothing. Getting extensions on assignments for no reason will make the teacher think you are lazy, or don’t care about their class. Every single essay and worksheet does not have to be your best work, but make sure you fill the basic assignment requirements, and it should be enough. 

Extra. Credit. Some classes don’t offer this, but if they do, just freaking do it man. Knowing you can miss an assignment because you did extra credit earlier is the best feeling, especially when doing that assignment would have meant losing sleep. 

Plan (sort of). I have a bullet journal where I write important assignments down. As I said, there are some assignments not worth your time that you can half-ass. The ones I write down are the ones I need to do well. If you write down every. last. assignment. you will burn out and stop planning altogether. 

Sometimes, go above and beyond. You know that subject you really like? With an awesome teacher? Spend time on it. Make your project extra beautiful, and read ahead in the textbook. Watch video lectures online, and maybe even make a studyblr post about it. Your extra work might not be turned in for credit, but it will make you feel a whole lot more knowledgeable on the subject. Do this for classes you hate, too. Maybe it’s not as bad as you think it is. The extra effort might allow you to see the beauty in a subject you used to despise. 

Be real with yourself (again). This past semester, I had a B+ for a few months in a subject I really love. I wasn’t mad, and I didn’t stress about it, because, honestly? It doesn’t really matter. Eventually I brought the grade up again, but it would be fine to me either way.