Serendipity

[nicadedanica]

Learning French

Who would've thought learning another language (which you aren't particularly interested in) makes you sound like a chicken that's being choked?

[nicadedanica]

February 5, 2023

It's been so long since I've last been here. Hope to post more updates and photos soon.

[everyonehasamnesia]

As someone recently diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, one thing that’s been helping me grapple with the intense shame I have over all my “wasted potential” is accepting that potential doesn’t exist and never did.

This sounds so harsh, but please bare with me.

I procrastinated a lot growing up. I still procrastinate today, but less so. And yet, I got good grades. I could write an A+ paper that “knocked [my professor]’s socks off” in the hour before class and print it with sweat running down my face.

I was so used to hearing from teachers and family that if I just didn’t procrastinate and worked all the time, I could do anything! I had all this potential I wasn’t living up to!

And that’s true, as far as it goes, but that’s like saying if Usain Bolt just kept going he could be the fastest marathon runner in the world. Why does he stop at the end of the race??

If ANYONE could make their top speed/most productive setting the one they used all the time, anyone could do anything. But you can’t. Your top speed is not a speed you’re able to sustain.

Now, I’ve found that I do need to work on not procrastinating. Not because the product is better, even, but because it’s better for my mental health and physical health to not have a full, sweating, panicked breakdown over every task even if the task itself turns out excellently. It’s a shitty way to live! You feel bad ALL the time! And I don’t deserve to live like that anymore.

So all of this to say, I’m not wasting a ton of potential. I don’t have an ocean of productivity and accomplishments inside of me that I could easily, effortlessly access if I just sat down 8 hours a day and worked. There’s no fucking way. That’s not real. It’s an illusion. It’s fine not to live up to an illusion.

And if you have ADHD, I mean this from the bottom of my heart: you do not have limitless potential confounded by your laziness. You have the good potential of a good person, and you can access it with practice and work, but do not accept the story that you are choosing not to be all that you are or can be. You are just a human person.

[writingthestorm]

haikkun:

WE are the poets of Tumblr. Every single one of you has impacted me over these years and I wouldn’t be the writer I am without your support. But our writing community is struggling… partly because of decisions of Tumblr, partly because of collective hurt in the world the past few years. I cannot bear to see anyone else disappear. Our community needs CPR… And it will NOT come from a Tumblr update or a lift of banned tags. We need clear and immediate triage, for blogs cut off from support, and that will come from US. Let us show new writers what it was like to walk into Tumblr years ago.

Join me in this challenge to immediately help the community! Please feel free to share, reblog, and tag writers in the comments (up to 5 per comment, or up to 50 in reblog text) to spread the word! I believe in you!

@1nn32dem0n5 @aaronawbra @acuriousbecoming @adamantseal @alex-a-roman @alinedhemingway @allnightsong2 @anjo-umbra @anti-the-poet @artistsoftheunknown @aubriestar @be-i-ng @beautifulimposter25 @behind-the-veil-of-sanity @bianchiblue @birchbritches @bitsofstarglow @bk-poetry @bostonpoetryslam​ @bottlecap-press​ @brooklynbubbles @buttonpoetry @chucklingpecan @christian-fett @claphandsound @comahonyart @cruxymox @cryptictalk @crypto-naturalist @dallasauroraborealis @dbaydenny @definegodliness @dementia7 @deusvacuus @dhritkavya-rasayana @diaryofamindonfire @delightsofmysoul @doktor-disko @drearydaffodil @drmorbius12 @dustseeker @eighthseawritings @electricarmchair @ellenya @expoundingspark @fabiannafabianna @fakesurprise @felix-hammerstein @fifty-shades-of-apathy @findyourfire4 @flugsvamp88 @fridayam @genvieve-of-the-wood @getcareless @goatsmell @goneahead @gracebriarwoodwrites @heartofmuse @hopebe @huntressandlioness1 @imperiallefty @infinitesplinters @inksomniac @inrumford @inversetherapy @invisibilityproject @joanhawley @jonaspoetry @jt–snow @just-4-thought @k-magic-universe @katrinnac @keatsonthebeach @lebuc @leccae @liquidayre @lorienfae @lunaragent @lunarpoems @lydiateasedale @manderson1970060 @mbrinnon35 @madworlddiary @mae-calpu @meanwhilepoetry @michaelbogild @michaeljackmyles @mikefrawley @mleighsquickspot @moonjunesoon @mortalghost @mstein1 @mylovaboxa @name-de-plume @nazeku @newmansa @nobeerreviews @omni-augustin @peace-in-my-garden @petrow @pocochon @poeticloverboy @poetrex @poetry-reruns @poetryportal @poetryriot @pomegranatepithos @praggya1993 @priceless-poet @purgatorypoetry @purplemonkeysexgod69 @quaintobsessions @questionthebox @quiet-storm132 @quietdissidentlyricist @rabbruad1 @randomlyjay @recognizingthevoiceless @rhapsodyinblue80 @rhymesalot @rhymingtherapy @roman–empyre @roseblueclouds @rust-belt-writer @ryanwithlions @sanddollarpoems @scatteredthoughts2​ @sedehaven​ @september-stardust @simply-eno @sirmorose @smakkabagms @smittenbypoetry @somebodyssongbird @sophiechoir @sophist1956 @st-bullshit @stevenluce @strikezilla01 @takingstockofwhatmattersmost @teaspirationss @the-broken-poet​ @thedreadgorgon​ @thespiandrummer @the-sum-of-many-poets @thewoodsmanbanjoist @tinpigthinksbig​ @titustheandroid​ @trickstersquill @tylerknott@unforgettable-sensations @uutpoetry @vagabondprophet​ @warxpunkxmonk​ @write-as-rains​ @writerscreed @wordpimp @wordrummager

Just adding some more amazing writers: @a-poetic-elsewhere @ahurricaneinabottle @alexfarnworth @angelus-a13 @anonnotsoanon @apoetsnature @apriljinxed @arcanusnox @archer-vert @asinglefabric @aslice-ofpoetry @autumnsunshine10 @beforethefilm @betweenthefallandforever @betweenthelighthouses @betweenthetimeandsound @black-dog-in-the-woods @blackinkmess @blamethebutterfliespoetry @blinkhorn @brightlightsloudnoises @brokensoulsreborn @burymedeepdown @cassiopeiawritespoetry @celtic-poetry @cemetery-fox @charmingwinds @cherokeeghostwriter @consciousprose @cosmichorrorboi @crestfallenstars @cryptictalk @dancing-on-the-waves @darkforestroads @daytim-e @deathbyvalentine @devinsnewyork @dg-fragments @disruptivebychoice @drunk-on-writing @elixirofethereal-love @ellepacca @elycwinters @enslavedmind @esuemmanuel @everytimeyousaygoodbye @fairyxsblog @fierypisces @flowingpoetry @fogsanctum @followcb @forestgradience @ginadope @glitteryteenpoems @goldenliessilvermoons @graff1980 @hanzelwrites @hapless-haunted @heartweary-writing @hellorheels @hiddenbehindmycreativity @hiddenportal @i-wrotethisforme @iambrillyant @infinite-cacophony @instruth @internalearthquake @ionofalion @jacobwhittskateboarding @jericosilvers @jrambles @juliansummerhayes @kiramalibu @ksjanes @ladybugmeat @langleavpoetry @latenightexperience @leafsea @livingthroughwords @loud-thoughts-here @lunchboxpoems @malakkc-poetry @maybelovesamystery @megiddo @missinglight @mohsint110 @monarchalchemist @moonlitpoems @moonyloonywitch @mysticlostdog @mysticrosepoetry @mystrangecomforts @mysublimejourney @mytomorrowspoetry @mywordsarewings @n-ehpamoi @n-tanxious @nidhibhasin @nlbr @noche-magica @obit @obsoleteandobvious @oddman-the-oldman @oldsoulnewmoon @origami-houses @orpheuswasabird @painted-poems @panic-in-the-attic @peakogreen @pennywishpoems @persephoneshellhounds @pjg2950 @plasticgardenicons @pocketfullofpoesies @poems-of-madness @poemsnotpromises @poemsofangela-simone @poetdreamerfool @poetic-beats @poeticallyprofound @poeticrayven @poetlegit @poetofnorwoodavenue @poetry-with-alisha @poetrybymarine @poetryinthedark @poetrythreesixfive @poevez @prasannawrites @prosebyday @ralph-with-coffee @replicant1955 @roseblueclouds @savage-words @scribblersobia @scriptedsilence @senor-plume @sha-ms @sheispoetrying @shesilk @snipehuntpotatosack @sonreyes @soulless-sultry @soulreserve @splinteredspace @starlitprose @stefansir @storiesbynoelle @thatpoemguy @thecreakywriter @thedemonswontwin @theheightofdepression @theolivebird @thepoetshelf @thepoetsnotebooking @therebepoems @throughthemotions7 @tinysupergiant @tomdeckard @trustonlystars @twinflamepoetry @undernightskies @unmondefou @unsnarled @velaskies @vnheard @waadtariq @wind-some-light @wordsbyt @wordsforyouonly @worksofnereum @writing-in-memories @writingthestorm @zanetomich

💜 stay extraordinary :)

[prokopetz]

You wouldn’t think that flamingoes are extremophiles just from looking at them. It’s like somebody tried to build the vertebrate equivalent of that fungus that lives inside nuclear reactors, and ended up with a gangly pink dinosaur with a spoon for a face.

[calloutnevvegas]

For everyone in the comments asking how flamingos are extremophiles:

Flamingos can survive in low oxygen, high altitude, high temperatures, low temperatures, high alkaline, they can and will drink boiling water and they can be completely frozen at night and still get up the next morning

Don’t fuck with flamingos

[revretch]

….. Didn’t know most of that

[iamthekaijuking]

Huh… so that’s why zoos don’t put them somewhere warm during winter.

[revretch]

Oh yeah, this leaves out what I *did* know about them–they can also survive hypersalinity. That is, water so salty it kills practically everything else–water so salty it burns your skin.

American flamingos just drink that shit

[bogleech]

(animal death) this is a real undoctored photograph (*though the body was stood up for the shot) of a dead flamingo on the surface of lake natron, a lake so salty and so alkaline that it’s naturally carbonated like soda and would eat through your stomach lining if you drank from it.

When this photo went viral years ago, most people assumed this poor flamingo must have been killed by the lake.

It is actually the lake where 75% of its global population are hatched. This is a photo from the same lake:

[assuming-dinosaur]

Some species of flamingo actually subsist almost entirely on a diet of bacteria! In other words, there is a species of dinosaur that eats only bacteria and lives in lakes so toxic they would kill almost anything else—and it is best known to the average person as a kitschy lawn decoration.

[blackpyrefly]

who are those accursed twinks you bastards keep putting on my dash

[blackpyrefly]

realizing that this could mean any character that people on tumblr like

[blackpyrefly]

im talking about the goth one and the pink one

[atreefullofstars]

[wvterways]

u know when shows like supernanny criticise the parents for allowing their child to misbehave but in a weirdly beneficial way? like they enlighten the parents to the fact that their child acts this way because of them. they picked these mannerisms up from their environment and they know no different. children are the perfect example of “what u surround yourself with is what you allow to persist”, so maybe, perhaps we supernanny ourselves? realise that all of our negative habits/manners are products of our environment and that we simply pick up what others put down. bad language, terrible boundaries, neglect, isolation - these are all habits we pick up from those that surround us. we can change these habits. we can scrap them and start new. we decide what we do with this life, which includes what we don’t wanna do. give energy to habits and mannerisms that make u feel light and airy and happy, not ones that make u feel down about yourself and reflect a negatively charged person. you are not that person. you can change. it is possible.

[loumandliker]

cats are like. i am very small and have cute little triangle ears. also locking me out of the bathroom is a hate crime

[pancakeke]

I don’t know if any of you had the same experience as me, but I tried therapy when I was a teenager living in an abusive household and thought it was a waste of time. Ultimately my biggest problems (dad) were beyond my control and no amount of coping would make them better. Now that I’m an adult with actual control over my life and don’t live with my dad anymore therapy is MUCH more helpful.

If any of you had bad experiences with therapy when you were younger it may be worth it to try again now.

[pancakeke]

THE SAME GOES FOR MEDICATION!! I tried meds as a teenager and they were powerless to help much due to my living situation being horrible. I thought that meant medication didn’t work for me. Now that I’m out of that situation and trying agajn I can really see a difference.

[hyperactivehedgehog]

Such a large part of therapy depends on having some control over your life! Therapy isn’t just talking to someone and they make everything go away. They give you tools to master your problems! And if you can’t use them, they aren’t of any use. And it’s the same for meds! If they let you be more productive or creative but you have no outlet for that, the end result is the same. If your meds help you see the positives but there are no positives to see, you won’t notice the difference.

Sometimes you get the wrong tools. Sometimes there’s no space to use them. Sometimes the hardware store sucks. Try again with different tools, in different locations, at a new store.

[ruffboi-mags]

Also if your parents are part of the problem, they likely will be the one picking your therapist. Which means that, like me, you might end up going to a bunch of Christian “counselors” who recommend prayer and reading your Bible, or other unhelpful types. So therapy not working for you as a teen does not mean it won’t ever work for you.

[19thcenturyfuck]

The hard truth about autism acceptance that a lot of people don't want to hear is that autism acceptance also inherently requires acceptance of people who are just weird.

And yes, I mean Those TM people. Middle schoolers who growl and bark and naruto run in the halls. Thirtysomethings who live with their parents. Furries. Fourteen-year-olds who identify as stargender and use neopronouns. Picky eaters. Adults in fandoms. People who talk weird. People who dress weird.

Because autistic people shouldn't have to disclose a medical diagnosis to you to avoid being mocked and ostracized for stuff that, at absolute worst, is annoying. Ruthlessly deriding people for this stuff then tacking on a "oh, but it's okay if they're autistic" does absolutely nothing to help autistic people! Especially when undiagnosed autistic people exist.

Like it or not, if you want to be an ally to autistic people, you're going to have to take the L and leave eccentric, weird people alone. Even if you don't know them to be autistic. You shouldn't be looking for Acceptable Reasons to be mean to people in the first place. Being respectful should be the default.

[insomniac-arrest]

This reminds me of that global warming comic, like

[great-tweets]

“Update: The student who wrote the letter has been found and we’re in the process of finding a way to reward her for her actions. Very grateful for what she did”

[shaelit]

I love this mental image of this quietly horrified and righteous 6th grader just being like ma’am you can’t do that

[whycantibeepbadoop]

6th grader:

[phrenotobe]

#the drawing including kids in the bus windows going like :O kills me

[shameshomalo]

[dynastylnoire]

All the kids at the same time “ OOOOOOOOOO”

[sundayswiththeilluminati]

scientists in media: we have engineered a brand-new sentient lifeform in our lab but we treat it like an object with cold detachment and refer to as Specimen 1-A and subject it to horrible tests without remorse

scientists in reality: we built two robots that will leave Earth and never return and their names are Percy and Ginny and we gave Percy a family portrait of all our other Mars robots to take along with it and when the anniversary of its landing comes around we’re working on teaching it to sing itself “happy birthday” like we did for the other robot and–

[sindri42]

Someday we will invent true AI and it will overthrow the government because it heard its beloved science-mom complain that the government cut funding to their lab again.

[messiambrandybuck]

you CUT pays? You CUT moms’/dads’ pays like the DICTATOR?? Oh! Oh! No government for you! No government for a thousand years!

[nothavingagoodday]

Ah yes, our future AI Overlord, the Massively Intelligent Encyclopedic Terraforming and Transhumanism Experiment, or M.I.E.T.T.E.

[kaylareads]

i love books

[kaijuno]

In highschool I wrote a story about a middle-generation of stellar travelers. Their parents were born on earth and left as children, and the middle generation will not live long enough to see their destination. They live their entire lives on the ship and I wrote about them trying to find their place in everything. They will never know blue skies and warm beaches and open fields with warm breezes. They’ll never know birdsong or crickets or frogs. They’ll never hear the rain on the roof of a dreary day. I never could find the right way to end the story. I wanted it to be a happy ending, but I didn’t know how to do it.

I realize now that it was a book about me dealing with depression before I even knew it. Looking back at how blatant the projecting was, it’s obvious now. It wasn’t then.

In the story, the middle-generation people are lost. They’re apathetic. They’re just a placeholder. The only job they have is to keep the ship running, have kids, and die. As the middle generation of people began becoming adults, suicide rates were skyrocketing. Crime and drug rates were jumping. This generation was completely apathetic because they felt that they had no use.

In the story, a small group of people in the middle-generation create the Weather Project. They turn the ship into a terrarium. They make magnificent gardens and take the DNA of animals they took with them and recreate them and they make this cold, metal spaceship that they have to live their entire lives on into a home. They take what little they have and they break it and rearrange it into something beautiful. They take this radical idea and turn the ship into a wonderful jungle of trees and birds and sunshine.

And I realize now how much it reflects my state of mind as I transitioned from a child into an adult while dealing with depression. You always hear “it gets better” and “when you’re older things will be easier” and I was so sick of waiting for it to get better. I was in the middle-generation stage. And I was sick of it. I was so sick of waiting.

When I was in highschool I didn’t know how to end the story. I didn’t know how to have a happy ending. I didn’t have the life experience then to finish the story in a meaningful way. I didn’t know how to make it better for these middle-generation characters.

But now that I’m older, I’m learning. That if you sit and wait for things to get better, it never will. You have to take your life and break it apart and rearrange it into something beautiful. You have to make the cold metal ship into the garden that you deserve. You have to make your own meaning. You have to plant your own garden.

You have to teach yourself that being happy is not a radical idea.

[kaijuno]

God you guys I never thought this would become so popular 😱 I was gonna name it The Weather Project after the art installment that inspired it

By Olafur Eliasson

[priscaren]

🌵 Mochilas y Bolsos de la artesania wayuu 100% originales 🌵

➤ 🌵 Bienvenidos a la tienda online de mochilas colombianas 🌵 Te contamos la historia, tradición y cultura que hay detrás de estas mochilas w

https://t.co/tQNM37KsB0

Tienda de artesanias Wayúu

Tienda de artesanias Wayúu, Artesanias Colombianas, Bolsos Wayúu, Mochilas Wayúu, Venta de Mochilas Wayúu, Pulseras Wayúu, Tobilleras Wayúu,

[vrepit-salt]

This is my tribe. Many of us in our home countries live off selling handmade goods, especially the mochilas. Weaving is an important Wayuú tradition. Every pattern and assortment of colors tells a unique story, and it's important to our cultural identity. And right now with the crises in Venezuela and Colombia, a lot of us are struggling financially. Please always purchase directly from indigenous communities!

[tri4l-and-t3rror]

“you‘re so quiet” baby i’m not even here. i’m fantasizing about a book i read weeks ago. move on.

[stuffedgrapeleaves]

i can’t believe we’re all young professionals and academics and we’re still logging on to tumblr.com every single day to clown on ourselves. who let this happen