mrimpulsivealbatross

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Finally got a picture of the table!! I freaking love birds guys, like they are all goated imo

there's this cool ass coffee shop that i might go to tomorrow and they have the coolest freaking table this side of the mississippi, I'll try to snag a picture of it if the table is open 🤞

in all seriousness, this Lit assignment has got me STRESSED bc I still don't know what my other two poems are gonna be bc my boy Poe cannot pick between couplet and 100+ line angst-fest that I don't want to annotate

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Slightly freaking out!! I just submitted some of my poems to my schools literary magazine and ahhhhhh idk I'm regretting it now! I now people who set up the magazine and such and so I'm kinda erked about them seeing some of the stuff, but whatever! To late to dwell on such things now, just gotta live with it lol

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Corpus Callosum

My right wrist jingles and jangles, Full of music and delight, like a toddler Who snatched up their parent's tambourine And ran down the hall, jumping around and giggling While dodging inexperienced hands. It's full of colour, Ocean blues meeting the umber of the cliff walls, Topped with resilient green grass and pink flowers Swaying in the wind, Its herbal sent mixing in the air alongside soil and salt.

My left wrist is more unfeeling, Dominated by a blocky black watch Flanked by a heavy thick chain undergoing oxidization, An orange hair tie faded and stretched out, And wooden dark brown beads joined together by sinew; It's purpose is practicality and protection, nothing more.

My hands unify these conflicting wrists, Skin callused and rough like sand paper, Stained brown and green from the tea bags And blue from pens and highlighters, Nails short and cut close to the skin for work, Painted over with a clear coat of polish, Drawing the eye to their natural amethyst hue. Rings sit on alternating fingers, Some show-stoppers, adorned with flowers and birds to Conserve the colours my right wrist expresses, Others meager hair ties wrapped round the finger twice For when the one on my left wrist is preoccupied.

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

SUNSET AFTER 7PM NEVER KILL YOURSELF

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

I wonder what about me is so curious to little children. It happens often enough that I'm genuinely confused, because most of the times I'm a) by myself and b) on my phone, so I'm not engaging with them at all. But lo and behold a kid comes crawling over to just sit and look at me

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Hello, lovelies! I’ve gotten a couple of asks about studying so I decided to condense them into one post for you guys! I’m trying to hit a bunch of different topics so if you need an even more specific post you can send an ask! Without any further ado, have some tips! My studyblr is @spacey-scholar​

Prep

First, you always need a good base for your day! Especially if you’re studying a lot.

Make a good full breakfast! Ex. Eggs and Toast, Smoothie and fruit, Pancakes and a cup of juice. 

How’s your hygiene? Do you need to shower, brush your teeth, wash your face, condition your hair? Do it! You’ll be distracted if you feel messy!

Get dressed like it’s a normal day. Staying in PJ’s is okay! But being ready for the day seriously helps focus!

Likewise, your space should be clean. A clean space is a clean mind! Remove dishes, trash, scrap paper, and extra items. Wide down your desk, organize your pens and books. Your space should feel like your space!

Now make a list of what you need to get done! What needs to be done Now, what needs to be done Soon, and what needs to be done Later? 

Order your list how you want your day to go, and don’t put super-tough subjects back to back, or subjects that are similar exercises i.e. reading thirty pages of two different books back to back is no fun.

The Studying

It’s important to buckle down with No Distractions! If you find yourself distracted put your phone away! If you need your phone, put it on Do Not Disturb until you’re done. I also do this at night for better sleep. 

Pick the best technique for you, Pomodoro, reward-based, group studying, etc.

Play music but only if it will not distract you! If you sing along or daydream it’s the wrong music! Classical, Lo-fi, and White noise are all good! My Spotify Here has some good ones.

Use a nice journal (I don’t mean expensive!) and pens/pencils you enjoy using. I like to have a specific journal and color dedicated to each subject. 

Take notes on recorded lectures and classes, if you’re doing online classes right now try to screen record or record the audio! That way if you space out you can play it later and take notes, and you can absorb the lesson better instead of being distracted.

Don’t worry about your notes, stationary, pictures, being beautiful and your grades being perfect. Life doesn’t always look the way it does on Instagram. And the people who spend hours trying to get a good photo of their coffee are not studying! 

Use flashcards! Quizlet is good if you need premade ones! If you can save up and buy them, Barrons AP Flash Cards are the best in my opinion. Very clean, not too long, very durable, and cover all subjects.

Feeling Distracted 

If you catch yourself drifting off and getting into your head, get up and take a quick walk, stretch, or energizer. 

It’s okay if this happens, don’t guilt yourself! practice affirmation. The best and smartest still get distracted. 

If you are drifting, why? Are you hungry? Tired? Thirsty? Bored? Get a snack and some water, take a break and rest, find a way to make your studying more enjoyable. 

Remember that Motivation and Discipline are different things. Sometimes we just won’t be motivated, we won’t want to do it and it will be rather frustrating. But the cure to this is not shaming its discipline. Remind yourself “This may be hard, and I may not want to do this, but I want to reach my goals and If this is what It takes I will make it happen. 

Always do just one more page of you’re tired. One at a time and oh you did it! Maybe just one more? One more? Eh, one more just to finish the train of thought, Oh just- I’m done? Nice!

If you really can’t focus just move on and come back to this subject, you can always ask for help.

Supplementary Things

There are so many apps you can use to study, for free! My favorites are Tide, Quizlet, Focus Keeper, Forest, Flora, Egenda, SpanishDict, Photomath, and Kahn Academy. 

You can also join a study group! You may know one, but if you don’t, there are a lot of online ones! I’m in a study Discord and have been for a while! it helps a lot and motivates me to finish my work!

You can make a studyblr, but don’t do it just for the aesthetics! It’s about studying, and sometimes that gets messy! Sometimes we fail a test, we spill our tea on our notes, we cry because we don’t understand the formula. That’s the part you don’t see!

Having cute stationery can really help, as well as nice organizers and decorations for your space! I don’t have much money so I get a lot of stuff on Amazon or FB Marketplace.

Health

Remember that no matter what you are good enough. It’s okay if you fail, it’s okay if you struggle.

It’s also okay if your path doesn’t go the way you expected! Maybe you go to a different school than expected! Or choose a trade instead! Maybe you take a gap year! Maybe your passion changes! Maybe it changes six times!

Your health is always more important than your school. If you are in pain, mentally or physically, if you are anxious, exhausted, burnt out, talk to your teachers about it! You matter more than a grade.

Your best is good enough! And your best doesn’t look the same as someone else’s best! Don’t compare!

Now go get out there and study!

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Discovery on Self Love

If asked what superpower I could have Out of anything, thought up of and not, And with no draw backs whatsoever, It would be the power to shape shift. It's not because of all the powers I could get But rather the ability to change who I am. The ability to look like whatever I wanted Whenever I wanted. The ability to change myself.

However, I would fear it too. I would fear the change of self on a molecular level Would not just change me physically. My identity would change with every shift, Everytime I wanted to be better, until I wouldn't know who I was. Would I recognize myself in the mirror? The way I text or think? Could I live with that? I would forget the person I was before, and with no past Could there really be a present? Could there be a future for someone with no past, No idea of how things were and no perspective to use.

And with this I realized something important. I couldn't change myself at wim, This power is fictional after all, But if given the chance I couldn't, wouldn't, take it. No matter my discontent with my physical appearance Or mentality or personality, It is who I am. My identity is as much physical as mental, and to change one would be to change the other, Would be to change myself, Would be to condemn myself to a life without living And a death that was empty in meaning.

I have to live with myself, and so I might as well grow and learn to Love myself. My body is me, and to love myself means to love my body, Not just looks but functions too. My joints don't ache, my freckles are like snake bites, my mind is clear. So what if my hair is too thin? Nose disproportionately large? My skin bumpy and red sometimes? My body still functions and I should fall in love with that. The first step to self love isn't forcing the love to happen, It's acceptance of yourself; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

no table but I got to try out some Jasmine tea today so that was dope

also look how cool this sunset was today!! it's like cotton candy!

there's this cool ass coffee shop that i might go to tomorrow and they have the coolest freaking table this side of the mississippi, I'll try to snag a picture of it if the table is open 🤞

in all seriousness, this Lit assignment has got me STRESSED bc I still don't know what my other two poems are gonna be bc my boy Poe cannot pick between couplet and 100+ line angst-fest that I don't want to annotate

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

How sad is it that so much talent has been lost, Not by death, nor disease or other aliment But rather the fear of trying.

Not the idea of failing, But the idea that by somehow caring enough to try You are inherently lesser than, uncool, The bottom in the hierarchy of life.

Do you think those masters of their crafts did not try? Did Monet think that too much colour was uncool? Was Chopin scared to that his songs were to brash? Has Einstein sat down and said that math and physics were lame?

Think of those you love, truly and deeply And ask yourself, Would it be uncool to try to please them? Would you suffer the fate of an outcast to make their lives Just that bit more enjoyable? If not, then ask yourself this, Do you really care for them?

I would rather die alone, knowing I made a smile appear On a friend's face Than die surrounded by those who only like The depressing idea that I never tried, And for some reason that made me safe to be around.

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

there's this cool ass coffee shop that i might go to tomorrow and they have the coolest freaking table this side of the mississippi, I'll try to snag a picture of it if the table is open 🤞

in all seriousness, this Lit assignment has got me STRESSED bc I still don't know what my other two poems are gonna be bc my boy Poe cannot pick between couplet and 100+ line angst-fest that I don't want to annotate

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Chat am I cooking?

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Homemaking, gardening, and self-sufficiency resources that won't radicalize you into a hate group

It seems like self-sufficiency and homemaking skills are blowing up right now. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic crisis, a lot of folks, especially young people, are looking to develop skills that will help them be a little bit less dependent on our consumerist economy. And I think that's generally a good thing. I think more of us should know how to cook a meal from scratch, grow our own vegetables, and mend our own clothes. Those are good skills to have.

Unfortunately, these "self-sufficiency" skills are often used as a recruiting tactic by white supremacists, TERFs, and other hate groups. They become a way to reconnect to or relive the "good old days," a romanticized (false) past before modern society and civil rights. And for a lot of people, these skills are inseparably connected to their politics and may even be used as a tool to indoctrinate new people.

In the spirit of building safe communities, here's a complete list of the safe resources I've found for learning homemaking, gardening, and related skills. Safe for me means queer- and trans-friendly, inclusive of different races and cultures, does not contain Christian preaching, and does not contain white supremacist or TERF dog whistles.

Homemaking/Housekeeping/Caring for your home:

Making It by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen [book] (The big crunchy household DIY book; includes every level of self-sufficiency from making your own toothpaste and laundry soap to setting up raised beds to butchering a chicken. Authors are explicitly left-leaning.)

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust [book] (A guide to simple home repair tasks, written with rentals in mind; very compassionate and accessible language.)

How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis [book] (The book about cleaning and housework for people who get overwhelmed by cleaning and housework, based on the premise that messiness is not a moral failing; disability and neurodivergence friendly; genuinely changed how I approach cleaning tasks.)

Gardening

Rebel Gardening by Alessandro Vitale [book] (Really great introduction to urban gardening; explicitly discusses renter-friendly garden designs in small spaces; lots of DIY solutions using recycled materials; note that the author lives in England, so check if plants are invasive in your area before putting them in the ground.)

Country/Rural Living:

Woodsqueer by Gretchen Legler [book] (Memoir of a lesbian who lives and works on a rural farm in Maine with her wife; does a good job of showing what it's like to be queer in a rural space; CW for mentions of domestic violence, infidelity/cheating, and internalized homophobia)

"Debunking the Off-Grid Fantasy" by Maggie Mae Fish [video essay] (Deconstructs the off-grid lifestyle and the myth of self-reliance)

Sewing/Mending:

Annika Victoria [YouTube channel] (No longer active, but their videos are still a great resource for anyone learning to sew; check out the beginner project playlist to start. This is where I learned a lot of what I know about sewing.)

Make, Sew, and Mend by Bernadette Banner [book] (A very thorough written introduction to hand-sewing, written by a clothing historian; lots of fun garment history facts; explicitly inclusive of BIPOC, queer, and trans sewists.)

Sustainability/Land Stewardship

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer [book] (Most of you have probably already read this one or had it recommended to you, but it really is that good; excellent example of how traditional animist beliefs -- in this case, indigenous American beliefs -- can exist in healthy symbiosis with science; more philosophy than how-to, but a great foundational resource.)

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer [book] (This one is for my fellow witches; one of my favorite witchcraft books, and an excellent example of a place-based practice deeply rooted in the land.)

Avoiding the "Crunchy to Alt Right Pipeline"

Note: the "crunchy to alt-right pipeline" is a term used to describe how white supremacists and other far right groups use "crunchy" spaces (i.e., spaces dedicated to farming, homemaking, alternative medicine, simple living/slow living, etc.) to recruit and indoctrinate people into their movements. Knowing how this recruitment works can help you recognize it when you do encounter it and avoid being influenced by it.

"The Crunchy-to-Alt-Right Pipeline" by Kathleen Belew [magazine article] (Good, short introduction to this issue and its history.)

Sisters in Hate by Seyward Darby (I feel like I need to give a content warning: this book contains explicit descriptions of racism, white supremacy, and Neo Nazis, and it's a very difficult read, but it really is a great, in-depth breakdown of the role women play in the alt-right; also explicitly addresses the crunchy to alt-right pipeline.)

These are just the resources I've personally found helpful, so if anyone else has any they want to add, please, please do!

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Coffee and Cards

We go out for coffee, Except we're too young to like coffee yet, It's bitterness unappealing and caffination not yet a necessity, So we get something sweet, A latte with a heart for you, hot chocolate for me, And we find a seat.

We sit down in the middle of the coffee shop And I pull out a deck of cards. We deserve a game to take a break from school, That's what you said, And so we played a game and bonded over family.

You won, and we started homework And I noticed how you talked out loud When thinking and solving your math problems That I could never understand as much as you do.

We play more cards, and you teach me a game, And I half listened while watching you Scheming away and looking at your cards. Your hands are so neat, and nails beds so long And uniform, like a models.

We started laughing and so you turn red, The colour blooming all over your face and up your ears That draw attention to your eyes and they are So beautiful. Brown like your latte with a heart in it, The heart I pretended was a sign.

I think of how nice this is, Coffee and Cards And you.

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Love is...

Love is the flutter in the chest, The increase in rhythm until synced with the one you love, A connection maintained with touch.

Love is the heat in your cheeks, Redness spreading like seeds in a field, The burning sensation when you brush hands

Love is giving, Your eyes, your hands, your ears, your heart, So that they always know how much you care.

Love is receiving, Taking all that they give and more, Absorbing them until you know them better than you know you.

Love is constant, And while it ebs and flows, It's always there no matter what happens.

Love is tricky, Everyone wants to tell you something different, Always contradicting what you originally thought Or what someone else told you long ago. But love is specific to the person and is specific To you.

Love is me and you.

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Ahhh someone asked if we were dating today and I can't deny that I might've blushed just a smidge. He taught me a card game and we talked about life, both for hours

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

Im Sorry I Couldn't Love You

I'm sorry I couldn't love you, It just wasnt something I thought would impact Our friendship as much as it did. I thought you were fine with being friends And so I allowed you to touch me as you wanted. I didn't mind holding hands, and I didn't think it mattered. (I didn't think much, did I?) I'm touchy with those I care about, Hugs, pokes, squeezes. We spent so much time together, Almost like couples do but the thing is I couldnt say no to quality time spent With those that I did love. (It just wasn't the type you wanted)

I knew what was coming, Nothing good can ever last forever and we knew that. I think you knew how it would end. You knew how it would end, didn't you? (You always knew everything) Did it make you feel like a fraud? Did you think I was forcing it? How could I have know how you felt If you never let me know the storm that was inside. Was it a storm? Or was it a river Held back by a dam that slowly Over time popped a leak, And it burst open. Was that it for you? You never told me. To me it was shocking, a bomb exploding in a field of flowers, You ending it over text. (Not again!) What was it? Could we define it?

You say it felt unfair, a power struggle, odd dynamics that were unsustainable. We were unsustainable. And I think I understand it now, But that doesn't matter now, does it? Because I didn't understand then, And couldn't have when you needed it most.

You're gone, it's awkward, and I lost a friend. I did care for you. Truly and genuinely. I do miss you. Heartbreakingly so. Embarrassingly so. We clicked (and clacked) together like puzzle pieces, Molded each other Like waves tossing pebbles, turning them over and over on each other, Shaping each other into smooth stone. You exposed the lines, my growth, That were shaky like the shell you gave me (I still have it, you know? I wear it sometimes when I get sentimental)

It was blue, wasn't it? We were blue, together, Despite wanting to be pink and green (Grass and Strawberry) Or black and white. (Your main in our game)(I'm orange now, thought you should know) We never could be so complementary, Because we really were the same. (And I could never fall in love with myself, could I? Not then, and I don't know if I could now.)

I'm sorry I couldn't love you, The way you wanted me to. I'm sorry I couldn't love you, The way you needed me to. I'm sorry I couldn't love you, But that doesn't matter now, does it? (Please, what was it?)

[mrimpulsivealbatross]

idk maybe I want him to find this so that he will confess to me or something, cause lord knows I would never confess first and get my feelings hurt

Everytime he thanks me I just want to throw my arms around him like some female protagonist and kiss him but I cant and so I post about it online to strangers