23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?
You weren't kidding, this is a deep one.
Hmm... I don't remember where I was on the first day of this year, but I think I'd tell myself it gets a lot better, faster than I think it will. I'd tell myself to be a little more talkative and a little less worried. I'd say that... a lot of my family life has been rougher than I thought it was and it's not getting easier. There's a lot of painful conversations ahead and there's a lot of uncertainty and fear. People I really love have hurt me really deeply this year. And I'd like to say that it's okay. That it's okay to feel hurt by them and it doesn't matter if their intentions are good, their actions are still painful. I'd tell myself that I don't need to be forgiving of everyone, that it's okay to take my time, that I know more about myself than anyone else does. No one else gets to make my choices for me, so why look for their approval?
I'd say that it's going to be a hard year. There's going to be a lot that you're going to lose. You're going to cry a lot. You're also going to laugh a lot. You're going to make a lot of new friends, who love you unconditionally and that when you're feeling insecure, it's okay to ask them for reassurance. You're going to enter a new era of your life and the future is going to look so bright. Go chase the stars.
And get the dogs anyway. They haven't been easy and it doesn't always end happily but they're yours and they were meant to come here anyway. And Timber's cute face is worth it.
No means no. Say no when you want to. You don't need a reason.
I am Habib from Gaza. I am married and have four children: Menna, 12 years old, Adam, 10 years old (suffering from quadriplegia), Maria, 6 years old, and Ezz, one year old. Although they are young, they have survived previous wars, but this current war is the most difficult of all. This is a war of genocide, and the difficulty of the war lies in the inability to meet the needs of my son Adam, who needs special care.
Over the past ten months, we have been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Our once peaceful home in Khan Yunis has been reduced to rubble, and now we find ourselves displaced in Deir al-Balah, living in squalid conditions in a makeshift tent on the streets. The devastation not only deprived us of our physical shelter, but also destroyed my livelihood - the once thriving business that supported our family's well-being, is now in ruins. The daily struggle for survival is exacerbated by the scarcity of basic necessities such as clean water, adequate sanitation and basic medical supplies
Our home was the place where we found hope and safety, and where we made precious memories. Losing him was like losing years of our lives.
Not only that, they destroyed my source of livelihood, burned it, and demolished it with bulldozers, and today I am without a home and without a job. I was working in a store I owned that met the needs and expenses of my family
Living in tents is miserable. There is a lack of drinking water, hot sun rays, and strange insects that have terrified my children. What hurts me most is my young son Ezz, who I see growing up in an unclean environment and with no healthy food for him. I believe he has not received his right to life.
At this stage, my husband and I decided to go to you and create an account on the Go Fund Me website and ask you to help us in these difficult times until we get out of Gaza, from the land of war to the land of peace. All we need from you is to support us and help us to get out of the war, even if you cannot help. You should spread the word. This campaign is everywhere and among your friends. We thank you for your stance and support for us. Thank you, my friends
The amount that will be collected from this campaign :
We will spend it by paying the amount to coordinate entry through the Rafah land crossing, which connects Gaza to the State of Egypt, since, as I mentioned, they charge an adult $5,000, but depending on the pressures, crises, and waiting, the amount may reach $7,000 per person, and children $2,500 to $4,000.
We will also use it for the rest of the travel and safe transportation expenses to provide for all family members.
A picture of my children's life before the war
A video of my children's lives living the war
May God reward you with all the best and may God bless you
Since the Canada griffin was proudly mentioned recently I figure it can’t hurt to ask if you do happen to have plans to design Canada griffin goslings at some point in the future? (muse permitting)
I Always love thinking of the AUs where Anakin/Vader raises the twins, partially because of his immaculate dad T-shirts, and also I just love thinking of how he’d react to either of the twins dating a literal criminal (yk ignoring Anakin’s own numerous war crimes) cause I’m sorry Han but you don’t stand a chance
maybe someone should stop ignoring his crimes actually
hbomberguy’s latest video on plagiarism has made me completely rethink literature and writing. I have never once so much as considered intentionally plagiarizing anyone or anything, but I think there’s something more that has come out of this: the names of the people who created the works Somerton (and others) ripped off.
Plagiarism isn’t only bad because it is lazy and disrespectful, it’s bad because it buries the truth. If you can’t find a source, the conversation is over. Somerton’s sources are fairly easy to find by simply searching his plagiarized lines, but that isn’t true in most cases. Most of the time, the line from statement to source is a lot less clear.
Today, I was writing a report on English Ivy, which is an invasive species here in the US. I wanted to know when it was introduced and I at last found a source claiming it was introduced to the Americas “as early as 1727” on a .net website that seems quite reputable (it has multiple major universities credited in its home page), but there is no citation for where this date came from. I dug deeper and found a pamphlet created by a city government in Virginia that made the same claim, only to discover the first source linked in their bibliography. Another website (a botanical garden’s page) gave the same date with the same source hyperlinked. Of course, I have classes to attend and things to do and probably not enough time to follow the lines back to where this 1727 date came from, but if I had not just watched this video, I wouldn’t have given that date a second thought.
Of course, it doesn’t matter in the long run exactly what year hedera helix was introduced to the Americas, but it makes you wonder how many facts have been so vaguely attributed that it becomes completely impossible to figure out where they originated (and further, whether or not they’re true at all).
It is scientifically proven that Dungeon Meshi will cause one of the characters to manifest in your head and tell you how to improve your life. You either get:
Senshi: eat well, rest, nourish yourself
Chilchuck: labor rights, advocate for yourself, scrutinize everything
Marcille: take care of yourself, study necromancy, be a lesbian
Laios: respect everything, learn about the world around you, be autistic.