#if anyone can provide a bit more insight feel free to educate me

[skam-in-every-language]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Wille still a Prince?

Yes he gave up the Crown Prince title but his mother is still the Queen, he's still a part of the Royal Family, he'll still live in the Palace while he's a minor and his parents will still afford him all the clothes, money and privileges they've always given him. The only difference is that now that he has given up his position as Crown Prince he will no longer be next in line for the throne, meaning he won't be King, and therefore free to run around on his own without body guards the way he used to before Erik died.

Of course this time around he is standing up for himself and what he wants for his life, instead of buckling under the pressure of trying to live for his parents or the Royal Court or the people of Sweden.

It's just weird to keep hearing people say he's no longer a Prince or part of the Royal Family when that was not my understanding.

#if anyone can provide a bit more insight feel free to educate me #young royals #young royals season 3 #prince wilhelm #the end of a fucking era

[artvaultz]

Hi just came here to ask you what should a beginner artist focus on. i currently have no money to afford an art education which means i have no structure to how I learn. So what should I do in self practice terms I feel like I am all over the place and when I draw I draw for three days and take weeks without drawing. what should I do please help 😌

Hello!! thank you for asking! I know I'm probably not the best resource or model, so anyone that is also seeing this: please feel free to chime in in the replies/reblogs if you have helpful/constructive advice as well!

(apologies in advance for the long post, and! really big apologies for the late reply!! ;o; I hope this is still helpful)

So, as far as learning resources, it depends on the type of things you wish to draw, but there are luckily tonnns of videos and tutorials online which are free, and which i feel have helped me and seem to help others! :D a few that come immediately to mind are tutorials and advice from proko, aaron blaise, toniko pantoja, eyecager, yen yen, lexin yuan, and ethan becker, who give really helpful breakdowns of the basics or insights or tools to study on one's own. if you are the type of person who enjoys learning from books, one that it seems to have helped some of my friends is michael hampton's figure drawing: design and invention textbook.

if you are more interested in drawing characters, perhaps trying to observe and practice drawing the structure of the body is a good place to start? likewise with character animation---for both, watching videos or observing in real life people doing things, and noticing how the body moves and how the different limbs connect. sakugabooru is a reeeeally awesome resource of animation clips, where one can step through frame-by-frame and see how the animators decided to handle different actions. and this video is a great starting point for understanding the basics of movement in animation. if backgrounds are more your thing, perhaps understanding perspective, and doing really simple black and white thumbnail studies of films can help get started, where you try to take note of the choices of composition, and where the eye is lead?

And as far as sticking to it, from what i've gathered based on what i hear from others and from my own experience, i feel that when getting started, trying to setup some sort of super easily accessible routine for drawing, and also drawing things that really interest you (as opposed to solely just grinding specific things that feel very tiresome and unamusing), are what seem to help get the ball rolling? i think it is important, especially if it is something you are trying to do on your own, that it should be at least a little bit enjoyable, right? then one would be more likely to continue. i think it can help a bit to carry around a small sketchbook of some sort, something easily portable, so that you can doodle whenever inspiration strikes! all one really needs is a writing tool and a piece of paper (don't worry about getting a super specific software!)

when I was sort of learning to draw growing up, i spent loads of time in middle school drawing fan art of naruto on random pieces of paper as i watched it, and i also drew silly caricatures of my classmates, and sketched while people-watching because strangers passing by look really cool and interesting to me. all of these also sort of helped my observation skills, as did life drawing classes in high school. but yeah, finding something that inspires you can be great! and i believe that fan art is one of the really great ways to learn haha, and there are so many different and exciting styles of shows/films and graphic novels/manga/etc.

i think also trying to find a community of people that are trying to do the same thing as you, or who have some people that are willing to offer advice or critique or mentorship in some way, might be helpful as well, and can provide an external source of motivation. discord seems to be a big place for those types of communities these days.

i was super lucky to have had a program that offered life drawing in high school, and i went to a uni that offered life drawing sessions that were also open to the public---right now it is safest to make use of online resources, but if things lighten up in the future with the pandemic, try to find someplace nearby like a school that offers open life drawing sessions, and try to make a habit of going there every week with a sketchbook. a couple online resources for now are line of action, and senshistock!

also please remember to take it easy, and don't stress! keep your hands relaxed. stretch your back. drink water. it is also totally okay to draw "crappy" sketches, just keep drawing and doodling! go go go! :D

#ask

[cyrenesroom]

Advice for IGCSE English Literature

Hi there! So, I recently finished my final English Literature examination and I wanted to share some tips and resources! Hope you guys find them useful :)

Please note that not all of the tips provided below may suit you but I suggest trying some of them to see if they work :)

During the exam

1. Remember that you’re supposed to provide an ANALYSIS and not a summary for an answer

2. ADDRESS the question and only the question — it’s easy to drift away from it and ramble so watch out for that

3. Identify the KEY TERMS in the question and which sections of the poem/story/play you are going to use — for my mock examination, this was the question I received for the poetry section in Paper 1: 

How does Hopkins vividly convey thoughts and feelings about the bird in The Caged Skylark?

the key terms here are “how” and “vividly convey” so focus on that when answering the question

4. Ensure that you have a sustained personal response throughout the paper — avoid making statements like “his/her work is quite brilliant” and try to focus more on the effect the author intended to evoke with a particular phrase/quotation and comment on how said phrase/quotation would affect the reader 

5. WHY? — don’t just state that the writer has used imagery. Talk about WHY they used it in that particular moment in the piece and their intentions

6. ALWAYS mention the:

themes

tone: gloomy? lighthearted?

structure:  this is especially important for poems

literary devices: imagery, repetition etc

7. You can also score more marks by commenting on parallels — it shows that you have a good critical understanding of the story and that you’re able to show individuality and insight!

8. Further to this, you can also mention contrasts in scenes and their impact on the overall effect of the piece

9. Don’t use lengthy quotations, examiners detest this!

10. Time — You’ll have two tasks in each paper so devote 45 minutes for each one and stick to this plan! It becomes really easy to add some extra points but it ultimately affects the quality of your second answer so avoid that at all costs! BALANCE your time!

Some websites I found useful:

1. https://www.enotes.com/  — I suggest typing the title of your story and “enotes” along with it for immediate results

2. http://sittingbee.com/ — like enotes, just type the title of the story and “sitting bee” along with it in the search bar

3. https://poemanalysis.com/educational-syllabus/cambridge-igcse-literature-english-0475-2020-21/

4. https://www.litcharts.com/

5. https://www.ibdocuments.com/LitCharts/ — this site contains litcharts guides which you can download free of charge!! it saves you a lot of money and hassle so I highly recommend it!

6. https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/

7. https://igcse.school.blog/category/literature/

8. https://igcserevision.wordpress.com/english/english-literature-0486/

Some extra tips:

1. I highly recommend going through as many notes or analyses online as you can! They really help you get different interpretations of the text from a variety of perspectives which widens your overall understanding. However, it’s important to ensure that you’re not too reliant on them as it restricts you from providing an informed personal response in your paper

2. Read on characters, especially for paper 2 because sometimes the questions are based on the character and their significance within the story

3. GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR TEACHERS! — This is so important because when doing past papers and trying to mark them yourself, you’ll find that the mark schemes just provide a rubric for reference. So, try to do some past papers and get them marked by your teacher for some detailed feedback and so that you know which strategy is working for you and what you need to work on

4. Go through some example candidate responses — Cambridge provides multiple pdfs filled with different candidate responses and you can even see the examiner’s detailed comments on the common mistakes the candidate made and how they could have improved their answer! You can find some at this link:  https://learning.cambridgeinternational.org/classroom/course/view.php?id=3198

5. Annotate your texts and focus on aspects of language, structure and form used to convey ideas or experiences — I usually avoid annotating since I don’t find it particularly helpful, but for literature, I focus on the important bits of the story/poem/play and note down a few points on the significance of that particular moment. It really helped making my revision for my final examination a LOT more easier since I could just skip to the parts where I had made the annotations and reinforce those concepts in my mind!

That’s all I have for now! I really hope this was helpful to anybody struggling with literature. If anyone has any other questions or more tips feel free to reblog or send me an ask/message! :)

#igcse #english literature #igcse english literature #gcses #2021 #academics: advice #academics: igcse #subject: literature #studyblr #studyblr community #einstein #myhoneststudyblr #intellectys #noorstudy #high school #studyspo #igcse student #notes #advice #igcse advice #gcse advice #studying #mine #mine: advice

[capricores]

astrology & tarot readings 💥

i’m super excited to announce i am finally going to be offering astrological readings again! i’m also going to be offering a few different tarot readings & mixed astro-tarot readings as well! below the cut is full information on readings offered, prices (all in $CAD), important notes, and so forth. thank you so much for your continued support on my blog and content, and i appreciate so much anyone who may consider and order a reading from me! i can’t wait to provide you guys with more insight to your astrological makeup, and hopefully give you a better overall understanding of how astrological placements function in general. i also hope to give you great insight via tarot and oracle as well.

NOTE: readings will close once i fill up a certain amount of slots (undecided rn, but likely stopping around fifteen-twenty), please check my bio or status in this post (see directly below) on whether or not readings are currently open before requesting! i will make sure to frequently update the status of readings, and will try to re-open them soon after they close. it is likely that when i start my new FT job in november that i may have to close readings for a bit or accept less reading slots :)

CURRENT STATUS: open for all readings

💥 RULES AND IMPORTANT NOTES TO READ FIRST:

must be 18 or over to receive a reading (apologies but i do not feel comfortable reading for minors/receiving their birth information)

i default my readings in the PLACIDUS or equal house system (i do this dependent on your place of birth; for more info feel free to DM). if you prefer/relate more to another system, let me know! i am happy to read your chart in another house system (if you’re new to astrology, i recommend looking at the different planetary house placements in your chart in whole sign system, placidus system and equal house system - see which you relate to most - the easiest to tell by is usually the venus & moon house placement, just search up some basic descriptions of the varying placement of moon/venus. i prefer equal and placidus; lately i lean more towards equal)

i use tropical/western astrology, with both modern and traditional rulers

my readings come in either written or audio format, it’s entirely up to you. both audio and written readings contain the same depth and amount of information. audio readings are supplemented by summarized/bullet points of topics covered but note they do not have written in-depth interpretations like the written natal chart reading would (but i do break down my audio readings with time stamps for easy navigation)

tarot readings and mixed tarot/astro readings can also be done via video if you’d like to see the cards as they come out/etc; please note tarot-only readings are not supplemented with writing/notes if you order them audio or video style

full natal chart + personal planet + progressions readings can be customized to an extent: for example, if you’re not interested in romance, let me know before i do your reading! i’ll focus more on friendships and business when touching on connections/partnerships/venus/etc. or, if for example, you’re more interested in romance, i can highlight those things when interpreting your planets and aspects! this goes for any topics/themes: career, finance, love, friendship, etc. just let me know your specific interests, or things you don’t like talking about (ie: you have zero interest in romance), so i can make your reading more tailored to your preferences. if you have any triggers (ie: do not want family talked about, do not want s*xual topics [sorry i have to add the * or i’ll get shadowbanned again lol😭] talked about, etcetc please let me know! it is never any problem to accommodate this)

obviously, no returns/refunds as this is not a physical item and it takes hours, sometimes days, for most readings to be completed! by ordering from me you are agreeing to this no refund or return policy.

���� READING TYPES

✨ ASTROLOGY-ONLY READINGS

1. full natal chart reading (must have birth time) $50-70

tier one, $50:

interpretations of all planets (sign + house)

interpretations of ascendant, midheaven, descendant, ic (fourth house)

interpretations of any stelliums, “high energy” houses (maybe not a stellium- but a house with multiple planets/asteroids in it) and lack of an element/modality (or abundance/excess of)

tier two, $70, includes everything in tier 1, plus:

interpretations of every house, even if the house is empty

interpretations of strong / major aspects (main focus on squares & quincunx for lessons, blockages, secret strengths / areas of growth, etc - but any other strong/prevalent aspects will be covered)

interpretations of the following asteroids (sign/house/aspects): north/south nodes, chiron & juno

interpretations of interceptions and duplications if applicable

interpretation of yods and t-squares if applicable 

2. full natal chart reading (no birth time) $35

interpretation of all planets (sign)

interpretation of all major aspects (minus moon aspects)

information on any stelliums, lack of an element/modality (or abundance/excess of)

3. personal planets reading (birth time: $30, no birth time $20)

interpretations of sun through mars in the signs (and in the houses if you have birth time)

any standout aspects to the personals are interpreted (moon aspects not available if you don’t have birth time)

4. current astrological progress, focus, etc (”consultation”) $60

this reading is the one i’m most excited for! 🤍 this reading looks at your current transits as well as your progressed chart and solar return chart to determine where you currently are in your stage of astrological development and focus. we will discuss your progressed placements, kind of like a natal reading, and explain how they may be guiding, impacting and influencing you. we will also go over your current transits, their potential lessons, predictions based on your progressions & transits (long-term), and kind of get a full guide on what to expect, what to focus on, blockages, etc. 

this consultation is interactive! so i welcome you to ask any questions before or after the reading that you’re curious on (i ask for a maximum of five or so *intense* questions though - clarification questions and small questions are totally fine more frequently). you can ask things like “what will happen over the next year in my love life” or “what are the biggest lessons for me this year”, etc. this reading is meant specifically for gaining insight into upcoming events and themes in your life. i use your natal chart, transit chart, solar return & progressed chart. you NEED accurate birth time for this reading. you also need to be comfortable giving me both your birth place and where you will be (city-wise) on your next birthday (or last birthday, depending on which was closer; for the solar return chart).

please note however, this does not include any in-depth interpretation of your natal chart, if you’re interested in that you are going to want the first reading! it is also consultation style; i of course will interpret placements but it is more a “what to expect & focus on” type of reading, than a “this means (x)” type of reading. if you have more information of questions about this or any other reading, shoot me a DM anytime!

5. love reading $15

focuses on self-love, friendship & romantic love. this reading focuses on the planets, aspects, asteroids, houses that center around themes of love and connection in all forms (namely juno, venus, moon, 5th/7th/8th houses, etc). it will go over your wants in love versus needs, blockages in love and things to look out for, weaknesses versus strengths, the type of person that would likely best suit you as a friend or partner, etc. please note it’s recommended that you have your birth time for this reading, since it relies on house placements (however i am able to provide this reading w/o birth time).

i plan for this reading to likely be around three or so pages but knowing my rambling it may be longer lol.

6. blockages, development and growth reading $15

this astrological reading focuses heavily on the learning points and blockages present within your natal chart. specifically, this will have heavy focus on squares, oppositions, quincunxes, yods, interceptions, saturn placement, jupiter placement, sun placement 12th house + draconic chart. i will go over areas of struggle, blocks, and areas that likely need development and heavy focus based on your natal chart. i recommend the above progressed reading if you want a more extensive view on this with consideration to current transits and progressions. please note it’s recommended that you have your birth time for this reading, since it relies on house placements (however i am able to provide this reading w/o birth time).

i plan for this reading to likely be around three or so pages but knowing my rambling it may be longer lol.

7. work, education, career & purpose reading $15

this astrological reading focuses on your “purpose”. mainly highlighting placements like the north/south node, 3rd/9th houses, ascendant-midheaven, and sun/mars/mercury/uranus, we cover ideal careers, paths, and purposes for you. this will cover potential issues and blockages when it comes to work, career and study; as well as when achieving your purpose. it also points towards specific fields, industries, areas of study, etc that you are best suited for and guided towards astrologically. please note it’s recommended that you have your birth time for this reading, since it relies on house placements (however i am able to provide this reading w/o birth time).

i plan for this reading to likely be around three or so pages but knowing my rambling it may be longer lol.

✨ MIXED READINGS (astrology & tarot combined):

1. love life + your person/soulmate reading $25 w/ transits $20 w/o

tarot pulls to reveals the traits, potential signs, energy, etc of your person. using the natal chart (fifth house, seventh house, juno, venus/moon/jupiter, saturn aspects, and more) to determine the traits, likely signs/placements of your “soulmate” or ideal person.

tarot pulls surrounding current themes/blockages/etc in your love life, what you may need to hear, what your person may be going through, their feelings, etc. i also look to your astrological transits to see potential blockages or blessings in your love life right now.

2. monthly predictions / reading $15

using a mix of tarot & oracle pulls along with your current astrological transits, i’ll highlight the focuses, blockages, blessing, themes and similar for the next  month for you. things to look out for, look forward to, to specifically work on, etc. if you have a specific theme of more interest (ie: work life or love life), let me know and i can accommodate my reading to focus more on those than other things (just note i may end up pulling cards not related to said thing, because the universe has a stronger message for you).

✨ TAROT-ONLY READINGS (all pay by tip unless specified, but i do ask a min of a $2 tip!) - payment done via ko-fi or paypal. here are some reading examples (everything is customizable, these are just reading suggestions and possible questions, we can discuss further in DMs)

new moon, full moon, weekly or monthly readings: what you need to release, blockages this moon cycle/week/month, blessings this moon cycle/week/month, what to focus on this moon cycle/week/month

self-love & healing readings: what makes you wonderful / what should you be proud of you / what do you bring to others / where are you too hard on yourself / how can you show yourself love / areas of growth

general love reading: you / lover / dynamic, their wants / your differences / similarities / compatibility, your role in rs / their role / past of rs / current state of rs / future, etc.

general career and finance reading: where does your passion lie / what are you good at / how can you combine these / advice, current financial state / where to avoid spending and save / where to let money flow / advice, what are you doing wrong (career/finance) / what are you doing write / what should you do next / advice, etc.

friendship reading: you can actually use the love reading spreads/questions for friendships as well! some other examples; what you think you get from friendship / what you actually get / what the other person feels you bring / is this person a good friend, current state of the friendship / blockages in the friendship / blessings of this friendship / advice or oracle, etc.

stay or go reading (insp): current state of the connection or situation / why you should stay / why you should go / general advice [please note as with any other reading; you must make your own decisions; please do not ask me about toxic/abusive relationships; the answer is always to get help & leave if you can and are safe! this reading can be used for jobs, education, connections]

general three card pull style readings: you / the other person / the relationship, what you want / what they want / potential outcome, strength / weakness / advice, past / present / future, emotional compatibility / spiritual compatibility / physical compatibility, etc! but you’re welcome to google “three card tarot readings” and request a specific one

yes / no + reasoning readings: straightforward, ask a yes or no question and i’ll pull a tarot card + angel oracle card for the question + ask for clarification on the yes or no (please note “maybe” “not now” etc answers are possible, the cards won’t always give a solid clear yes or no)

extensive tarot love reading, singles $10: traits & signs/energy of your next person, how/when you’ll meet [or if you already have], future relationship strengths/weaknesses, romance + angel + moonology oracle messages, blockages for the relationship, advice, etc + one question answered of your choice

extensive tarot love reading, taken/talking stage/etc $10: your person’s current state, their current feelings, if they’re ready for a relationship (+ why/why not), if you’re ready for a relationship (+ why/why not), blockages holding the relationship back/that may arise, romance + angel + moonology oracle messages, strengths and weaknesses of the relationship, advice + one question answered of your choice

romance & angel oracle pulls for love: very straightforward oracle cards to give messages about your love life, partner, current situation, etc in lieu of using traditional tarot-only reading methods

please note i will not answer any medical, legal, or similar questions/advice. all decisions you make after any reading are always your own. astrology & tarot are meant to be for entertainment purposes solely. i am not held accountable for decisions you make after viewing your reading(s). please note i am not a replacement for therapy, counselling, financial advices, career counsellors, life coaches, or other professionals.

HOW TO RECEIVE A READING - for astrology, astrology-tarot mixed readings, and extensive tarot love readings)

please check bio/this post to see if readings are still open

fill out THIS form

i will then DM you once i receive the request to let you know if i am able to accept the reading or not (aka if slots haven’t filled up yet! i’ll try to give an estimated time frame of completion as well or at least let you know how many readings are before yours) - as of november, i will dm you only once i start your reading! but feel free to DM me first for confirmation

once i’m ready to start your reading, i’ll ask for your birth information and get things going

payment is done via paypal and again i use canadian dollars! once i confirm your reading, i take the payment AFTER i’ve already started the reading. i will send you an invoice via paypal, so all i require is your email. once completed, you’ll receive a google doc link to your full completed reading. i also attach a google form for review, feedback, etc. if you’re comfortable with me publicly posting your feedback onto my reviews page, you’ll be able to specify that in said form! the feedback is anonymous with the option to not be anonymous, entirely up to you.

HOW TO RECEIVE A READING - for tarot-only tip based readings

please check bio/this post to see if readings are still open

send me a DM mentioning you want to do a tip-based tarot reading

after that, i’ll ask you to let me know the theme, spread, topic, question, etc

i’ll pull your cards and do your reading, and then you can send the tip via ko-fi or paypal afterwards :)

#also! if you have a reading already booked from me everything is staying the same for you! #(like price/reading type/everything will stay so dw) #unless you want to change/upgrade to one of these readings #and if i havent reached out to you in a while pls feel free to msg me again i apologize for being so spacey and out of it!!! #mercury rx has been pushing me around loool #im so excited for these i am vibrating w joy #i hope this has no typos or mistakes i am exhausted help #it took so many hours to write this post bc i kept changing things fml

[wide-eyedscottishlass]

Scarlett and the Professor

[continued from]

“Then teach me, please. Give me the answer I need,” Scarlett insisted quietly. “It’s the real reason you brought me here tonight, isn’t it?”

“Yes...oh yes, Scarlett,” he murmured, laying just the fingertips of his right hand against her neck and softly tracing along her cheekbone with his thumb, “Although I think you might know the answer already---but it seems to me that you’ve buried the notion in the depths of your mind, for it defies rational thought.”

His eyes, like his voice, had gone utterly soft, as she barely shook her head in denial. Her brow creased with consternation, Scarlett parted her lips but words still seemed to fail her, “I...I don’t know what you mean, Professor...I swear that...that I don’t have a clue...”

“My dear little...hmmmm...” Hennessy’s lips were pressed together in an enigmatic smile that rivaled the Mona Lisa’s. “My little water nymph. Quiet your doubts and fears and simply listen. Trust what your heart already knows to be true.”

Scarlett closed her eyes, trying to do as her teacher bid, focusing on the steady sounds of the waves and on the soothing touch of his fingers, instead of the insistent voice of reason. Though she came from a culture rich in folk tales, myths, and legends, she was also a child of the 21st century, with access to the finest of educations and the most advanced technologies. Yet here he was---a brilliant, highly educated man---asking her to forsake reality and embrace the...fantastical. Alright then...I must call it what it is. Either I’ve gone quite mad, and none of this is real...or...or...

Her eyes shot open at the impossible conclusion. “It’s...magic?”

Hennessy was nodding and sounding pleased, “Of a sort, yes...”

“Magic is...real?”

“Real. And though as rare a hen’s teeth, older than civilization itself.”

Concerned that he was teasing her, playing upon her obvious naivete, taunting her as a fool, Scarlett studied his face carefully. She saw not a trace of irony, nor even the smallest hint of amusement at her expense. While her mind continued to revolt against the very notion, her heart---already entangled fathoms deep with everything he presented himself to be---insisted he was revealing a truth she was meant to learn eventually. The mysteries of her past suddenly made far more sense if the world allowed for the true existence of the paranormal.

“And there it is,” he observed, reading her reluctant acceptance as it stole across her face. “I knew you were bright enough to understand, m’dear. And I’ll wager something of the...supernatural...touched your life long before we met. Before you ever came to this place. Very likely before you even finished primary school.” Hennessy’s unwavering conviction and uncanny insight left a wave of relief washing over her. “I don’t need the slightest bit of magic to see that that is true.”

Hearing the long-held secret that he had guessed, goosebumps broke out across her skin. “Yes...yes...and heaven help me, yes,” she exclaimed in surprise, “But I’ve never shared that with a single soul in the world.” Well, only with my confessor, the Sea.

He nodded, having become the absolute picture of patience, while Scarlett felt the circle of water around them finally recede. “Come sit with me a while, love---I’ll tell you a bit of my experience if you’re willing to tell me a bit of yours.”

             ___________________________________________

“...of course, this is not ‘magic’...” Hennessy framed the word in air quotes, “...as it’s understood by the world at large. That is an illusion perpetrated by charlatans and con men and entertainers.” Scarlett was grateful for the clear sky, for the light of the waning gibbous moon allowed for her to read his face well enough to know he was being quite frank. “Like most practitioners of true magic, I come to it through a blood connection--though such powers are latent, and require active cultivation.” He paused for a couple of breaths, allowing her to digest the concept. “My mother is what we call an Elemental Sorceress---a fairly powerful one at that. Meaning that I, like her, have some control over the elements. Air, Fire, Earth. And as you have seen for yourself, Water.”

Having grown up in a household where ancient Celtic superstitions dwelled side by side with the tenants and strictures of Roman Catholicism, the very concept of sorcery raised her hackles as something to be feared for the sake of her immortal soul. And yet, it made sense to her, as though the existence of magic was one of several missing puzzle pieces that could offer a full explanation of her past.

Hennessy watched her, waiting as she wrapped her mind around such an astonishing truth, before continuing this strange, unlooked for lesson. “It shouldn’t surprise you that my strongest skill lies with Water---or that it’s my favorite.”

He bit his lip at that, looking so amused that a sudden warmth spread from her belly on down as she remembered what he’d done to her. “That’s...that’s an amazing skill, my jo,” she nearly whispered.

His hearty laugh warmed her as well, and he added, “And one that I’ve elevated to a fine art, don’t you agree, little lamb?”

Scarlett nodded, wide-eyed and solemn, so that he broke into his most wolfish grin. “But there’s even more to it, isn’t there?” Her instincts were awakened now, her need to know the truth of her own connection to the supernatural enough to override her incredulity.

“Much more,” he affirmed, “More than even I had imagined before I made this place my home.” He narrowed his exotic, ever-compelling eyes, probably reading her to decide if she was ready to hear more. “And Scarlett, I have a strong hunch that it’s a good part of the reason that you found your way here as well.”

‘Nah,” she scoffed, “Twas only that my Da thought a semester or two here might do me well...”

“Then perhaps your Da knows a thing or two he hasn’t told you yet,” he speculated---and then seeing the stubborn set of her brow, left off that topic for the moment. “Regardless, here you are in this very unique place, where elemental magic is just one of many extraordinary things to flourish.”

“One of...many,” Scarlett repeated, not yet completely convinced, “Just how many?”

Hennessy laid his long index finger across his lip, considering his reply carefully. “Well- almost as many as those who live on campus and in the community at large. You could say this island is a supernatural nexus of sorts...”

“Like the Bermuda Triangle?”

He grimaced, “ I suppose you might say that---but I wouldn’t. At least not in front of anyone native to the island...”

Scarlett nodded, choosing not to question that grim sounding assessment, so that he continued, “This place draws the preternatural and mysterious to it. Welcomes it, nurtures it, if you will---and makes all sorts of magic easier to wield...”

“Well, I’m no sorceress,” she protested, chewing her lip thoughtfully, “I mean, I have experienced moments of...crystal clarity...which seem to strike me out of  the blue. Strong feelings about what is going to happen. And...well...I’ve always had a sort of...intuition...about...” Scarlett shrugged and finished with a sheepish smile, “...about...people...”

Hennessy took her hand and slowly ran his thumb back and forth across her knuckles, the soft regard in his eyes making her weak as it always did. “Qualities which I assure you, Scarlett dear, are both uncommon and extraordinary. Even in a place that plays host to descendants of creatures out of legends and myths.” He twined his long fingers through hers. “My intuition tells me that something of the supernatural has more than touched you.”

Scarlett looked out at the dark expanse of the ocean, its gentle swells so close to shore, and even it’s smallest ripples, glittering with moonlight. She closed her eyes and drew several deep breaths, simply listening. Listening for the whisper beyond the rhythm of the waves, searching for the quiet voice she had heard so often in her youth. In those days, the Sea had never failed to give her the answers she sought---but these days, wrapped up in the trappings of adulthood, she had convinced herself that those times were the imaginings of a child’s mind providing her with the simple comfort she could not find elsewhere.

Now she spoke aloud, though the words were far more for her own sake than to answer his theory. “When I was young...as a child and...in those awkward, teenage years...I always felt most comfortable and most at peace ...at the water’s edge. In those days, the Sea was almost...like a mother to me.” Despite the balmy, evening air, Scarlett was shivering as the truths she had hidden away in the past several years as mere childish fancies, came back to her at last. “But at the same time, I sometimes felt I could never go too far from the safety of the shore. That it...that if I went too deep, I might never find my way...” She shuddered with the realization, “my way home.”

Hennessy traced the shell of her ear with his free hand and then rested it against her neck. For once, his skin was warmer than hers, so that she looked to him with a sudden longing to have him hold her and warm her. Warm her through and through, and assure her that she was safe with him here, where the sand mingled with the surf. Scarlett’s eyes welled over with salty tears seeing the patience and understanding in Hennessy’s. “Can you imagine how it was for me as a child...to both love and fear such...such a huge, ever-present aspect of Nature? One that loomed so large in my little world?” Her floodgates had finally opened, for a single soul that had the vision to ask. “To find joy and comfort in the ocean’s embrace, to feel it was where I belonged---but also to understand at the age of five that it had the deadly power to steal my breath? My very life?”

How tenderly he thumbed her tears away, how gently he drew her to him---as though he had known her secrets already, and had only been waiting for her to share it out loud. “I can,” he told her, brushing a kiss on the crown of her head, still holding her close, “Our experiences are not so dissimilar, love---though I had a parent knowing enough to guide me through those growing pains.”

“You? You knew such fear?” 

“Very like.” Hennessy drew a long sigh, answering so softly that Scarlett would wonder later if she’d imagined it. “Though I feared what lay within me more than I ever could the Sea...”

His warmth and solidity braced her well as her memories continued to engulf her reason. “There were awful, terrible dreams too,” she revealed, “As far back as I can remember. That there was something dark and sinister waiting for me out there in the depths. They only went away in the past few years.” That they had recently returned, Scarlett would not, could not, share with him just yet.

Hennessy hummed quietly as he considered her revelations. “I’m remembering all your sweet and saucy missives, from before we’d shared even a single kiss, little lamb. And how you’ve admitted that you were drawn to me from the moment you entered my classroom.” His voice remained calm and even, surely meant to further soothe her. “Given the many ties that also bind me to the Sea, this can be no coincidence.”

She nodded against him, too overcome by that implication to reply.

“Cleary, the roots of this mystery are what brought you to these shores.” He tightened his arms around her and she drew deep of his scent and strength and certainty. “And perhaps I can help you solve it one of these days. But for tonight, it’s best to let this rest---don’t you agree, my sweet jo?”

“Oh yes, please,” Scarlett answered, slipping her arms around his neck, her trust in his wisdom absolute. “Please,” she whispered as he lowered her onto her back, and loomed above her so that, fleetingly, the moon appeared to be a halo behind his head.

This time, the love he made to her was slow and sweet, their combined rhythm an exquisite counterpoint to the beat of the waves. In the end, Scarlett’s cries of pleasure rose full and shamelessly from her heart, to be caught upon the breeze and float their way out above the warm salt water---traces of which she now knew flowed through both their veins. 

tagging: @strangelock221b​ @ravencatart​ @doctor-stephenstrange​ @splunge4me2art​ @ben-locked​ @ben-c-group-therapy​ @letterstosherlock​ @tsukuyomi011​ @aeterna-auroral-avenger​ @frowerssx-world​ @humanbornarchangel​ @emilyinnj4real​ @losille2000​ @groovyfluxie​ 

#my writing #Scarlett and the Professor #magic #mystery #romance #Scarlett Campbell. #OFC #OMC #not my OMC and used with permission #(assuming permission is still granted) #Scarlett's Professor #Professor Hennessy #Hennessy

[bisluthq]

Hi Nat!! In honor of pride month, I just wanted to let you know this. I’ve been following this blog for the past 8 months now and in doing so I’ve learnt quite a few things. Some slightly weird (y’all really push the limits on this one lmao), some insightful (hello GrammyGate and celeb discourse) but most importantly, I’ve learnt a lot about sexuality/fluidity in general, even though I thought I understood/knew what there was to know about it in the past.

Enter the pandemic + me taking a year off studies + tiktok (it’s embarrassing how much self reflection stemmed from this) + the discovery of ‘bisluthq’ and it was a real wake up call.

I thought I was straight due to the completeness of everyday life, crushes on guys, and being with guys in general but alongside all of that I’ve also always felt this inexplainable attraction to women. I’d notice/pay attention to them in more detail?? compared to men as well as feel this sense of awe and wonder whenever a woman was too beautiful to comprehend (which rarely occurred with men). I’d also always notice their physical appearance, mainly the tutors, from a pretty young age and I’d tell myself I was just appreciating the way they looked (wow she’s so pretty/beautiful/perfect).

As I got older, I realised that sometimes certain people (Natalie dormer rail me challenge) and certain situations ended up doing more than just leave me in awe, but rather turned me on. A lot. And I was so confused, so much so that I refused to even think about it or acknowledge it. Like I’d watch a movie/see this pretty girl talk to me/watch literal wlw porn, get turned on in multiple ways and be like, ‘well that was fun, how interesting’ and still consider myself straight if someone asked what my sexuality was.

This blog (and several others) helped me understand and learn about a lot of things. I started to understand and pick apart how I felt and whom I felt it for, I learnt about the Kinsey scale, I learnt about fluidity, I learnt about the non binary spectrum and so many more things and eventually came to the conclusion that I was, in the simplest of terms, queer.

In terms of ‘labelling’, I’d come across TONS (literal tons) of discourse over the bi/pan labels and how inclusive each is allegedly is and ended up deciding on bisexual because I liked the flag colours better the pansexual one (apparently that’s a thing, so I’m doing it) and ever since I did, I felt like I was free-er?? (Despite not telling anyone, lmao.) But each like, comment, reblog, repost, retweet I made regarding my sexuality made me feel so much lighter, and very true to myself in the midst of everything going on rn and I’m fairly certain I couldn’t have come to this conclusion in the same educated/informed way as I did if it hadn’t been for this blog and the incredibly safe space you’ve created here, and for that I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels like you and the space that comes with this blog is a safe escape to learn, chill and/or clown your ass off but I do want to express my gratitude. I hope this ask finds you well and I most certainly hope your future-vaccinated self finds a bombass girl to be the Joe alwyn to your Taylor swift or whoever you want them to be. I hope that you’re safe and healthy and stable. I hope that this blog will continue to be a safe space for whoever needs one. I’m well aware that I may not have had the most difficult, confusing or terrifying journey but this blog provided an outlet that was safe, therapeutic and educational for me and I can only hope others can find it just as or if not more helpful.

I’m low-key in my feels I guess as i suppose this is my first pride month where I don’t just wish people good happy healthy safe vibes as an just ally anymore because I’m more than that now. And I felt like you should know because now there’s another player on the team lmao. Anyway, thanks for existing and Happy Pride Month, y’all!

This is SO fucking nice. I really have sat on this message for a little bit because I like... enjoy rereading it. A lot. And as much as this blog is mostly just for dumb entertainment purposes and like jokes and clownery, this is at the core of what I am trying to achieve. I'm hoping people - however many, whether just you and Roommate Anon or like a couple others - feel less alone, less confused, and more normal from reading us here.

Because we're not alone, and that's what Pride's for. And we are normal, and that's what Pride's for. And we do generally tend to be confused but eh, that's what the rest of us are for, so we can figure it out together.

I'm really happy for you babe, and am wishing you even more happiness and lightness in the future.

Sending so much love, and Happy Pride to you (too).

#pride month at bisluthq #anons for bisluthq

[songtoyou]

Chapter Three: Need The Sun To Break

Would You Call That Love

Pairing: Chris Evans x Raina Morrison (OC)

Rating: PG to PG-13 (Might be 18+ for some chapters)

Description: There was always that one person Chris Evans tended to turn to when he was not in a committed relationship, Raina Morrison. He could confide in her about things going on in his life that he did not feel comfortable talking to his family or close friends about. Chris and Raina were able to establish a way to openly communicate with one another, but also being respectful of the other’s time and needs. It was the only constant “relationship” he had, but without all the nonsense of trying to build a life together. A “friends with benefits” situation. However, what happens when Chris starts rethinking his “relationship” with Raina and if either are willing to pursue something more?

Chapter Rating: PG

Warnings: Mentions the death of a loved one.

Word Count: 3,161

Author’s Note: This chapter was tough, particularly the beginning, since it is very emotional. I hope this chapter provides a little bit more insight into who Raina is as a person. 

Feedback is always welcomed. If you want to be tagged, please let me know.

Sadly, I do not know Chris Evans or anyone in his family, and this is just a fictional take on his life. I do not permit this fic to be reposted on other platforms.  

Again, thanks to @southerngracela​ for the support.

*Note: Updated for edits on grammar and punctuation.

September 26, 2010

Returning to the home ground after their loss to the New York Jets, the New England Patriots were looking to rebound with a win against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots were able to score a 7-yeard touchdown thanks to the star quarterback, Tom Brady. Anyone from New England loved Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. He was their golden boy, despite not even being from the area. A west coaster who grew up in California could melt the hearts of any contemptuous New Englander. 

For Chris Evens, just saying the name ‘Tom Brady’ around him would result in him turning into a blushing schoolgirl. Tom brought pride back the Patriots with six Superbowl championships, nine Conference championships, and seventeen Division championships. For any New Englander, it was a feeling they were going to hold onto and cherish.

“Go…go…go…YES!!” Chris cheered as he got up from his couch to cheer Tom Brady’s second touchdown.

“What happened?” asked Scott as he rushed back from the kitchen when he heard Chris celebrating.

“Brady just scored a TD,” replied Chris.

“Fuck! I mean, yes! This is the last time I get up to get you a beer from the fridge. You get them yourselves from now on. Another commercial! Give me a break.” Scott scolded, taking his seat next to Chris on the couch. 

“The Pats need to win this. The team has already lost to the New York Giants and Jets. If they lose to the Bills, then Raina will never let me hear the end of it. She loves to gloat and rub it in my face whenever New York wins anything,” Chris shared as he took a sip of his beer.

Scott was aware of how Chris would essentially light up or blush whenever he talked about Raina. One had to pay attention, or it would not be visible, but Scott was a master at reading his brother’s body language and emotions.

“Speaking of our favorite chanteuse, you ever going to ask her out, or are you just going to pine for the rest of your life?” asked Scott bluntly. He was never one to beat around the bush when getting information, especially with his older brother. 

“What are you talking about? Raina and I are just friends. Good friends. Men and women can be friends. Just like Tara and me,” Chris defended strongly, “Why are you always pushing this narrative that I like Raina more than merely a friend?”

“Because you do. I can see it. Ma can see it. Shanna and Carly see it. Blind people see it,” Scott proceeded to enlighten Chris. 

Chris scoffed and reiterated as calmly as he could to Scott, “Okay, hold up. Do you guys just sit around and gossip about Raina and me? We are friends! That’s it! Nothing more, nothing less.” 

When the game returned from commercial break, Chris’s phone rang. He was inclined to ignore it, but when he saw it was from Raina, he answered.

“Speaking of Raina, here she is calling, probably to talk smack about the game. ‘Hello?’” Chris spoke into his phone happily. However, his mood changed when he heard sobs on the other end.

“Rai, what’s wrong? What happened?” Chris asked, concerned as he sat up straighter.

Scott perked up and asked, “What’s going on?”

Chris merely shrugged and asked Raina again, “What’s going on? Are you okay? Talk to me!”

When she was able to catch her breath, Raina cried out, “My mom died.”

“WHAT!” Chris yelled, jumping up from the couch and began pacing back and forth in his living room. Scott straightened up and watched Chris intently in the hope of finding out what is going on with their close friend.

“She died last night… in the hospital. It was a heart attack,” Raina choked out as best as she could while crying over the death of her mother, “We thought it was just the flu. She was feeling well all day…throwing up…not looking great. My dad called the paramedics, and when they got to the house, they told us that it was just the flu and that it would best not take mom in as she would only be waiting in the ER. But then we had to call them back an hour later because she got worse. She was barely incoherent and was drooling,” Raina stopped to catch her breath and sob but went on to share, “It was awful, Chris. You should have seen the look on the paramedics’ faces when they came back and saw her condition. You could see that they realized they fucked up. Oh my God! My mom is dead, Chris. What am I going to do?” 

Chris was at a loss for words. He had no idea what to say or what to do. All Chris could do was listen to her desperate sobs. It was not long before he felt tears begin to sting his eyes. Chris sat down at the dining room table, put his head in his free hand, and cried along with his best friend. 

July 24, 2019

“Only one more night to go. You excited, kid?” asked Jerry, Raina’s manager, as he sat on the couch in her dressing room. She was on break from rehearsals. 

“I go back and forth between wanting to throw-up to crying. I am not quite sure if it is crying out of joy or because I am so nervous,” she revealed honestly.

“What do you have to be nervous about? You have done this show a bunch of times. You have gotten raved reviews from the workshops and the previews. You are going to kill it,” said Jerry and continued with, “When are you going to realize that you are one of the best performers out of your peers? Hell, Variety magazine referred to you as the ‘the best vocalist of her generation.’ That is a huge praise. You wouldn’t have come this far if people thought you didn’t have what people call ‘it.’ You’re no flash in the pan, kid.”

“Thank you, Jerry. I love you; you know that. I am so lucky to have you in my corner,” Raina replied with a smile, but then asked, “What am I going to do when you leave me, though? Who am I going to get to watch out for me?”

“That is not something you have to worry about today. I am not going anywhere, Raina. You talk to your dad lately?”

“Uh…yeah. He’s doing alright,” Raina said as she sat down next to Jerry on the couch and shared that her dad was coming to see the show.

“Wow! No offense, but I am surprised he is leaving Long Island to come to see the show.”

“You and me both. Dad is making a trip the week of his birthday in August. I think I am going to ask Chris to join, if he can, that is. He and my dad have always gotten along, and I am sure both would be happy to get to see each other….and why are you giving me that look, Jerry?” asked Raina curiously.

Jerry just chuckled and shook his head, “Nothing, little one. I am simply happy that you and Chris have managed to stay friends for this long. Just friends, right?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Raina responded, “Just come out and say what you want to say, Jerry. Lay it on me. Don’t hold back now.”

“Okay. Have you ever thought about being more than friends with Chris?”

Taking a deep breath in and letting out, Raina contemplated her thoughts about Chris. Had she ever thought about being more than friends with Chris? Technically, they were more than friends. They started a friend with benefits relationship five years ago, but no one knew about it, especially people in their inner circles. Their relationship was just for them without the fear of anyone’s judgment and scrutiny.

She got a taste of that when she dated Tom Hiddleston back in 2016. Neither fully comprehended how much their coupling would turn their worlds upside down. The media frenzy was something she and Tom had never experienced. For some reason, people could not wrap their heads around the notion that this English actor who was posh and well-educated would date a songstress from New York who had a reputation of being reserved and reclusive. It did not help when both fandoms got involved in the mix. Tom’s fans were brutal in their critiques of Raina. If they were not ragging on her clothes, hair, or overall looks, they were ragging on her music or personality. Social media allowed people to smear Raina’s reputation to the extreme. 

None of this she blamed on Tom as there was not much she could do. She knew he did not condone the horrid behavior of some of his fans. However, there was a small part where Raina wished he said something to get them to back off during that time. It was an eye-opening experience for Raina in certain areas but mostly left her confused about what she wanted in a partner. 

With Chris, their friendship grew naturally. It was as if the universe intervened and made sure these two individuals were important fixtures in each other’s lives.

“Jerry, you know better than anyone that if you find a real friend in this business, then you hold on to them. That is all I am going to say on this matter.”

Jerry put his hands up in surrender, “Fair enough. I trust you know what you are doing, kid.”

Later that night, while Raina was lounging on her couch in her penthouse, she went through the text exchange she had with Chris throughout the day. 

1:30 p.m.

Chris: We’ve landed. After we get our bags, we’re going to head to the hotel. 

2:45 p.m.

Raina: Hey, been super busy with interviews and last-minute rehearsals this morning and afternoon. Glad you guys made it safely. Where are you guys staying?

Chris: The Frederick Hotel.

Raina: That is a nice hotel. Not far from where I live too. Only a few blocks away from each other. Do you all want to come over for a nightcap?

Chris: Shouldn’t you be resting up for tomorrow?

Raina: Please, no amount of rest will help ease my worries. Murphy’s Law, remember. If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. I guess I just have to accept that some things are out of my control. 

Chris: You got nothing to worry about.

Raina. I have to get back to rehearsals. Talk to you later. Bye.

6:30 p.m.

Chris: You home yet?

Raina: Yeah. What are you guys up to?

Chris: Getting ready to head out to dinner at Serafina. Do you want to come along to join us?

Raina: Thanks, but not tonight. It’d be best for me to take it easy for the rest of the night.

Chris: Gotcha. Do you mind if I stop by later? 

Raina: If you plan on stopping by, then can you please bring me some takeout please?

Chris: What do you want?

By eight o’clock, Chris was sitting on Raina’s couch scrolling through Netflix while she ate the minestrone he brought from the restaurant. 

“Goddamn, this soup is good. What did you eat?” Raina asked as she continued to slurp her soup.

“Cacio e Pepe. Then the three of us split dessert. Well, mom and Scott ate most of it. You know I’m not a dessert person,” informed Chris and continued with, “What do you want to watch and please don’t say Gilmore Girls. You know I can’t stand that show.”

“Don’t hate on Gilmore Girls.”

“Uh…you hate on Gilmore Girls all the time. If you can’t stand them so much, then why do you watch it?” asked Chris.

“Because, despite all of its flaws, the show has a lot of heart. No, don’t pick Schitt’s Creek. You haven’t seen it yet, and we need to do a proper marathon viewing party. No, not Friends or The Office. I’m not in the mood to watch Parks and Recreation. Ooh, Derry Girls! Pick that one,” ordered Raina.

When Raina finished her dinner, she got up to put her bowl in the kitchen sink and asked Chris if he wanted something to drink. 

“Just water.”

Opening the fridge to retrieve two bottles of water, she saw the gift she got from Chris nestled on the top shelf. It brought a smile to her face seeing the gift box. While she did open the box to see what was inside, she had yet to open the fortune cookie.

“Thanks for the gift. The fortune cookie looks good. I can’t wait to eat it,” said Raina as he handed Chris his bottled water.

He took the water from and replied,” Oh, you haven’t opened the fortune yet?”

“Nah, I was gonna wait until you got here.”

The message that Chris included in the gift was still very much on his mind. He was continually wondering how Raina would perceive it. Would she be happy? Mad? Upset? It was driving him mad, not knowing.

“Maybe you should open it now?” Chris suggested hesitantly. 

“Yeah, sure. Can you get it? I’m going to brush my teeth. I need to get the minestrone taste out of my mouth.”

Raina sprinted from the couch to the stairs as Chris slowly stood up from the sofa. He continued his slow pace to the kitchen and opened the fridge to take out the top shelf’s gift box. As Chris stared at the box, he realized that the content of what was inside could change his relationship with Raina forever. It could bring them closer or put distance between them.

“All you have to do is be honest. Just be honest about your feelings. Even if Raina doesn’t feel the same way, she won’t drop you as friends. You mean a lot to her, and she values her friendship with you,” the voice in Chris’s head reassured. 

The sound of excited clapping broke Chris out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see Raina skipping over to him happily. He pushed the box towards Raina, and she began opening it. She carefully pulled out the fortune cookie, which was wrapped in a clear plastic bag. Slowly opening the plastic, she pulled out the cookie and placed it on the clean counter. 

“Oh my God. It’s so pretty. A chocolate lover’s dream,” she admired and hugged Chris.

“You’re welcome, my little cookie monster.”

“I almost don’t want to ruin it.”

“Well, you going to have to see my message inside,” Chris told her.

“Oh right, there would be a message inside it. I was too amazed by its beauty that I forgot about that part,” said Raina and began to break the fortune cookie in half. 

Before she could read the message, Chris spoke up, “Raina, wait! Before you read that, just…” 

However, she proceeded to read the message before Chris get his words out. He could not breathe while she read and stared intently at her as he mouthed the words he wrote. 

Lips trembling and eyes watering from the tears about the form, Raina immediately hugged Chris. He was shocked at first but instantly hugged her back. 

When pulling back, she said, “Thank you. This is so sweet,” wiping the tears from her eyes, Raina continued, “I’m going to keep this forever. I’m going to frame it one of those fireproof picture frames, you know. Or the one that is used to hold the U.S. Constitution. I’m going to get one of those, and this will go in it.”

She went in for another hug and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Raina took a piece of the fortune cookie and popped it into her mouth. “Alright, I’m going to put this in a safe place so that it won’t get ruined. I’ll be right back.”

 Chris stared at her retreating back and was left confused. That was not how he expected it to go down. “You were worried she’d be upset. She was happy. More than happy. But did she get the underlying meaning of his words?” Chris’s inner voice asked himself. 

The relationship between Chris and Raina was so blurred that she could not see a declaration of love when it was literal in front of her. However, Chris could not blame her for not being able to read between the lines. She had so much on her plate at the moment that maybe she was able to process his words. 

“Okay, I placed it in a clear file holder so nothing can spill on it,” said Raina when she came back into the kitchen area and asked Chris if he was okay when she saw a worrying look on his face. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m glad you liked your gift. You deserved it. I should start heading out. You need your rest for tomorrow, and I don’t want to keep you up.”

Raina was taken back by his sudden change in demeanor. She noticed he looked a little sad and defeated for some reason. “You don’t have to leave just yet. I mean we can still watch some TV and relax. You okay, Chris? She asked again.

“I’m good. Tired is all. It’s been a long day.”

Raina nodded and followed Chris to the front door. “Chris,” she spoke and looked at him. His ocean blue eyes were one of her favorite things about him. Often, she could find herself lost in staring at them. Reaching out the tenderly grab his face, she placed a kiss on his lips. It did not take long for Chris to reciprocate. He pulled Raina closer to wrap his arms around her. Opening her mouth to allow his tongue inside, she allowed Chris to take the lead. 

Raina slowly began to walk them both back over to the living area, but Chris proceeded to step back. 

“I should go. I don’t think it would be a good idea if we, we shouldn’t…not tonight,” Chris professed, although it killed him to turn her down. Chris wanted nothing more than to stay the night. 

Feeling a little defeated, Raina nodded and said, “Okay. I understand.”

Reaching for the door handle, Chris said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight.”

With a small smile on her face, Raina countered with, “See you tomorrow. Goodnight, Christopher.”

“Goodnight, Raina,” he said, but Raina could hear a hint of sadness in his voice, and she for the life of her could not understand why. 

When Chris finally left, Raina went back into the kitchen and put away the fortune cookie. 

“I love you too, Chris. More than you realize,” Raina said to herself. Once again, she could feel tears about to form. 

“It’s going to be a long and sleepless night,” she said to herself as she prepared to get ready for bed.

#chris evans #chris evans x ofc #chris evans x original female character #chris evans fan fiction #cevans

[dolcetters]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse - meme.

TAGGED BY: @hyaciiintho​ ( ;-; AAA THANK!!! )

TAGGING (don’t feel obligated to do it!): @forsakenflora , @avadite , @yinseal , @inseparabilum , @reigningsniper , @tsume-awase​ , @canisfuria​ & YOU if you wanna!

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

----------------------------------------------------

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / OC / AU / CANON-DIVERGENT / FANDOMLESS

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES  / NO / IDK (he’s fetishized a lot; thanks, i hate it)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK (i’d lean more toward no)

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / MAYBE (stares into the abyss)

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / MAYBE

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (true neutral, my boy)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? ♠ || i have an ongoing joke that “canon is a slab of meat that we slow-roast at 475 degrees and carve for the juicy bits” but at the same time it’s not a joke at all, i’m being perfectly serious. i’m definitely a lot less strict than when i started for writing canon characters way back yonder, but i also DO like to keep within an array of canon boundaries because i’m not writing for an OC in this instance, i’m writing for an established character. ...it also doesn’t help that my character’s handled differently in the 4 types of media he shows up in but. i grew up reading DC comics and writing for beast boy, so i’m kind of used to “multiple takes existing for singular character”. 

that being said, my take on dol is clearly canon divergent (since... he’s alive and my default verse takes place after the nest raid) but it pulls primarily from brotherhood/manga with a couple dashes of 2k3 series (since that’s the only media that gives us a length of time that he was in the labs). but given that i follow along with just about every scrap of information provided in the manga on this clown, i’d say i follow canon fairly strictly... but there ain’t a lot to go off of, so my reins are pretty loose no matter how you look at it. my city now.

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   ♠ || (*￣3￣)╭ well, hello, there. aware of dog? yes. this is he: dolcetto mcgrouchyboots, and he is not happy to be here at all. he is traumatized, sassy, wants to throw hands with teenagers, has no sense of self worth, and will absolutely use himself as a meat shield in order to protect any and everyone he cares about. he is spliced with: dog. his favorite weapon: sword. if you listen carefully, you might hear dog-song rising on the east wind as he approaches (don’t tell him axel taped a cassette player to his back). he comes from a found family of complete and utter morons with a lot of damage, they live in a partially underground bar, work as information brokers, and are all DEFINITELY fully functioning adult people. they say gay and trans rights. if you like angry boys with a sense of humor semi-on-par with griffin mcelroy, this is the boy for YOU!!! 

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).   ♠ ||  he’s only featured in a handful of episodes/chapters across all media, doesn’t have a significant amount of dialogue, and we only ever see him lose to the protagonist(s) despite that he seems more than capable of fighting anyone else. easy to brush off as a “aw he died and that’s sad but we didn’t really know him, moving on”. from what i’ve seen in my years, people are more interested in him being a cog in the machine of “greed is sad” and less interested in... HIM. which is fair, i guess, but hhhhhh

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   ♠ || i don’t know if i can pin-point any ONE thing, but i’ve always been drawn to characters with some sort of connection or bond with animals (example, once again, being beast boy from teen titans). i also have an IMMENSE weakness for the found-family dynamic. so when the devil’s nest appeared during my first watch through of brotherhood, i was pretty much... hooked. immediately. and devastated. immediately. as for what drew me to writing dol, specifically... probably his loyalty, his drive, the fact that he WOULDN’T FUCKING STAY DOWN no matter how many times someone knocked him flat on his face. i vibe with that. grew up very much in the mentality of “fall down 7 times, get up 8″. also, he had a sword... which always beats guns on coolness factor. and i loved his fire. ...and that he was a complete fucking idiot who’s really bad at kidnapping i mean HOLY SHIT THAT’S HOW YOU TRIED TO GET HIM TO COME WITH YOU, DOLCETTO, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING--

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING? ♠ ||  dol has always been a great source of ...venting for me? <xD ever since i started writing him, i’ve always found his muse--specifically--to be extremely cathartic and comforting. i dunno if it’s because he lets the more... jaded side of me come out, even when we’re both trying to be optimistic? 

because i’ve been in 2 emotionally abusive friendships. i definitely have some left over hurt, pent up anger that hasn’t been given closure, a hell of a lot of underlying bitterness that i never got the opportunity to confront those people, BUT i still try to be. y’know. welcoming, friendly, supportive, despite a voice in the back of my head being paranoid?? i think dol continues to give me outlets to expressing that. somehow. not that i use him as an excuse to do it, more so i have more opportunities to do it when i’m writing him as opposed to writing someone like beast boy, who’s usually more on board with keeping the peace than picking a fight. i’ve also invested SO MUCH TIME and ENERGY into his background and headcanons and things that i kind of can’t quit him now, nor do i want to.

... and aside from that i just want him to have a happy ending god, fucking damnit. 

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO ( or i certainly hope so )

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES  / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO ( definitely have moments but eh! ) 

Are you a sensitive person?  YES  / NO ( kind of... varies. i’d say i’m more hyper aware)

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   ♠ || i definitely like to think i do when it comes to pre-established things in canon. but when it comes to what i’ve built on my own over my years of writing for dol (and the nest members as a whole), it’s kind of my sandbox and i’d appreciate you not stomp around in it. 

unless i need to be learned a thing, like... one of the nest members, vi, is a trans-woman. i’m a cis-woman and i try to do as much research as i can and educate myself, but if i ever fuck something up please tell me, i’m doing my best but i’m more than willing to listen. i want to grow.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   ♠ || pretty sure everyone does! >xD but yeah! i FUCKING love it. especially since i’m writing for a minor character. =//o//= it shows people are interested in him despite his overall lack of content.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?   ♠ || i’d definitely be curious as to why but i doubt i’d be offended or take ... any personal harm from it--y’know? it’d be more of a “let me hear your perspective and maybe it’ll expand my own understanding, or i might not agree after the explanation and that’s cool”! 

an exception would be for an obviously shitty one that’s shitty for no reason, like... acTUALlY, he’s TOtaLLY hom///o///pho//bic, to which i’d be like “bitch, no, get away from me; no one in this bar is straight, die mad”.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || again, it’s cool! there’s not a lot of canon material so you can take his portrayal a variety of places. if we don’t jive, it’s pretty whatever. 

my one exception to this is probably people who, in the past, have told me i write him being “too mean”. which will never cease to confuse me. because even after al straight told dolcetto he was 14, dol was still like “I REALLY WANNA SMACK HIM but i’d just hurt my hand so you’re off the hook”, he’s angry like 85% of his dialogue in the manga... i’m just confused. where are you seeing the “uwu pupper~” persona. you can write it, that’s fine, i don’t care, just don’t get irritable when i don’t write him like a cute puppy. because here he is. suggesting we just kill izumi because she’s being troublesome. yeet. ...he’s an asshole.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || whatever, just don’t be a dick or speak badly about me or him in my presence because, flawed as he is and while i won’t make excuses for him, i’ll stand up for him. go somewhere else, my dude. i, personally, don’t have the energy for your negativity. nor do i have the patience.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   ♠ ||  i’m more okay with people correcting my spelling (gently). because of the way i taught myself to read, i’d be FUCKED if auto-correct or spell-check didn’t exist. i also google correct spellings constantly. so spelling, yeah, i already know that i’m terrible at it so feel free to correct type-os or spelling mishaps, it ain’t no thang. 

grammar i’m a bit... pickier about. because sometimes i’ll purposely do a “grammatical error” because the punctuation or otherwise further drives the pacing or mood i’m trying to give my writing. i may not know ALL the rules but i break them from time to time... FOR THE ART.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   ♠ || i wanna say i am?? while i definitely do want to seriously explore and flesh out and grow dol as a muse and character, i’m “not above” goofing around, poking fun at him, or just being plain silly on the dash. RPing is escapism for me and i strive to keep my blog a peaceful safe haven on the dashboard, both for myself and my followers. 

i try to communicate to the best of my ability and despite my anxieties, and while i may not be able to follow or RP with EVERYONE (for obvious reasons) i’m open to interacting with ... pretty much anyone who throws me a bone. i’ll speak up if i’m not down for a plot or interested in a certain relationship or interaction, but i’m certainly not going to be rude or dismissive about it. i know what that feels like. i’d say yeah, though! i think i’m pretty chill. e-e you tell me.

#♦: ooc answer . #[ ;0; THIS WAS FUN ]

[myastrologyblog]

Meaningful New Year’s Resolutions for the Signs

Aries: Plan for your dreams

Aries is a fiery sign who is all about doing, doing, doing, but not so much about planning. They get bursts of quick energy with genius ideas but often never act upon them. This year, Aries, use one of those strokes of genius and see it to completion. Whether this is investing in a new property, creating a business plan, writing a manuscript or planning the trip around the world that you always wanted to take, make plans to take small, incremental steps to achieve this. Whatever big project that you always dreamed of doing, but always seemed so out of reach–now is the time to believe in yourself and see this project of yours come to life.

Taurus: Try minimalism

Taurus, with Christmas and New Years having recently passed, I’m sure you have a plethora of new gifts and clothes in your over-bustling wardrobe, while your poor desk fights for space with your new impulse buys. A good resolution for you is to give up your lesser-used objects and see how much more relaxing life can be without the clutter of them. Minimalism is a lifestyle all about appreciation and value. While not only being more aesthetically pleasing, it can teach you a lot about self-control, the purpose of items and freedom from material fixation. Plus, think of how shocked your friends will be when you stroll up to your next weekend getaway with only hand luggage!

Gemini: Pick up new books

In this busy, digital age, life can become a bit repetitive. We work or study, then we come home and procrastinate on the internet. Reading is a brilliant and great gateway between the two. It’s relaxing, fun and educational. Often in life, after we grow up and leave school, we forget to continue our learning and education. And often when we are in school, we forget about the fun and magic that can be found in learning. Being such a mentally curious sign, there’s no doubt you read a lot anyway, but setting a goal to read styles of writing you haven’t previously explored will open up your mind to new ideas, perspectives and worlds thus adding a bit of well-needed stimulation in an otherwise monotonous week. 

Cancer: Practise Gratitude

Cancer is a sign that truly appreciates the good things in life, it’s one of the many great qualities about them. But when things turn bad, Cancer puts on a pity-infused blindfold to the wonderful things and people they do have in their life. To combat those rainy mood days, try practising gratitude often to get you into the groove of positivity. Set a reminder on your phone, keep a gratitude journal or have someone remind you and begin to write down or say aloud three things you are grateful for that day. Gratitude is the opposite of lacking and so you cannot feel both at the same time. Gratitude can instantly turn a bad day into one of the best you’ve ever had, life is all about perspective and Cancer can benefit greatly from learning this!  

Leo: Spend more time in nature

In such a busy working age, it’s hard to find the time or energy to do anything other than commute to and from one industrial building to the next. Did you know that three-quarters of children in the UK spend less time outdoors than prison inmates? I’m sure the same can be said about adults. There are so many benefits of engaging with nature. As a bold Leo with so much energy and a real passion for adventure, the perfect resolution for you is to go on more hikes and spend more time doing outdoor activities such as sports or even gardening. Studies have reported how nature is good for our happiness and healthiness. It’ll give you, the ever-venturesome Leo, a sense of adventure as you discover new things, a sense of productivity and good use of your energy.

Virgo: Be kinder to yourself

Dear Virgo, you work yourself so tirelessly sometimes only to come home to more self-criticism. While being a perfectionist has led to many great things in your life, it’s important to remember that it’s okay not to be productive 100% of the time, and it’s also okay to take time to yourself. While your sign is naturally the provider/server of others, you need to learn to use that trait on yourself and serve your own needs. Learn that they are important and that kindness begins at home. You will only learn to be less critical of the world by starting with yourself. While you may not be the pampering type, some self-love and lazy days are exactly what you need in order to ultimately be your most productive and loving.

Libra: Strengthen your existing relationships

Libra, you are a social butterfly, you charm any room and your genuine politeness makes you a lovely gem in everyone’s minds. Unfortunately, you have a way of getting carried away with this gift and end up making more superficial relationships than deep ones. This becomes a problem when you face tough times and realise you are alone in your problems. Your resolution is to reach out to some old or existing friends that life has led you to lose contact with. They’ll appreciate it, and this way, you can rekindle some amazing friendships and thus create stronger, more valuable bonds with people. Taking time out to appreciate and spend time with the people in your life who have been there for a long time will make you, and them, much happier.

Scorpio: Solo-travel

Scorpio, the deep, mysterious and soul-seeking sign. Well, guess what? You’re not going to learn the mysteries of the world by sitting on the couch in your hometown. While extended solo-travelling may not be the most viable options in everyone’s lives, it’s good to experience a trip by yourself no matter how short it may be. It’ll not only give you more insight into the world but also into yourself. This time in a foreign place will allow you to truly be yourself as you shed any reputations you have back home and appreciate the benefits of your own company. You can also forge many new connections, experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and learn to trust in yourself, your independence and see the value in transient relationships.

Sagittarius: Start a blog or channel

You have so much to say, and not enough hours in the day to say it, so why not start a blog? Because you are such a busy and often convoluted talker, you might find your comments being brushed off or going unheard by others. However, by sharing your voice on a louder platform you may see the importance of your ideas. You have the gift of the gab so why not make use of it? Blogging, or vlogging, is a great hobby (or career) for an innovative and intelligent Sagittarius. It channels all your creative energy into an organised and thus readable (or watchable) segment that others can understand. Blogging always requires research as well, which makes you learn more every day. It hones many different skills that you excel in such as writing, research, creativity, planning and execution and also connects you with like-minded others.

Capricorn: Get off social media

Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, the planet of rules and restrictions. Yet, you have such a hard time with your unconscious addictions. More than any of the other signs, Capricorn relies on old-fashioned status for respect. That self-respect gets lowered when faced with everyone else’s highlight reels being broadcasted on Instagram and Facebook. Suddenly, you start buying things just for the likes or going places just for the photo-opportunity. Learning to live authentically, in spite of anyone else’s happiness or progress, is vital for you. By comparing yourself to others, you will always be striving for a false sense of happiness. Perhaps a good length of time disconnected from social media would be a great way to boost your real happiness.

Aquarius: Volunteer

Aquarius, the world lover. You are a unique paradox. As much as you love the idea of world peace, ending world hunger and bringing people together–actually having to react to people’s emotions is entirely uncomfortable and awkward for you. But, no true saviour lies behind a screen. People often donate some pocket change to charity at the end of the year and say they did their part, but this will not suffice you. By actively going out into the world and giving people your most important resources– your time and empathy, you will positively be helping the world, and the world will be helping you. This will bring you closer to overcoming your uncomfortable emotions, affecting people’s lives for the better and getting outside your own head with real life issues.

Pisces: Talk to strangers

Now, hear me out Pisces. I know you’re probably already pulling back just from reading the title. Talking to strangers–why would I ever do such a thing? You ask. Because there are so many benefits from this that outweigh the risks. Pisces is naturally a loving and social sign but you are often held back by your own insecurities. Try talking to that person on the bus, or introduce yourself to the cute person sitting alone in a cafe–you never know what will happen and you will be grateful you did it no matter the outcome. By building this essential skill, you will feel so much happier and more free from your internal restrictions. You will also be surprised at how receptive people are to being approached and gain so many new and wonderful connections this year.

#new year's resolution #new years #motivation #wellness #positivity #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #all #astrology #2018 #2019

[stainedglassgardens]

Watched in June 2020

Funny Games Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia (Glocken aus der Tiefe - Glaube und Aberglaube in Russland) We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!) Olla Return to Reason (Le Retour à la raison) Ghosts Before Breakfast (Vormittagsspuk) Sissy Boy Slap Party The Republic of Enchanters (La République des enchanteurs) Sullivan's Banks (Sullivans Banken) Black Panthers Asparagus America The Fall The Watermelon Woman Douce Menace Curling Trouble Every Day The Return (Возвращение) Maillart's Bridges (Maillarts Brücken) Two Years at Sea The Creeping Garden Homo Sapiens A Radiant Life (Une Vie radieuse) Shirley Disclosure Baghead Lahemaa Closeness (Теснота) Touki Bouki Daughter (Dcera) Human Nature 1 Dimension

Did not finish

From the Depths (Dal Profondo, Valentina Pedicini, 2013)

I could take them or leave them

Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress and the Tangerine (Marion Cajori and Amei Wallach, 2008) The Republic of Enchanters (La République des enchanteurs, Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, 2016) America (Valérie Massadian, 2013) The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2006) Douce Menace (Ludovic Habas, Yoan Sender, Margaux Vaxelaire, Mickaël Krebs, Florent Rousseau, 2011) A Radiant Life (Une Vie radieuse, Meryll Hardt, 2013)

Films I enjoyed

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun and Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia (Glocken aus der Tiefe - Glaube und Aberglaube in Russland) (Werner Herzog, 1989 and 1993): Just super nice Herzog documentaries. There are a bunch on Mubi now and I might watch all of them

We Are the Best! (Vi är bäst!, Lukas Moodysson, 2013): I was on the lookout for this film for years and then it popped up on Mubi. Maybe I didn’t love it because of all that anticipation, but it’s still a great film that I wish more people, especially more teenagers, would see

Return to Reason (Le Retour à la raison, Man Ray, 1923): Always love early experiments with film

Sissy Boy Slap Party (Guy Maddin, 2004): Very silly! Loved it

Sullivan's Banks (Sullivans Banken) and Maillart's Bridges (Maillarts Brücken) (Heinz Emigholz, both 2000): It’s nice that there are non-narrative documentaries like this. You wouldn’t think filming buildings (and bridges) from different angles would bring something to the table as opposed to, for instance, photographing them, but somehow it really does. Again, a bunch of Emigholz’s films are on Mubi and they make for great daytime entertainment, might watch more soon

Black Panthers (Agnès Varda, 1970): This was made available for free by The Criterion Channel and I was finally able to see it, as well as keep going with my Vardathon. I loved how matter-of-fact and sympathetic this short documentary was

Trouble Every Day (Claire Denis, 2001): The kind of vampire movie I wish there were more of. Also always love Béatrice Dalle <3

Two Years at Sea (Ben Rivers, 2011): This is a very quiet, contemplative, beautiful documentary about a man who lives alone in the woods

The Creeping Garden (Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp, 2014): The wide array of things that can be explored while just talking about slime mould is a little bit stunning -- great soundtrack too

Homo Sapiens (Nikolaus Geyrhalter, 2016): I preferred Our Daily Bread from the same director but I still loved this. I like how Geyrhalter always lets his (stunning) images do the talking

Shirley (Josephine Decker, 2020): Being a fan of both Shirley Jackson and Elisabeth Moss, I’d wanted to see this since it came out. It was pretty much exactly as I expected, which is to say very good. It reminded me, not without reason, of the recent We Have Always Lived in the Castle adaptation

Baghead (Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, 2008): Sometimes silly, sometimes deep, Duplass brothers comedy featuring young Greta Gerwig

Lahemaa (Leslie Lagier, 2010): Science fiction short about a Chernobyl-like mysterious city

Closeness (Теснота, Kantemir Balagov, 2017): Might have preferred this to Beanpole, still not entirely sure what to think, but I loved the main character and I loved the story

Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty, 1973): This is a wonderful debut feature by a director whom, for some reason, I had heard nothing about until now

Daughter (Dcera, Daria Kashcheeva, 2019): The animation was wonderful and the story a lot more layered than I would have thought for such a popular short film

Human Nature (Sverre Fredriksen, 2019): Please watch this right now if you can. It’s three minutes long and you won’t regret it. Very silly

1 Dimension (一维, Lü Yue, 2013): This is a beautiful short film about the nature of good and evil and I loved that, contrarily to many films with exactly this premise, it didn’t actually try to provide a clear-cut answer

Films I loved

Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 1997): Definitely this month’s film that fucked me up. So gruelling

Olla (Ariane Labed, 2019): When I first finished this I was doubtful but the more I thought of it the more I loved it. It’s about an Internet girlfriend from Eastern Europe who comes to France and I don’t know that I can say much more about it except that it manages to talk about sex work in a way that I enjoyed

Ghosts Before Breakfast (Vormittagsspuk, Hans Richter, 1928): This, together with Meshes of the Afternoon, which I saw a few months ago, reminds me that so-called experimental and avant-garde stuff was in film from the very beginning, it was just ignored by big-budget film producers in favour of narrative features. Anyway, this is a great short film and it's only six minutes so you should definitely watch it

Asparagus (Suzan Pitt, 1979): A five-star rating on Mubi, just, one of those things I am glad women are making out there -- just like Jodie Mack's The Grand Bizarre a few months ago

The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye, 1996): This classic was made available by The Criterion Channel and I could finally see it... It feels like a first film in all the good and bad ways, and I’m glad it exists, glad there are complex, multilayered stories about Black lesbians out there

Curling (Denis Côté, 2010): I saw this after I was so favourably impressed by Ghost Town Anthology and I have to say, if anyone can hook me up with the rest of Côté's filmography, please please please hit me up. I'm in love with his depiction of small-town Québec, and the slow progression of his drama, the no-music soundtrack, just everything -- not to mention his take on “genre”

The Return (Возвращение, Andrey Zvyaginstev, 2003): I’m glad I stuck with Zvyagintsev after I was disappointed by The Banishment. Of the four I’ve seen, this is by far my favourite film of his (maybe because, since there are no women, there is no misogyny). It is often hard to watch but the ending brings it all together quite beautifully

Disclosure (Sam Feder, 2020): This is such a good documentary. It’s often hit-or-miss with Netflix releases but I urge you to watch this whether or not you are already “educated” about the representation of trans people in film and television. Jen Richards in particular provides great insight

*

I spent almost all of my movie time on Mubi in June. Not that I’m sad about it! This subscription might be my best decision in a while. Now to watch more random stuff that I’ve never heard about before!

#watched in 2020 #films

[eintsein]

The College Application Process

A guide by Eintsein

College application season is just around the corner. As a survivor of the grueling task of completing the application process, I know exactly how daunting, overwhelming, and downright stressful it can be. I hope that by giving you a little ‘tour’ of the college application process, you’ll have a much easier time navigating it. and hopefully you’ll be able to craft a successful application.

Before I get right into it, I’d first like to tell you a bit about myself in the context of college applications. I just graduated high school (in 2018) and I’m going to attend Cornell University in the fall. I plan to major in Computer Science and Economics, but I remain open to other courses of study that I may find interesting as I progress through my college career. I applied to a total of 17 schools: I was accepted by 8 of them and waitlisted by 1.

Disclaimer: I am not a college admissions officer and thus I am not certain that everything I write in this post will work. This is just what I experienced with my college applications. Also, I will only be talking about college applications in the US, since that’s where I applied to, but perhaps some of the tips are adaptable to other countries’ college application processes.

Stage 1: Pre-application

Drafting a college list

(before summer break - start of senior year)

Doing college research

Before starting your application, it seems pretty obvious that you should have an idea of which schools to apply to. And in order for you to do that, you should do a little research to make sure that you’re applying to colleges that you actually want to attend.

One of the first things you should do is list different factors that you think will affect your decision. Do you want to go to a college in the city or in a small town? A large college or a small one? A chill school or an academically rigorous one?

You should also consider the major/area of study you’re interested in--it doesn’t even have to be super specific. Your potential major can then be used to choose your colleges. For example, if I wanted to study CS and Econ, I would choose colleges that are strong in both areas.

On a side note, I don’t think you should choose an area of study just because you’re good at a certain subject, e.g. just because you’re good at English, doesn’t necessarily mean you should study English or Literature. Instead, choose a potential major based on what you enjoy doing.

When doing your research about these different colleges, reading all of the information on their websites can be tedious and boring. As an alternative, I’d recommend watching youtube videos or talking to alumni instead. When I was applying, the most effective way for me to get to know a school is through those “A Day in the Life of…” videos as well as Q&A videos because you not only end up knowing more about the school but also about the student body and the student culture at that university.

What colleges?

I recommend that you apply to a good mix of safety schools, match schools, and dream schools.

Safety schools: you exceed their requirements and you’ll definitely get in.

Match schools: admits have similar academic credentials to yours. You have a good chance of admission, but there’s also a (relatively small) probability that you won’t.

Dream schools: your scores or credentials fall in the lower end of the school’s average range for the previous batch of admitted students.You’d be lucky to get in.

All the colleges you apply to should be colleges that you’d be happy to attend.

How many colleges?

You should start with 6 schools: 2 safety, 2 match, and 2 reach. Then you can adjust the numbers as you wish. If you’re applying to more schools, I’d say the optimum reach:match:safety ratio is around 3:5:2, so if you’re planning to apply to 10 colleges, that would be 3 reach, 5 match, and 2 safety.

How to classify colleges 

Generally, people categorize their colleges based on statistics, so things like test scores, GPA, and rank. Perhaps the easiest method is comparing standardized test scores. A good way to do this is to look at the 25th to 75th percentile range, which shows you the scores obtained by 50% of last year’s entering class. If your scores fall between the 25th and 75th percentile, you may have just found yourself a match school! But hold up, the lower percentiles may be reserved for special admits like athletes or donors, so in reality, a match school would be one where your scores lie closer to the 75th percentile.

Aside from standardized test scores, it might also help to figure out what kind of student the college is looking for--such as by reading accepted supplemental essays--and seeing whether or not you seem like the right fit.

Resources

Once you’ve compiled your list of colleges, it would help to have a table with information about them. This might include information like deadlines, median scores, availability of scholarships, interviews, etc. Here’s a link to (the blank version of) the spreadsheet I used for my college application. Feel free to modify it according to your needs, but make sure to make a copy before changing things!

Recommendation Letters

What are recommendation letters?

Recommendations letters are letters written by your mentors to provide insight into what you’re like as a student, e.g. your behavior, positive qualities, interests, achievements etc.

Whom should you ask for a recommendation letter? 

It’s good to ask teachers who know you very well, either someone who has taught you for a long time or someone who has a multifaceted view of you, such as a teacher who has also advised you in an extracurricular.

Some people would also suggest that you get recommendations from teachers of different subjects to show that you’re a well-rounded student. I think it’s better to ask teachers who can write about your different positive qualities, i.e. one teacher could highlight a part of your character that the other teacher would not be able to.

You might also want to ask teachers who can write well. In my experience, letters from teachers in the humanities and social science departments tend to be more convincing and well-written than those in the science and math departments (I know not all teachers are like this; this is just a generalization). But again, it’s definitely better to ask teachers who know you well and can write about your qualities.

The first recommendation letter I used was from my Economics teacher, who was also my MUN (Model United Nations) advisor - an extracurricular in which I was very active. My classmates and I also had a pretty good relationship with this teacher, especially since our class was only 3 students.

My second recommendation letter came from my Math teacher, who taught me for 6 years. Math is also my strongest subject, so that’s definitely a plus point (get it? :p).

Another letter that might be useful to submit is the additional recommendation. This is a recommendation from anyone other than your teacher, it could be your coach, another mentor, or even a friend. I think you should only consider submitting an additional recommendation if it highlights qualities that haven’t been covered in your other ones.

What do I have to do as an applicant? 

Be prepared to answer questions your teachers may have about you so that they can write a more valuable recommendation letter. Compiling a resume or list of achievements and activities might help, or you could simply sit down for a conversation.

When should I ask for these recommendation letters? 

Preferably before your senior year starts so your teachers have enough time to put some thought into what they’re going to write.

Standardized Testing

Do I really need to take standardized tests?

A lot of colleges recommend (read: require) you to take the SAT or ACT (and TOEFL if you’re an international student like myself), but remember that they are not your entire application. Just do your best in the standardized tests you take.

When should I take them? 

I say whenever you’re ready, but no later than the deadline specified by the college (usually October of your senior year would be the latest to take the general SAT). I did my SATs in October during my junior year, my younger sister took it at the end of her sophomore year, and a lot of my friends took in October during our senior year, so again, it really depends on when you feel you’re ready.

How many times should I take them?

I don’t think you should do each test more than once unless you’re sure your scores will improve. Your application won’t look very good if you sat for the SAT 3 times and your scores decreased each time, assuming the college looks at all your scores.

Which scores do I send colleges? 

Different colleges have different requirements for the submission of these test scores. Some only require the highest scores, while others would like to see all of your scores. On the CollegeBoard website, when you enter colleges to which you’ll send your scores, the site will also inform you of the requirements for those colleges.

How will colleges receive my standardized testing scores?

You’ll have to fill a form in the Common/Coalition App. In addition, some schools require you to send official score reports from the testing agency. I suggest that you send in your scores as soon as you know what colleges you’re applying to, just so that you don’t have to pay an extra amount to ‘rush’ your score sends (i.e. have it sent to colleges in 2-4 days as opposed to the regular 1-2 weeks).

The Rest of Senior Year

Take challenging classes and do well in them

Colleges look at the classes you take in high school and how well you did in them. You should consider taking classes that are both challenging and in the area of study you might want to pursue. Taking challenging courses allows college admissions officers to see that you’re taking initiative to further your education.

What if I catch senioritis? 

If you’re a senior, you’ll definitely go through a phase where you don’t care about anything and just feel like having coffee and talking to your friends in class. I know I did. Senioritis is totally normal, but you should still try to put effort into your studies. Colleges can rescind your admission if they see a drastic fall in your grades, so keep your grades up and don’t overwhelm yourself with too many unnecessary activities.

Join extracurriculars 

Extracurriculars show college admissions officers that you can manage your time well and that you have other interests aside from school. It also shows them that you are an active, contributing member of your community, and that you’re proactive in developing your passions and interests.

What type of activity counts as an extracurricular? 

Well, it can be anything you do in your free time. It could be a school club, a club outside of school, an online activity, etc. Maybe you programmed an app in your spare time. Maybe you had a part time job. Or maybe you ran a blog that helps students navigate their academic lives. You just have to find something that matters to you and is significant and meaningful. It would be even better if the activities in which you participate can demonstrate leadership and commitment.

If you’re having a hard time picturing what that could be, I’ll give you a couple of examples. One of my friends expanded his love of reading by starting a hip hop literature club that has branches in Japan and in multiple states in the US. A junior of mine established a website that brings together people from all around the world, who are experienced in the MUN community, to give newer members advice and guidance so that they may thrive in the MUN world.

Stage 2: Completing the Application

The Application Form

Different Application Platforms

The first thing you should do after you’ve compiled a college list is to find out where you should complete your application.

1. The Common App

The most common application platform is the Common App, which is used by more than 700 colleges in the US. It’s super convenient if you’re applying to a lot of colleges, but the site does limit you to 20 colleges.

2. The Coalition App

Another common platform is the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, which is a fairly new platform that has 132 members. It does have a cool feature I like, though: it allows you to compile a kind of portfolio by uploading documents and files to your “locker” on the website. Furthermore, the Coalition App is specifically aimed to help lower-resourced and underrepresented students, so the colleges listed there have substantial financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

3. Other Applications

Some colleges also have their own applications, such as the UCs and MIT.

Parts of the Application

You’ll have to fill in your

Personal information (This is probably the easiest part of the application, so even if you don’t have anything else ready yet, I recommend you fill this out just to get it over with.)

Extracurricular activities

Essays (the Common/Coalition App essay and supplementary essays)

Honors and awards

Disciplinary information

Standardized test scores

Your counselor will submit

Your high school transcript

Your mid-year and final transcript

The school report

The counselor recommendation

Your teachers will submit

Their recommendation letters

Now, even though you aren’t submitting every single thing on the form, you are the person responsible for the punctuality of these documents. Your teachers are busy and they might forget, so it’s your job to remind them.

For real though, one of my teachers forgot to upload his recommendation onto one of the external application websites. Fortunately, the university gave me and others in my position an extra 22 days to send in any missing documents.

The Essay (and other essays)

Ah, yes. The much dreaded Essay™. Probably the most challenging part of the application, and the one that sucks the life outta ya. There’s a reason for that, though. The essay is an important part of the application because it humanizes the applicant instead of merely showing them as a collection of statistics and facts. You should aim to showcase something about yourself that can’t be found in other parts of the application.

Planning

When should I start?

Ideally, you should start thinking about potential essay ideas over the summer, maybe come up with a rough draft if you can. But it’s really no rush, though. Sometimes the best ideas come later. I wrote my first common app essay over the summer. Completely scrapped it. Wrote a second one in like September-ish and used that for Early Action. Scrapped it again. The final essay I sent in was first written on December 17th. Sometimes life works that way.

How do I start?

One method that helped me is making a mind map about myself (my counselor recommended this to me). You’d start by writing down the things that define you: your personality, qualities, and values. Then, you’d think of activities, events, or other things in your life where you exhibited those traits or exercised those values. Since all college essays pretty much boil down to “What good qualities do you have?”, mind mapping your good qualities will help you answer all sorts of essays.

One important thing you should know is that your essay topic doesn’t have to be super deep or anything, just that it says a lot about you. And just because your essay is really personal, you shouldn’t divert your focus away from writing it well. You also shouldn’t write about something everybody experiences unless you can find a way to make it unique.

What next?

As soon as you have several topics for your essay, you can create outlines for each of them, and see which one would give a greater contribution to your application. If you’re not the outline type of person, start writing away, and see which one turns out to be more effective.

Writing

Start writing as soon as you have an idea. You don’t have to perfect it yet, just see where and how far the idea goes. You can always edit it or scrap it later. Or, if you prefer a more structured approach, make outlines for all the ideas you have.

How should I structure my essay?

When writing your essay, I would recommend using a narrative structure since people generally respond better to stories. However, if you think your essay would read better without the narrative structure, then use a different one.

What writing techniques are important?

Imagery is your best friend. You want your readers (the admissions officers) to be able to picture what you’re telling them so that they could understand more clearly and comprehensively whatever it is about yourself that you’re trying to convey.

Using an extended metaphor is also an excellent way to compose a memorable essay. Be aware that they’re fairly difficult to pull off, but if you have an idea, you should try and write it out first and see how that works out.

What are some common mistakes applicants make?

Some applicants make the mistake of sounding too preachy, you know, something like “We should make the world a better place!!” You might think, “but aren’t these types of essays supposed to be like that?” That’s what I thought, too, when I first wrote my essay. The admissions officers, however, are only there to get to know you, not to be preached upon. Instead, you should tie in the message you want to convey with your personal experience.

Lastly, you shouldn’t summarize at the end of your essay. It really isn’t as useful as you might think. In other words, you should write your essay so that it doesn’t need to be summarized in order for the readers to understand what you’re trying to tell them.

Revising

You should be prepared to write and rewrite and, like I said before, completely scrap essays. Don’t let yourself get attached to a particular sentence or phrase or even essay topic. Rewrite as needed. Write something else if you must.

After you’ve written your first draft, leave your essay for a couple days before coming back to it to edit. This is because right after you’ve written your essay, the ideal image of the essay is still the one you have written down, so you likely won’t make any meaningful changes.

What if I exceed the word limit?

If your word count is waaay past it, I’d suggest you write it from scratch without referring to the original draft. This helps eliminate the less important details since you yourself don’t remember them.

If you think you can simply cut down on a few phrases, there are several things you can do: delete redundancies, shorten your introduction/conclusion, simplify phrases, rearrange sentences, and use contractions, for example.

Should I ask other people to read my essay?

Somewhere along the road, you’ll also want to ask other people to read over your essay. I wouldn’t recommend asking a friend to do this for you since they might give a biased opinion. Plus, they know you too well. Instead, ask a teacher, your counselor, or even an acquaintance with whom you’re comfortable letting them read your essay.

Supplemental Essays

Honestly just refer to your mind map if you made one, or make outlines for each of your supplemental essays. Don’t be afraid to reuse essays, just make sure to change the name of the college if mentioned.

Some colleges also require you to write about an extracurricular. A guide to the extracurricular essay will be covered in the Extracurriculars section of this post.

Helpful links

College Essay Masterpost by @genericappblrurl​

Prolly the most comprehensive guide to college essays bless u

Covers nearly all essay types

College Essay Masterpost (links) by @sootudying​, includes

General essay advice

Each of the common app essay prompts

“Why college X?” essay guides

Extracurricular essay guides

Contribution essay guides

Influence in life essay guides

“Why major X?” essay guides

College Essay Masterpost (links) by @sequoia-studies​, includes

General essay advice (articles + videos)

Ivy league essays

UC essays

Common app essays

Essay examples

How to Write a Bomb Ass Essay for College Applications by @education-tips​

Extracurriculars

Colleges love applicants who are contributing members of their communities as well as those who are actively developing their passions and skills. The extracurricular section of the college application allows the college to see just that. As I’ve said before, an extracurricular activity can be anything you do in your free time, but one in which you hold a leadership position will pique the interests of the admissions officers.

How many activities should I list? 

The Common App gives you 10 slots for extracurricular activities (the Coalition gives you 8). However, it’s completely fine if you don’t have 10 activities. For the most part, colleges prefer to see quality over quantity, so having a few activities you’re passionate about and to which you made significant contributions would be better than filling all 10 slots with activities that you don’t care about all that much. The best combination of activities would be 1 - 3 significant activities with a large number of hours and several others with a lower number of hours.

What if I have too many activities? 

Choose the activities that you invested the most time in and gained the most experience from. You can also combine multiple activities into one slot. For example, I organized quite a few events and fundraisers when I was in the Student Council, so instead of writing “Organized and volunteered for sports cup”, “Designed and produced school merchandise”, and “Organized a charity festival”, I wrote them all under “Student Council”.

Note: Extracurricular activities aren’t the same as Honors and Awards.

What activities should I include?

As I’ve stated previously, colleges prefer quality over quantity. However, you can aim to be either “pointy” or “well rounded”. Some students have activities that are only in one area of study (”pointy”). This shows colleges that you’re focused and have an intense desire to pursue a single passion.

Despite this, being more “well-rounded” and having a diverse range of activities can also be beneficial since it shows that you’ve gained a lot of experience, and that you aren’t afraid to try different things.

Your activities don’t even have to be conventional extracurricular activities either. Two of the extracurricular activities I listed were 1) this studyblr; and 2) my instagram poetry page. I mean, I am a Gen X kid; I’m bound to spend large amounts of time on social media. Fortunately, it turns out I made a pretty significant contribution, I would say, and also learned a lot from the experience, so they definitely count as extracurricular activities.

Describing the extracurricular activities

This blog post from College Vine is super comprehensive and helped me a lot when I was writing about my extracurriculars. I’ll sum up some key points below:

Select extracurriculars that will present the best image of yourself

Use action oriented verbs (e.g. “facilitated”, “managed”, “maintained”)

Quantify your accomplishments as much as possible

Certain activities will look better if you emphasize the valuable skills you learned instead of what you did

Be specific

Some colleges will require you to write an essay in which you reflect upon a particular activity you did: what you learned and how you grew. This post from College Essay Guy covers pretty much everything I have to say about the extracurricular essay. Main points:

Use active verbs

Write a good clear sentence about what the activity meant to you

Show a little, but not too much

Start with a problem to be solved

Focus on specific impact

Write it long first, then cut it

But which extracurricular activity should you write the essay about? Here’s a helpful link that tells you just that.

Honors and Awards

The honors and awards section is another component of the application that can help you stand out from other applicants. These are basically any achievement, award, or recognition you’ve received in high school.

The common app limits you to 5 honors/awards, and I would recommend that you choose your most impressive honors, e.g. an international competition would be more impressive than one within your school.

Sometimes awards are directly tied to an activity, such as winning Best Delegate in an MUN conference. In this case, you should mention your award in the activities section. Awards that aren’t tied to an activity should be listed in the Honors and Awards section. These might include scholarships, academic awards, etc.

If you have too many honors to fit into the form (lucky you!), you might want to consider sending in a resume. Some colleges provide this option, while some merely have a section for extra information.

Interviews

Interviews are another way the college can see you as a whole person. Some colleges might provide you with an option to take the interview or decline it, but if given the chance, go for it!

What is the interview, exactly?

For me, this was probably the most nerve-wracking part since you’re practically telling things about yourself to a stranger (can you tell I’m not into socializing?) and it’s like you’re being evaluated and you don’t really know what to expect.

But honestly they’re basically regular conversations where you talk about yourself and the things you love. They’ll ask about your school, your family, your aspirations, your hobbies, but the conversation can lead anywhere--food, human rights, pop culture.

It’ll probably start with an open ended question like tell me about yourself and then branch off from there.

There might also be another type of interview where it’s more like a Q&A about the school and you get to know the college through an alumni (Cornell’s “interview” was like this).

A bad interview really won’t hurt your application, unless of course you fail to answer why you want to go to that university.

It really just gives you an extra boost and another factor to consider when the university decides whether or not to admit you.

Plus, you get to elaborate on things that you didn’t on your application.

Interviews can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours, so don’t worry if you think it was too short or too long.

General Tips

Arrive early. It helps to take a few seconds to breathe and take in your location and surroundings before you start your interview.

Wear something comfortable. I wore a plaid shirt and trousers to most of my interviews. In my experience, Western people tend to be more lenient with clothing, so if you wear a t-shirt, it’s fine. Indonesians (and some other Asians) kinda want you to dress at least semi-formally, maybe a button up and formal pants or a skirt.

If your interviewer asks if you want to order anything, go ahead, they won’t mind, and you’ll get free food or a free beverage. I would usually order coffee or tea.

What should I prepare?

How to answer the question tell me about yourself.

How to answer the question why do you want to go to this school?

How to answer other common questions. Don’t script your answers though. Just think about them so you know what the focus of your answer will revolve around.

Your resume, in case they ask for one.

Research the college and prepare some questions to ask the interviewer.

Research the interviewer, e.g. what they studied, what their job is, anything you think would be important to bring up, like one of their research projects or theses.

After the Interview

Send the interviewer a thank you note/email

Thank them for interviewing you

Recall something memorable from the interview

Relax. Then relax some more.

Helpful links

15 Questions to Know for College Interviews by @solustudies​ 

The 14 College Interview Questions You Must Prepare For by PrepScholar

Other General Tips

Check and recheck! Everything! Like actually tho, I typed in my friend’s TOEFL score instead of my own on one application, and on one essay, I wrote the wrong name of the university. I fixed them, though. But yeah check, recheck, and have someone else check it for you too, if possible.

If you’re strong in the arts, send in an arts supplement! I sent in some poetry samples (although I don’t actually know if they’re good haha) to demonstrate my extracurricular interests.

Just be your honest self in all parts of the application. Don’t try to mold yourself to fit the university you’re applying to. I’m sure the admissions officers will be able to tell if you aren’t being genuine.

And some links…

A Masterpost for Applying to College by @science-is-golden​

College Application Timeline by @applicantmusings​

A College Student’s Masterpost by @eruditekid​

Uni Application Masterpost by @study-early​

Stage 3: Post-Application

Relax! You deserve it.

Enjoy your senior year, but again, keep up those grades. Don’t be consumed by senioritis.

Spend more time with your friends since it’s probably gonna be your last year together. Actually spend more time with everyone around you and join activities you normally wouldn’t. But again, don’t overwhelm yourself.

Even though you’re having fun, remember to check your email regularly. Colleges will update you about things, e.g. if you’re missing a component from your application.

Prepare to view your admission results.

Final Notes

College applications are tough, and you’re amazing for being able to put up with such a daunting task. It’s meant to be hard, so applaud yourself!

Also remember not to wear yourself out! Take breaks and revitalize because you’re going to craft a much better application if you have a clear mind and a healthy body.

And when announcement day arrives, be prepared for whatever result you’ll get. Congratulations if you get into your dream school! And if you don’t, that’s alright; maybe the school wasn’t a good fit for you after all.

That’s it for now. Hope you found this post helpful, and best of luck for your college applications!

#eintsein #mine #college #studyblr #studyspo #study hard #university #college app #application #applications #appblr #high school #mymp #masterpost #hey sareena #areistotle #academla

[positivlyfocused]

How I Create Lots Of Money

The best way to make lots of money flowing into my life is by not thinking about it.

Seriously.

I'm not a master at this yet. But I'm getting better as I gain confidence in what I'm doing. Or, rather, how I'm being...

I know my beliefs about money and finances are getting better too. I can tell by what's showing up more often in my reality.

I'm sharing this life example because of its pertinence. It shows how by not thinking about money, money flows into my life in unexpected and surprising ways.

• • •

Making lots of money flow can be as effortless as anything else. It just takes practice. Being Positively Focused is key. Not thinking about money at all helps too.

I'll explain why at the end. For now, here's the story. It's really cool!

When Money Doubles Without Me Lifting A Finger

This story happened last month.

I have a project called Copiosis (the main website is undergoing a redesign. Link goes to the Facebook page). It's a world-changing economic system I know would be fun to live in. Someone once called Copiosis "the world Jesus would create were he to return".

Be that as it may, I know I can create a world better than the one I live in now. Copiosis is my expression of that knowing.

A lot of people follow what's happening with Copiosis. They want to live in that kind of world too.

And who wouldn't want to?

Who wouldn't want to live in a world where all your basic food, shelter, education, healthcare and basic clothing were provided at not cost to anyone, where you're debt-free and can never get in debt, where you own your home (if you want) and follow your passions, get rich without that costing you anything?

I think nearly anyone would.

Some people are so excited about Copiosis, they throw money at it. Over the six years I've been sharing it, people have sent me "gifts". They range from a few dollars up to $100,000 and everything in between. Some have supported Copiosis ongoingly via a monthly patron plan. Others contribute their time and expertise.

I use money people send me to grow the organization and further share the idea online. I know one day Copiosis will evolve out of capitalism to become the dominant socioeconomic model on the planet. I'm excited to be its spokesperson.

One person following Copiosis is really passionate about it. Let's call him Joe. Like many, Joe has advocated for it online. But he's also made presentations about Copiosis at events in Europe.

Joe believes he's meant to help make Copiosis a reality. Many people come to Copiosis feeling that. But Joe's a bit different. He has a lot of Bitcoin (BTC).

In late October, Joe was talking about wanting to donate some of his Bitcoin somewhere.

Not thinking about money, I suggested he give whatever organization he wants to give it to the actual bitcoin. Not cash.

That way, when the bitcoin appreciates, they'll have more money than his original donation.

I really did think he would give the money to another organization. Not Copiosis. That didn't bother me one bit because there's plenty of money coming to all the things I'm doing.

That conversation I described above happened on October 8.

Then, on October 13, Joe asked me for my Bitcoin wallet address.

I gave it to him, not thinking at all that he was sending me bitcoin. This is where the story gets real interesting...

Joe then goes away for nine days.

On October 24, he sends me a message. He's sent me .3 BTC and wants me to check that I got it. A third of one bitcoin doesn't sound like much. Unless you know about Bitcoins...

Since I don't think much about money, I hadn't checked my BTC wallet for a long time. In fact, I hadn't looked at my wallet for over 18 months!

If you know about bitcoin wallets, they have to synch all the blockchain transactions over time. So it's best, if you want to be up on things, to keep your wallet up to date.

But I don't think about money, so I hadn't keep it up to date. 😳

So when I open my wallet, it's not up to date. It's syncing transactions from July 2016! It's going to take two or three days for my wallet to synch.

I'm not worried about this. I don't really care. I know the bitcoin process is pretty bulletproof. And besides, my Inner Being's got this.

Joe's not too sure though. He's worried the money went to someone else's account. He's worried it got lost.

Joe doesn't know what I know.

Joe doesn't know worrying is using one's thoughts to create a reality one doesn't want.

But that's ok in this case. My thought momentum dominates our relationship. He can't create the reality he's worrying about with enough momentum to effect my reality because my positive focus won't allow that.

I try to soothe Joe, but he's not having it. He want's me to reach out to my wallet's support desk. I tell him there's no need.

The next couple days I don't hear from him. I'm not worried. I'm not even enthusiastic about the money. I'm not thinking about it at all.

That's When Things Get Really Interesting

Here's the cool thing. When he sent the .3 BTC, in US Dollars at the time, he sent about $2,700. That's a nice one-time gift.

My wallet was synching for two or three days after he sent it.

While it was synching, I couldn't do anything with it. I couldn't check the transactions. I couldn't transfer BTC or cash in or out.

That's ok though because I wasn't thinking at all bout this money. 😂

I was thinking about someone else's money, interesting enough.

I was thinking about the wallet I found in the street on my route. I wanted that person to not worry about her money and other valuables.

I was busy hunting her down so I could return her wallet. I wrote a couple posts about this recently. You can read them here and here.

In the meantime, BTC took a nice surprising uptick. By the time my wallet finished synching, that $2700 had more than doubled!

I received $5500!

Joe was astonished.

But I wasn't.

This is how things work when I'm aligned with my Inner Being though a positive focus. I connect with my Inner Being's stream of insight and awareness. Through that I get impulses, urges to act...or not act. Acting on those impulses creates in nonphysical reality connections that, when allowed, turn into real-life experiences.

Experiences matching my desires.

• • •

My Broader Perspective also knows all probable futures. Isn't it interesting that Joe sent his bitcoin to me just before this uptick happened? Just in time for the uptick to double his gift? Don't you think it's also interesting that my wallet had to synch, and that process happened over the exact time period the uptick happened?

So long as I don't resist this natural flow, this connection I enjoy through positive focus, I real-ize all kinds of wonderful life experiences. Life experiences consistent with what I want.

That's because when I identify something I want, my Inner Being grabs hold of that and makes it reality for it in nonphysical, which then must become my reality.

And so long as I don't resist that flow, it will become my reality. It must. That's how the Universe works. Everything is possible when I connect with my Inner Being.

Money Is Not Freedom Unless You Believe It Is

I know humans equate money to freedom. I used to too.

Money does make possible a lot.

The problem with that association is, if you don't have money (or as much as you'd like) and you believe money is associated with freedom, then you're stuck kinda.

Because if you believe money is associated with freedom and you don't have it then it's easy to feel not free.

I know feeling not free is contrary to what my broader perspective knows about me. In nonphysical, money is not associated with freedom. Freedom is our natural state. That’s also true in physical reality.

But conflating freedom and money in our beliefs creates realities consistent with that.

If you don't have money, you don't feel free.

And if you don't feel free, you create a reality consistent with the beliefs generating that feeling.

And since your beliefs associate freedom with money, you can't allow money into your life experience because you don't feel free.

If you associate money with freedom, like I used to in the past, first you must conjure the feeling of freedom. Which is what I've been doing for a while.

But really, the easiest way is not thinking about money at all. Which is what I've been doing recently.

Here's why I do that instead of trying to conjure the feeling of freedom in order to get money.

My Inner Being Already Knows I Want It

I know my Inner Being knows everything I'm wanting, where it is and how to lead me to it. This includes all kinds of money. Since it already knows the what, where and how, I don't have to think about it. I only have to be Positively Focused.

When I'm Positively Focused, I'm best aligned with my Inner Being's perspective. And so I receive impulses upon which I act. When I act upon them, I draw into my reality, from an infinite variety of probable and alternative realities, experiences consistent with what I want.

I write about this all the time in this blog.

The thing is, I'm more tuned into my Inner Being's signals on some subjects than I am tuned in on other subjects. I know subjects I'm not so in tuned into my Inner Being with are improving.

Money is one of those latter subjects.

But, I know I'm getting better at soothing old beliefs and tuning into my Inner Being's signals about money because of life experiences just like the one above. Money is flowing more easily these days.

I also know I'm getting better because of how I feel, how my days are going, the kind of people I meet and what happens in life. I'm getting more positive things happening having nothing to do with money.

And since the Universe is holistic, I know as these other things improve, so are my beliefs about money. Therefore I don't need to think about money.

In fact, the less I think about it, the less likely I’m likely to energize my old ideas about money.

I know what I'm doing is working. I don't think very much about money because I know money is flowing to me. This story was a nice indication of that. It feels great receiving it. And that great feeling I feel is what I focus on.

Not money.

I know doing that is bringing more of everything I'm wanting in to my life experience. Including a great big pile of money!

So why do I need to think about it, when I can just be happy and get it?

#positive thinking #positive #positive thoughts #positivethinking #positiveenergy #Positivevibes #positivevibrations #appreciation #joy #happiness #how to be happy #spiritual life #spirituality #spiritualawakening #spiritualgangster #spiritual journey #spiritual awareness #enlightenment #life lessons #lawofattraction #Mindfulness #positivemindset #positivemood #PositiveMind #meaningoflife #lightworker

[wtfzodiacsigns]

Meaningful New Year’s Resolutions for the Signs

Aries: Plan for your dreams

Aries is a fiery sign who is all about doing, doing, doing, but not so much about planning. They get bursts of quick energy with genius ideas but often never act upon them. This year, Aries, use one of those strokes of genius and see it to completion. Whether this is investing in a new property, creating a business plan, writing a manuscript or planning the trip around the world that you always wanted to take, make plans to take small, incremental steps to achieve this. Whatever big project that you always dreamed of doing, but always seemed so out of reach–now is the time to believe in yourself and see this project of yours come to life.

Taurus: Try minimalism

Taurus, with Christmas and New Years having recently passed, I’m sure you have a plethora of new gifts and clothes in your over-bustling wardrobe, while your poor desk fights for space with your new impulse buys. A good resolution for you is to give up your lesser-used objects and see how much more relaxing life can be without the clutter of them. Minimalism is a lifestyle all about appreciation and value. While not only being more aesthetically pleasing, it can teach you a lot about self-control, the purpose of items and freedom from material fixation. Plus, think of how shocked your friends will be when you stroll up to your next weekend getaway with only hand luggage!

Gemini: Pick up new books

In this busy, digital age, life can become a bit repetitive. We work or study, then we come home and procrastinate on the internet. Reading is a brilliant and great gateway between the two. It’s relaxing, fun and educational. Often in life, after we grow up and leave school, we forget to continue our learning and education. And often when we are in school, we forget about the fun and magic that can be found in learning. Being such a mentally curious sign, there’s no doubt you read a lot anyway, but setting a goal to read styles of writing you haven’t previously explored will open up your mind to new ideas, perspectives and worlds thus adding a bit of well-needed stimulation in an otherwise monotonous week.

Cancer: Practise Gratitude

Cancer is a sign that truly appreciates the good things in life, it’s one of the many great qualities about them. But when things turn bad, Cancer puts on a pity-infused blindfold to the wonderful things and people they do have in their life. To combat those rainy mood days, try practising gratitude often to get you into the groove of positivity. Set a reminder on your phone, keep a gratitude journal or have someone remind you and begin to write down or say aloud three things you are grateful for that day. Gratitude is the opposite of lacking and so you cannot feel both at the same time. Gratitude can instantly turn a bad day into one of the best you’ve ever had, life is all about perspective and Cancer can benefit greatly from learning this!  

Leo: Spend more time in nature

In such a busy working age, it’s hard to find the time or energy to do anything other than commute to and from one industrial building to the next. Did you know that three-quarters of children in the UK spend less time outdoors than prison inmates? I’m sure the same can be said about adults. There are so many benefits of engaging with nature. As a bold Leo with so much energy and a real passion for adventure, the perfect resolution for you is to go on more hikes and spend more time doing outdoor activities such as sports or even gardening. Studies have reported how nature is good for our happiness and healthiness. It’ll give you, the ever-venturesome Leo, a sense of adventure as you discover new things, a sense of productivity and good use of your energy.

Virgo: Be kinder to yourself

Dear Virgo, you work yourself so tirelessly sometimes only to come home to more self-criticism. While being a perfectionist has led to many great things in your life, it’s important to remember that it’s okay not to be productive 100% of the time, and it’s also okay to take time to yourself. While your sign is naturally the provider/server of others, you need to learn to use that trait on yourself and serve your own needs. Learn that they are important and that kindness begins at home. You will only learn to be less critical of the world by starting with yourself. While you may not be the pampering type, some self-love and lazy days are exactly what you need in order to ultimately be your most productive and loving.

Libra: Strengthen your existing relationships

Libra, you are a social butterfly, you charm any room and your genuine politeness makes you a lovely gem in everyone’s minds. Unfortunately, you have a way of getting carried away with this gift and end up making more superficial relationships than deep ones. This becomes a problem when you face tough times and realise you are alone in your problems. Your resolution is to reach out to some old or existing friends that life has led you to lose contact with. They’ll appreciate it, and this way, you can rekindle some amazing friendships and thus create stronger, more valuable bonds with people. Taking time out to appreciate and spend time with the people in your life who have been there for a long time will make you, and them, much happier.

Scorpio: Solo-travel

Scorpio, the deep, mysterious and soul-seeking sign. Well, guess what? You’re not going to learn the mysteries of the world by sitting on the couch in your hometown. While extended solo-travelling may not be the most viable options in everyone’s lives, it’s good to experience a trip by yourself no matter how short it may be. It’ll not only give you more insight into the world but also into yourself. This time in a foreign place will allow you to truly be yourself as you shed any reputations you have back home and appreciate the benefits of your own company. You can also forge many new connections, experience once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and learn to trust in yourself, your independence and see the value in transient relationships.

Sagittarius: Start a blog or channel

You have so much to say, and not enough hours in the day to say it, so why not start a blog? Because you are such a busy and often convoluted talker, you might find your comments being brushed off or going unheard by others. However, by sharing your voice on a louder platform you may see the importance of your ideas. You have the gift of the gab so why not make use of it? Blogging, or vlogging, is a great hobby (or career) for an innovative and intelligent Sagittarius. It channels all your creative energy into an organised and thus readable (or watchable) segment that others can understand. Blogging always requires research as well, which makes you learn more every day. It hones many different skills that you excel in such as writing, research, creativity, planning and execution and also connects you with like-minded others.

Capricorn: Get off social media

Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, the planet of rules and restrictions. Yet, you have such a hard time with your unconscious addictions. More than any of the other signs, Capricorn relies on old-fashioned status for respect. That self-respect gets lowered when faced with everyone else’s highlight reels being broadcasted on Instagram and Facebook. Suddenly, you start buying things just for the likes or going places just for the photo-opportunity. Learning to live authentically, in spite of anyone else’s happiness or progress, is vital for you. By comparing yourself to others, you will always be striving for a false sense of happiness. Perhaps a good length of time disconnected from social media would be a great way to boost your real happiness.

Aquarius: Volunteer

Aquarius, the world lover. You are a unique paradox. As much as you love the idea of world peace, ending world hunger and bringing people together–actually having to react to people’s emotions is entirely uncomfortable and awkward for you. But, no true saviour lies behind a screen. People often donate some pocket change to charity at the end of the year and say they did their part, but this will not suffice you. By actively going out into the world and giving people your most important resources– your time and empathy, you will positively be helping the world, and the world will be helping you. This will bring you closer to overcoming your uncomfortable emotions, affecting people’s lives for the better and getting outside your own head with real life issues.

Pisces: Talk to strangers

Now, hear me out Pisces. I know you’re probably already pulling back just from reading the title. Talking to strangers–why would I ever do such a thing? You ask. Because there are so many benefits from this that outweigh the risks. Pisces is naturally a loving and social sign but you are often held back by your own insecurities. Try talking to that person on the bus, or introduce yourself to the cute person sitting alone in a cafe–you never know what will happen and you will be grateful you did it no matter the outcome. By building this essential skill, you will feel so much happier and more free from your internal restrictions. You will also be surprised at how receptive people are to being approached and gain so many new and wonderful connections this year.

Source: myastrologyblog

#aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #zodiac sign #fun facts #horoscope #zodiac #astrology #facts #fact #weird #weird sign #zodiac signs #aries facts #taurus facts #gemini facts #cancer facts #leo facts #virgo facts #libra facts #scorpio facts

[dcublogger]

Ellen | Religious Education

Semester 1, 2019

Hi my name is Ellen and welcome to my crib blog.

September 2019; An Introduction of Sorts

Hi! My name is Ellen and I am a second year student studying the Bachelor of Religious Education and English - don’t worry, it’s not as daunting as it sounds!

Welcome to my blog! 

A blog?

Yes, a blog. This is where I am going to provide you with an insight into life at DCU - or at least try! I’m really excited about this. I plan on letting you know about all the aspects of DCU from my experiences and filling you in on college life and opportunities. I will fill you in on the things that I engage with throughout the year, whether it be within my course or outside of it. I intend on doing as much as I can this year alongside my coursework, assignments and placement. 

Why DCU?

I choose to study here at DCU because I felt like it offered me the perfect course for the job I wanted to pursue in the future. I attended an Open Day on the St. Patrick’s Campus and I was sold. The people were beyond lovely and helpful and I am delighted to say that this did not change when I came into college. Everybody I have had an opportunity to meet and talk to have been wonderful. DCU offers a number of opportunities in this respect. On top of this, DCU provides students with a chance to engage with the things that we love - any hobbies or interests that we have! It is excellent because there is something for everyone and if not - you can make it yourself, no matter how far out your ideas might be!

Plans for the year?

Well, I am glad you asked. This year I plan to do a couple of things! Firstly, I want to focus on my course and the work I have to do throughout the year. I really want to get the most out of college in this respect as I am surrounded by really professionals who can aid me on the journey to becoming the best teacher I can be. Secondly, I want to get really involved in all the work that the Student Ambassadors do. I want to avail of all the opportunities that the job presents to me. Thirdly, I want to get involved in all aspects of college life to the best of my ability. I really want to experience a lot this year!

And last, but definitely not least, I want to start learning how to drive! This might sound ridiculous but I have been putting it off for far too long and this year is the year I will do it!!

I really hope that everyone enjoys my blog this year. It would be incredible if anyone gets something from them - be it a piece of information that they need or just a smile! :)

I really recommend that you read the blogs written by other students! They are a great way for you to learn about life as a student and to see what potential opportunities might be coming your way in the future!

P.S: Come to our Open Days happening on November 15th and 16th!

September 2019; Orientation and Freshers Week

Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel blog! In today’s video blog we are going to talk about all the things that come with starting college!

Orientation 2019

I worked Orientation this year for the first time and I really enjoyed it! Orientation is the first week of the year for any new students attending DCU. Orientation helps you to get ready for the year to come - it is a great way to start to find your feet, get settled and find some new friends.

A lot of people worked hard to organise orientation this year, a number of students (including myself!) spent three days of the week prior to Orientation putting packs together for the new students and organising everyone's jobs for the week to come. Orientation was the first time I got to work with a number of the Student Ambassadors and it was a great way to get to know them alongside all of the other students who were there too! It was a great opportunity to meet new people and make friends!

Orientation consists of lots of talks and activities (like the scavenger hunt hehe!). The new students, over the course of the week, get to meet academic, administrative and student support staff as well as receive guided tours of the campuses in order to help them feel at ease. College can be a big change so we want to make it as smooth as possible for everyone. We want to make sure that all if our students feel at home on the DCU campuses. On top of the talks and tours, students are given mini tutorials on how to look at and read their timetable. They also get to pick up their student cards and Leap Card which are what everyone worries about the most! 

It was really nice to meet all the new students and help them out in anyway that I could. I gave a number or tours on DCU's St.Patrick's Campus and it was a great way to get to meet and talk to the new students. The tours are also a great way to help students settle - as well as giving them a tour and the history of the college, it gives ambassadors a chance to give some 'Top-Tips' for college life in general! It also gives people an opportunity to ask us anything they want or need an answer to, especially in that first week!

Freshers Week 2019

Freshers Week happens at the start of the year! It is a chance for everyone to meet new people and make new friends! It is really great because there are a number of different activities and events put on for students during the day and in the evenings. It is not compulsory to attend all, or any, of the events but it is an excellent way to mingle with other students.

All sorts of events are put on during Freshers Week. This year we had things such as a petting-zoo, movie nights and ‘Paint and Play’. The Student Union (SU) arranges a number of events/activities for Freshers Week. There is the DCU Fest, Bingo Loco and the Freshers Fun Day. On top of that, they also organise events for people who have moved into campus accommodation so they can get to know one another. They also organise things such as County Colours Night and International Night. Throughout the year they also do what is called Wellness Wednesday which is put in place to promote well-being. 

During the week the SU hosted a table-quiz in aid of Barretstown Children’s Charity - who DCU have partnered with to help support their work with children and their families living with serious illnesses. I went to this and it was absolutely brilliant! Everyone had an incredible night - unfortunately ‘Yup The Ivy’ were not the winning team - but next year we will come back with a vengeance!! There were brilliant prizes to be won throughout the evening in a big raffle, such as tickets to some of the events that the SU were putting on. The evening was made better knowing we had all contributed to a wonderful cause. This is only one of the events that the SU organise for Freshers! It is important that we help each other to feel at home at DCU and this is just one way to do it. There is plenty to do and something for everyone. It also makes the ease back into college a lot easier after the summer!

So, to sum up, Orientation and Freshers Week are great fun and really helpful - it is a great way to make new friends and begin to experience life in college alongside a lovely group of people!

Until the next time, Ellen :)

P.S: Come to our Open Days happening on November 15th and 16th 2019!

September 18th - 20th 2019; Higher Options

Hello again everyone, I hope you are all doing well! 

In today's blog I’m going to tell you a little bit about Higher Options!

Higher Options is an event held in the RDS at the start of every school year. It is open to everyone and is particularly popular for fifth and sixth years in secondary schools. Higher Options is a truly excellent idea and if you get the chance to go, do! It is brilliant because it allows students to survey colleges and apprenticeships that are on offer all over the country. Everything is all in one everything which makes life easier for everyone! It offers students the ability to talk to people who are already in or associated with any particular institution, where they can gain invaluable insights on the place in question.

At the DCU stand you can find prospectus' and mini booklets that summarise each course offered by DCU. There is also a section for general inquiries regarding the university. We divide our stand into the different faculties so that it is easy for people to go directly to the stand they are looking for or be able to find their way around to see what options are available to them! I was at the education stand, representing post-primary teaching alongside the students in the Bachelor of Education (primary school) and Education in Training. It was a fabulous three days! I got to speak to a number of students from other faculties and learn all about their courses and why they chose them and furthermore, I also got to speak to loads of students in school who were searching for the course of their dreams hehe! It was a really great experience because I got to talk to people who were interested in DCU about DCU and student life. I loved helping people learn more about college in general, DCU and the courses that they were interested in. I got to speak to a number of students who were interested in my course which was really cool. It is really nice to hear why people want to do what they want to do! I was thrilled to be there! I really hope I can go again next year!

I remember when I went to Higher Options in sixth year and it was just as fun from that point of view - it is an entertaining day out of the classroom, where you get to focus on yourself and your future. It is okay to not know too - nobody really knows anyway! The free goodies and tasty food from the food trucks is an added bonus too hehe!

In short, I am trying to say that Higher Options is a priceless occasion that everyone should have the opportunity to attend! If you get to go, make the most of it. 

That is the end of today's blog, I am excited to see what is to come in the upcoming ones!

Thank you for listening to my TED Talk.

P.S: Come to our Open Days happening on November 15th and 16th 2019!

November 15th 2019 +; Open Days and Assignment Season!

Hi! I hope you are all doing well!

We have officially had our November Open Days! They were brilliant!

I hope you enjoyed your day out on our campuses! I hope that you found it to be informative and helpful in some way! I went to a DCU Open Day on St. Patricks’ Campus when I was in sixth year and it certainly helped me to make my decision to attend DCU. The people were so helpful, friendly and very encouraging. I was met with such a warm, happy environment and I hope that you had a similar experience when you were here!

I met some wonderful people at the Open Day, doing tours and answering questions. It was very busy throughout the day but it was so lovely to meet you all and see how excited people are to get out of school and into college. You will love it here (if you choose to come here!) – you will have the time of your life, meeting new people, making new friends and picking up new hobbies or interests!

Now that we are a little bit into the semester Assignment Season is upon us! Don’t worry – it is not as bad as it sounds – but it is a reality of college life that we all have to face. We have settled back into college after a wonderfully long summer holiday and now it is time to get to work. The assignments have started to pop up and demand attention from us. It is okay though; we are all working hard and it will all work out at the end!

Wish me luck!

We will chat soon, thanks again for such a wonderful Open Day Experience!

Take care of yourself,

Ellen

December 2019: I.T.P

Hi everyone! Welcome back, I hope you are keeping well and minding yourself!

Today’s blog is going to be centered around I.T.P (Intermediate Teaching Practice) which is considered to be a major part of Semester One in second year of the Bachelor of Religious Education and your chosen elective (mine is English!). This is 'major' - for want of a better phrase - because it is the first time you will get up on front of a group of secondary school students to teach them! 

How does I.T.P work?

I.T.P is similar to FTP (Foundational Teaching Practice) which takes place in first year, only this time it is not with primary school students and you have a little bit longer to teach!

Essentially, you get a class period and teach it with other people from your elective. In first year you are divided into groups of around four to six people but in second year, you might only be teaching with one or two other people. You teach one R.E class and one class of your elective. The students come into the college for the day - we collect them and drop them back afterwards. I.T.P lasts a little bit longer than F.T.P because more classes need to be taught due to smaller groups. 

So, was it any good?

I.T.P was brilliant this year! Naturally, everyone was a little but nervous just before heading into the classroom for the first time but once you get in there and start, you remember how fun it can be in the classroom. By the time your few minutes are up, you are back in the swing of things and are already looking forward to your second lesson - and after that: placement!

I.T.P is such a wonderful experience because it allows you the opportunity to ease into teaching again (considering the last time was January!). On top of that, it settles any sort of nerves you may have had before placement - you don't get thrown into the deep end. That is why I.T.P is such an important and beneficial experience. It teaches you little bits and bobs that are nice to know before heading out into the classroom on placement.

I.T.P also provides you with an opportunity to receive a lot of feedback that helps you develop your teaching so that you can become the best teacher that you can possibly be - it is beyond insightful and helpful. Especially in such a supportive environment, everyone really binds during exercises like I.T.P .

I.T.P was one of the selling-points that encouraged me to pick this course. The idea of 'micro-teaching' is a little bit daunting at first but when you consider how beneficial it can be, you just have to go for it!

That is what I have been caught up with the past couple of weeks in between lectures and the end of assignment season! It was a brilliant experience and I'm delighted that I had the opportunity to do it! 

Now, I am off to take a big 'ol nap to get myself ready for next week! Placement is right around the corner and I'm really looking forward to it!  

Until the next time,

Mind yourself,

Ellen

P.S: If you have any questions about anything DCU related, send an email to [email protected]

December 16th 2019 - January 31st 2020; Placement

Hey, welcome back! I hope you have been keeping well.

Today's blog is going to be about placement - which brought us to the end of a wonderful first semester and into the start of what we hope to be a just as good - if not better - second semester!

The Bachelor of Religious Education consists of four placements over the course of the four years of the degree.

In first year, you complete two weeks of teaching in a primary school - this is a brilliant experience and one that I will cherish forever! It was an excellent way to begin your teaching career (it is especially great because you are not the same age as your students - if you have just left school you would be about the same age as the sixth years!) and it really allows you to see the progression of learning from sixth class to first year. It gives you the opportunity to see what kind of things that sixth class learn prior to coming into secondary school which gives you some sort of basis for working with first years! 

In second year you will complete four weeks of teaching practice - which is the same as the third year placement! And in fourth year, you do twelve weeks of teaching practice. 

Prior to starting teaching in January every year, you complete a 'School Visit Day' and a 'Context and Engagement Week'. 

'School Visit Day' is an excellent way of meeting the Principal and Vice-Principal of the school you will be completing placement in, as well as other members of staff, the secretaries and your cooperating teachers! You will learn all about the school - its ethos and policies. 

'Context and Engagement Week' is absolutely brilliant! This is a non-teaching week that presents you with an opportunity to meet the class groups you will be working with as well as an opportunity to get to know the staff! You can take part in extracurricular activities that go on in the school as well as getting to know your way around before classes start!

Placement itself is an absolutely incredible experience - it is easily one of the major highlights of the course! I think the way placement is carried out is a major benefit of the course - it is not a half day in college and half teaching; it is all teaching - you get to get into the role of the teacher and not have to go back-and-forth between the two mindsets of teacher and student. 

I love placement - it is an extremely enjoyable aspect of the course: practice is the best way to learn how to be a teacher. It gives you the chance to put all the theory you have been learning to practice. On top of that, it is the thing you will be doing after you finish college so it is a great way to begin practicing to become the best teacher you possibly can be! 

I cannot express how enjoyable and beneficial placement is! You will have to see for yourself! I have just completed my second year placement and I am very much looking forward to next year!

If you have any questions about placement, come to some Open Days or email [email protected]! 

Until the next time,

Ellen 

[nativeamerican]

Tribal College Week

Every winter, during the second week of February, tribal college presidents, student representatives, and a myriad of others passionate about tribal education trek out to Washington, DC to visit Capitol Hill for National Tribal College Week. This week, also referred to as the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Winter Meeting, is an intense hive of advocacy, House and Senate meetings, and networking. Everyone who attends these meetings serves the larger purpose of moving tribal colleges forward, which in turn helps move Native communities forward.

One of the more compelling aspects of the winter meeting is the unique role that students play. Each of the 37 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) participating can choose to send a student or students to DC; these students then accompany their college’s representatives to various advocacy workshops, committee hearings, and congressional delegation meetings. It is at those meetings where the key mission that students serve becomes apparent. This is where they share their tribal college journey with others. By sharing their own narratives, students are empowered and provide a moving testament to the diverse and often misunderstood impacts of TCUs.

OWNING MY STORY

In 2014, as the outgoing Diné College student body president, I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to AIHEC’s winter meeting. I admit I wasn’t entirely sure what “Capitol Hill advocacy” entailed; words like advocating, legislating, and policymaking can sometimes take on nebulous definitions. After some prodding for a clearer description of my role, I was informed that I would be there to share my story about how tribal colleges affected me.

I spent the next few weeks mulling over this, namely, how would my story benefit anyone? It’s a winding and weird narrative. It lacks the glamour of Western success and perfect scores; it is void of the genius of wunderkind and the cheery comfort of normal. Dormant worries that I held prior to stepping foot on a tribal college campus began to creep in. Worries that I wouldn’t talk right, I wouldn’t look right, I wouldn’t act right. I just wouldn’t be right.

Up until that point, my knowledge of AIHEC revolved primarily around the annual spring student conference, which is a large gathering for tribal college students to bond and compete in various events. I attempted to compensate for my unfamiliarity with AIHEC by poring over the organization’s website and various related links mined from Google searches, hoping to gain more insight as to what I would be getting involved in. One of the most informative resources is AIHEC’s preliminary pre-meeting webinar. From logistics such as hotel accommodations and meeting times to detailing advocacy strategies and underscoring the key goals of the meetings, the webinar helped us prepare for Capitol Hill.

This preparation certainly helped me navigate the alphabet soup that is DC vernacular: from DOI, BIA, BIE to AICF, AIMS, TCUP, the acronyms flow freely. It also helped me grasp the general idea of what higher education funding looks like in the federal context. Yet, one thing that reading material couldn’t prepare me for was the sheer scope of issues surrounding American Indian higher education. While AIHEC’s importance is evident at the student conference, the organization’s power and magnitude are on full display in Washington, DC. From highly scheduled itineraries packed with meetings with U.S. Senators and House Representatives to the breadth of institutional knowledge TCU presidents shared during our visits, National Tribal College Week was like a deep-sea dive for someone like me who was used to splashing around in puddles.

FINDING MY PLACE

In a place like Capitol Hill where there is an array of issues at any given moment, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle. Tribal colleges in particular face an assortment of unique issues that are often overlooked or else misunderstood—whether because of a complete disregard for community definitions of success or a clumsy attempt to measure us with the wrong metric. By having students there in person, sharing their own stories, whole new dimensions can be added to people’s perceptions of what a tribal college is and what success truly means to some of us.

Yet how would or could my story benefit anyone when it feels so undone and unpolished? How does one package all of the confusion, anger, frustration, elation, and joy I’ve experienced into a neatly composed soundbite? You simply must speak of what you know.

In my case, what I knew was how at Diné College someone told me for the first time that I was more than smart, that I was a “good egg.” How I had a bed and a room and I didn’t have to worry about where I was going to sleep for the next few months. How I could just focus on the tasks at hand and how I was free to pursue my curiosities and figure out what I wanted. How I could ask questions and people didn’t chide me for not knowing what the GRE was or how to fill out an application for federal student aid. Nobody tried to touch my hair, tell me about their Cherokee princess grandmother, or refer to me as Pocahontas. Nobody gasped when I talked about my childhood like it was some absurd reality or pushed me to leave the reservation for “opportunity.” Instead, people encouraged me to create opportunity on the reservation. I went to school with students who understood, with faculty who understood.

SOME ADVICE FOR THE JOURNEY

If I am able to provide advice for tribal college students on the AIHEC winter meeting, I would say first that if you are offered this opportunity, take it. In fact, with most opportunities in life, take them. Don’t be swayed by the “imposter syndrome”: don’t fall into the self-defeating trap of questioning whether you look or sound the part, wondering what you have to offer, or worrying about measuring up to others. Remember, your story is important. You matter.

The second tip is to take advantage of this opportunity to network with other students and organizations in Washington. On the first day of Tribal College Week, there is an open AIHEC Student Congress (ASC) meeting held at night to which all students are invited. I realize the lure of sightseeing around the nation’s capital or going out to eat is tempting, but you will have other chances to do that during the week. Attending the ASC meeting is the main opportunity to voice your opinions to your peers, to brainstorm, to network, to hear what is going on at other TCUs, to talk to your student congress and find out how you as a student are represented. And find out why you are there! What are the priorities that AIHEC is looking to promote? You want to be prepared and informed. Check the AIHEC website periodically before your trip for more information and any changes to the itinerary.

Another piece of advice: dress professionally. Wear clothes that make you sit up just a little bit straighter, whether that means traditional wear or an ironed button-down with your grandmother’s necklace. During my first trip to Washington, I didn’t have a clue what to wear, as my closet was primarily host to faded hoodies and beat-up sneakers. I couldn’t afford to invest in a suit at the time, but I was able to find a blazer at a thrift store. I proudly wore jewelry from my family and paired this with my wrapped moccasins that I had made in class. I recall the seam breaking on my moccasins and borrowing dental floss from a student at the hotel so I could repair them at the last minute.

I admit I had never worn a suit before and at first I felt nervous, like I was committing fraud by wearing such a costume. I had this ridiculous worry that someone would see me in my suit and just know that I didn’t belong. Granted, I did find out the hard way that you’re supposed to cut those white strings on the blazer vents and that you should never substitute tape for a lint roller. But the point of this is to be proud and comfortable in what you are wearing, whether it’s a thrift store blazer or a woven biil dress. Your clothes merely serve to border the picture that is you and your story. Your words and how you conduct yourself are really what matter.

Also, keep in mind the amount of security you will have to go through at the numerous government buildings. All your metalware, from belts to large jewelry, will have to come off each time you need to enter a building, and there will usually be a line of people waiting to get through the metal detectors behind you.

As for the weather, it rains a lot and sporadically so it might be worth packing a small umbrella. It is also winter in DC during Tribal College Week and therefore pretty cold, so bring a heavy jacket or wrap. In 2014, I thought I was being clever by just bringing a rain coat, thus saving me the hassle of dragging along my winter coat. However, the “snowpocalypse” storm quickly refuted this. We landed on a Sunday to clear skies and by Monday it was gray, with snow quickly piling up and intermittent freezing rain. We still had to walk to our meetings, albeit much more quickly. Don’t risk it: bring a coat—and gloves.

During your visits be on time! If this means setting multiple alarms and asking the hotel to provide you with a wakeup call, do it. Time in DC is monochromatic; things are very exact and focused. There is little to no concept of a grace period or a “maybe it starts around 2 p.m.” If you have 15 minutes to meet your senator and discuss budget cuts, you have 15 minutes to meet your senator and discuss budget cuts. Your congressional delegate serves a lot of people—it’s their job! So there are many other meetings they need to attend to and constituents they need to serve. Aside from time being so focused and precise, it is also scarce. Keep this in mind when sharing your story. For some states like Montana and North Dakota, where there are a larger number of tribal colleges, your meetings will be tightly packed and choreographed. There are multiple schools, students, and representatives in each meeting, so to avoid wasting time in front of the congressional delegates, a separate state meeting is usually held the first day of the Capitol Hill visit. During such visits, speakers are assigned orders and representatives are chosen. Montana, for example, has more TCUs than any state with seven; this means that it is especially imperative as a student representative to be mindful of your time limit. If you are at a 15-minute meeting with 9 minutes devoted to sharing student stories, and there are three students selected to speak, this means that you will have 3 minutes to share your story, unless you are told otherwise. Please be mindful of the other students whose stories are equally important and allow them time to share also.

Remember why you are there. You will be talking to congressional delegates who might not align with you politically on all issues. This was perhaps one of the harder things for me to learn— to hold my tongue. Having to refrain from making comments about policies to your senator while she or he is listening to you might feel akin to starving inside a bakery. But one of the many things I have learned is that there is a time and place for everything. There is also a way to make your passions known without hijacking the purpose of these meetings. You probably wouldn’t go to a vegan restaurant to endorse hamburgers. So it might not be best to attend meetings centered on education to push for the environment.

With that said, you can still take advantage of the opportunity by talking to others. I felt so strongly about certain policies and wanted more information that I asked each of the representatives along with their staff interns if I could have their business cards. This networking led to an internship the following summer in DC, where I was able to research the very policies that bothered me. That was the appropriate place and platform to pursue my interests, as I was representing myself and not a larger organization.

At this point in my college career, I have been fortunate to attend three AIHEC Capitol Hill meetings representing two different tribal colleges and the AIHEC Student Congress. Since my initial meeting, my college track has changed dramatically: I have gone on to pursue internships in the capital, spending two intense summers interning through Quality Education for Minorities where I contributed to research on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) inclusion at TCUs, and landed an externship at the Indian Health Service headquarters in nearby Rockville, Maryland, which focused on civic media and LGBT issues. I have been invited to the White House a few times, including the 2015 White House Tribal Nations Conference, a 2016 Office of Science and Technology Policy meeting, and I was recently nominated to attend the White House Summit on the United State of Women. I also participated in an upcoming national PBS series focused on underrepresentation in the technology industry; introduced the Second Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, at the 2015 Achieving the Dream’s annual Institute on Student Success; traveled internationally for research under the National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research; and I have spoken on numerous panels. Recently, I was a summer scholar at the National Science Foundation, focusing on data curation.

I have gone from confusing the GRE with GED to applying to graduate programs. My obnoxious loud behavior that stemmed primarily from just wanting to be heard has been curbed over the years. While at times I may still be a bit obnoxious, I don’t feel the tired drain of having to perform routines just to get people to listen. I am now in a position with opportunities—and offers! I am able to create opportunities for my peers and share what I’ve learned with my networks. I have set my sights on earning a Ph.D., and while still far off from accomplishing that goal, I feel confident that I can. Hopefully one day I can come back and teach at the very tribal colleges that helped me so much.

If I had to identify the pivotal experiences in my college education that have helped guide me to my current course, aside from having an amazing support network of TCU friends and internship mentors, I would single out attending Tribal College Week. This was more than just an intensive experience in policy and leadership. It also served a larger purpose: it helped me connect and create networks with other students while exposing me to a wealth of Indian Country leaders to look up to—from the various TCU presidents to distinguished faculty who have worked within their communities. It was where I realized that it is possible for people like me to one day create and affect change. Washington, DC and the world as a whole sometimes feel light years away, but they are actually just there waiting for people to seize opportunity. You just have to speak up.

- Robin Máxkii 

Originally published in Tribal College Journal

https://tribalcollegejournal.org/storytelling-capitol-hill-recollections-recommendations-tribal-college-week/

#tribal college

[moodblog71]

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