Since My Writing Post Was Received Pretty Well, I Though I’d Make Other, To Give Some Insight On The

these paintings feel VERY lesbian to me💅

by HCY Bunny

So there’s this huge dudebro in my class, who, yesterday, sat next to me. And I’m sitting there sweating because like… I’m wearing my shirt with the lesbian flag on it, and he’s the most popular jock in school, and always has this look on his face that say ‘I can and will kill you’. He looks me up and down, stares at me for a minute and then goes, “So. Girls in skirts and long socks, am I right?”

To which I nodded solemnly, both out of agreement, surprise and also a healthy amount of awkward fear. He nodded and went, “You get it.”

I said, “Yep.” He fistbumped me, and on went our lives.

How to put “wrote fan-fiction” on your résumé:

Leveraged an inventory of established fictional character and setting elements to generate a disruptive custom-curated narrative entertainment asset.

Things I wish I already knew going to University

Here are some reminders to myself. Hopefully, they are also helpful to some freshmen or anyone who’s curious:

1. University is not school.

You can’t shilly-shally around, take your sweet time and expect to just roll with it. Trust me, you will be in for a rude awakening. Find a goddamn studying method early in and stick with it. Flashcards and quizlets, whatever works for you. The deadlines and exams will draw closer faster than you think they will.

2. Your profs are not decoration.

Ask. Questions. Seriously. And go to office hours if you have any particular problem to resolve. Make use of that time. A lot of them will actually be thankful anyone is showing up. Against popular belief, professors indeed do make a mental note of a lot of their students. Don’t be one of those 20 people standing infront of their office for the first time a week before the exam.

3. Get as much work as possible done until noon.

It’s 12 and you have already studied for three and a half hours? Amazing. Look, I know, I am not a morning person either. But at least try it out. Get your sleep schedule in check. It will feel so much better than to procrastinate until evening and then you HAVE to do it anyway.

4. If you can explain it, you have understood it.

Done studying? Bet you’re not. Try explaining yourself the material loudly like teaching it to a clueless person. Or get yourself a study buddy and explain your subjects to each other. It’s even better if you don’t have the same majors. If you are able to explain the topic and have the other person understand it, you actually know the topic. If not, you now know where the shoe pinches. It’s also great practice!

5. You may feel a bit lonely at first.

Okay, I don’t want to scare anyone. I did find a lot of friends. Especially at first, everyone is your friend. Because everyone is scared of missing the boat and feeling left out. There will be so many people around you. Still – or maybe that’s the reason – you will probably feel a bit lonely at first. I want to tell you that this is normal. It’s because everyone is still a stranger to you and maybe you’ve just moved out! Maybe you are far away from home for the very first time. I’ve struggled with this. That’s fine! Everything will be fine. You will feel at home eventually.

I hope everyone is doing well. Take care! :)

American Homeschool Gothic

A/N: The last time I was homeschooled was fourth grade, so someone hit me if this is all garbage. It gets weirder the further you read. Requested by @amerraka.

Everyone worries that you will have trouble socializing in the “real world”. This is true. You can only talk to your parents.

You got a new textbook today, recommended by a education magazine. You look at the copywrite page. It was published in 1876.

You’ve been doing the same math problem for what seems like days. You look up from your work for the first time and realize that it is now winter. You started in the spring.

You put in earbuds to listen to music while you work. You notice that the longer you listen, the better the sound quality becomes. It is now lunchtime. You try to take them out. You can’t. They have grown into your brain.

You have done school in your pajamas every day. You no longer know how to wear real clothes.

The word “homeschool” has become toxic. You speak the word in public, and everyone turns to stare. The government has programmed them that education without their interference is a crime. You will now hang for treason.

You take a history test. You come upon a question asking for an example of Renaissance art. The answer is communism. The answer to every question is communism.

You are told there is a girl/boy that is exactly like you at a public school. They are friends with all of your friends. You long to meet this parallel universe doppelganger. 

You are driving past a public school at the end of the school day. Students leave in droves with dull eyes, slack jaws, and withering minds. You wonder if you too will become a zombie when you go to college.

You have been reading for hours and haven’t moved an inch. You don’t remember when it got so dark or who turned on the overhead light.

Your family left one day to go get groceries. There is a sticky note from your mother on the fridge telling you your lessons. It’s the same yellow note every day, but with different lessons. You haven’t seen your family since 2009, and the sticky note is starting to fray and crumble.

You have begun to suspect that your homeschool group is not actually a homeschool group, but a cult. Whenever you bring it up, people’s eyes glaze over with a blank stare. “What homeschool group? There’s no homeschool group here.”

Your textbooks are centuries old. You can hear them scream as you crack their spines opening them every day.

College stands on the horizon. Public school kids say it’s a brilliant light, a beacon of hope. You see it for what it truly is. Bloody arms stretching, broken nails clawing at any student it can, devouring and demanding souls.

this ones for the girls

the water warriors fighting for access to clean water for all

the teenagers imprisoned for fighting back against oppressive regimes 

those fighting for access to education for all

for the future of the planet 

for gender equality 

for safety and protection from gun violence

for governmental representation and engagement for youths 

for the rights of immigrants 

for syria and the rights of refugees 

for literacy and the representation of WOC in books

for trans and queer rights 

for protection of girls against forced marriage and child slavery

i hope that one day we live in a world where children are allowed to just be children, where they dont have to fight tooth and nail for their rights and their futures, but i could not be prouder of this generation 

(from top to bottom: Autumn Peltier, Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny, Ahed Tamimi, Malala, Greta Thunberg, Melati and Isabel Wijsen, Artemisa Xakriabá, Ridhima Pandey, Jamie Margolin, Rowan Blanchard, Jaclyn Corin and Emma Gonzalez, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui, Sophie Cruz, Bana al-Abed, Marley Dias, Jazz Jennings, Sonita Alizadeh, Payal Jangid)

Eradicate “Smart Kid” Norms

The goal of this post is to raise awareness to damaging behaviour towards a group otherwise ignored due to their academic prowess and supposedly problem-free lives, but not to hurt or offend other people. Fine if you agree that school isn’t important, but this is purely an education-based opinion.

PSA: SMART KIDS …

 - hate being compared to 

if you are the top of your class, every test is a problem. people will turn around when they get a result and try to see yours in order to evaluate themselves instead of take the grade they’ve been awarded. for example, instead of accepting you got a B, you see that the “smart kid” got a C and instantly feel better about yourself, or vice versa if they got more than you. this kind of behaviour is not only damaging to who you’re comparing to (since people often express their negative views on their grades towards you, commonly getting the “of course you would get an A” or “I can’t believe I got more than you!”) but also to yourself - of course in school you’re taught to compare yourself, but your biggest competitor is yourself and you should always be aiming to outdo your best attempt rather than what the “swot” gets.

- need to be supported regardless of their grades

a particularly sad experience I personally have is collecting my exam results last year. I went in with all my friends, they got their envelopes, jumped up and down in joy at what they got … it came to my turn, I saw what I got, I turned around to tell them - and they told me not to say a thing. they didn’t want to know! to an extent, I get this (see previous point about comparative self-worth) but when you achieve something, you wanted to be recognised and appreciated, especially by your friends. telling your smart friend not to share what they got on a paper is purely bad friendship - everyone’s successes, no matter how small or frequent, deserve to be celebrated.

- aren’t always bragging

this is a problem I’m facing even now. they rarely talk about their achievements or grades in fear of being disliked or viewed as competition. if somebody gets an A on a mock, they feel like they can barely say a thing because they don’t want to come off as lacking modesty or over-confident. how do you say things about how well you’re doing without offending, belitting or annoying other people?

- shouldn’t carry your group projects

all I’m going to say on this one is that if you let the “smart kid” do all the work in school, you’re wasting your own time. if you have to be in lesson for fifty minutes anyway, you might as well learn, rather than waste another fifty minutes elsewhere revising for your exam!

- don’t always revise

some people revise. others don’t. be nice to your local “smart kid” - don’t assume they revised all day and night for that A, that they put in 100% effort all the time to validate yourself, or get mad when you hear them say they didn’t revise or are screwed for a test. People frequently don’t revise for tests since they have more important exams coming up for but it’s not their fault if they still get a decent grade. some people are more suited towards a particular subject and that’s okay, because you are too!

- have just as many worries

smart kids have worries too. they still fear about university applications, tests, job interviews, boyfriends, all the jazz that everyone else does. competency in a subject doesn’t ensure you a place. the worrying fact that exists is that there will always be someone smarter, someone more experienced, someone generally better than you, regardless of whether you are smart or not, therefore you shouldn’t get frustrated at people who are worried when you think they shouldn’t be.

- aren’t always well-behaved

they don’t all wear glasses. they don’t not have social lives. they don’t all care about school. just like everyone else, intelligence means squat if you’re not having fun. whilst you should always respect the school system, don’t assume that being smart means not making jokes or goofing off, or that doing those things will impact your intellectual performance in any way.

- have bad days

yes, I know I knew the answer yesterday. yes, I know I can do better than that. yes, smart kids have bad days! if an overachiever gets a lower mark than usual, be nice. it may make you feel good to have done better than the “nerd” but imagine how they feel about it if they are academically-conscious. if they’re nice to you, be nice to them. that’s all there is to it.

- want to help you

of course “smart kids” aren’t out to get you, they will obviously give you assistance if you ask for it. nonetheless copying someone’s work or getting them to do the work for you is wrong. it’s unfair to ask the “smart kid” for last night’s homework if you didn’t do it, or coast off their work because they sit a desk too close to you. keep your integrity when doing work.

- aren’t only good at academic subjects

2018 should be the year we reject the concept that only STEM subjects count, that anyone who majors in English or Art or Drama isn’t as intelligent as someone who does physics. recognise a degree for a degree, talent for talent, ability for ability. anybody can be a “smart kid”, it doesn’t mean you have to score perfect As or have some quantifiable measure. redefine smart to mean knowledgeable and suddenly everyone you know, even you, is a smart kid.

- can only have an academic job

leading on from this, don’t think that someone’s ability defines their future career. someone could be a killer biologist but want to go into dancing. let them! it’s their choice and nobody should be defining it as wasted potential.

- don’t feel intellectually superior

chances are, they don’t care about intelligence. it’s nice to have but you know what’s nicer? talking about Netflix, or football, or other interests with their friends we’re not numbers and grades, we’re people with passions, and intellect is a small part of a huge thing called personality that everyone has. especially at school age, an A* student isn’t thinking they can’t be friends with a D student. they’re thinking about what they’re having for dinner tonight, and when they can next hang out with their best friend.

- should never be belitted by teacher

finally, this is a general point that has affected a million students regardless of ability. teachers deserve respect but they can also lose it if they begin to treat the class unlike equals. smart kids may stereotypically be seen as teacher’s pets but in reality, it is often the other way round. they can’t count the times a teacher has deliberately skipped them when searching for an answer, even if they’re the only one with a hand up, or the amount of times they’ve been asked not to contribute, on both hands. everyone is entitled to an education so fair enough if a teacher wants to push less talkative students, but if it gets to the point where a smart kid has been stopped from talking for lessons on end, put on the spot with a particularly mean question or been downright bullied by the person who is supposed to be fair, speak up. the effects of being dampened can be long-lasting and hurtful, resulting in smart kids who no longer participate or enjoy school.

Again, this post wasn’t meant to offend anyone, or put myself up on a pedestal as a “smart kid”. Of course, there are positives to doing well at school, like good job opportunities and academic success, but I see lots of awareness raised for students who don’t do so good and feel like there should be balanced representation out here. The general moral from all of this is that everyone in education should be treated with respect and allowed to develop surrounded by support from peers and teachers regardless of their ability. This includes underachievers, overachievers, the coasters, the tryhards - any name you have for a type of student - 2018 is the year we’re eradicating education-based shaming.

☁️ 10 tips on studying when your motivation’s nowhere to be found

i got an ask about this yesterday and decided to turn my reply into a post because having trouble focusing when you’re super unmotivated is really common, so i thought more people might find this helpful :) buckle up kiddos, this is gonna be a long one!

1. i want you to remember that this is a universal experience.

every student out there struggles like hell sometimes, and that’s completely normal; you’re not a machine and that means you can’t possibly churn out work 24/7 without burning out. so try not to beat yourself up too much okay, you’re doing great!

2. take a deep breath and identify the reason you’re feeling like this

are you burnt out because of stress or overworking yourself? are you overwhelmed by the amount of tasks on your plate? is there a particular assignment or exam scaring you to the point where you don’t want to start studying? these are all normal reasons for lack of motivation and knowing the why will help you figure out the how - you gotta know the problem to solve it.

3. i know you feel like you’re months behind, but start small

small achievements accumulate. repeat this sentence to yourself daily, write it on a sticky note and keep it on the wall above your desk (it’s exactly what i did). break up daunting tasks into smaller ones; got a billion formulae to know by heart? memorise 3 every day (you’ll have memorised more than 20 by the end of the week!). got a long chapter to study? divide it into smaller chunks and just focus on 1-3 pages a day. slow and steady, you can do it

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