A Corner of My Room
*****************************
Find inspiration daily.
A place for me to delve into creativity and let my imagination flourish for those times when I create.
Interests include: Writing, Reading, Drawing, Sketching, Painting, and being in the Great Outdoors.
Enjoy your journey here, and may peace, love, and kindness always find their way to you.
‘Girl Meets World’ star Rowan Blanchard speaks out about the importance of intersectional feminism
A Tumblr user asked the 13-year-old Girl Meets World star about her thoughts on “white feminism” and the notion that the movement may exclude certain marginalized groups, like women of color and non-cis/queer women. Her full response shows she understands intersectional feminism better than most adults.
Remember yourself at 13. Were you even close to this level of aware? This girl impresses me deeply.
(Source: mic.com, via reys--speeder)
And now a serious “I am a college instructor” post.
Friends out there with mental illnesses, emotional disorders, anxiety issues, or any condition that might interfere with your school work:
I see a lot of posts about people being too stressed to go to class, complete homework, or take tests. Some colleges are super bad about letting you know your rights and about what resources are in place to help you out with your schoolwork. Even colleges with good resources can forget to actually let their students know about those resources! Your college will have a disability resource center or some similarly named organization that can get you a letter of accommodation. This letter and its conditions must be honored by your professors, no matter how much of a jerk they are. Please don’t be afraid to go get this letter- it will help protect you. If your chronic migraines cause you to miss classes, it will excuse your absences. If your test anxiety causes you to have problems with an online exam or in a room full of people, you’ll get extra time or a private place to take it. Are you self-diagnosed? They can still help. I’ve sent students there who have never had a professional evaluation and they’ve come back with letters granting them extra time on tests and on assignments. Many students don’t know what accommodations can be made. I’m currently working with a student who’s got ADHD and didn’t know that she was eligible for a lot of accommodations. Extra time on exams, take-home assignments, excused absences due to a reaction to a medication… the list goes on. Nobody during orientation told her that the DRC was for students who had psychological issues- it’s not just for physical disabilities.
Not all teachers, sadly, are understanding about mental issues. I’ve known instructors who are downright mean about test anxiety. A letter of accommodation from your school will make toxic professors respect the terms of your needs. Please don’t be afraid to go to them. Don’t be afraid to give these letters to your professors- they are legally obligated to honor them (thanks, ADA!) and if they do not, your school’s administration will come down on them like a ton of bricks if you complain. I know that it might sound scary, but please don’t be afraid to be your own advocate! There are people out there who will help you if you need it.
Bringing this back because summer’s winding down. Also remember that this letter will not tell your instructor your diagnosis. It will only tell us the specific accommodations you need! It is entirely up to you if you want to disclose your specific diagnosis to your instructor. (In the case of my student, she told me. I never asked or said that it was required or anything gross and invasive like that.) Some students will tell their instructor because of the nature of the accommodations, but this is never, ever, ever mandatory. If an instructor tells you that it is mandatory to disclose your diagnosis to receive accommodations, they are wrong. (Your DRC or whatever it’s called may require it to give you the letter, but that’s an entirely different scenario. They’re there to help you get what you need to succeed.) Once you give them that letter, they are obligated to help you out, so if you think you need accommodations, you should really consider going to your DRC and getting a letter! Your college orientation might totally gloss over this (I know mine certainly did), but it can really help you!
(Also, if you’re self-diagnosed, your DRC will probably require you to get an evaluation and some paperwork. This can usually be done through your school for free. If you’re in college and you have any mental health issues, there will often be completely free resources to get you the help you might want. I strongly encourage you to look into them- make the system work for you, not against you. Stay safe and look after yourself!)
As someone who’s had experience with accommodation letters from multiple angles, I can tell you this is really important.
Procedures do vary from place to place, but if you think it would help you it’s important to check it out. Basically you go talk to the disabilities center on campus, they tell you what documentation you need, you get it, and you work out accommodations. You then give the letter requesting accommodations to your instructor at the beginning of the semester, and if they aren’t cool with it you refer them to the disabilities center.
If you think an accommodation is something you need, ASK. It can’t hurt– you may not always need it but it’s there if you do. And instructors are generally pretty cool about it– it’s part of their job, and they get accommodation letters every semester– this isn’t anything new to them.
Kind of unrelated but school is about to start again for some folks and this could come in handy…
-Kim
(via reys--speeder)
Once you get this, post 5 things you like about yourself, publicly, then send this to ten of your favorite followers (non-negotiable) (positivity is cool).
I thought this would be easy too, but it’s not. Me liking certain types of music or glittens or running isn’t exactly about me. It’s not about me at all. I got tagged by queen—frostine 56 days ago and I’m finally ready to do the post. Thank you for the tag– I needed to do something like this. <3
1. I remember a lot- and very vividly. This has caused me some pain because it’s difficult to forget, but it has also brought me joy or led to it. (And sometimes it makes me laugh because I would probably shock people by what I can remember.)
2. That I struggled with eating disorders and disordered eating, depression, anxiety, and various health issues. While these were very painful periods of my life, they helped me grow and see how loved I am. And eventually, I began to finally love myself and become more confident than I ever have been.
3. My love of art of all forms. It has had an impact on the way I view the world and I like it.
(Aside: This is difficult.)
4. My curiosity and love of learning. I literally learn something new every day.
5. I like my hair. I always get told I have nice hair, and I like it too now. Even when I don’t straighten it. It’s healthy and soft and I can’t wait for it to grow longer so I can try more hairstyles.
I tag: seaturner, mishion-possible, lyriquediscorde, queen—frostine, smashontop, thewildinside, fuckyeahmatryoshka, lovinmybug, samspot8r8s, crystaalvisions, cira94, pussynommertz, feministbuffy, anitajanneen
(via reys--speeder)
“Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay. In the modern state there are very few sites where this is possible. The only others that come readily to my mind require belief in an omnipotent creator as a condition for membership. It would seem the most obvious thing in the world to say that the reason why the market is not an efficient solution to libraries is because the market has no use for a library. But it seems we need, right now, to keep re-stating the obvious. There aren’t many institutions left that fit so precisely Keynes’ definition of things that no one else but the state is willing to take on. Nor can the experience of library life be recreated online. It’s not just a matter of free books. A library is a different kind of social reality (of the three dimensional kind), which by its very existence teaches a system of values beyond the fiscal.”
(Source: thebronzemedal, via reys--speeder)
The Eagle Bull- Oxendine family is being sued by their child’s school for defamation, because they asked the school to permanently change their offensive and culturally insensitive Thanksgiving curriculum and to honor a two-year scholarship taken from their daughter after they voiced their concern over Native appropriation there.
They’re raising funds to defray mounting legal expenses. Please share this link and donate what you can. If they lose, we all lose. This case has the potential to set dangerous precedent where Natives are effectively gagged from speaking out against appropriation and the abuse of our culture and sacred ways by mainstream society. This is legal conquest. We can’t allow them to play Indian and hide behind judicial robes to do it. Thank you.
Contribute here: http://www.gofundme.com/8f3z30boooooooooooooooooooooooost
They’re not even at a fifteenth of their goal right now (7/9/14) friends. If you can’t donate, at least consider reblogging this to help raise awareness!
If people can donate 70k for fucking potato salad they we be able to hit this goal.
(via reys--speeder)
Focusing on the Middle of Your Novel
Many writers worry about developing the middle of their novel or they simply lose motivation when they start thinking about what to write about. Even if you know the beginning and end of your novel, it can be difficult to connect the two and build an exciting plot…
(Source: fictionwritingtips, via fixyourwritinghabits)
“Eyes. Those damn eyes fucked me forever.”
(Source: larmoyante, via dailymurf-blog)