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I purposely went out and bought glittery body dust in her honor. I’m going to welcome in 2017 lit up like a firework. Ain’t none of y'all going to ever be able to hug me ever again without getting covered in glitter. It’s on. We’re doing this. And on May 4th we’re going to make the world shine.

Also, since most girls avoid physical contact with men they’re not related to, please do not hug them, but rather shoo the offender away if you can, or at least escort the girl to a safe place. You can still offer words of encouragement and support. Furthermore, understand that the victim may not be very welcoming towards you because she’ll obviously be shaken, and won’t know where you are coming from. If that’s the case, please still give her something to cover herself (hijab is very important, think of it as someone ripping your shirt off) and stand some distance away until you are sure she’s in safe hands.

I took this question really seriously, so I asked my parents to help me answer this. Here is what my dad said: 

Here is what my mom said: 

Here is what I say: 

First of all, I am sorry for referring to you as “kid” to my folks. It was just a shorthand I used for them to understand in a simple way that I think you are someone younger than they are. They are professors/teachers, and are often tasked with communicating effectively with young people. (also, sorry if my dad misgendered you? I guess kid = boy in his head)

Next: Yes. To what my parents said. When I feel helpless I often turn to them because they are so blisteringly smart and compassionate, and if I seem strong and like I have all the answers, it’s because I come from an incredibly supportive family. I wanted to share that with you. 

Furthermore, staying informed in the time of “alternative facts” is an act of resistance. Knowing is half the battle. There’s an app called Countable that will keep you informed of the latest developments in your local government and issues you care about. 

Because our representatives are firmly planted in the last century, online activism doesn’t cut through the noise to them—but phone calls do. Here is a website called 5calls.org that helps you make those calls with a script, and is especially effective if you (like me) have social anxiety. 

Here is a great “Stop Trump” reading list that @batlordart compiled. 

Don’t focus on a mountainous goal like “stopping Trump” and instead expend your energy on things that will make you happier and healthier.

Thriving is our first act of resistance.

five minute strategy. this is something that has really worked out for me: when i can’t bring myself to start, i force myself to do something just for five minutes. then once i’m in, i go on a roll of 20-minute periods of studying, rewarding myself every time i am successful in accomplishing that 20-minute period. the rewards i’ve given myself range from tea/coffee, small 5 minute breaks, to hanging out with my friends or buying things i’ve always wanted to buy.

be curious. don’t get me wrong: not every subject is equally appealing and sometimes i do struggle with boredom. but since i enjoy quite a lot the process of studying and learning more about medicine, during the first month of the semester i force ahem, give myself every day about 5-8h to be curious on the subjects i’m studying. so if, say, i’m studying cardiology and i want to learn more about valvular problems, i’ll read from textbooks and borrowed notes even if it’s not something our professors have talked/might be talking soon about, because it’s something i want to know more about today.

go study somewhere that is relaxing to you: yes, even if it’s an hour-long drive from where you live. Always better to lose an hour or two than an entire day or week.

make it fun: …and now as last resort (or maybe not) try to blend in at least one of your hobbies into your way of studying. if you’re into drawing, include sketches or doodles in your study notes to help you remember facts, lists, etc. coming up with crazy games, small challenges or milestones can also help. be inventive! think of a way to make it fun so you can actually bring yourself to start.

the trick is to reduce the total amount of time you spend procrastinating, or thinking about doing it; doesn’t matter how you start, so long as you do start. Trust me, you’ll be better off starting at 20% of productivity (then slowly walk your way up) than not starting at all. Your future self will thank you for that.

i went to the local shakespeare festival (and by local, i mean on the other end of the state) and during the day i convinced my mother to go hiking with me because we were in the center of like four national parks

so we end up hiking this trail that sort of jack-knifes down the mountain and I end up climbing partway up a tree on the edge of the trail to see further out, so my smartass mother asks “legolas, what do your elf eyes see?”

and i, in my smarmy glory, go “they’re taking the hobbits to isengard!”

which is funny enough as is, but then the entire mountainside of hikers hidden in the trees goes “THEY’RE TAKING THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD-GARD-GARD-GARD-GARD! THE HOBBITS, THE HOBBITS, THE HOBBITS, THE HOBBITS TO ISENGARD, TO ISENGARD!”

I have felt this feeling – especially after a failed relationship that I thought might have a chance. 

I felt this way in the months before I met Sweetheart when I was dating around and no one quite fit and I was sure that maybe I wasn’t meant to be with someone long term and maybe work was supposed to be my everything.

Then I figured out how to be comfortable with myself. 

I learned how to live with just myself in the house. I was happy with just me. I had friends and enjoyed the quiet moments when I had to answer to (and talk to) no one. 

I enjoyed my own company. 

And then Sweetheart walked in. 

I think one of the things that makes a relationship (and in turn a marriage) successful is that both people walk in really able to love themselves. Spend the time you have alone working on you – weirdly, once you start to do that, the right person might walk in. 

I am not a religious person. I don’t believe in fate and destiny and purpose…. I believe in facts and science and things that can be measured and recorded. But somehow, I’ve found that the world brings you the right person when you’re ready for them. 

I have no other way of justifying how someone as amazing as Sweetheart walked into my life. But I know that if he had walked in sooner, I wouldn’t have been ready for him. The universe gave me time to learn how to love myself first so that I could love him completely when he was ready – it also gave him time to learn how to love himself. (We both needed the time.) 

Some people don’t want a long-term significant other. You don’t have to want one. It’s completely normal if you don’t. But if you do – trust that somehow, you’re going to find them. They’ll come to you. They’ll come to you when you’re ready. And it won’t make sense – but you’ll realize later, that if they had walked in any sooner – it would have been wrong, it wouldn’t have worked. 

Instead, they’ll walk in when you need them most and when you deserve them most and when you are the most ready for them. 

Donald Trump is keeping Obama’s executive order protecting LGBTQ people in the workplace from discrimination. But there are a few catches

Despite extending the executive order, Trump had pledged to sign the First Amendment Defense Act, which would allow businesses, landlords, and healthcare providers to refuse service to LGBTQ people based on religious beliefs. 

Meet Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the black woman who invented that rock and roll sound 

You know what’s sad, before I even read this article I was ready to refute this because I grew up believing Chuck Berry created Rock and roll. It’s said how so many knew of this great woman yet none spoke on her greatness.

I also discovered Big Mama Thornton, who’s another hugely influential early inventor of rock and roll — I’m pretty sure Hound Dog was originally popularized by her, before Elvis stole it.

Love Sister Rosetta Tharpe! #BlackGirlMagic

A few of her performances:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9bX5mzdihs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR2gR6SZC2M

Also I heard she was bisexual…