So it goes

“If a person can’t get out of bed, something is making them exhausted. If a student isn’t writing papers, there’s some aspect of the assignment that they can’t do without help. If an employee misses deadlines constantly, something is making organization and deadline-meeting difficult. Even if a person is actively choosing to self-sabotage, there’s a reason for it — some fear they’re working through, some need not being met, a lack of self-esteem being expressed. People do not choose to fail or disappoint. No one wants to feel incapable, apathetic, or ineffective. If you look at a person’s action (or inaction) and see only laziness, you are missing key details. There is always an explanation. There are always barriers. Just because you can’t see them, or don’t view them as legitimate, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Look harder. Maybe you weren’t always able to look at human behavior this way. That’s okay. Now you are. Give it a try.”

me: *scares myself to the point where I can’t even function because of the anxiety I have created over a situation*

Quick reminder, especially for you younger undergrads: Discipline is a skill, not a character trait. And just like any skill, it can be practiced and improved upon incrementally. Try not to get discouraged if you have a day, or multiple days, where you are less disciplined than you would like or need to be. Don’t quit. Don’t spend the next week binging Netflix because you think it’s a hopeless endeavour. Just get up the next day and try again. Each day you try is more practice, and each day you practice, you’ll get a little bit better, and that continual improvement will pay dividends in the long run.

I’m gonna let you in on a secret.

You know what, assholes? I run this blog for y'all every day. I see things you cannot begin to imagine. I have to read people’s Robespierre smut and their questions about how various monsters would fuck them. I am so jaded that, when someone submits a tag mentioning some random vaguely liquid substance without context, I just assume it’s being used as lube. Nutella? Lube. Crazy glue? Lube. Divine fucking ichor? Fucking lube! I do this for you, y'all. I shield you from this shit. I stand athwart the tides of horror, hold my hands up, and yell “STOP” in the hopes that it will keep the waters from reaching you.