"Death Rider Billy"

we need to talk about the recent article published by the times and why it's a big deal.

"why are young women using walking sticks?"

the article talks about the "sudden rise" in young people using canes and other mobility aids, how the author finds it strange, and how the conditions people are using these aids for are "actually nothing more than anxiety and unpleasant feelings that everyone experiences". particularly, it lists symptoms of a few different conditions (or just outright mentions the disorder by name), some of these being POTS, EDS, fibromyalgia, and ME.

the author claims young people are being driven into a state of "neuroticism and fear" by social media, and that if they'd only go outside more and "put the props down" they'd be fine and see that everyone feels these things and they can handle them on their own.

let me be very clear, this rhetoric does, has, and will continue to kill people.

this article will contribute to the genocide against disabled people. downplaying and ignoring symptoms WILL further disable or kill you.

from ages eight or nine forward, I was dislocating my joints multiple times a day. it wasn't causing pain for me yet, and it was seen as nothing more than flexibility. once I turned eleven the perpetual damage did begin to catch up to me and my joint instability was causing me severe pain, which was still okay to my parents and my doctors, because I was just flexible and maybe growing. it rapidly got more and more intolerable, and eventually I started asking for mobility aids, or to go to the doctor, or just to do anything at all to help myself. I was told again that I didnt need it, and that it was normal pain. it clearly wasn't, and if nobody else was going to look into i was. so I did, and after heavily researching eventually brought up that I thought I might have ehlers danlos syndrome. that didnt go well, and suddenly my pain now mattered even less, because i was only pretending for attention, and the internet was making me think disability was cool.

“Waking up at 3am to catch the sunrise at the famous Bali Gates of Heaven only to be disappointed as I was received by gloomy skies. Nonetheless I was soaking in the peaceful presence of the sacred ground, when suddenly Mt. Agung started smoking from afar. Standing in the middle of the gates is the local guardian of the Lempuyang Temple. Thankful to be at the right place at the right time to capture this once in [a] life time, incredible moment on camera.”

eating disorder recovery is just getting angry over and over again because food is treated like some horrible necessary evil instead of one of the great joys of life. eat some nuts because they taste good and you are a living thing that thrives on pleasure and calories. you need both.

Pileated Woodpeckers in Vancouver!