Lacey Vernon

In a city, like the pic above, they represent rebellion, and efficiency. The messiness of humanity. We like to imagine we're oh so logical and neat so we design our cities to be logical and neat an then real humans literally trample on that idea. The ego required to think you can design something perfect that checks every box. Life is all about compromise and patching stuff when some new problem arises. Though people have certainly tried! Ohio state univeristy let students carve their desire paths, and then paved them over. It looks pretty artsy.

Some people will try to discourage desire paths, but this is almost always going to fail.

Eventually, people just have to accept them. Humans are too dang stubborn.

Certain desire paths are just adorable. A 0.5 second time saver. You just can't design for maximum efficiency, humans will always find shortcuts!

Though on occasion a desire path can actually be the least efficient way...especially if you're superstitious.

In a wilder area, such as below, they show us the curiosity of humans. A desire path somewhere natural often tells you there's something interesting just ahead. (Though remember some ecosystems are fragile and will suffer if trampled! Stick to paths in these sorts of areas)

And how about desire stairs? I always think these look so cool. We get see humans determination to climb, to traverse every kind of terrain.

And for something really crazy...a desire path used for centuries will create a 'holloway'

In a city, like the pic above, they represent rebellion, and efficiency. The messiness of humanity. We like to imagine we're oh so logical and neat so we design our cities to be logical and neat an then real humans literally trample on that idea. The ego required to think you can design something perfect that checks every box. Life is all about compromise and patching stuff when some new problem arises. Though people have certainly tried! Ohio state univeristy let students carve their desire paths, and then paved them over. It looks pretty artsy.

Some people will try to discourage desire paths, but this is almost always going to fail.

Eventually, people just have to accept them. Humans are too dang stubborn.

Certain desire paths are just adorable. A 0.5 second time saver. You just can't design for maximum efficiency, humans will always find shortcuts!

Though on occasion a desire path can actually be the least efficient way...especially if you're superstitious.

In a wilder area, such as below, they show us the curiosity of humans. A desire path somewhere natural often tells you there's something interesting just ahead. (Though remember some ecosystems are fragile and will suffer if trampled! Stick to paths in these sorts of areas)

And how about desire stairs? I always think these look so cool. We get see humans determination to climb, to traverse every kind of terrain.

And for something really crazy...a desire path used for centuries will create a 'holloway'

“Success is not final, Failure is not fatal:⁠ It is the courage to continue that counts."⁠ -Winston S Churchill⁠ ⁠

Maybe you failed an audition. Or didn’t get a passing grade on the first try at the ACT/SAT. It sucks, and it’s okay to be upset about it when it happens.⁠

But remember that this crappy feeling isn’t forever. Just because it didn’t go how you wanted it to this time doesn’t mean next time won’t be amazing. Sure, maybe you need to study harder, or practice more before trying again - that’s part of the growth process. But you’ll get there if you are willing to work for it. And we are cheering you on along the way!⁠

Hi there👋

You might not have heard of us, but we are a small team of people working hard to help young people with medical challenges deal with the emotional and mental toll of what they are going through.

We made a free mental health game called Shadow’s Edge to help build emotional resilience, support your mental health, and relief anxiety during times of stress. It’s 100% free with no ads, subscription costs, or purchases for additional content. We made the same exact game available to EVERYONE, because we all need some help sometimes.

We understand the courage it takes to face the emotional side of what you are going through. We wanted to make it a little bit easier, by making the process fun and creative. So we hope you try out the game and join in on our in-game community of people supporting each other ♥

The game is available through Google Play and the Apple App store, but if you are reading this post on mobile, you can also click this link to go directly to the download page: https://bit.ly/shadowsedgegame

“My Shadow / My Friend” - A Blog by Lacey

The month of September was rough for me on a personal level. Just those series of days where it feels like nothing ever goes right… from the big things like grief from a very recent loss, down to the smallest little thing like spilling a tiny amount of coffee on a Post It note. You know what I mean – we’ve all had those.

Those periods of bad days bring out the parts of me that I’d like to ignore.

The parts of me that struggle with hopelessness and anger over past events. I’ve struggled with depression since I was 7 years old, so I am familiar with these feelings all to well. Even during the good times, I can feel them lurking out of view, always connected to me somehow. Just like a shadow.

Admittedly, I tend to shove things WAY DOWN, deep within myself instead of dealing with them. I’m trying to change (that slowly but surely), and after the past few weeks I definetely needed to do some deep digging. So, I did what I always do when I want to try to understand my more complex feelings: listen to music.

I recently came across a new song that I wanted to share.

It’s called “My Shadow” by Smashed Into Pieces. And I have had this on constant replay for almost a month now.

Of course, my first thought about this song is: “Hey, that reminds me of the Shadow’s Edge game!” Then I listened to the lyrics… and they really hit home.

The chorus goes like:

I’ve been down, I’ve been up, in and out There’s no way I can let go Take you out in the light, in my heart I embrace my own shadow Step by step with my friend, you’re a part from within I can’t let you go You’re my shadow

What really stuck with me is how the lyrics made me really think about my current and past challenges.

About how the anger, sadness, and confusion can sometimes latch on and follow you around like… well… a shadow! How that shadow might not ever detach itself from you, and how it will always be there, even if you can’t see it.

At first, that is a REALLY depressing thought.

Kinda like “Oh, so my depression will never go away?” or “Seriously? So will the trauma of the past always affect me like this? This pain will always be there?” Well, yes and no. I’ve discovered that there isn’t a simple answer to that. I can’t change what happened in the past. I can’t go back and make it easier for Little Lacey and hide away how sad the world can be.

But what I CAN do is accept that side of me, make it my friend, and use it to my advantage.

I found myself acknowledging how those experiences helped me grow and how they made me more resilient for things down the road. How those struggles helped me learn how to help those around me… because in the end, many of us will go through similar trials in our lifetime.

When we walk through times of weakness We carry on (carry on) You will walk with me forever So let’s get along

In the end, I am finding myself thankful to have my “shadow” hanging around. She’s the only one that was with me every moment of what I’ve experienced, and she has become an ally through the hard days.

How are you embracing your shadow? What does it look like to you? And how can we make our shadows – our past experiences and pain – our ally in this lifetime?

IT’S FUCKING MONDAY.

WORDS OF WISDOM OF THE FUCKING DAY:

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