I Rise, My Dear

Thanks for reading,

This is the 10th Anniversary Edition of "It's Not A Race." Originally released in August, this version is months late because the prospect of adding pages to what is easily my most read works was particularly daunting.

Help black trans man eat

hello, hope you're well.

Immediate goal is $100 for food

PAYPAL ANYTHING HELPS

PLEASE HELP WITH FOOD WHILE I MOVE and any extra to start saving for next months rent. it’s been a week of living on water and black tea.

PAYPAL@LEAVEMYNAMEOUTOFIT

Thank you to those that helped me secure housing - it means the world to me and I’m so happy to be housed😭😭❤️❤️

IMMEDIATE GOAL: $100 for food

Currently at $0 with 550 notes - pls give or match or share. No progress in DAYS

It’s hard for me to save the small donations cause I have to eat daily so I would love to get a bunch of groceries so I can cook at home❤️😩

Short term goal: $250 for next month’s rent

I’d like to pay next month asap and that’s another $250

Please say food or rent so I can know which to put aside for rent but please help me eat first

PAYPAL @LEAVEMYNAMEOUTOFIT

Please match, share and give what you can💖

The currency has collapsed, and the entire commercial exchange is on the verge of collapse. The paper value of every $100 is only $60, and the purchasing power of every $60 does not exceed $10. Simply put, $60 is not enough to buy one kilogram of sugar or one kilogram of flour! This means that work is worthless and money has no meaning. If you need $100 a day to secure a single meal of lentil falafel, fava beans, and a cup of tea... everyone is hungry. Those with good morals, principles, and values ​​are the most miserable and hungry. We are going through the most difficult times. We are only talking about one thing, so what about the cost of medicine, treatment, transportation, and many other things? Some people think this is exaggerated, but unfortunately, this is the reality. In order for us to survive and be patient, even if only for a short period, we are in dire need of your help and donations. With your donation, I may be able to provide a meal or medicine.

Nothing can describe the suffering we are experiencing here in Gaza. Conditions are deteriorating daily, and families are living between hunger and fear. People don't know when aid will arrive, and if it does, will it be enough? We live in anticipation, and every moment there is concern for our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

I am elderly and diabetic, and I need regular insulin injections to maintain my health, but with the current crisis, obtaining them has become extremely difficult. In addition, I suffer from severe pain in my heart area, which makes my life even more difficult and frightening. The doctor told me I need an MRI to determine the cause, but I cannot afford the test.

Every day I am in a constant state of fear, not knowing if I will have what I need to survive. The situation here in Gaza is making even our most basic medical needs unattainable.

I need your help now more than ever. Any contribution, no matter how small, can give me a chance to continue my life and take care of my health during this difficult time.

Together we can make a difference.

My name is Abdullah Al-Qassab, I’m 27 years old, and I am writing this message with trembling hands and an empty stomach — from Gaza.

Before the war, I had a small travel agency something I built with love, effort, and hope.I dreamed of a simple life… a dignified life.

But the war didn’t just destroy my home and business —it shattered my ability to dream.

Today, I’m not asking for dreams.I’m asking for bread. For water. For life I now live with my family in the open — no walls, no roof, just the cold ground beneath us.

We are in a catastrophic famine.

We go days without food.

We faint in the street from hunger.

Our bodies are giving up.

And still… the world remains silent.

My mother has a heart condition — she needs medicine and special food.

Now she lies in pain, her chest aching, and I have nothing to give her. My grandmother has high blood pressure — worsened by hunger and cold nights.

Her body is shrinking before my eyes.

And me😞?

I’ve collapsed more than once from weakness. From not eating.But I stand up again… because they need me.

What do you call this life?

Sleeping on the dirt… watching your family starve… praying your heart doesn’t stop before help arrives? This is not a life. This is a slow death. To anyone reading this Please… don’t turn away from me.

Help me buy food before we collapse again. Help me get medicine before my mother’s heart gives out.

Help me bring even one moment of comfort to my grandmother before it’s too late.

I’m not asking for luxury.

I’m not asking for comfort.

> I’m begging for survival.

Even the smallest act of kindness could mean the world to us. Please… save us from this hunger.

— Abdullah Al-Qassab

Gaza, Palestine

🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸GoFundMe link🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

📩 Or DM me if you prefer to help directly.. 🙏🏻

Every dollar helps. Every reblog helps. Every bit of empathy matters... 🥹💔

It took less than 5 minutes to switch to a ProtonMail account, less than 2 hours to download and/or offload every byte of data from my Google account, and less than 3 days to change every single account or service I've ever signed up for to the new address.

As of today, the only single one I have that's still tied to it is YouTube. It's the only thing I'd lose access to if I deleted my Google acount entirely.

They really, really want you to believe that it's a hassle to switch to a different email system. But it's not. Most websites and/or services allow you to change the email address associated with it.

You can and should switch to a free, encrypted Proton email account. You also get all of the below perks. For free. There is no trick. It is paid for by the people with paying plans. I am one of them. The (completely functional) free tier is there to entice you into getting a paid account with even more perks. (It worked on me.) But there's no penalty or pressure for staying with the free account.

Also get your stuff off the google drive and put it on Proton's drive. It is encrypted. Only you with your password can access it. Not even Proton can see what you put in there.

If someone says "haha Americans are so self-centered they don't know anything about other countries", you don't gotta jump in and explain that actually it's not your fault because you had a bad education. Just learn from the post and move on!

If someone says "white people hate rap because they're racist", you don't gotta jump in and start listing all the totally valid reasons you personally don't like it. You don't have to justify your music taste to strangers, just move on!

If someone says "people should be more involved in their local communities" you don't gotta jump in and start listing all the reasons that you personally can't leave your house and so actually the original post is really ableist. Just accept that the post doesn't apply to you and move on!

Source

“Image Credit: Carol Rossetti

When Brazilian graphic designer Carol Rossetti began posting colorful illustrations of women and their stories to Facebook, she had no idea how popular they would become. 

Thousands of shares throughout the world later, the appeal of Rosetti’s work is clear. Much like the street art phenomenon Stop Telling Women To Smile, Rossetti’s empowering images are the kind you want to post on every street corner, as both a reminder and affirmation of women’s bodily autonomy. 

“It has always bothered me, the world’s attempts to control women’s bodies, behavior and identities,” Rossetti told Mic via email. “It’s a kind of oppression so deeply entangled in our culture that most people don’t even see it’s there, and how cruel it can be.”

Rossetti’s illustrations touch upon an impressive range of intersectional topics, including LGBTQ identity, body image, ageism, racism, sexism and ableism. Some characters are based on the experiences of friends or her own life, while others draw inspiration from the stories many women have shared across the Internet. 

“I see those situations I portray every day,” she wrote. “I lived some of them myself.”

Despite quickly garnering thousands of enthusiastic comments and shares on Facebook, the project started as something personal — so personal, in fact, that Rossetti is still figuring out what to call it. For now, the images reside in albums simply titled “WOMEN in english!“ or ”Mujeres en español!“ which is fitting: Rossetti’s illustrations encompass a vast set of experiences that together create a powerful picture of both women’s identity and oppression.

One of the most interesting aspects of the project is the way it has struck such a global chord. Rossetti originally wrote the text of the illustrations in Portuguese, and then worked with an Australian woman to translate them to English. A group of Israeli feminists also took it upon themselves to create versions of the illustrations in Hebrew. Now, more people have reached out to Rossetti through Facebook and offered to translate her work into even more languages. Next on the docket? Spanish, Russian, German and Lithuanian.

It’s an inspiring show of global solidarity, but the message of Rossetti’s art is clear in any language. Above all, her images celebrate being true to oneself, respecting others and questioning what society tells us is acceptable or beautiful.

“I can’t change the world by myself,” Rossetti said. “But I’d love to know that my work made people review their privileges and be more open to understanding and respecting one another.””

LOOK

AT

THESE

LETS APPLAUD CAROL ROSSETTI EVERYONE

i always wonder when i see things with height categories how they work for transgender people. i am 5'8 as a trans man, which is not particularly tall for people who have gone through testosterone-driven puberty, but certainly above average for people who have gone through estrogen-driven puberty, so i wouldn't fit into a different selection of types depending on what scale you measure me on. does this system take into account transgender individuals, or does it struggle with people outside of the norm?

kibbe is universal and pretty flexible, especially since his recent book detailed a way to figure out our IDs sans height impression but through the famous line drawing around silhouettes:

soon as you get a gauge of shoulder shape, the position of the axilla in relation to the torso, the outline of your face, and how a light fabric would fall on you, you already found your ID without even needing to weed through how kibbe vertical or medium or petite you are.

example - let's do my line drawings (not 100% like david does it, i like to take more factors than just fabric drape into account: a body's more than a mannequin. we have to look at bone structure and flesh to know our ID!) for elliot page just by the upper body alone:

RESULT -> combination of opposites (natural shoulders but no kibbe width, sharp yang but compact, tiny bit of classic balance) that are mostly yang - only flamboyant gamin is possible! page dresses pure classic, but the D + N undercurrent is glaring.

which is why contrasting patterns look so great on elliot! 🤩 the face POPS. (gucci is such an FG-themed brand... guess why gaga slayed all her looks in house of gucci, and fellow FG miley is their muse) the level of detail this type can pull off. lovely yang addition of the sharp collar as a dramatic touch ⬇️

now, and this is pretty important to know, funnily enough kibbe is not big on typing by height to begin with:

Innes Keeper's Formula For Fantastic Grilled Cheeses (for nearly no extra spoons!)

Are you hungry? Do you have a hankering for grilled cheese sandwiches like, way more than a normal person maybe? Great news! I am about to give you the secret knowledge I stole, like Prometheus himself, from the Akashic Records—to bring back to Prudencia! And I’m even doing it without a ten hour long lecture about how the Akashic Records makes me think of idfk, 9/11, and how that relates to sandwiches.

I will, however, briefly say this: You gotta trust me when I say cooking grilled cheeses via this formula WILL grant you Bloodborne Insight. There is no fucking reason that making a grilled cheese this fucking delicious should be this fucking easy. I feel like I’m cheating God every time I do it because it takes (nearly) no extra spoons. And here’s where I show you why.

Scientifically Proven Perfect Extremely Easy Grilled Cheese

INGREDIENTS — SEASONINGS -butter, i usually use 2 or 3 tablespoons per sandwich -garlic cloves, I use 3 usually -a source of heat, like red pepper flakes, or szechuan peppers -a source of spice OR a source of sweetness, such as dijon mustard or honey. slather that motherfucker on a slice of your bread. -a source of herbiness, such as oregano, thyme, sage, rosemary, etc in any combination that goes well together or on its own. if someone tries to tell you that you need it fresh, they’re fucking lying, the 2$ crushed powdered sage is fucking great. experiment with other spices such as ground turmeric if you're spicy

INGREDIENTS - THE METAPHORICAL MEAT OF THE SANDWICH -two slices of bread per sandwich. this is actually a massive influence on your sandwich taste and texture as a whole. a basic white or wheat will still be fucking delicious because like I said, I stole this from the Akashic Records cookbook section and found it under “fucking perfect grilled cheeses forever”. However, if you CAN—getting bread like brioche, texas toast, brown bread, rye, or sourdough will make a sandwich already being elevated super easily to “pay 23 dollars at a fancy restaurant” level of elevation.

-one to three types of cheese per sandwich. you can get away with one type but really try for two or three if you can swing it. this is also one of those massive influences over the sandwich—listen, i know, that’s obvious, but stay with me—what matters isn’t the SPECIES of cheese, it’s the TYPE of cheese. getting the deli at your local Safeway or Walmart or whatever and asking for the cheese they gotta cut (or just in general the fancier, better-quality cheeses) is literally the only major requirement that I ask of you. If you are on SNAP/EBT programs, me too, and I promise you: Please do this. Please trust me when I say do not get the cheap Kraft-type cheese because it’s less money. I know it’s a bit extra but it’s only a bit to get like 1/4 or 1/3lb and you have no idea how much I’m actually getting a little emotional about this, because the “rice with butter and beans or top ramen every single day” life is soulsucking and sickening and it is genuinely one of the greatest sources of suffering to human beings I can imagine, I’m serious. Following this formula will genuinely change your life/mental health just a bit because you know that you have one meal that is super delicious, super filling, pretty damn cheap when it comes to how much you get, and super easy to make on days where the idea of doing more than just 15 minutes MAX is gonna make you wanna die.

super sorry for that paragraph btw i just really cannot overstate how this is a lifechanger especially when youre poor/low spoons/depressed. delicious food makes me not be as depressed. this is that.

METHOD

Take garlic cloves and crush them either with the meat of your palm or the flat of a knife or literally anything that would crush good. Take bread slices and put a source of spice or sweetness if you are using one. take a pan and put it on the stove on low-medium heat (aka a 2 out of 10).

Place the butter in the pan, as well as the garlic cloves, the source of heat, and the source of herbiness. Congratulations you have now literally done ALL the extra effort that you need to make a grilled cheese like this. That’s it. No extra dishes. No fussing with amounts or chopping or whatever. That’s it.

The butter will melt in the pan and soak up the delicious ingredients that you also put into the pan. Take each slice of bread and place it in the pan to butter it, OR just take one slice, place the cheese on it, and then put the other bread on. It’s really just a matter of extra effort.

When the bread is in the pan, turn it up to medium heat (5 out of 10) and just sorta let it sit for a bit. When you can see the cheese start to get visibly melty—or when you vibecheck it—flip it once and just do the same thing.

When you’ve grilled your cheese on both sides, take it out of the pan and put it on a plate (or just a paper towel to save on dish spoons. btw paper plates and plastic utensils are a fucking godsend if you hate dishes and/or can’t do them very easily/takes a lot of effort.)

Forged by Fire: How to Build an Unwavering Resiliency

"Calm seas never made a good sailor." Franklin D Roosevelt

It is often said that the best way to learn your way around town, is to get lost, and then find your way. I understand with today's technology, that this notion may seem irrelevant, but the idea behind it is timeless. I am also old enough to remember my mother pulling over and taking out a map to figure out the next turn we have to take. Technology by nature is designed to make our lives easier, and if our ancestors were around to see the development of supermarkets and smartphones, they would be scoffing about how good we have it. Ease and peace of mind are all good and well, but it through the hardships, trials, and tribulations of life that we learn the most about the world, and ourselves.

For the sake of this post, we will break down life's challenges into two main categories, those by choice and those by circumstance. It is important for our personal growth, that we constantly look for opportunities to challenge ourselves, to acquire new knowledge, new skills, not in the pursuit of perfection, but of consistent and positive progress. The path of least resistance may seem enticing, but it is a route that will rob you of opportunity, and shield you from the fires of life, that can forge a stronger, more resilient, and powerful you. I challenge you to welcome resistance, to embrace discomfort and the unknown in your life, and use such opportunities to see what you are really made of. That way, you are ready when life throws the unexpected in your direction.

In essence, you are preparing yourself for the hardships of life, and along the way, hopefully pursuing your interests, setting goals, and making the most of your short, fleeting time on this planet. The question I want you to ask yourself when tough times hit is, "What can I learn from this?" You may not want to go through a particular experience, but if you have to, you might as well try and take something away from it and use it to strengthen your position for the next time the storms arrive. If you look back on your life, you will probably see that you learned the most from your toughest teacher who raised the bar of expectations and asked you to reach for it. You will also see that you learned your most important lessons from your greatest failures and setbacks.

Public speaking has long been considered a universal fear for most people, and deservingly so. How is it that one would get more comfortable and capable with speaking in such an arena? You guessed it, by simply seeking opportunities to do it more, and embracing whatever comes of it. To develop an unwavering resiliency, you must be open to facing adversity with the attitude that you will succeed, no matter what comes your way. Just keep moving forwards, earning small wins and confidence along the way. Wars are won through smaller, key victories, and maintaining morale and urgency along the way. Your mindset is everything.

I used to coach golf and as much as the sport requires physical precision, it is much more of a mental game than anything else. If you set up over the ball, expecting to make a bad swing or slice it into the woods, you will very likely do that. Instead, I would encourage you to focus on your setup, trust your practice and your swing, pick your target and go. If you put a good swing on it, but catch a bad bounce, take the same attitude to your next shot, and you will find the green.

The most important thing I want you to take away from this post, is that you must always strive to keep moving forwards, no matter what you face. Life is tough, but you are tougher, and if you don't believe that about yourself, than you haven't had enough opportunities to prove it to yourself yet. I hope you enjoyed this post, and as always, take care, God bless, and be well.

Written By: Manwithaplan aka Jeffrey Kalinoski