Mara

I cant begin to count the number of times my brother had to change his little girl on a dirty counter in the mens room.

I put on my sunglasses, to hide my swollen eyes, over my tears. I cried all my makeup off. Went inside to have a milkshake. I don’t know why. I wanted something to drink as I figured out what I would do. I got a soda and a milkshake. Medium. The cashier looked at me and with a line around the corner of the counter he rushed away from the counter “Hold on “ he yelled to a coworker.

I filled my soda and went back and saw him looking all over. I go up and he gets close and says “I made it a large”.

That was seriously enough for me not to do it. His kindness. Someone went out of their way and as I went back in my car to cry I realized I could muster through a few other days. A few more weeks. Then I came down from that panicky high of anxiety, depression, and pain. I finished my shake. And it was enough time to let me feel better. I… I’m alive. I’ll make it through.

Try and be nice today. Tomorrow. Something as much as a smile. It helped so much.

Thank you man at McDonalds.

gotta be the equivalent to this

i honestly believe that sleep deprivation is the biggest ignored/neglected root cause of health dangers that prematurely kill adults

ask me sometime about the role of sleep in the leptin ghrelin cycle and how its interruption destabilizes weight homeostasis

or about the new research showing that heart disease is not caused by fat, like we thought for years, but by inflammation in the circulatory system whose root cause is unknown but one of the prime suspects is, you guessed it, sleep deprivation

but nobody wants to hear that lack of sleep is killing people. employers don’t want to hear it. and god knows that having sold their waking hours to capitalism to survive workers don’t want to lose the only time they have left to them to live their lives, mostly stolen from sleep

our society places almost zero value on sleep

on enough sleep

on uninterrupted sleep

on regular, predictable, cycling sleep

- Humans are not meant to sleep for extended periods of uninterrupted sleep. 

By this I don’t mean “humans shouldn’t have 8+ hours of sleep a night”; I mean that we are supposed to sleep for four to five hours (ish), then get up and do something relaxing like reading for a half hour to an hour, then get another bout of four to five hours. This is what our bodies were designed for. 

Sleeping the whole night through was a fad started with the advent of the lightbulb. Sleeping the whole night through is so recent (and artificial) that First Sleep and Second Sleep are mentioned in Dickens’ novels.

- Lack of sleep for even a single night severely compromises your immune system.

If you’re planning on getting little sleep or pulling an all-nighter, make sure to eat lots of fruit and veggies/take vitamins that day. Or even better, get yourself some bee propolis. It’s a natural remedy used for thousands of years in Latin America and is insanely good for boosting up compromised immune systems (if you get the drop kind, put 3 to 4 drops in a spoonful of honey and mix well with a 2nd spoon to mask the strong taste). It has no side effects and is all but impossible to overdose on.

- According to several government bodies around the world, chronic lack of sleep is literally tied for 1st place as the worst kind of torture (the other is solitary isolation)

- Expecting a teen to get up for 8:30 classes is the equivalent of expecting an adult to be at work at 4 am.

After babies, teens are the age group that needs the most amount of sleep. Puberty is exhausting, and the body needs time to recharge. Ideally, a teen should be getting between 10 to 12 hours of sleep at the bare minimum. Most teens are lucky if they manage to get 8. And that’s a gigantic problem; not only does lack of sleep affect mood (which is extra significant when your hormones are already riding a rollercoaster to begin with), but also has massive effects on growth, which is kinda what the whole puberty thing is supposed to be about.

- According to research “starting work before 10 a.m. is tantamount to torture and is making staff sick and stressed”

- Humans were not designed to have the same sleep cycle across the species. Much the opposite in fact.

Night owls and morning people are an actual thing. Because we’re pack creatures, Nature came up with a clever way for our ancestors to always have someone on the lookout for predators and threats: make people naturally alert at varying times so that there’s always someone alert to keep watch. 

In preparation for the upcoming Skeleton War, I will be reviewing skull emojis for accuracy, scariness, and overall charm!

Very skinny jaw- has he been starved? Nonetheless, a fearsome and menacing skull who would be an asset to the Skeleton Army. Also the only one who has a chin. 7/10

The 2D look is not working here. This looks like a Halloween window decal that would fall off after two days. 2/10

Microsoft’s bold outlines usually create a disturbing image, but I feel likeit works for the skull emoji. He looks like he is emerging from the void. 6/10, looks a little like an electric socket.

He is so sad! The tilted eye sockets make him seem like he has lost all hope in the world. 3/10, pitiful and not useful to the Army.

This is a socially isolated jellyfish. 0/10

A sturdy and big-boned fellow! He would carry through his military deities with strength and perseverance. 9/10, slightly neanderthalic.

Looks like a tiny ghost. 3/10 for the nice shading on the temples.

This resembles a plastic bag with holes in it. Or an octopus with a mustache. Either way not a skull -1/10

NOW THIS IS A SCARY SKULL! He’s unsettling but that’s the look we’re going for. Supermodels envy those cheekbones. 11/10

Sickly. Brings pestilence and famine upon the skeleton army. Death to all who look upon him.

i saw everybody doing these and they looked fun so im gonna do one of my favourite emojis, i call it the krampus emoji but i found out its actually a japanese ogre

love this one! hes happy and full of joy, ready to cause destruction! the skin looks a bit too saturated and his facial features are kinda hard to make out, but hes very shiny! i love it 8/10

i dont know what happened there but im not here for it. they look bitter and not fun to be around. their hair looks greasy as well. points for the nice style and simplicity though 4/10

she takes care of herself and it shows! i love her smile! her eyes look a bit scary but thats okay! her hair is very well kept and looks like its very soft 7/10

hes very angry, also i dont know what happened to his mouth. where do his teeth come from?? where are his lips? weird stuff is happening here. points for his cool brows and the mischievous look on his face though, he looks like fun 5/10

i trust him! he knows how to have fun! a rowdy boy! his hair is cute and hes very shiny! 8/10 very good boy

very scary looking i like it! the blue eyeliner is A Look if ive ever seen one! jeff goldblum is Quaking! overall a very nice shape, the colours are very well chosen and i dig the simplicity of the flat style! 9/10

who let him in. i dont like him. he looks like hes going to steal my toys and eat my lunch. creative hairstyle and ear choice though 3/10

very cute! trustable smile! lots of teeth and lively eyes! 6/10 she knows whats up!

very good!!!!!! the teeth look sharp and intimidating! the smile smells like danger and chaos!! the blonde hair is a nice twist! the brows are Arched and the blue eyeliner Pops, hes an absolute unit!!! 10/10

you tried but it didnt really work out. he looks like a 60 year old man that hangs out in bars and watches soccer while drinking beer, i dont like it. where are his eyebrows 1/10

NO THANK YOU. i will refrain from further commentary because im fearing for my life -100000000000/10

very cute!! i cant tell where her eyelashes end and her eyebrows start but it looks good anyways! shes kinda angry but in a cute way! love the hair! 7/10

you didnt even try. go home. the smile is cute i guess but she has no soul. 2/10 because her horns remind me of macaroni and im hungry

http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/

http://www.somethingawful.com/feature-articles/for-the-cure/

http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/132728/susan_g_komen_foundation_has

that’s right fracking you know, a process using chemicals known to cause cancer that leech into the water supply

http://www.triplepundit.com/2014/10/baker-hughes-fights-breast-cancer-pink-fracking-drill-bits/

Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Cancer Research Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

if you are from the NYC area, this is what you can do:

If anyone at work starts a discourse about 9/11, tell them you wish the nation would work tangibly harder (and not just theoretically) to protect the lives of muslims. 

If anyone at work starts talking about their fear of “another terrorist attack,” tell them you’re afraid the KKK doesn’t slaughter black people today. 

If anyone on the street is harassing a muslim, especially a visibly covered muslim, tell them to fuck off. do not call the police because the police do not try to protect muslims (call 911 if it is life threatening, though). ask the muslim if they are okay. 

give up your seat on the MTA World Trade Center bound trains for muslims. it is scary to stand because we don’t know who can hurt us from behind or from the sides. 

be so fucking polite, please. 

anywhere else, 

if they are being harassed, provoked, or look like they are in danger – get involved. call 9/11 if it appears life threatening. VIDEO IT. 

if they are being ridiculed or treated poorly at work, ask them if they would like a cup of coffee. tea. if they need a ride home. 

if cops are harassing muslims, take a picture of their face. take a picture of anything visible regarding their badge number or name. 

BROTHERS AND SIS – MUSLIMS: please feel free to add to this. PLEASE LET THIS GET AROUND.