rhapsody-tomoe

The war has taken everything from me and my family — our home, our safety, and our source of living. We were displaced from Rafah to Al-Mawasi, and when we finally returned, we found our house destroyed and impossible to live in.Today, we live through hunger, poverty, fear, and constant pressure just to survive. Some days we cannot afford food, clean water, or even the most basic necessities. Sitting for long hours without a single meal has become part of our daily life.Before the war,

I was studying engineering and dreaming of building a better future for myself and my family. But the war stopped my education and destroyed the life I worked hard for .

I am trying to help my family survive and find a safe, stable life again. Any support, even a small donation, can help us with food, shelter, and hope during these difficult times.

Yes, I was tearing through books constantly, and talking to this teacher at least weekly. Because even though I always loved reading as a kid, literature was always a very weak subject for me in terms of a teaching-to-standardized-test school setting (I just do awful on "what color were the curtains" type multiple choice questions. Those details don't stick in my memory THEY JUST DON'T). But that didn't matter for this class. I could just read my way out of any bad test score. I have always had fond memories of how I "fudged" my way through that class and "abused' the extra credit policy.

Hi all, some of you might know my friend Mahmoud- unfortunately, just today, his old campaign was deleted and the person running it blocked him and revoked his access to all of the money raised. To help him regain what funds he has lost, i have started up a new campaign. you can read his message to you all here:

Hello, my name is Mahmoud from Gaza🇵🇸

Since the war, my life has completely changed… My father was martyred, and I became responsible for my mother and younger siblings. I try my best to provide them with safety and food despite the displacement, fear, and loss💔

I have been married for three years to the woman I love very much, and our dream was to become parents👶🏻

But after many doctor visits, it turned out that we need artificial insemination, which is very expensive and I cannot afford it.

My wife lives with the pain of this dream in silence every day, and I try to be her support despite all the hardship we carry🌧️

We are going through difficult circumstances, but we still hold on to hope🤍

Please, any support, no matter how small, could bring us one step closer to our dream… Even sharing our story means so much to us🌷

Verified = Checked by a trusted source and deemed legitimate

Bilal Salah is a Palestinian blogger who tries to find and support legitimate campaigns.

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If you are getting gender affirming surgery, especially if it’s your first major surgery, PLEASE be aware that you can become SEVERELY depressed afterwards ESPECIALLY if you have a history of depression or suicidal ideation.

Post op depression is a natural reaction to the crazy mix of hormones your body goes through after major surgery as well as the stress and anxiety of recovery. Think of it like an adrenaline crash, but dragged out longer.

For me it kicked in about 6 weeks after top surgery and the worst of it lasted until about 10 weeks post op. EVERYTHING felt IMPOSSIBLE. None of the skills I’d been practicing worked. I thought everything was going to be bad forever. I didn’t attempt, but I was in the hospital. If it wasn’t for my support system I probably would have attempted.

This is not regret, but it can feel like it. I remain happy about my results to this day (going on six years later).

This is not you failing to maintain your mental health, but it can make you feel like a failure.

Things are not hopeless, but through the haze of this depression they can feel hopeless.

It can be terrifyingly sudden or it can sneak up on you. I didn’t even realize what was going on until after the depression finally passed and my mental health went back to normal.

I am writing this post because nobody told me about this before my top surgery. I was caught completely off guard. For my subsequent surgeries being aware has made all the difference. Being able to treat those symptoms as an expected and normal part of the healing journey has made them far easier to deal with. Because even when my emotions go to dark places I *know* they will pass. I have been able to tell the bad thoughts to take a bad seat and focus on healing.