Sometimes I think I'm a Horseshoe Crab

It's not healthy for their mood to determine whether it's a good or bad day.

It's not healthy to normalize being treated badly when they're in a bad mood.

It's ok to expect them to treat you well even when they're in a bad mood.

It's not your responsibility to regulate their emotions.

You shouldn't have to be more concerned about whether they're happy with you than you are about your own happiness.

You should be able to make mistakes without being afraid of how they'll react.

It's not healthy for them to "make you pay" when they're upset with you.

You shouldn't have to say things "just right" for them to listen to you.

It's not healthy for them to shut you down and refuse to listen any time you tell them something they don't want to hear.

It's not healthy to be afraid of talking to them.

It's not healthy to be afraid of talking to your friends (or other people) about them.

Things like screaming at you, degrading you, and giving you the silent treatment aren't normal, and not everyone fights like that.

They shouldn't put hands on you in anger, even if they aren't hitting you.

They shouldn't touch you without consent, even if they're "just" trying to give you a hug.

If they try to make you feel guilty for saying no, that is still a violation of your consent.

Your body autonomy is non-negotiable and that includes choices about what you eat and what you do with your appearance.

Boundaries are not a debate.

You don't have to be available to them at all times; your time and energy should be respected.

You aren't selfish for wanting personal time and space for yourself.

You have a right to personal space where you aren't antagonized or harassed.

You have a right to feel emotionally and physically safe around them and in your home, at all times.

You have a right to privacy, and they aren't entitled to know about your every move.

You are capable and allowed to make decisions without their oversight.

It's not healthy for them to second guess or undermine everything you do.

What if the children go to schools unafraid of tear gas and bullets?

What if the birds come back, and the bees are healed, and every species moves from endangered, to threatened, to thriving?

What if the rainforest ADVANCES?

What if every parking lot had solar panels? What if every structure had solar panels? What if we built climbing gyms and terraced gardens in the skeletons of old coal power plants?

What if you baked your neighbor bread, and they shared their home-grown blackberries?

What if every person who needed a home, had one? What if every person who needed healing was healed?

What if every body was treasured for what it was, not what it should be?

What if every trans child's parents attended their graduation, their wedding, their new-name-day?

What if every warehouse became a closed-circle repair station? Goods flowing out, and back, and out again? What if landfills started to SHRINK?

What if the water and air were clean? What if there was enough public transit that the cars dwindled, leaving the streets safe for kids on bikes, evening deer, midnight cats and foxes?

What if we win?

The condors are back. The whales are saved. The sea turtles are no longer endangered. The cranes are back. The bees are recovering. The air in LA and Tokyo and London is clean again. The aquifers in the LA Basin are refilling.

Children are kinder than previous generations. Parents are stopping the abuse cycle. Being trans and queer is more acceptable than ever on a ground level.

It's hard to see if you're young, if you don't know how to step back from social media and the news. But remember--bad news sells, and the algorithm knows despair keeps you scrolling. It's a skewed lens.

We are fighting and we are winning against this adminstration's bullying. We are coming together against the bullies and they are running away scared because they don't understand that we will do that.

People are working hard every day to find ways to make sure fewer animals get hit by cars and planes and rockets.

Maker spaces are more common than ever. Solar and wind are more common than ever. Coal plants are shutting down every day.

Unprecedented numbers of acres are being bought back or given back to their rightful stewards, and the world heals because of it. People are working hard every day to learn how to help a forest recover faster.

We are not at zero. We are at decades of effort to heal the world. We've come SO far.

In 1982 there were only 22 California Condors left in the world. In 1992, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), with its public and private partners, began reintroducing captive-bred condors to the wild. In 2001 the first wild nesting occurred in Grand Canyon National Park since re-introduction. In 2002 there were only 8 pairs of wild nesting birds population-wide. In 2008, for the first time since the program began, more California condors were flying free in the wild than in captivity. Today there are nearly 500 – more than half of them flying free in Arizona, Utah, California, and Baja Mexico.

When I was born, there were no condors in the wild. I'm 37 now, and there are over 250 condors flying free.

When my mom was born in 1955, there were days when she wasn't allowed to go outside to play, because of the air pollution. When I was born, that never happened anymore.

When I was born, humpback whales were critically endangered, and people thought they were going to go extinct. Today, they've recovered to exceed their recorded numbers. Other whales too!

We fixed it.

Since 1990 extreme poverty has decreased worldwide by over HALF.

Game sold badly? Fired

Game sold well? Fired

Game just came out? Fired

Game not out yet? Fired

Game literally just announced? Fired

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