I Don't Know How I Got Here

White ppl:

Okay, because I’m nostalgic.

So history lesson, my parents got a divorce because my Dad had an affair with another man. I knew for a bit I was into girls and boys. So when deciding how to come up with the best way to break the news to my mom I did the following.

We were watching Star Wars: Return of the jedi. I paused the VHS at a point I’d practiced for days.

“Mom, I have to tell you something”

“Right now but-”

“It’s important.”

“Alright, make it quick.”

“Mom, I’m…I’m Gay–” (pressed play as…)

What is it? It’s the name given to that non-specific “sick” feeling many people experience during a convention, or shortly after it ends.

What causes it? Con plague can be caused by one/any combination of the things listed below:

Dehydration

Too many snack foods/not enough real food

Lack of sleep

Too much alcohol

Coming into contact with a person who is sick

Overheating

Wearing an uncomfortable costume for too long

There are more causes of Con Plague, but these are the top contributors.

What are some symptoms? Since Con Plague can be caused by many things, there is no one set of symptoms. Some common ailments include:

A headache that doesn’t go away

Feeling overly tired/exhausted

Nausea

Body aches

Cold-like symptoms (runny nose, cough, sore throat)

Red, dry eyes

Fever

How do I avoid Con Plague? Thankfully, most of the symptoms of Con Plague are easily avoidable by doing simple tasks such as washing your hands, or remembering to drink enough water. Here are some other tips:

Eat real food at least once- A side-salad at Burger King, or a yogurt parfait at McDonald’s are better than trying to survive an entire weekend on Pocky and shrimp chips.

Sleep- No, seriously, sleep. Three hours a night won’t eat up too much of your time at the con, and you’ll feel so much better if you do.

Balance alcohol with water- Not just a con tip, but a drinking tip in general. For every alcoholic beverage you have, drink a glass of water with it.

This literally has me shaking with rage.

Star Crossed is the ONLY middle grade novel with a bisexual girl character we have EVER found.  And trust me, I’ve been looking.  This month marked the fourth year of this blog, and we’ve been looking. 

This.  Is.  It.  

Rick Riordan’s Trials of Apollo series has a bisexual main character, but that is really on the middle grade/YA dividing line since said character is 16.  Star Crossed is absolutely middle grade and the first of its kind.  

This is it people.  This is all there is.  

And we can’t even let kids have this?  We can’t let those bisexual kids have one nice thing?  

The year I graduated from college was the year I saw my first openly bisexual person on TV, and there were none in the books I read either.

I could sit here and type a book about how you’ve helped me - how you’ve helped thousands of people…But all I can think of is this:

Thank you so much.

That’s a hard one! It’s something I think we all struggle with. I know I do at least from time to time, it’s hard not to when you do youtube. I feel like I’m not doing enough with youtube and I see what others are doing and it makes me feel worse about it.

What I usually try to do is reaffirm the accomplishments I have done or try to reaffirm my belief in myself. That what I’m doing is good in its own right and try to eliminate the though of what others are doing in comparison to myself. I look to you guys and to my friends for support and validation in times of need.

Another good method is to use what others are doing to try motivate you to do more and try harder. It’s easy to sit back and think “Man they’re doing it all and have so many interesting things going on” and let that defeat you but sometimes it’s good to use that as a drive in yourself to do more.