• Life, even with all the horrible things mixed in, is very much worth living
• Mallory Ortberg is right about everything
• keeping your favorite band away from the rest of the world is one of the worst thing you can do for them
• Having a strong voice on the internet is a very special thing
• that being said, having a strong voice on the internet is also a very scary thing and should be used in moderation and learning to be critical of what you put out there is important
• You should never feel bad for feeling excited about something you love
• Travelling by yourself is actually one of the best feelings in the world
• but, at same time, as much as it is important to learn to be independent and to grow on your own, having a hand to hold along the way is a good feeling too 
• Listen to good music now. Your future self will thank you.
• Everywhere you go, you are a student. (x)
• comparing your progress to someone else's is probably one of the worst things you can do for your self esteem. everyone is at different places at different times of their lives and everyone's going to figure themselves out at different points of their lives and that's okay
• Hating your past self will do nothing for you. Accept the fact that Little You is still learning and Current You is still learning and there will always be new things to learn in the future 
• I know there are constantly a lot of bad things happening all the time, but please don't forget that there is still good in the world and people are still worth loving
• honestly, who cares if other people know if you like 1D still or you still like coloring books, who cares, you just do u my friend
• There is not a single person on this planet or in this wide, vast galaxy that could fill your place
• the world isn't out to get you, no one hates you, you're not nearly as awkward as you think, and people are kinder than you may think
• you
• deserve
• to 
• be
• happy
• care! about! things! apathy is so passe
• as long as you're wearing cool socks, you're automatically the coolest (i'm so tired i just wrote "coolester" i'm dying) person in the room
• The history of Japan is actually really cool and Bill Wurtz needs to be my teacher for everything
• When someone argues against your points, keep in mind that you're either right or you get to learn something new, and either is fine. Being proved wrong in an argument isn't necessarily a bad thing and being able to admit that you hadn't thought about the thing that way before or that you misunderstood something before is a strength, not a weakness 
• Whenever you feel bad about your work, just think about how impressed Little You would be at how far you've come.
• DON'T PRETEND TO LIKE THINGS TO IMPRESS PEOPLE
• you are too old for petty drama
• Your friends aren't always going to be there for you. It's okay. 
• don't be afraid of the word 'no'
• Forgiving yourself is very very hard, and you're going to go through times when you really hate yourself for something. Remember that it's okay and what happened doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does. You'll be okay soon.
• Use as much as your free time as possible to improve your mind. Find some new music, read that book that's been on your shelf for months, practice that instrument that's collected dust, research a topic you're curious about, try new things
• don't let yourself hate other people. don't hold grunges. don't talk about people behind their backs. don't hate. don't hate. don't hate. 
• you can't demand a service while simultaneously degrading the people who provide it for you.
• you're still learning. everyone around you is still learning. 
• you're going to be okay, friend.
• and everything else will be okay too.
• everything will be okay.

_        _        _

this week's playlist (favorites bolded)

Pull Me Down - Mikky Ekko | Dust Bowl Dance - Mumford & Sons | Mars - Sleeping At Last | Drown - Tyler Joseph | Next To Me - Sleeping At Last | You Were A Home That I Wanted To Grow Up In - Flatsound | Now Is The Start - A Fine Frenzy | On The Brightside - Never Shout Never | Jupiter - Sleeping At Last | American Candy - The Maine | Everybody's Changing - Keane | Cough It Out - The Front Bottoms | Somebody Else - The 1975 | Taxi Cab - Vampire Weekend | Cleopatra - The Lumineers | The House We Grew Up In - The Weeks | Feels Like We Only Go Backwards - Tame Impala | Compass - Zella Day | Light - Sleeping At Last | You Wrote "Don't Forget" On Your Arm - Flatsound

Vulnerable

About a year ago, in my English class, every unit we focused on a certain question and during the unit we were supposed to figure out how the stories we read and the lives we lived connected to the question. One unit I struggled when the question was along the lines of “how do words have meaning?” I didn’t do the greatest in that unit, and in attempt to recover from the many low C’s that I received when I couldn’t describe how words have power and meaning, I wanted to recap a moment from one of my vacations to answer the question, 'what does vulnerability mean to you?'

To me, vulnerability is standing 5,000 feet in the air, enclosed in a colossal cloud that hides the deadly precipice just feet away from my shaking knees without a hand to hold

Vulnerability is stumbling around in the mist, groping around for a strong branch to keep me upright, the shrubbery giving me a false sense of security, hiding me from the real danger

The Webster dictionary defines vulnerable as an adjective meaning ‘susceptible to physical or emotional attack or harm’, but it sounds so much less dangerous than it feels

To answer your question, Mr. P, and to reclaim the points I lost when I had let myself answer, unaware of what it’s like in the real world and how words can change someone and have more meaning than just their definition, experience is just one of the things that can give meaning to words.

Vulnerable is just one of the things I felt while crawling down the rugged path, but not in a million years could the Webster dictionary accurately describe how hard my heart was pounding, or the numbness and buzzing in my feet, or the knot in my stomach, just imagining what it would be like to suddenly trip if there happened to be a single twig out of place. My entire life I’ve told everyone and even myself that I wasn’t afraid of heights, but for just a moment, I knew what it was like to be truly afraid of falling to your death.

~ ☁ ~

Idk man. I don't know what this was. I just needed an excuse to use these pictures and to try and calm myself down while still thinking of how horrible I did in that unit a whole freaking year ago.

I wrote this about two months ago, but never really found the courage to actually post it because this really isn't my thing??? It doesn't even really make sense, but I hope you enjoy anyway. xD

Anyway, I also did this in video form, if that's your kinda thing. I apologize in advance for my voice. xD Also, I don't have the world's greatest mic, so it's really soft, so sorry about that too. 

THANKS FOR READING WHATEVER THIS WAS

EAT LOTS OF FRUIT STAY HEALTHY KIDS

DRINK LOTS OF WATER STAY HYDRATED TOO

AND READ A WONDERFUL BOOK FOR ME.

~     ~     ~

Btw, this was filmed near Mount Wai'Ale'Ale in Hawaii, 'one of the wettest spots on earth' (it really was, too). The video footage and all photos in this post are mine, and I'd really appreciate it if they weren't used without credit/permission Thank you!! ^_^