I Was There The Day The Strength Of Tumblr Staff Failed.

Shoes

The other day in physical education, one of my friends wasn’t wearing his shoes during warm-up. The teacher (a sexist and arrogant asshole) called us to try to teach us something about badminton, he noticed that my friend wasn’ t wearing shoes. He asked why and my friend told him that he felt more comfortable for the warm-up and that it allows him to be more performant. My teacher asked for an exemple in sports where people do that and my dumb ass friend obviously told him, like the genius he is, that some people in Kenya train for marathon shoes-less. Long story short, they argued a little, but my teacher eventually made my friend shut up and the class went on.

Eventually, the teacher was playing games against two students and he wasn’t able to reach back enough to catch the birdie and the opposite team got the point.

And that’s were my dumb friend comes in. He screamed:

‘Maybe if you weren’t wearing shoes, you would have caught the lil birdie.’

The teacher ignored him, but now I’m pretty sure that my teacher hates my friend.

I just wanted to share this story.

and thousands l i v e d for it.

a secret code between women: are you safe? in a contact of eyes. i’m here if you need me, the littlest shift of a skirt, of an inclined head, of watching the man who is asking you to smile, bitch. you aren’t alone on the walls of restrooms, i was where you are too. the quiet doling of emergency numbers, the shelters. the space between two women in a largely empty train station. the waiting game of two women strangers who walk, quietly and quickly, to their cars in abandoned parking lots, who watch to be sure the other leaves safely. text me you get home safe. the tally marks of drinks on hidden wrists, carefully disguised as other things ever since men picked up on what it meant and used it to target the “weakest link.” 

my father tells me we have nothing to worry about. last night he sent me one of those email chains that say at the top “Safety Tips For The Women In Your Life!!!! Don’t Let Her Die!!” 

me, and the stranger on the train. she is asleep and the man is asking me who i am going home to. i feel tears pricking the sides of my eyes. i am 13 while he towers over me. he reaches out one hand, and while i don’t know how she knows, she speaks up without opening her eyes: “If you touch my daughter, sir, I will murder you.” Whatever he grumbles is lost in history, because this moment I am so grateful for the existence of other people that I cannot breathe.

I am 19 and on my phone when i become aware of a 13 year old girl is smiling nervously at a man who’s saying disgusting things. I grab her arm. “There you are, cindy,” I say, and then look at the man like he is bile. “Do you need something from my sister?” i ask, and i walk away with her. she cries later.

this is the way of things: a silent, secret web. our promise to each other that despite our differences, when it comes to the wire, we become family, instantly. the unspoken promise. i’m here. i’m watching. i’ll witness.

The one and only horribly good Helga ^-^

the writers: we have a plan for your fav character.

me: really? what’s it?

the writers:

Tilda Swinton risked arrest waving a rainbow flag in front of the Kremlin in violation of Russia’s new homosexual propaganda bill. And she wants everyone who can to reblog it in solidarity.

Guys please reblog this, it won’t ruin your blog, this is important

Committing murder

Connor: *attractively freaks out*

Michaela: *annoyingly, yet cutely freaks out*

Laurel: *doesn’t freak out, was probably born for this*

Wes: *casually burns, decapitates and hides a body*

Be Brave

Has anyone else seen the quote: “I’ve never met a strong person with an easy past?”

I have. On multiple occasions. And although, as a realist, I have some difficulty believing this, I see it everyday without noticing it. I’m not saying there are dragon slayers and knight in shining armor all over the place, but you have to admit that someone who gets up everyday even though they know it’s going to be a shitty day is truly brave.

My point isn’t to define who deserves to be called strong and who doesn’t, because that is a subject that would create too much problems and I don’t think I get to judge anyone, ever. The reason why I stated this was that I wanted to tell everyone how brave they are. Now, don’t go away thinking that I am trying to please your ears. I want to let anyone and everyone who needs it that they are good and strong and that I admire them for being so brave.

As a matter of fact, I will enumerate all the things I think make someone strong. The following are things that takes a lot of my energy and my courage to do, but that I do anyway:

·       You’ve been able to get up in the morning without snoozing you alarm clock.

·       You’ve actually asked a question to the teacher in front of the whole class even though you thought you might sound stupid (which I am pretty sure you didn’t).

·       You have planned you study or your school working time in advance.

·       You have chosen school before going on the internet.

·       You’ve gone to sleep at a reasonable hour (considering the hour you would have to get up).

·       You’ve taken someone’s shit and haven’t tormented yourself afterwards with what you did or what you could’ve done.

I could go on for a while, but I’m guessing you get what I mean. You are strong. You may not think so, but I do and even though I don’t even know you, I care. Know that if anything happened to you, my heart would ache, and I would actually be sad.

And just so you know, although you may not realise it, I am far from the only one who thinks that way.

-The Quiet One

They say empathy is what made the success of the human race. Our survival is directly linked to our cooperation. We evolved together and we will perish together.