Today is International Day of the Girl. Celebrate & strengthen your sisters, daughters, mothers, & friends around the world.
Grind in your 20s. Build in your 30s. Chill in your 40s.
(via phuckindope)
Sometimes I remind myself that I almost skipped the party, that I almost went to a different college, that the whim of a minute could have changed everything and everyone. Our lives, so settled, so specific, are built on happenstance.
Anna Quindlen, Every Last One (via exoticwild)
Black Teen With White Parents Mistaken For Burglar, Assaulted By Cops In His Own Home
‘Put your hands on the door, I was like, ‘For what? This is my house.’ Police pointed at photos of white people hanging on the wall and told him that he was lying.
A North Carolina teen was recently assaulted and pepper sprayed by police in his own home, after he was mistaken for a burglar. 18-year-old DeShawn Currie has been living with foster parents Ricky and Stacy Tyler in Wake County, North Carolina for about a year.
The Tylers love DeShawn as their own son and they have taken him into their home, in hopes to provide him the safe and loving environment that he needs to thrive in the most important years of his life.
Unfortunately, some of the Tyler’s neighbors were not familiar with the family dynamics of the home, and decided to call the police to report a burglary when they saw the young man entering his home after school one day. DeShawn did not climb through a window or struggle to get inside, but simply walked through the unlocked door of the home. The only thing that actually made his neighbors suspicious, was the color of his skin.
When police arrived on the scene they treated DeShawn like a criminal without asking any questions.
“They was like, ‘Put your hands on the door, I was like, ‘For what? This is my house.’ I was like, ‘Why are y’all in here?” DeShawn said in an interview.
When DeShawn asked the officers why they were in his home, they pointed at photos of white people hanging on the wall and told him that he was lying.
“I’m feeling comfortable, I had moved into my room, and I’m feeling like I’m loved. And then when they come in and they just profile me and say that I’m not who I am. And that I do not stay here because there was white kids on the wall, that really made me mad,” DeShawn later told reporters.
During the entire altercation, police were shouting profanity at the young man, and pointing multiple guns at his face. When DeShawn stood firm and insisted that he was in fact in his own home, police attacked him with pepper spray.
When Stacy Tyler came home from work she saw her son DeShawn in the driveway being treated by paramedics for the injuries that police had inflicted.
“My 5-year-old last night, she looked at me and said, ‘Mama I don’t understand why they hated our brother, and they had to come in and hurt him,” Stay Tyler told reporters.
“Everything that we’ve worked so hard for in the past years was stripped away yesterday in just a matter of moments,” father Ricky Tyler added.
The police department has defended their actions, saying that that DeShawn did not obey the officer’s orders to the letter, despite the fact that they were intruders in his home and had no right to be there barking orders at him.
Now this is something to bring attention to.
Yes
No Repeats
She said “I want us to be great, to make a difference, to follow our dreams.
I said "I don’t want to have this conversation in 2 years.”
I wonder how many times I’ve practiced self sabotage.
Breaking All Ties
You can only make excuses for someone for so long. I’ve tried to stand up for us, I’ve given advice, I even tried to look the other way.
I did my part, so the next logical step is to make a clean break. I’ll be at peace for as long as possible, and prepare myself for when we cross paths.
I can’t help but feel like im giving up on them. Maybe I am, but this is just too toxic to continue. I need to take my own advice and just exit the situation.
[gallery]
Jeralean Talley is 115 years old
the oldest living American
These are her hands when she was 113
I hope her kids, grandkids, great grandkids, whoever her family is, is taking advantage of being in the presence of living history…
Bless
“There have been very good parts and very bad parts, but in the end, I love life. Every night before I sleep, I ask God for three more years, so that I can make it an even one hundred. Then I recite a blessing that my mother gave me when I left her in Poland. It was the last time I saw her. The blessing is much more powerful in Hebrew, but it says: ‘Wherever you go, may people always recognize that you have a beautiful heart.’”
(Jerusalem)
I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty and I wonder how the same can be both.
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief (via bookmania)
you who weigh your worth like dust,
why do you walk with
the posture of a whisper?
you tiptoe even when you’re alone,
as if your footsteps are not
important enough to be
heard by the ghosts you store underneath your floorboards.do you tire of apologizing
for your existence?if only you knew that it is
you who diamonds envy.
it is you who the sun
looks to for light.
who told you to be anything
but majestic?
Did anyone notice...
Obama mentions his wife in his victory speech: “…The woman who agreed to marry me 20 years ago”
Romney mentions his wife in his concession speech: “… The woman I chose to marry”
It’s amazing how someone’s views on equality can come out in one simple sentence
still relevant
A Contradiction
"When you need me but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me, then I have to go. It's rather sad, really, but there it is."- Nanny McPhee
Every day I see how necessary my family is to my well being, my sanity, and my daily structure. I see the subtle clues that show me how necessary I am to them. I see how we connect, how we look out for each other. Yet, I still make the decision to turn away from them and search for solitude and silence instead. I'll regret the time lost one day. I'll regret the time I wasted away, but acknowledging that today, doesn't seem to impact my choices.
Talk about sabotage...
Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWxOebiMBFw
Had I the opportunity to write down exactly what I wanted and needed in my absolute best friend, I couldn't have come up with a better description. God must have looked into my heart, listened to every desire, every yearning, took note of every need, and picked you specifically for me. Each moment spent with you feels right, as if it's been written since the beginning of time. Every second without you is spent basking and rejoicing in the joy you've given me. You may not know what's to come, but I couldn't be more sure. There are no coincidences in life.
CatFish
As I watched Catfish today, I couldn't help but feel incredibly frustrated, all these situations are so messed up. For those of you that don't know, Catfish is a show that helps individuals uncover the truth about their online relationships.
Today's episode was about Antwane and his boyfriend of 3 years, Tony. Antwane had only spoken to Tony over the phone. He'd never met him, saw a picture, or video chatted with him. Antwane also didn't have a cellphone number where he could reach Tony. Instead Tony would call him from a private number whenever he wanted to talk. Despite only having a voice and kind words to hold onto, Antwane felt he was in love and completely trusted in Tony.
Unfortunately, this reminds me of relationships my girlfriends have been in, or are currently in. Where the effort, appreciation and respect if completely one-sided. Those on the outside can see how toxic the relationship is, but the person in it is totally blinded by their emotions. I think we need to set higher standards for ourselves when in relationships, whether they are romantic or not. And I say that fully aware that this issue is much bigger than not having high enough standards. It's a self esteem issue, it's a bullying issue, it's several things. Everyone has a variety of experiences that shape the choices they make today. But I think there has to come a time when we ask ourselves what is unacceptable, what do we want, and what do we deserve.
Antwane wanted and deserved more than just a voice after 3 years.Yet, he let his feelings convince him that this was good enough.
I think it's easy to feel afraid of losing someone if you make demands, especially if it's the best you've had to date. But when deciding who you'll keep by your side, you shouldn't make a comparison. It should be absolute, it shouldn't be based on your past, what you think is available, or what others tell you is available. Either this person meets your standards of what would make you happy or they don't. Of course you won't find a perfect match, but if you're truly honest with yourself I bet you'll be able to tell whether or not this person's company makes you happy.
I've had friends ask me "what if this is the best I'll ever get?" What if it is? You rather be with someone who plants negativity and cruelty in your life every chance they get, than be single? Are the 2 minutes of love and affection you'll get once a month worth it?
The answer is no. No company is better than bad company.
Home
Home has never been a place for me. It has always been and continues to be a person. My house belongs to my parents, if I leave my welcome home will be conditional. I can't make any decisions on it, so I feel more like a guest. These days it might as well be a dorm room. The security and certainty I ought to feel here isn't quite there. My house is not my home. I've put my faith in people, despite the constant advisement against that. Yet, up to this point it's served me well. I've found people that have consistently made me feel like I'm in a safe house. Like the doors are always open, there's always a bed for me, the fridge is stocked, like no matter what I'm always welcomed.
I'll always be grateful to those people, even if one day my home changes. Today is a different story though, today I want to make my own home. At least my own version of it. I've been itching for a place that only I know inside and out. A place where I find things as I left them, and where silence is there when I most need it. A place I create from scratch. I'm still wondering how I'll get there...
In San Francisco last year, a man stabbed a woman in the face and arm after she didn’t respond positively to his sexually harassing her on the street.
In Bradenton, Fla., a man shot a high school senior to death after she and her friends refused to perform oral sex at his request.
In Chicago, a scared 15-year-old was hit by a car and died after she tried escaping from harassers on a bus.
Again, in Chicago, a man grabbed a 19-year-old walking on a public thoroughfare, pulled her onto a gangway and assaulted her.
In Savannah, Georgia, a woman was walking alone at night and three men approached her. She ignored them, but they pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her.
In Manhattan, a 29-year-old pregnant woman was killed when men catcalling from a van drove onto the sidewalk and hit her and her friend.
Last week, a runner in California — a woman — was stopped and asked, by a strange man in a car, if she wanted a ride. When she declined he ran her over twice.
FUCK YOU if you think that street harassment is a “compliment” or “no big deal” or that it’s “irrational” of us to be afraid because “what’s actually gonna happen.” Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you some more.
