‘‘ But what is failure? To struggle while you’re growing as a person, or not to grow at all?''

Beautiful souls are shaped by ugly experiences.

Me, an Autistic ADHDer and all-around agnostic:

"I don't know what knowledge you have, and I don't want to assume, so I'll provide the information I know about it and the context of how I got that information, so that we have a starting point. No, I swear I wasn't trying to talk over you, dismiss what you were saying, or make myself the center of the conversation. Oh, shit, that makes me sound like a mansplainer. No, I really am trying to understand, I just need to find and resolve the root of my cognitive dissonance. What were we talking about again?"

Don’t call them mistakes, otherwise the heart will never forgive itself.

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ZUTARA...

Okay, so my thoughts...

Look, I'm an OG fan. I was a teenager when the animated show came out and boy oh boy...

Okay, so yes, I am a Zutara shipper. I have been since the show aired, and the way the show ended with Aang and Katara left an icky taste in my mouth. I'm not anti Kataang either. It just gives me... eew. Especially now that I'm an adult and I know relationships are messy to begin with. I don't agree that the show creators think that Zutara would be toxic... that is not necessarily true as Zuko's character doesn't support such a thing and neither does Katara's. Aang is still a child mentally and he doesn't seem to understand that people are going to do what they are going to do. Case and point, The Southern Raiders. Aang confronts Katara telling her that she should let it go and forgive Yon Rah... the only problem with this is that Katara needs to deal with her own closer. Forgiveness does not mean closure. Take it from me, a person who has difficulty letting go of hurts from the past. Some things I can forgive, while other things I can't because they are still a problem for me today, which is why I'm in therapy. It is not up to Aang to decide what Katara needs to do in that moment. If anything, he is showing his complete misunderstanding of her resolve. She is angry, hurt, and compulsive. She is feeling these things because her past has been thrown in her face by Zuko's presence. Because he is there, all that hurt is like a thousand daggers in her back. Zuko is letting her do. He is letting her feel, and for those who say he is encouraging her to murder someone, that isn't what is going on. He is basically letting her do what she needs to do. When someone is feeling that way, you wither let them feel it and support them or you get out of the way. People are going to do what they want. It's a hard lesson to learn.

Aang has his world view of peace and compassion, which is not a bad thing, but he lacks understanding. Probably because he is still a child and still learning the ways of people. People are cruel and sometimes unforgiving, but we can also be kind, loving, and filled with hope. Aang sees the good in everyone, except Ozai, which I'm pretty sure the only thing good about Ozai is the fact that Mark Hamil is behind his voice. But anyway, I like Aang. He's a good character that transforms everyone he interacts with. That is the best quality about him. The absolute worst of his qualities is that he tends to push his beliefs into the open without taking a moment to think about how others feel. And that isn't even that bad. It's a disregard of those emotions that leave a little bit of bitterness in my mouth. But that is something everyone struggles with at one point. That is just being human.

But yeah, this is just my humble opinion. Relationships are messy and they need work. They arent always going to be perfect, which is why neither ship is going to be better than the other. Does Aang and Katara have a happy marriage? Well, I can't say that they do because there isn't much to go on other than they have children. I'd like to think they have their ups and downs like most relationships do.

Would Zuko and Katara have a good relationship? Going off of their character I'd say they would balance each other out. It won't be toxic because they do fine when they are together in the show. They work well as a team and have each other's backs. So yeah, that is there in the show.

I'd also like to point out that Zuko and Mai don't tick the boxes for outstanding relationship. Those two have been on and off and I honestly don't think they will get back together. Kinda reminds me of the guy I was on and off with for five years... now that was toxic.

But yeah. I've done the shipping thing for so long it doesn't matter if it's Canon or not. Like I seriously shipped Sesshomaru and Kagome for years even though I knew she and Inuyasha were going to be together. Didn't care too much for Sess/Rin because again... eew. You ship who you want and what you feel makes sense. Does this mean people have to berate others about it? No. There should never be any condescension or degrading because we are all fans.

But for real... I think Azula and Sokka should get together. And I'm not on the Taang ship either.

Fight me... I dare you.

How does the necessity of stimming and doing stimming feel like? Would you like to share your experiences? :)

as someone who consciously and subconsciously pushes people away when going through a challenging period in life,

I admit that there are times I have to make the intentional effort to win these people back.

like I know I pushed you away but I love you, always have, always will, lol. I'm just terrible at showing this to you when I'm not in the position to show up for myself.

I at times even envy people who have the strength to express their situation to those who care for them,

that's admirable and inspiring to be honest.

cause there's a bunch of us who believe that distance and private space will help us through our nightmares,

and it works honestly, it does.

until you're out of the wilderness and realize there are no arms wide open waiting to embrace you. just space and time.

so you're back to explaining and apologizing and making promises you know you'll break as soon as another stage of morphing comes calling.

Jason Limon

the problem. with putting things in the oven. is that i never look at the clock when i do it.

35 minutes???? bitch i don't know what time is.

If you are a schizo like me and need to work to make ends meat pick your job wisely. As a schizo that worked I noticed I couldn’t work full time. While I went to college I worked maybe 3 days out the week on the weekends. I had to learn to structure my life with my symptoms. I had sleep issues and because of the antipsychotics I had fluctuations in the time I could fall asleep or I would wake up real late afternoon. I worked at night because these were the hour I had peak energy. I also found out I couldn’t work high pressure jobs like being a line cook. While I worked I did have episodes on the job and I couldn’t be consistent even though I was a hard worker. I found out something, clerical jobs suited me better for some reason. As I got older I had earned enough credits through social security from working that increase my social security benefits and it was best for me to live within my mean off the fix income then all the stressors that I encountered working. One thing I forgot to mention was that I had extreme social anxiety but being in a small town that was highly vested in the tourism industry, service jobs like food and beverage restaurants and hotels were the only options to work. I forced myself every time I entered the employee entrance to swallow my anxious feelings and proceed with the responsibility and duties assigned to me. In retrospect I think it might have conditioned my tolerance level to function with anxiety. I now do things like music and art these things bring me happiness and it’s true if you find something you love doing you won’t have to work a day in your life. Good luck schizos, I say go for it and work and go to higher education because you want to not just because this what others suggest or expect you to do. Protect your sanity and peace always.

Wally aka DEFIANT

recognizing that I almost died literal hours after this picture was taken due to the hatred of someone I literally gave life to is life changing. forever gratitude to my ancestors for protecting me with their armor 💜

One day you think you’ve hit rock bottom, then later that evening you’re lying on the middle of the floor of the kitchen, under 0 influence but swag, sobbing bc you’re unable to learn Spinjitzu

Success is Not Final

Success is not final, failure is not final: it is the courage to go on that counts.  Winston Churchill

It sounds so easy, you work hard and build your life, you go to school and establish a career, you meet your partner, buy your home and create a family.  Right?  Easy-peasy.  But then what, if you do all these things, is the rest of life just coasting?  What do you do over all those years?  Yes, you raise your kids, but that’s twenty years and then they’re off. 

It turns out that those early tasks are your training ground.  You are making habits that will serve you for your lifetime, habits of working to goals and making them happen.

It sounds so easy but things happen.  Companies get sold or they change their plans and let people go – not because the people weren’t good but because they were no longer part of the plan.  Sometimes we discover that we don’t even like our chosen career.  Or, marriages can fall apart.  Illness can happen.

Suddenly what seemed like a good life, one easily thought of as a successful life, can turn around. It can feel as if you’re veering of the road but you are not.  The thing that is so interesting about life is that it is not a straight line to nirvana.  There will likely be bumps but never, no never, think of them as failure.  It’s simply a time to reassess, roll up your sleeves and get to it.  It takes courage and it takes willingness to turn it around.

Another favorite quote comes from Amor Towles’ novel A Gentleman in Moscow, “If one does not master one’s circumstances, then she is bound to be mastered by them.”  When things go bump, it’s time to break out the courage and get on with it.

On the other hand, life doesn’t always take off at the beginning.  That’s terrible because it isn’t building your confidence in your success.  Still, it is not a lifelong sentence, frustration is not forever.  Remember to seek out a few people you admire and with them, develop a plan. Check in with them on your progress, make yourself accountable to the plan.  It’s mastering your circumstance and finding your success, your everyday success

If I've learned anything from life, it's that sometimes, the darkest times can bring us to the brightest places.

I've learned that the most toxic people can teach us the most important lessons, that our most painful struggles can grant us the most necessary growth;and that the most heartbreaking losses of friendship and love can make room for the most wonderful people.

I've learned that what seems like a curse in the moment can actually be a blessing and that what seems like the end of the road is actually just the discovery that we are meant to travel down a different path.