PHOTOS OF HISTORICAL ICONIC FIGURES LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE

Anyone else relate to these ace moods?

1) thinking you just have really high standards

2) thinking you have a very specific type which you haven’t found yet

3) thinking other people are joking

4) not realizing the song was about sex

5) thinking movies and tv are over dramatizing it

6) thinking movie and tv is accurate but like how???

7) not knowing which one it is

8) wondering when you’ll turn out to be gay

To sad adults who were “gifted” kids:

Work on developing a contentment-based lifestyle, rather than an achievement-based one.  Stress isn’t a sign that you’re doing well, it’s the opposite.  (When you figure out how to do this, please share your notes with the class.) 

Original text post by @heelys-ben-hargreeves

Okay, so you’ve been called smart all your life. As a kid, you were one of the smartest in your class. Maybe you could read at a much higher level than your peers, or you could fly through multiplication drills like they were nothing. Then, you get to high school and suddenly you’re surrounded by lots of people who were ‘gifted kids’. None of what made you ‘special’ seems all that important now. Your work is actually challenging, and it’s actually requiring effort.

If you’re experiencing this, just know that so many students have gone through the same thing. Maybe it happens in high school, maybe college. But a lot of us who were considered gifted as kids suddenly run into this and it challenges our entire identity. It can be paralyzing, but it’s 100% possible to overcome it and succeed! I’ve compiled a few tips for ex-gifted kids dealing with impostor syndrome and self-doubt. I’m not a therapist, psychologist, or any sort of education expert. I’m just speaking to my own experiences, and I welcome any input from others who have insight into this as well!

1. Understand that working hard does not mean you aren’t intelligent. If something doesn’t come naturally to you, that’s not a reason to give up. Believing that people can do things “just because they were born with a talent for it” is only going to hurt you. It’s not true! People may have natural aptitudes for things, but hard work is involved even for the smartest or most talented people. You are capable of learning anything, and you don’t have to be “good at it” right away to do so.

2. Comparison will kill you. You are your only competition. Focusing on how you rank with other students, and comparing yourself to your classmates is going to exhaust you. By focusing on others, you can’t put your full energy into focusing on your work and yourself. You belong. Even if you struggle with your work, you belong. Focus on your own self-improvement and doing your best.

3. Don’t focus on the goal, focus on your current actions. If you’re always thinking about the future, and about whether you’ll get into that school or that program or win that award or get that scholarship, you’re not using that time to get work done. Don’t worry about college applications, just do your homework. Focus on what you are doing now to reach your goals so you can apply to schools with confidence later.

4. Your grades may not reflect intelligence, but they do reflect work ethic. Don’t let others convince you that grades mean nothing. They sure as hell mean a lot to colleges, and thinking that you should “reject the current education system” is not going to harm anyone but yourself. If you don’t feel like you’re learning anything in your high school classes, that’s all the more reason to want to get into a university that will challenge you. If you put effort into your work, it will not let you down. Your hard work will be reflected on your transcript. Don’t lose focus.

5. Talk to someone. Let people know if you’re struggling. It can be hard to feel like you aren’t allowed to identify as “smart” or to feel pressure to constantly compete and improve. I went to a highly competitive high school that pushed kids to cope in dangerous ways. This is not healthy and not okay. If you’re feeling overwhelmed you need to find healthy coping mechanisms. Speak with someone you trust and don’t let yourself spiral. Don’t try to self medicate. Your well being is always more important than your grades. Period.

6. Enjoy yourself. School may seem like hell, and you may feel like it will never end and you’ll always be stressed and worried. But high school is only four years, and you can do things during that time that you probably won’t ever again. Take advantage of things that seem fun, even if people think they’re nerdy or weird. Try and remind yourself that you’re lucky to have your education and you have the power to do great things with it. Don’t lose sight of your own ability and your bright future!

asexual warrior for ace awareness week!

Adults call me an old soul and most people think it's because I grew up as an obedient child who was too focused on school to make any meaningful relationships but the reality of it is that I always breathed very deeply around cemeteries and the spirits with unfinished business entered my body

Some nights, even knowing this will set my nervous system screaming, I want someone who will hold me close. I want someone I can build a life with; someone who is the other half of my soul.

Then I remember that this would probably require sex at some point.

Fuck.

I’ll just have to settle for turning into Carpe the cola aunt, with twenty dogs in tow.

Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.

C.S. Lewis (via logicsensi)

oh yeah don’t worry about my leg bouncing, i’m fine. that’s just a thing i do when i’m bored, or excited, or nervous, or alive