Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.
(via radiant-soul-990)
“I’m committed to finishing this. I’m on page 83 right now. I haven’t finished anything in a long time. So even if I only read ten pages a day, I’m going to finish. I just need to prove to myself that I can. After graduation I moved back to my hometown. I just wanted to recharge. But I’d been away for so long that I didn’t know who I was anymore. My bedroom was exactly the same. My NYU acceptance letter was still hanging on the wall. My varsity letter jacket was in the closet. I had this wooden peg with like twenty academic medals on it. I’d always been the smart one in our family. Everyone thought I was going to do so much. But somehow I’d lost my way. I’d gone to this big city, and gotten this big education, and I’d wasted it all. I have no idea what to do with my life. Even my laugh has changed. It used to be my favorite thing about myself. But now it sounds hollow. Like I’m faking it. Or just mimicking other people. I feel like I’m not a whole person. I used to read so much as a kid. I finished War and Peace when I was thirteen. So I just need to prove to myself that I can finish this. Maybe if I can finish one thing, it’ll open me up to that girl again. The one who knew everything and what she wanted to be.”
if you don’t take risks, nothing will change
The Amazon rainforest produces 20% of the world’s oxygen and is home to 30% of its species.
It is currently burning down at a record pace.
We have a moral obligation to save it.
She smelled like flowers, like spring and summer all at once.
“There’s too much negative energy out there. Slouched shoulders. Puppy eyes. Excessive exhales. Too many people with fixable problems that they don’t want to fix. For some reason people love to identify themselves by their problems. They just don’t know who they are without some major issue. They love to say ‘I cant.’ Or: ‘If I was this, then I could be that.’ Or ‘I’ll always be this way because of xyz.’ But that kind of thinking never ends. You’ll always have another box you can check. You can always qualify for victimhood. There’s always a reason to opt out of self-responsibility. Because God forbid the problem is you. It’s toxic thinking. I can’t be around it. It’s too draining. I’m trying to grow. I’m trying to be great. I’m trying to be thankful for all that I have. So when I feel negative energy, I’m looking for an exit strategy. I’m not going to give up on you right away. I’m going to speak my truth. But if you have no interest in helping yourself, I’m out.”
“She was proud. She seemed detached. She wasn’t really looking for boys. It took me a few weeks to get my first date. I learned later that she acted this way because of everything she’d been through. Her parents abandoned her when she was born. She’d lived in several group homes. And that’s why she always seemed so cold. But once I got to know her, she changed completely. She was funny. She was sensitive. Small things touched her. One day we saw two seagulls fighting on the beach, and one of them was getting the better of the other. I thought it was funny. It just seemed like nature to me, but when I looked at her she had tears in her eyes. We stayed together for a year. Things got really heavy. She was my first love. But I graduated first and went off to university. I had a new life at school. I didn’t want to be in a relationship anymore. So we lost contact. She told me there was no need to keep in touch because we’d never been friends, only lovers. Three years later I took a trip with my friends to a city in Belgium. We went there often because it was just across the border. That night we decided to walk through the red light district. At first I didn’t recognize her. She was older. She had on a lot of makeup. She was wearing lingerie. But then we made eye contact. She didn’t seem ashamed. She seemed sad, but not ashamed. I quickly looked away because I was scared my friends would notice. That night I went back to my hotel and sobbed. I’m not sure if it’s because of what happened to her. Or because my initial reaction had been shame. But I tried to make it right. I went back and found her. She told me her life was none of my business anymore.”
(Paris, France)
by Brittan Hart