~Goblet Inscribed With The Names Of King Amenhotep IV And Queen Nefertiti. Period: New Kingdom, Amarna

aries: don’t let anyone burn out the fire thats inside of you. you have what it takes to push past everything that stands in your way, and you will because you have this rage inside of you, this magnificent light that burns from the inside and out. don’t loose your fire, or i’m afraid you would loose yourself. taurus: even though you hide yourself from the rest of the world you have flowers growing throughout your soul, even in the darkest parts of you. You are nature and the dirt it needs, you are grounded and strong like the trees in the forest around you. you have a fight inside of you, you just have to learn how to stand up and move on. gemini: you are life, you are the wind and the freedom it leaves behind. you are the sun that radiates light on summer days, and the rain that falls into puddles in the spring. you are everything in between, and all of it at the same time. a walking contradiction, but you will win the battle within you. for you are a fighter filled with inner strength, for you are the light and dark. cancer: you are strong, stronger than you let on. don’t let all the tears that you drown in tell you otherwise. you are the moon and secrets kept behind walls you built up on your own, hoping to stay in them without someone knocking them down. break them down, break free. just because the walls are breaking doesn’t mean your heart will too. leo: you have so much confidence built up inside of you, you are the sun and all of its light. you are the laughter in the children on sunny days, and the wildflowers growing in fields of yellow. you are also the blackest parts of the ocean, containing your emotions that form into bursts of angered rages. you can’t live like this, hurting yourself and others? don’t demand people of things just because you’re keeping parts of yourself hidden. virgo: you are dangerously beautiful, you are the freckles that my grandmother called angel kisses. you are as pale as snow, and your heart is cold like it to. but you know its not true, you just have to learn how to love yourself. your flaws will always be visible, but they make up who you are and I could connect constellations from your beauty spots, and scars and you would become the universe. simply breathtaking. libra: you are filled with laughter, you are the smiles in the melancholy people with horrible pasts, but heres something that you need to learn, how to make yourself smile and actually feel it deep inside. you have this remarkable persona that makes everyone stop and stare, and you’re too blind to see how wonderful you are. you’re too blind to see that people care for you. you’re the daylight, and the start of a new day. you are the sunset and the beginning of a new tomorrow. scorpio: you are a thousand pieces of different parts of the world, you are the world. all of its beauty, and all of its secrets combined into one. you are as fiery as the deepest parts in a volcano, and the saddest parts at the bottom of a vodka bottle. you are no where in between, you’re either cold as your heart is black or passionate as your heart is when you finally meet someone who opens up your soul and when that happens you will be nothing but light. sagittarius: you are a restless soul, breaking hearts including your own. your fears wont always be visible, because you’re a fighter who got through them already. if you can do it once you can do it again. don’t let the cruelty of human nature destroy your inner self, you can be you with out making reckless decisions. you can be you without being someone else. capricorn: you have firm grip on your life, no one can break that away. you know who you are, and you know what you want. you can create tears in other peoples eyes, just as fast as you can close off yourself from the world. don’t. you need your inner self to radiate through, for you can show people fun, and steadiness and patience and determination out of this world. you are a strong human being, you will find your light or maybe you just haven’t realized that you already have. aquarius: you are all the constellations, and all the seasons. The stars shine through you, and you move like water with each change in the world. You are the life within spring, and the fire in summer, the colors of fall and the death in winter. You are the revolution within yourself, no one in the world is like you. You are your own person. you have your own feelings, and your own mindset. but it’s never okay to keep them concealed inside. let them shine through like the galaxies within you. pisces: you are eloquence and beauty, and your creative colors flow from you. Everyone can see your colors, your vividness. you are a piece of art the world has created, all of your happiness and all of your sadness make you who you are. Stop changing yourself, you already know who you are.

zodiac poems, april 12th (via zodiacinsanity)

New article on Ravishly!

It’s starting to feel like everyone is getting into relationships. When the whole world is getting into “Summer Lovin” mode and you’re on your own, it can be hard not to feel like you’re missing out on something.

Well, that’s why I’m here. Here’s “5 Things To Do When You Feel Bad About Being Single.”

I’m tired of violence

I’m tired of all the death. I’m tired of seeing so many beautiful people leaving this world way too soon. Most of all, I’m tired of people who are STILL refusing to acknowledge the problem. And it is a problem. 

I understand that there are people who use guns lawfully, to hunt and provide for their family, and to those people I say go for it, that is your right after all. However, the sad truth is that there are many sick (both evil and mentally ill) people who have taken advantage of that right, and use it to harm and murder innocent people. 

Do you remember in elementary school during lunch time when a rowdy group of kids would get the whole class in trouble? Then the teacher would hold you in during recess for a stern talk, but you would protest because you hadn’t done anything wrong. You had been following the rules just fine, but the rude kids had taken advantage of the situation and ruined all of the fun for everyone, and everyone was punished. 

The reality is that for every mass shooting you see on tv, there are 10x the amount of people using their guns lawfully and respectfully, be it a fun target practice in their backyard, shooting a deer for dinner, or defending their home against invaders.

While I was away for school, I met up with my mom for a weekend and she told me that she was thinking of buying a gun for defense. I was shocked and sad when she told me that sometimes at night when she hears noises she gets scared. She lives in the house alone with our two cats, and there have been numerous car and house break-in attempts in our neighborhood, as well as a murder by gun that happened just a couple of blocks away from our house. I told her that I understood her concerns, and she ensured me that she would be taking gun safety classes and that she knew how serious of a commitment this would be. 

Now, I believe that guns should be able to be used for defense. However, the weight of owning a gun should not be taken lightly. The reality is this: Guns are made to kill, and when they don’t kill, they injure. Severely. I recently watched a video of President Obama in which he compared gun control to car regulations, a comparison which I have also used for a long time. The process of earning your driver’s license is lengthy and while it differs from place to place, in my experience it required in-class driver’s education, a completed behind the wheel program, and 40(?) hours of driving that my mother had to sign off on. In addition, you had to take multiple paper tests and background checks. A car’s primary purpose is transportation, while a gun’s is violence. So why is it that the process of obtaining a driver’s license is so much more tedious than simply going down to the town gun show and picking up a rifle?

I know this is long, but there’s honestly no way I could shorten this without losing any important detail because let’s face it, there’s still so much more that needs to be said on this issue. To summarize my thoughts, it is your right to be able to use a rifle to defend and provide for your family. Unfortunately, there are those that have taken advantage of your right and they can’t handle the responsibility. By imposing more thorough background checks and mental health screenings, we will be making sure that guns stay in responsible hands. 

We are a country in which guns and ‘the right to bear arms’ is so ingrained into our culture. Because of this I don’t think we will ever be as peaceful as other nations that do not have the same problem we have. But that’s the way it is, and we’ll never truly be able to erase every trace that the current gun situation has left. Whether you think ‘guns don’t shoot people, people do’, or that guns need to be completely erased from our country, we all need to realize that the way things are right now is unacceptable, and things need to change. People are being killed because of the way things are, and the only way to do that is stop acting like children and come to a reasonable compromise.

Places

I'm sitting in the waiting room, about to complete the first step in my mental health journey, so this video could not have come at a better time haha Probs gonna watch as soon as I get home

“Monday With Matt: Dealing With A Diagnosis”

Still feeling sore, but the show must go on!

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, so for @ravishlydotcom, we thought it would be a good idea to try and approach the vast and complicated topic of mental health by focusing on a singular, small, yet important aspect of getting to know your own mind a little better.

Today we talk about dealing with a diagnosis, and how learning about your mental illness can be more of a blessing even if it seems like a curse.

Like, Subscribe, and Reblog if you enjoy it!

I can’t find words to express how happy & proud I am of him for embarking on this difficult journey. If I wasn’t so exhausted I would write a more eloquent response, but instead I urge everyone to check out his videos.

“Matt Diaz Shows His New Body After Surgery.”

Today, I’d like to share something very special with you.

I’ve been waiting for the right time to make and post this video. I wanted to wait for my relationship with my body to really come into bloom, for enough time to pass since the initial video that went viral so it didn’t just seem like I was trying to capitalize on the buzz surrounding it.

But now, it’s time.

After over a year, 2 extensive procedures and a hell of a lot of effort:

This is my new body.

Please let me know what you think, and reblog it if you enjoy it!

logic

Do you ever get really sad?

Me too

Museum of Living Statues Pt. 4

TRIGGER WARNING: Character death, manipulation, and creepy ending.

This was my final project for my creative writing class, and I was pleased with how it turned out, so please enjoy!

(This is a little longer than the other parts, but I couldn’t find a good place to stop it, so there will only be one other part after this)

“Perfect, dear, you’re doing great! Now, as soon as I flip this switch the molding material will fill your mouth. Don’t panic now, breathe through your nose and you’ll be just fine!”

Before I could say anything, they pulled me roughly to my feet and lead me to a large, intimidating iron door. The door had a complicated-looking mechanism that they pulled right open and I found myself in a room that very much resembled a dungeon. At that moment, my body was screaming at me to get the hell out of there as fast as I could, but all I could do was tremble.

“U-um…” I managed to squeak out, “I’m not so sure about this anymore…” Their face changed to one of sadness.

“Well, I’m sorry dear, the paperwork is already filled out. Besides, with your looks and stature I think it’s clear that this is what you’re meant to do.” They leaned in and kissed me on the cheek while squeezing my shoulders reassuringly, and I felt the knot in my stomach loosen a bit as I managed to give a small smile in return.

“That’s the spirit, handsome. Now, if you’ll just come right over here I’ll get you situated with the casting machine.

“T-the what? I thought I would just be standing there or something while an artist, like, made the statue?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, don’t worry dear, we have our own unique way of doing things. This allows us to create the lifelike statues that we have become renowned for. If you’ll just follow me over here I can show you!” They led me over to a large sheet of metal leaning back at a slight angle, and I noticed immediately the hand and ankle shackled that were built in to the stand.

“Why are there handcuffs?” I asked, my brain numb.

“Well, we wouldn’t want you to fall out, now would we?” Their laugh was music, and I felt compelled to obey the sound. I hesitantly, and awkwardly, stood on the bottom platform and leaned back so that I was reclining back against the board. The receptionist fastened the buckles securely, perhaps a little too securely, I thought as I felt the thick leather digging into my wrists and ankles. I glanced up to see a large round bucket positioned over my head. The next thing I noticed was the steam rising out from it and my heart began to pound again. The receptionist seemed to sense my concern.

“Don’t worry handsome, we’ve done this thousands of times and we’ve never messed up once.” They reached out to stroke my cheek, and gave me one more kiss which made the butterflies in my stomach relax. “Now, this next part might feel a little strange or uncomfortable, but you’ll just have to bear with me!” They walked behind my stand and grabbed a large canister with a hose coming out of it.

“This is what we’re going to be using to take the mold of your mouth,” She held up the end of the hose, “open up your mouth nice and wide for me dear, we need to make sure to get those pearly whites as accurately as possible! It’s best to close your eyes if you’re nervous dear.” I swallowed all of my fears and shut my eyes tightly as they placed the tube into my mouth.

I fractured my foot the other day and my friend's response was that she wanted to hug my poor footsie, to which my response was that if she were to hug my footsie it would weally huwt 🤕

It’s a sweet sentiment but this early in the recovery saying you “just want to give me a big hug” is taken as a threat