The Invincible Summer

fromcarouseltohair: allyssumdays: Everyone has rolls when they...

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:46:56 -0400

allyssumdays:

Everyone has rolls when they bend over. Everyone. Lets just get this out of the way right off the bat. In the last few months, I’ve had over 30 women ranging from rail thin to extra large naked in my bed and I would routinely ask them to hug their knees. You won’t believe this… ALL OF THEM HAD TUMMY ROLLS. Not one was exempt. Even my super fabulous professional model 6 foot tall and some amazing Katie had rolls. The stomach pictures turned into some of my favorite images from the project… so quit thinking they’re bad, and try accepting (dare I say embracing?) yours!

When people say “you’re gorgeous”, believe them. I tend not to, and it’s a cryin’ shame. When people genuinely compliment you, it’s because they really see it. Try to not dismiss their perspective as wrong and assume that you know better. They see all of you. We see our flaws. Believe them.

“Arm flab is embarrassing.” No its not, go fuck yourself. No, not you. The people who tell us that, silly.

You’re not stunning despite your body. You’re stunning because of your body. There is a distinct difference. I grew up in a culture that would deem “unattractive” women as “special spirits”. A degrading categorization that implied that the only thing worthwhile was whatever was inside. Well, yeah. We are all much much more than our bodies, but our bodies are a beautiful part of us too. Beauty comes from the inside AND the outside. I am of the firm belief that every person is beautiful, and so this leaves the inside to be the part that is the most telling when it comes to true “beauty”.

A guy can pick you up off your feet, and it won’t break his back. “Wait, whaaaaaa Jes? You’re full of shit.” Nope. This just happened to me for the first time in… six years? I’m considerably heavier than I was 6 years ago (like… 70 pounds heavier) and so when I ran up to my friend Eric for a hug and he picked me up with my heels in the air… it left me breathless. I had forgotten that it was possible; I had accepted a life void of being lifted. So exhilarating. Eric didn’t suffer any injuries and walked away unscathed.

You don’t need to exercise every day in order to feel better about yourself. Many believe that someone who’s fat needs to exercise as much as possible in order to prove that they’re committed to becoming “less fat”. As if accepting one’s body as is would be a sin, and that’s just silly. Yes, exercising has wonderful physical and mental benefits, but you don’t owe it to anyone else to make an effort to change your body unless you wanna. You do not have to alter yourself to be okay. Period.

You’re allowed to fall in love with yourself. I promise. This will be the scariest thing you will ever do, and that’s okay. It will also be the most amazing (albeit super gradual) experience you will ever have. It doesn’t make you narcissistic. It doesn’t make you vain. It is liberating in every form of the word.

It’s also okay to have days where you don’t love yourself. Read this. No really. Read it. And then realize that we’ve grown up learning and internalizing that we are not okay our entire life. For me, that’s 26 years of self-hate indoctrination and brainwashing. It’s going to take a lot longer than you think to reverse this thinking, and it’s definitely not going to happen overnight. Allow yourself to have “weak” days. Cry, mourn, sob, yell, throw things. Whichever. Then get up, brush yourself off, give the media the finger, and move forward because you’re a warrior.

Everyone’s boobs are uneven. If you have a lot of boobs, they might be way uneven. Don’t stress. This is totally normal.

There are people who prefer large ladies. And I mean all sizes of large. I thought that my best bet in life was to find a partner who accepted my fat. Pause. Give me a minute to hang my head and shake it at myself. Not only are there people who adore “thick” women, but a LOT of them who prefer it. This eventually ends up in an interesting territory which Marianne talks about here, but the point that I’m trying to make goes back to the “despite vs because of” argument. Here is what you need to know: you do NOT need to settle for a lover who is “okay” with your body. You have the right (and millions of opportunities) to find someone who is infatuated with your body. You deserve to be worshiped, woman!

Fat chicks bang hot guys… ALL. THE. TIME.I know that hot is relative and all inclusive depending on who you chat with, but for these purposes, lets talk about the “universally attractive” kind of hot. Y’know, the kind fat chicks don’t deserve? We want to pretend that we don’t know what I’m talking about, but lets be real; we totally do. The fact that “fat chicks bang ‘hot’ guys” was one of the most powerful realizations I’ve had thus far. In line with the above paragraph, I knew that there would be someone that would find me attractive but the pool would be small (because of my body) and potentially full of guys I didn’t personally find sexy. So I would have to settle for anyone that would take me. After all, how could a conventionally gorgeous man (tall and with tattoos of course) like fat chicks? Weh-he-hell, let me tell you somethin’: through various sites, events, parties, and corner store meetings, I found myself with over a hundred men who were champing at the bit to get with this. I was the one who had to sift through and pick the hottest of the hot. Ladies, over a hundred. “Girls” showed what society thinks about that when Hannah’s character has a weekend romance with an attractive and wealthy doctor. People flipped their shit. “Patrick Wilson is so hot he would never do Lena Dunham” was the most eye catching. Wilson’s wife responded to that rubbish here, but the tweet speaks volumes about what the majority of people think unconventional women deserve. Jesus christ, it’s annoying. I won’t spill the details of my bedroom coming and goings, but lets just say this: the hottest guys in Tucson and I get along just fine. I would recommend reading Emily’s article on xoJane for a better explanation of what I’m struggling to say. Know this: the myth that “atypical” bodies can’t be paired with “typically attractive” bodies is false. Women need to know that all bodies can be paired with all bodies.

Riding during sex will NOT collapse his insides. Just trust me on this one, what you fear is totally false. Here’s a great article that changed my life.

Wearing whatever you want is a political statement. Join the revolution. Throw style rules out the window. Wear the tutu. Wear the horizontal stripes. Wear the turquoise skinny jeans. Wear the see-through blouse. Wear the bikini. Wear the sweat pants. Wear the shirt that says “Does this shirt make me look fat?”. Wear whatever it is that makes you happy. This is your life.

You are fucking beautiful. I’m saying this with a straight face and seriously meaningful look where I maintain eye contact for an uncomfortable amount of time. I know you don’t feel like you fit into the category of gorgeous that our world creates. I know that its hard. I know that its a daily battle. But fuck their fascist beauty standards. The second you stop looking for a skinny model in your mirror and start looking at YOU… is the second you will start to appreciate what you are. Stop looking for flaws. Stop looking for differences. You are perfect. You are more than enough. You are the best thing that has ever happened to you. And you are fucking beautiful.

Say it with me.

I’m actively sobbing.

did-you-kno: Source

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:35:01 -0400

did-you-kno:

Source

Ithaca summer forever.

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:56:11 -0400

Ithaca summer forever.

GRADUATION WEEKEND

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:48:37 -0400

howdoiputthisgently:

IT’S LIKE:

AND LIKE:

(reality tv gifs)

AND LIKE:

AND LIKE:

AND LIKE:

AND THEN WHEN IT’S ALL OVER I’M LIKE:

Wise words to be graduate to. This is Water, a commencement...

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:20:04 -0400

Wise words to be graduate to.

This is Water, a commencement speech by David Foster Wallace.

I wonder how many people overlook the sankofa symbols all...

Mon, 13 May 2013 00:46:04 -0400

I wonder how many people overlook the sankofa symbols all around DC residential neighborhoods.

A lot of people do. Mr. Bechet, art professor and my former Freshman seminar teacher, told me about how this was standard for houses of Free People of Color around New Orleans. Basically, white people allowed these symbols because they didn’t really know what they were (they assumed that these were simply ornamental). And this sankofa symbol was constantly reproduced in African-American cast iron gate designs.

black slaves did a lot of the iron work you see around the south and in older homes in the north.

a lil something we brought with us being that we had been smelting iron b4 the europeans used water to wash their behinds.

Bolded emphasis, mine. I love when the things that we managed not to lose on the way over here show up all around us.

i always notice it, but never connected the dots!

I never knew what these meant, I have seen them everywhere and all of my life. Damn.

I never knew this

Here’s a pic i found of the sankofa symbol

all over the dominican republic you will see the same designs, particularly in lower class homes gates. so fucking interesting. my grandmothers front porch has got several of those.

reblogging again for the shit people look at but never see

holy shit. my own fence has this in it and I had no idea.

The railings on the house I’ve lived in for 18 years have these designs, I never knew anything about them until today.

^Very interesting to see the different responses from all kinds of people.

mylovelybrighteyes: Good job south campus. If only these were...

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:23:36 -0400

mylovelybrighteyes:

Good job south campus. If only these were all over the place at school #rape #sexualassault #help #911

99 Life Hacks to make your life easier!

Sun, 05 May 2013 18:14:49 -0400

shialabeowulf:

leilockheart: Skinny Love

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:51:13 -0400

leilockheart:

Skinny Love

I took a 7 week coast to coast road trip after being laid off...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:10:04 -0400

I took a 7 week coast to coast road trip after being laid off from Boeing. I didn’t have a camper but realized that being able to pull off the road at a rest or truck stop was the way to go to make the trip affordable. With a few sheets of 1/2” plywood and misc. hardware this is what I came up with. The effort was well worth the time and materials.

"All these soft, warm nights going to waste when I ought to be lying in your arms under the moon- the..."

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:41:17 -0400

“All these soft, warm nights going to waste when I ought to be lying in your arms under the moon- the dearest arms in all the world- darling arms that I love so to feel around me- How much longer before they’ll be here to stay? When I do get home again, you’ll certainly have a most awful time ever moving me one inch from you.”

- Zelda to Scott, 1919 (via thatkindofwoman)

dontgigglesherlock: nlmsbb: prettieandsick: I think the concept of virginity was created by men...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:19:31 -0400

dontgigglesherlock:

nlmsbb:

prettieandsick:

I think the concept of virginity was created by men who thought their penises were so important it changes who a woman is.

realist shit I have ever read.

reblogging again because everyone needs to see this post

Preach.

Scores on hunger strike at Guantanamo jail

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:39:55 -0400

Scores on hunger strike at Guantanamo jail:

Some 84 of the 166 prisoners at the prison camp have joined the hunger strikers, with 16 being force-fed.

The Way You Should Love Someone

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 00:52:09 -0400

The Way You Should Love Someone:

shaneuhd:

Love someone the second you get out of bed because it’s the hardest time to do so. The spell you built together all morning is broken and now you can decide whether or not you hate them. They are so vulnerable laying there with their little naked body under the covers, giving you hopeful stares. You could destroy them with a single glance if you wanted to. Please don’t though. Please choose to love them.

Love someone when they’re drunk and it looks like their face is melting and they’re stuffing food in their mouth, sauce dripping down the sides. Your body will recoil because you’ll think for a split second that you fell in love with an animal instead of an actual human being. They are so unattractive in that moment, so pathetic, so lost, like a loveless ape, but I want you to love them regardless because you know this isn’t who they really are and because it only takes three glasses of wine for a beautiful person to become ugly and that shouldn’t be enough to leave you cold. When you carry their heavy lifeless body to bed, look at them when they fall asleep and try to remember the person you adore. Please choose to love them.

Love someone when they’re insufferable, when they hate their job and hate their friends and seem to hate everything in their life except for you. You might lose respect for them, you might look at them as if they’re weak and can’t stand on their own two feet, but I want you to try to push those thoughts out of your brain because the fact is that this happens. People get stuck in their life and they look around and only see one thing that makes sense to them. It doesn’t make them weak or co-dependent, it just makes them human. Don’t fault them for things that are largely out of their control, don’t have your attraction hinge on how great their life seems to be going. Choose to love them.

Choose to love them when they say your least favorite word, choose to love them when they have a day when they need you more than usual, choose to love them when they smell like shit, choose to love them when they aren’t well, when they aren’t the able-bodied picture of beauty they were when they met you because people never stay the way you want them to. You should know that.

Growing up, I thought falling in love was just something people did to distract themselves from dying. It was like getting a tattoo; having a boyfriend or a girlfriend was a way of branding yourself and letting people know that you were valued and that you were important. There was something inside of you that made you better than the average person.

Now I know that, in many ways, I was right from the very beginning. But the kind of love I understood when I was younger is not necessarily the “correct” kind of love. That kind of love is paper-thin and it will wash away. However, every time you choose to love someone despite the bullshit, you are making it stronger, you are painting a fuller picture. By choosing to love, you are accepting the flaws and ugliness that comes along with something beautiful. You are understanding just how life works.

Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they’re tumbling...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 23:57:00 -0400

Remember those walls I built?

Well, baby, they’re tumbling down, and they didn’t even put up a fight.

They didn’t even make a sound.

Real Beauty Sketches - Dove

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:59:09 -0400

Real Beauty Sketches - Dove :

You are more beautiful than you think! Click here and watch our social experiment that proves. Real Beauty Sketches.

Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.

If chocolate-covered strawberries aren’t part of a...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:13:57 -0400

If chocolate-covered strawberries aren’t part of a balanced breakfast, I don’t know what is.

omg cute overload

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 09:57:19 -0400

omg cute overload

45 Years Ago Today Dr Martin Luther King Was Killed by the US Government

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:05:00 -0400

45 Years Ago Today Dr Martin Luther King Was Killed by the US Government:

“Repeat after me… COINTEL PRO.. This was the program used by former FBI head J Edgar Hoover to go after the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, the American Indian Movement, The Student Anti-War Movement and the Chicano Movement. The FBI saved its most vicious and invasive tactics for the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements.. Malcolm X and Dr King were key targets, primarily because they had linked the domestic struggles for ‘Civil Rights’ and Black American self determination to the larger struggles taking place internationally.. That was dangerous to the FBI and our government and led to Hoover seeing King as public enemy number one along with the Black Panthers and other groups that had shifted into the same direction of internationalizing Black struggles.”

I Want You (Bob Dylan cover) - Tallest Man on Earth

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 23:49:06 -0400

I Want You (Bob Dylan cover) - Tallest Man on Earth