on this lovely trans day of visibility we were talking to some of our preschoolers about gender. one asked "why are you not a girl?" and I answered "because when I looked inside myself and said 'you are a girl' I did not feel happy, but when I said 'actually you are a person' I did feel happy"

then another student asked "why are you not a hot dog?" and that was a much harder question to answer

Listening to a Christian talk about their beliefs, and they call God ‘Heavenly Father’ out of nowhere:

The kids are alright.

If you like frogs. Or possums. Or cool builds. Or happiness. This is the video for you.

animals are so right about nuzzling your face into things

when i was a kid, the thought of heaven would scare me so bad that i would get violently ill because i imagined it would just be a neverending series of cookiecutter suburban neighborhoods with a sky that was always sunny. like this

FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT FINALLY SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS

The purest expression of Love in Tolkien’s works is following

Sam follows Frodo into Mordor. Arwen chooses to follow Aragorn’s fate instead of the one she was born to. Amroth will not leave Middle-earth when Nimrodel cannot follow. Sam, Merry, and Pippin will not let Frodo leave the Shire alone. Beren and Lúthien follow each other into the darkest places in the world, or rather Beren goes, alone, repeatedly, and Lúthien pursues him with the same fervor that he once used to pursue her.

Tom Bombadil follows the river to find Goldberry and once he finds her he’s always following the path home to her; the only paths in the Old Forest that are dependable and constant are the ones that lead to his home and to Goldberry’s pool. “I have my house to mind, and Goldberry is waiting,” for him to follow her home at last.

Gimli follows Legolas and Galadriel into the West, and bears a love so powerful that he is the one exception to the rule; he bore no ring and yet is welcomed for the sake of his love for them. Sam swears to return to where he thinks Frodo died after the duty is done, but in that moment, the hardest thing is not the weight of the Ring or the fear of Sauron, but the burden of leaving him. Éowyn and Faramir stand together on the walls of Minas Tirith as they wait for the end. The Three Hunters push themselves to near impossible feats of endurance pursuing their friends when they are in danger. The ents constantly followed the entwives to their gardens, even though they didn’t care for them much, and the story goes that one day they will follow them and find “a land where both our hearts may rest”, a place where they can both be happy.

They go only because they would not be parted from thee – because they love thee, Éowyn whispers.

You can trust us to stick to you through thick and thin – to the bitter end…. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word, Merry scolds.

Don’t go where I can’t follow, Sam weeps.

oaks talked about how church makes members more compassionate people to those with different perspectives and backgrounds

funny because i became a more nonjudgmental person outside the church and i had to unlearn a lot of what i was taught as a kid. the culture teaches you that you are better than everyone else and to shame people who aren't like you

i've stopped shaming myself and others a whole lot more since i've left

Shut the fuck up Michelle, it's women like you who drive us to do it!

You cannot blame others for your own actions. Women are abused and harmed at much higher rates.

#they're married okay

POV: you’re trying to sleep but there’s a fucking creature

i also dont know what pangur is so everybody meet “the scronglo”

Pangur, scronglo, eeby deeby, blorbo, rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore

With all the stir around the Mormon church’s latest financial scandal, I gotta say…it seems weird to me when the catalyst for someone leaving the church is money related.

Like, I do get that it’s horrible. People in poverty forgo paying for basic necessities in order to be “full tithe payers.” Finding out that the church has billions of dollars is a slap in the face.

But at the same time, it’s really…telling…when I come across a post that is like, “I knew about the historical issues, the polygamy, black people being barred from the priesthood and the temple, LGBTQ issues, etc, and I had managed to hold onto my faith despite that, but THIS makes me angry. THIS damaged my testimony like nothing before, I will never trust the church again” like?? Dude, really??

I know I’m the old technology freak but… These new fridges are terrible. Trust me.

I was a tech for a while and serviced them. You’d be lucky to get 3 years without a major failure.

Strong beige box lasts for 20+ years and plus it comes with The Guy