Earthbending-sjw - Musings Of An Afrofuturist

random person: don’t think about it I guess you’re not able to do this anyway

xNTP: *does the thing*

xNTP: *becomes doctor* 

xNTP: *climbs mountain*

xNTP: *writes  novel*

xNTP: 

I'm taking a class on Plato's Republic next quarter and you can guarantee I am bringing this up on the first day!

I LEARNED RECENTLY THAT PLATO WON THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE OLYMPICS FOR WRESTLING THREE TIMES. THIS PUTS A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON THINGS. I ALWAYS IMAGINED PLATO TO BE FRAIL AND MISSHAPEN BUT HE MUST HAVE BEEN FRICKEN RIPPED. I WONDER IF ARISTOTLE EVER FELT ANXIETY ABOUT GETTING PHYSICALLY (I.E. NOT JUST METAPHYSICALLY) DISMANTLED BY PLATO. PLATO WAS PROBABLY PISSED OFF BY AT LEAST A HANDFUL OF QUESTIONS ARISTOTLE ASKED HIM. ARISTOTLE WAS A LITERAL GENIUS TOO. IMAGINE PLATO LECTURING AND WRITING ON A BLACKBOARD AND ARISTOTLE THROWING A COMMENT OUT THERE ABOUT SOME COMPLEX MISSTEP IN PLATO’S LOGIC AND PLATO’S CHALK JUST SNAPS AND ARISTOTLE’S TESTICLES SUCK WAY BACK UP TO WHERE THEY DROPPED FROM, THEN PLATO IN A BLUR APPEARS BESIDE ARISTOTLE SITTING AT HIS DESK AND HE PICKS HIM UP AND SUPLEXES HIS MACEDONIAN ASS.

(Queen) Nakia at the Oscars

So Vulcan. I love it.

“I would not be the person I am without the authors who made me what I am - the special ones, the wise ones, sometimes just the ones who got there first.”

— Neil Gaiman

“The simple fact is that people who achieve excellence in their fields didn’t just have a dream. They got up at 4:00 am to practice on parallel bars or had to forgo other desirable activities and paths in order to get in six hours of violin practice a day, or stayed off several million absurd writing advice blogs with their overheated little cliques that dispense useless regurgitated maxims and empty praise and decide to actually confront their own thoughts on a page. Or they read Beowulf and Dante carefully and deeply when they didn’t see any point, since all they were interested in was Sylvia Plath, because someone of more experience and wisdom told them to do so. I don’t know whether we’re overly lazy, stupid, or childish these days. But the idea of preparing oneself for excellence has somehow disappeared. So – my advice to dreamers: Don’t just follow your dreams. Earn them. Do what it takes to achieve it. Work for it. Don’t just sit there and dream because if you do, it will never, ever be yours.”

— Harrison Solow, Don’t Follow Your Dream (via crimsun)

As a student of color in STEM, that scene perfectly describes what I think about everyday. Here’s a quick list of everything that I am doing:

I have a 3.71 GPA

I volunteer 10+ hours every week

I am a part-time researcher on campus (at some point I’ll make a post about my research)

I am helping to develop a CubeSat as a part of an team of undergraduate students

and I am developing my own educational outreach student organization to bring more students of color into STEM

and you know what?

I probably still won’t get as far as rich, white students who haven’t worked nearly as hard as I have. I grew up just above the poverty line, so I don’t have the connections that those students have, it sets me apart, and it sets me behind.

The students who have those connections were able to get internships and research positions in high school, without even trying. Meanwhile, I got my first research position half of the way through my second year of college because I worked my ass off during my first year and the first half of this school year. My story is in no way unique. This is the experience of thousands of students of color around the country. We have to work so hard to get half as far as our white counterparts, and it’s just bullshit.

Trump is the worst excuse for a human being, and any one that wants to vote for him is no better.

Donald Trump Is An A**hole, Philly Mayor Says

The mayor of Philadelphia didn’t mince words when asked about Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Muslims.

happy Galentine’s Day!