we're bound for better weather

moriarteaparty

jeanbean16

Pro-censorship wattpad refugees drama is so funny to me because when I started using ao3 as a kid I was a devout mormon and I thought that reading anything even remotely pornagraphic was a sin and would ruin my life. So when I was 13 and found ao3 I went "oh awesome I found a fanfic website with a filtering system so I won't ever randomly stumble into porn. This is great! I was really worried about seeing something I didn't want to see on the other platforms." I didn't read any smut online until like three years later. If a mormon 13 year old can figure out 'don't like don't read' wattpad users can too cmon you guys i believe in you.

silverwolf1249

plantanarchy

pizzaback

old man in the library got a phone call, someone on the other end says loud as fuck “hey pittsburgh phil what are you up to?” and pittsburgh phil responds “i’m in pittsburgh”

sandovers

jareckiworld

Nataliya Bagatskaya — Witnesses of the Unseen (acrylic, canvas, 2026)

seidkonaz

smsomah

Tuareg; Kel Air in Niger. Scanned from the book Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals; 2001; Tiziana & Gianni Baldizzone

antiqueanimals

"Two Whitetail Bucks With Locked Horns"

Lives of Game Animals, Volume 3. 1927. Written and illustrated by Ernest Thompson Seton.

Internet Archive

pkmndaisuki

renthony

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately that tell dropouts "you can always go back!"

And that's not bad! It's true for a lot of people! You CAN go back later! You can apply to university, you can get your GED, you can pursue whatever level of education you want. It's not bad to share that message. If you dropped out and want to go back eventually, there is zero timeline. You can go back at any age, with any life experience. You do not have to graduate by a specific age.

But as someone who dropped out of college over a decade ago, sometimes "you can always go back!" starts to feel a little like an empty platitude. Sometimes it starts to feel grating instead of hopeful. Even when it might technically be true, sometimes it still feels like a hollow sentiment.

I just want to say, to anyone else out there who feels that way, who dropped out and CAN'T go back, potentially EVER, whether it's due to poverty or disability or any other reason:

It's okay to drop out and never go back. It might feel shitty, and you may even feel grief over it. That's real, and painful, and allowed. But you are not lesser. Even if you never go back, you are not a failure or a loser. Academics do not define your worth. You are not stupid. And it is almost certain that the system actually failed YOU.

With love,

A fellow burnout

renthony

A couple people have reblogged this with the comment that it's also okay to be totally confident in the decision to drop out, and to not grieve about it at all. And you know what? Yeah! They're right!

I personally still deal with a lot of grief about how my university career ended, but that's just one experience. I know other people with zero regrets, who talk openly about the ways that dropping out literally saved their lives. Life throws nasty curveballs sometimes.

So, to everyone who dropped out, for whatever reason, and however you feel about it: the educational system is a fucking minefield, but academics don't define your worth, and sometimes dropping out is the only option. Rock on.