me @ God: here is the thing *sits on the floor* *cries*

THIS. IS. ICONIC.

Tom Holland - Behind the Scenes ‘Audi “Driver’s Test”’

I don’t know about you but this is my favorite video of tom. Ever.

Tom Holland on Lip Sync Battle: Ride Wit Me by Nelly

(I know some of y'all can’t view the lip sync battle footage in your country so I figure I’d bless y'all with this underrated gem)

If you can’t clown the people you work with, then they’re mere colleagues, not friends. 😂😂😂

STOP. HIM! Toms impersonation of Laura

Tips for Seniors/Juniors in High School who plan on going to college

So when I was a Junior/Senior i remember freaking out about what college I wanted to go to and what I wanted to be and whatever

NOW I know I want to be an educator and help teens through this time because I remember how stressful this process was.

So here’s a 10 Tip thread I made for Jr/Seniors in HS who plan on applying to college

Look first of all, let me just say a disclaimer: I am not a college admissions person, this was just my experience with the California’s college application system.

So in my experience: I had the luxury of applying to 10 colleges (8 pub, 2 Priv) all in California #blessfeewaivers

The schools I applied to all ranged from prestigious to average but most of them happened to be my safety schools.

I wanted to point this out bc that was one of the things you SHOULDN’T DO when applying to college.

When applying to college, many people get too caught up on rankings and whether they can get in the college or not.

And I was the same way. I even made a list

When I was applying to college the main factors I looked for in a school were: 1. Prestige 2. Size of school 3. Weather 4. WOKE OR NOT 5. Difficulty to get in 6. How far was it from home 7. Etc

So make a list of what you want in a college. Especially if you want to dorm. You know what you want whether it be a school by the beach, or a school in a large city etc

Colleges won’t fit everything on your list, but if they do, congratulations you have found your dream school.

DREAM SCHOOLS DO NOT HAVE TO BE THE BEST SCHOOLS, THEY ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS ALTHOUGH THEY SOMETIMES CAN BE

Your dream school is the place you feel like you’d flourish AND fits the criteria you have set for yourself

Nobody should ever make you feel ashamed of your dream school because in the end if you get in you’ll be happy

Also, apply to places even if you doubt you’ll get in. They may not be your dream school but they might turn out to be.

You’ll have a better chance of getting in if you apply compared to the literal 0 chance you’ll have if you don’t apply.

Just have the guts to apply to your “dream school” or a school you really like aight.

But also realize that if you’re applying to less that 5 schools, then maybe you should consider some safety schools.

These schools are not even schools that are low in “ranking” They are just schools you wouldn’t mind going to but the point is you’ll def get in.

Be aware that yes your major might “matter” but apply to places that interest you as a whole. Your major might change. Your school, probably not.

And know what your comfortable with. Personally, I wanted to go to a school close enough to come home on then weekends but still be able to dorm.

Private schools can be fucking expensive. They are smaller and have a “better quality education” but know that price is the main factor.

Many private schools in Cali offer really good education such as Stanford and USC

But unless they offer you a private school education at a public school price they can put you into some serious debt

Many of them also offer very little financial aid but do give out substantial scholarships. I was offered a $26,000 scholarship to a $65,000 school ???

So unless you have a fee waiver, applying to one of those schools and doing the work for it may not be all it’s cracked up to be in the end.

THE BIGGEST THING WHEN APPLYING TO COLLEGE IS THE PERSONAL STATEMENT SO IF YOU STRESS OUT ABOUT ANYTHING IT SHOULD BE THIS

Your personal statement is the only place in your college application that you can bluntly state: “IVE STRUGGLED IN LIFE PLEASE ACCEPT ME”

Depending on your past you either dread writing about you or you have nothing to write about.

But seriously start early. And if you don’t know where to start, just free write.

I had a dream and the following day I wrote about that shit and I actually used it in my essay. (As a metaphor)

My decision on the school I finally chose had SOO much to do with financial aid.

Some schools sometimes will offer you little to no financial aid and if your a broke bitch like me you’re counting on that financial aid

If paying for college is a factor in your decision plan ahead, like start now.

Career Centers are your holy grail when talking about financial aid and colleges in general.

Look for scholarships to apply to ahead of time and get all the shit you need in order for you to submit them. (Letters of Recs)

Speaking of Letters of Rec, if you are planning on applying to a private school, most likely they will ask you for 2 or more letters of rec

So… 8. Make a Bragging Sheet

A bragging sheet is like a resume but for high school. Make a google doc and put down EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE IN HS OR ANYTHING THAT IS WORTHY OF MENTIONING

For example - Associative Student Body 2020-2024 - (Leadership Role: if any) [And then put a brief description of what y'all do but in a profesional manner]

My teacher made me do this after I asked him to write me a letter of rec and it helped me sooo much bc

And make sure to give it to every teacher/ counselor that way they know exactly what they should put in your LetOfRec

It honestly comes in handy guys and it’s really easy to make. Google Bragging Sheet/Letter for more info about how to set it up

AP scores only matter if the schools you’re applying to actually give you credit for the test you’ve passed

However, if you are planning to go to a UC, AP English Scores are SUPER IMPORTANT so pass them at least with a 3. Or retake them if you can.

AP scores are also important depending on your major. If you are heading towards a STEM major they can help you gain credit in that area.

As for SAT and ACT scores, they matter depending on the school you’re applying to.

Applying to a more prestigious school, and having a better test score puts you at a greater advantage

But there are many cases where people get accepted to their dream school having really good curricular activities and average test scores

The actual college application is fairly easy to navigate. Especially the UC app. But do not wait until the last day!!!

For a couple of years now the website to submit your application will crash the day the app is due so try to finish it at least two days before

But if you do your bragging sheet, those applications will be so easy bc all you have to do is copy and paste what you already have.

Colleges want to see that you saw high school as a 3 sided Pie Chart filling in Academics, Sports, and Extracurriculars

They want to see that even if you didn’t play sports, you excelled in academics or sports.

Maybe some schools will get you there faster but how would I know, I’m barely starting that path myself lol

Hoe Tips: School and Studying

I’m currently in PA school with close to a 4.0 GPA, and with college and back to school starting up, I’m dropping some tips for y'all. A hoe gotta get bomb ass grades if ya want a bomb ass career and to be successful af. So let’s get it✨

1. Write out your notes. Have two notebooks: one for when you’re in class (this one can be messy) and one for at home (this one is the neater one, for color coding, formatting, and all that organizational jazz). Writing things out is proven to enhance memorization 7X more than just reading is.

2. Have a go-to format for your notes. Numbering, bullet points, whatever floats your boat.

3. Type out your notes. I use Google Drive, because it automatically saves all your shit, and you can access your notes via your Google account literally anywhere. Typing out your notes does the same thing writing them out does, as far as helping you review the material.

4. Use Quizlet. Quizlet is a free flashcard website/app that allows you to type in all of your flashcards and definitions, and gives you review options like matching, testing, flashcard mode, and more. This shit made me my high schools valedictorian, no lie.

5. Keep your old quizzes and tests. Often times, teachers will ask similar questions on finals.

6. For math-based subjects, always always always show your work in your notes. I try to explain each step for a math problem in the margins of my notes, and generalize how to do each problem at the end.

7. Do practice problems consistently.

8. For my college hoes: never take an 8 am class. You think you can do it because you did it for high school, but I promise you will regret it. If there’s no avoiding the 8 am lecture, bring coffee and skip any makeup/hair that day. Sleep is too important.

9. Make flashcards. The night before my exams, I like to try and fit everything I need to know for a specific chapter/topic onto one flashcard, in order to weed out main ideas.

10. For essays, easybib.com is amazing with free citations to avoid any plaigiarism or incorrect bibliographies.

11. Rent👏your👏textbooks👏. Unless your teacher specifically requires you BUY it, you likely won’t need the actual textbook. Buying access codes for the book online is hundreds of dollars cheaper.

12. If you do get your textbooks, a lot of them have chapter summaries at the end of each chapter. Be sure to write out/type out/review those summaries.

13. For science labs, if you are allowed, take pictures of any models or slides you need to know for your exams. Pretty much all labs won’t let you take pictures of cadavers or animal dissections, but plastic models and microscope slides should be fine.

14. If you have a question, ASK YOUR TEACHER. It is better to look stupid in class and get your clarification, than to look stupid when you get your exam back and actually have it count against your grade.

15. Do study groups. I have two nursing friends in some of the same classes as me, and we’d always meet up before exams to go over the material. We would bring dry erase markers and map out shit in empty classrooms, taking turns explaining shit to each other until we nailed it.

16. Try to teach the material. Like I said in #15, study groups are great for this. By teaching the material out loud, you are subconsciously reviewing it yourself. This is a HUGE help.

17. Take breaks. You cannot exhaust yourself and expect to still recall anything you learned.

18. I know everyone does this and there’s no avoiding it sometimes, but DO NOT CRAM. Gradual learning is most effective.

19. Have one day every week where you don’t do any schoolwork. You need time to reboot.

20. Use your phone’s calendar/task checklist app for all major assignments, due dates, exam dates, study plans, appointments, etc. Set reminders as needed.

21. Charge your phone in another room while studying. No distractions.

22. Rainymood.com is a free website that plays a 30 minute loop of rain sounds. It helps me focus like nothing else, especially in my loud ass household, and every time the loop stops and replays, I know to take a break between 30 minute study sessions.

23. Feel distracted at home when studying? Try studying in a library, cafe, or even at school. I find that going somewhere else to study actually forces me to pay attention to what I’m doing, for some reason.

24. Reward yourself for good grades. Buy yourself a slice of pizza or a new highlight, have a netflix marathon, go to a party, or take a nap. Whatever conveys a job well done, do it. It’ll make all that studying feel that much greater when it’s over, and you’ll have a goal to work towards.

25. Sit in the front of the classroom as often as possible. You’ll be forced to pay attention, be able to actually see the board, hear the instructor better, and you’re more likely to have your questions answered quickly because your teacher will actually see your hand go up.

26. Caffeinate. I prefer tea because it’s healthier, but coffee works too. Ya girl is NOT a morning person, but my morning tea at least helps me pay attention during earlier classes.

27. Keep all of your school shit organized, together, and labelled.

28. Do NOT skip a class just because you’re lazy or don’t feel like going. The temptation is real sometimes, but a hoes gonna be pissed when ya see your participation average decline.

29. This may just be a psychological thing, but I love to use the same colored/brand of pen for all of my notes/assignments/tests. It just makes everything seem more uniform, and I’m able to recall information better.

30. Trouble taking tests? For any multiple choice question, read the question and try to answer it first without reading any of the options. If your answer doesn’t match the options, then use process of elimination to find the best answer. For true/false questions, write out justifications for each answer (you can also do this for multiple choice). You’ll be acing your exams in no time.

31. Chewing gum during class/studying, and chewing that same flavor gum during the exam, has been scientifically proven to boost your memory recall.

32. Literally any time you have the opportunity to do extra credit, DO IT. Cherish that shit.

33. If you aren’t doing so hot in a particular class (literally any math class for me lol), schedule a private meeting with your professor and go over test questions you missed, or topics you didn’t get. If you know your professor is a flop, or can’t get an appointment, meet with a tutor or another professor of that same subject. Sometimes another voice can shed new light on a difficult topic.

34. For essays, readable.io critiques your writing for free based on readability, grade level, formality, tone, grammatical errors, etc. Seriously a life saver.

35. Also thesaurus.com is ya bff for fancier words/phrases to make your writing more eloquent

36. Always make an outline for every essay or project to organize what you want to say. This will keep you on track, and help you work around any quotes or sources in you writing to make sure your writing is hella organized.

That’s all I can think of for now, please please please feel free to add and share. Enjoy those 4.0’s, hoes💞

“O Jesus, it is true that I am not always faithful, but I never become discouraged, I cast myself into Your arms, and like a little dewdrop, I sink deeper and deeper into Your chalice, O divine Flower of the field, and there I find all I have lost and much more besides.” St. Therese of Lisieux

the lil thing at the end with the smirk and the tongue uM eXcUsE me who gave him the right ???

My greatest weakness, Tom saying “darling”

I am a native of south west London, darling. (x)

This is America Charlie Brown (1988), “The Music and Heroes of America”

Hey, friend!

Before I give you some resources, let’s define the Theology of the Body.

The Theology of the Body (TOB) is the working title that Saint John Paul II gave to the first major teaching project of his pontificate. Delivered over the course of 129 Wednesday Audiences between September 5, 1979 and November 28, 1984, these catechetical addresses present an in-depth biblical reflection on the meaning of human embodiment, particularly as it concerns our creation as male and female and the call of the two to become ”one flesh.”

Though there is a focus on marriage, and the conjugal act (sex), the TOB is meant for everyone: single, dating, engaged, married, priest, religious ,etc.

According to Christopher West, “The Theology of the Body consists of a searching analysis of biblical texts that reveal the mystery of the body, sexuality, and marriage at three critical ‘levels’ of human experience:

-  Christopher West, The Pope’s Theology of the Body (this article provides a good in-depth summary of the whole TOB)

The reason why I’m sharing a quick overview is because the Theology of the Body - the Theology of Us - is the theology of who we are, what (and Who) we are made for, and where we are going. The teachings also helps us understand authentic love, virtue, and equips us to fight a culture that is so eager to destroy marriage and the family. For example, one of the topics that Saint John Paul II speaks on is pornography. In the book Theology of the Body in Simple Language (one of the books I highly recommend), the author says that:

We see here that his teachings equip us to fight against the culture of lust and death. JPII’s TOB emphasizes the need to fight for true love and that which is sacred. This is why I feel the need to give you a quick crash course before sharing the resources: because once you know what these texts carry, you cannot stand by. Once you know the turth of our humanity, the turth about God, the truth about God’s plan for life, love, and marriage, you cannot remain idle. Once you know the Theology of the Body, you cannot helped but be transformed.

Having said that, here are some resources that I recommend:

Intro Texts for the Theology of the Body/Love and Responsibility

Major Texts for the Theology of the Body/Love and Responsibility

You can also find the audiences online here, but I highly recommend having the physical copy to underline stuff and to take notes.

I am including this commentary under “major texts” because it is so helpful in studying the Theology of the Body:

Here are two different paperbacks for Love and Responsibility, but they’re the same:

Other recommended texts on the TOB/Sexual Morality/Marriage

The 6 texts I bolded are really the main ones that I recommend (these include the main texts of course). All of these, however, are super helpful in approaching the Theology of the Body.

I hope this helps!

Jane Austen’s Novels

Physical Chastity: Not just for men any more

Let’s talk frankly here for a post. I think it appropriate with all the modesty discourse on my dash, and since modesty is the guardian of chastity, let’s talk about chastity. Even in Christian circles, there is this idea that physical chastity is for men and emotional chastity is for women. While it may be true that, on the whole, women struggle with emotional chastity and men physical,  it is a disservice to women to pretend that women can’t struggle with physical chastity, too.

Let’s start with the most taboo of subjects: porn. According to a 2015 study, one in three women watch it at least once a week. While the numbers aren’t quite as staggering as those for men, it is still alarming that what was once considered inconceivable is now practically the norm. This is obviously a huge issue for women and can be just as destructive. If you struggle with a porn addiction, I urge you to seek help, get an accountability partner, and turn to the Blessed Mother, the model of purity for help. 

Okay, now that is out of the way. If you don’t have a problem with porn, good.

It needs to be said that as teenagers, all Christian girls hear are bad metaphors as a heavy-handed attempts to get across the point to not let boys take advantage of them, as if boys are the only ones tempted to impurity and that there are no boys out there trying to be chaste, too. This is not to be the old “women want sex, too” spiel, but I don’t think it’s fair girls to say that they will only be pressured into be unchaste in relationships and not be struggle with urges of their own. Truthfully, women can be just as tempted to unchastity as men and it’s just as important for women to be physically chaste.

I think it is important to note that women can lust after men and have disordered affections, too. Women lust after married or otherwise unavailable men, too. Premarital and extramarital sex can be just as much to blame on the woman as it is on the man. Even within relationships between faithful Catholics, it can be hard for either party to put on the brakes when things start going too far. 

I’ve noticed, too, that being nearly thirty and not  being married yet, my biological clock is ticking and it is getting to the point that my type is now is pretty much “single and Catholic.” It gets harder as you get older to stay physically chaste and emotionally chaste. As your dating pool gets smaller, it is more and more tempting to think that each guy may be your future husband and to get physical faster with the men you do go out with. 

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help. 

Keep it up, girls. Stay holy my friends.