School election speeches

So earlier I was chatting with one of my nieces, and apparently she had some ‘tea’ to spill. And I gotta tell you, I’m still cracking up right now 🤣
So my niece attends a Catholic high school (which I won’t name). They’ve got weekly school assemblies every Monday. Towards the end of the assembly, one of the school prefects goes up to the front to deliver their ‘final word’; basically a speech to the whole school. It’s their custom but I’m pretty sure other schools do this as well. I did this once myself.
Anyway, yesterday, it was this particular student’s turn to deliver his final word. Wanna guess what the topic of his speech was? Words of encouragement? A life story? An inspirational/motivational speech? Random shit talking? NOPE. According to my niece, his topic was…..LGBTQ. So that dude was gay. He spent a good 5-6 minutes talking about his gayness and the importance of “empowerment”.
Given that it was a high school, a Catholic one at that, you could probably imagine the reaction of the students and the teachers. My niece thought that on a literary standpoint that student’s speech was “good”, but of course that didn’t matter because no one took him seriously. Apparently a lot of the students were trying to contain their laughter, some failing, teachers looking bemused. In the middle of his meandering speech, some students began to clap, not in support, but to attempt to get his speech wrapped up, so much so that he said, in front of the whole school, that he wasn’t finished. When he said that, people just burst out laughing.
Oh but it gets even funnier. Towards the end of his speech, he starts referencing Dylan Mulvaney and Brian Tamaki for some reason.
And the funniest part of all, he had said something along the lines of, “I exist under a Orwellian regime that at times revoked the warmth of the sunshine, so I’ve learned to prosper in the shade.” When my niece told me that I was nearly on the floor because holy shit he did not just seriously say that in a speech to the whole school. 😭
Honestly, props to that guy. It takes a LOT of balls to think about that topic, right it down, and say it in front of the whole school with a straight face. Oh and during all of this the principal apparently made no attempt to settle down the students which just makes this even funnier. Man I wish I was present during that assembly, that shit would’ve been gold. I guarantee you if there was no phone ban, that speech would’ve been recorded and passed around. Man kids these days. Oh well, the end. Let me know what you guys think, because this made my week.

For those who may be interested in things going on in the local community, the Sweet Home Central School District (which includes UB’s North Campus and many of the nearby apartments) will be having it’s annual school board elections today.
Voting can be done any time between 7am and 9pm, in the community room of Sweet Home Highschool, on the corner of Sweet Home and Skinnersville Roads.
For information on the elections, here is the Elections Page on School Website: https://www.sweethomeschools.org/Page/1331

communication has never been my specialty, even when I was a kid i needed speech therapy. I’ve never had a lot of friends growing up, I remember sitting in lunch and never talking so not much conversations happened. I've always had trouble keeping conversations going and knowing what to talk about. In middle school the first friend i consistently sat with and talked to I had trouble knowing what to say that all I would talk about were “have you ever….” on and on. I knew she got tired of it but I just couldn’t think of what else to say. Im so dry and boring, now at work it’s even more prominent. I got a new job and all my coworkers thought I was quiet cs I was new, but as time went on they realized that’s just how I am and it’s hard to get a conversation going with me. I just don’t know what to say and some of them have stopped trying as they’ve come to realize i’m just boring. And stories, I can count on my hand the times Ive told a personal story. And when I’ve tried it I stumble on my words and just rush the ending too so it doesn’t go well. I envy people who can tell a good story. I just wish I was more normal and not so handicapped with my communication.

Hi there! My school is doing a sort of Model UN next week and my group’s country is Malta! I found out today that we’re allowed to hold a speech in one’s country’s native language, and as a person who’s very language/linguistics interested, I’d love to do this.
My question is, would anybody be willing to help me with the translation of a short speech (100-150 words max) so I could do this?
Thank you so much!

First things first: First reddit post. Ever. So, mods, if I don't have enough karma or whatever, I understand about taking it down.
Where I went: America Germany
Why I left: Because I'm that worried about the situation in America. I wanted to leave before midterms, so I got out. To be clear: if Trump is re-elected in November, I don't believe any place in the world is really safe. Still, I will take my chances with Putin in Germany than Trump and the GOP in America.
How I did it: I am privileged enough to be able to do so. I had a house in the states, in a desirable community with a good school district, and I sold it in the height of the housing market bubble for 100,000.00 over the asking price.
I have a Master's degree, a teaching certificate, and I decided to get certified to teach English as a second language.
I want to be clear-- I do not actually recommend teaching English as a second language in Germany as a way out of America. Before Covid, I think it was possible and easier. And, to be fair, a handful of 20 somethings still make it work every year and get their freelance visa. But it is hard.
But you need a registered address in Germany before you submit all your paperwork to the visa office, and finding an apartment here is very, very difficult.
I ended up getting a job via my Master's degree, which allowed me to live in Germany on an affordable salary.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to try to answer them.

Sa pagbitiw sa pwesto ni Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri sa kanyang position bilang Senate President, sinabi niya sa kaniyang speech: “I failed to follow instructions from the powers that be.”
Mga Tanong:
Ano ang instructions?
Sino rin ang tinutukoy na “powers that be”?
Ang Senado ng Pilipinas ay ang mataas na kapulungan o ‘Upper Chamber’ sa dalawang kamara ng mga tagapagbatas o Congress sa bansa. Ito ay binubuo ng dalawangpu’t apat na senador at mayroong termino ng anim na taon.
Walang partikular na geographical district ang kinakatawan ng mga senador. Legislative power is vested in the Congress - both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Ang ibig sabihin, kailangang siguruhin ng pamahalaan na ang bawat kilos nito ay higit na pinagtitibay ang diwa ng konstitusyon.
Ito ang dahilan kung bakit may Senado at Kongreso, upang magsagawa ng mga naaayon at napapanahong batas.Kung kaya’t bawat hearing o session ay naririnig natin ang phrase na “in aid of legislation.”Ang posisyon ng Senate President, ay ang pinakamataas sa naturang kapulungan.
Siya ang third in command after the President and Vice President, at maari siyang humalili by virtue of succession kung sakali mang mayroong mangyari sa dalawang opisyal.
Siya ang presiding officer ng Senado, at lider ng mayorya o majority group.Maari bang diktahan ang mga Senador o Mambabatas?
Ayon sa principle of separation of powers, may demarcation line ang tatlong branches na ito: The power to make laws is with the LegislativeThe power to enforce laws is with the Executive Branch as the President, as Chief Executive and, The power to interpret laws lies within the Judiciary.
Dahil sa independence ng Legislative Branch bilang co-equal branch, hindi ito “rubber stamp” ng Pangulo na maaring diktahan at maging sunud-sunuran lamang.
Sino naman ang “powers that be” sa Pilipinas?Ayon sa Article II, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution, “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”
Ibig sabihin, ang kapangyarihan ng mga nasa pamahalaan ay mula sa mamamayan naghalal sa kanila sa pwesto. That’s why every government official - elected or appointed, has a sworn duty na ipaglaban at pangalagaan ang interes ng taumbayan.
Ang 118 Milyong Pilipino ang bumubuo sa kapangyarihan ng pamahalaan, at hindi ito dapat maging limitado sa isang specific group o class, o maging pabor sa isang personal political agenda. Malaking challenge ito sa bagong Senate President, Francis “Chiz” Escudero.
Paalala rin sa mga nasa pwesto sa gobyerno, na bilang public servant, ay maglingkod nang tapat at naaayon sa batas para sa kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino.

as the title suggests, I am gonna apply to TU Eindhoven's Applied Physics program in 2025. I am currently doing my high school and would be done with it in Feb 2025 with results to get into TU/e Bachelors
So my concern is what If I want to study something Theoretical Physics or Cosmology stuff for my masters. My aim is to study 3 years in Netherlands and then apply for Cambridge and Oxford's Master Programs of Theoretical Physics which are very considered very good. my grades are good right now but I don't think i can afford the bachelors of 3 years over there in UK
as the course's name is literally Applied Physics, like will it affect my chances of getting into masters for Theoretical Physics be it any uni in Europe?
because I don't want that in my future.
the other option is Groningen's Physics BSc (it's more expensive than TU/e). so like can anyone explain do they teach more applied stuff and less theoretical stuff and also do you get select elective courses in Theoretical Physics and Mathematics as well. I know about double major in AP and AM (Applied Maths) at TU/e
but anyone who did the course here, can you please tell about courses offered here and explain it to me
also Should I go for Uni of Groningen BSc Physics than TU/e Applied Physics BSc then?
any advice is appreciated

This fic flows out of me way too easily, so I'm riding the waves while I can. Glad to see people enjoying it too! We continue where we left off, trying to figure out where to go, both with universe at large and with poor, lost child...
As usual, thanks to SpacePaladin15 for his own great work and letting fanfiction flow, and everyone who supported and enjoyed the fic thus far. So, let's see where this goes from now.
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Memory Transcription Subject: Dr. Erin Kuemper, SETI Researcher
Date [standardized human time]: July 15, 2136
Before entering the conference room, I adjusted my dress suit. Even for official meetings, I usually just prefer simpler official outfits, but this time is different. Being invited to observe the first official diplomatic meeting between humanity and aliens, I wanted to be perfect for it, even if it was meeting the baby-eating monster aliens over a video call.
Stepping inside, I see the other people that would be present for it. Normally, as a SETI researcher, I would object to the presence of any military heads at such a meeting, on purely conceptual level, much less two. But with what we have learned I can’t help but almost feel like even entire room filled with generals wouldn’t be enough for this.
“Ah, Dr. Kuemper. Come in, take a seat. We plan to start hailing them in ten minutes.” Secretary-General motions towards one of free seats, so I take the one that’s further away from both generals. As I do though, General Jones starts talking to me.
“So, Dr. Kuemper, how’s our rescue doing? Were there any further incidents?”, she asked.
“No, not yet. She still hasn’t woken up since that last sedation. While we don’t understand nearly enough about her biology yet, drawing some parallels with biology of Earth life we can infer that while her life is no longer threatened, she will likely take a while to fully recover from blood loss and malnutrition. Much bigger problem will be communicating our intentions to her, as well as regaining her trust after... everything.”
“Is it really smart to assign Noah Williams as one of her main caretakers then?” She asked, raising her eyebrow.
“From analyzing the footage of the incident, she reacted the same way to all the humans in the room. I doubt it was Williams’ specific appearance that was the source of such intense fright. And that assignment is not just for the sake of the alien, but Williams himself. Him and Rosario are both, frankly, on suicide watch right now. They need a chance to try and do something to relieve their guilt.”
To that General Jones just hummed, before turning to the screen. I could also hear General Zhao, the Chinese general, snorting in amusement. I am not sure what he found funny about this, but I’d rather not know at all.
It wasn’t a rational call, I knew it, but if there’s anyone who can project most empathy possible towards our alien rescue, it’d be Noah. I have asked Sara if she wished to participate as well, but she struggles to even look at the child without throwing up, so for her, distancing might be for the best.
“We’re beginning to hail the Arxur Dominion now.” Secretary-General announced, standing in front of the screen, facing it. “Not sure how long it will take.”
“I bet time zones get a ton more complicated on interstellar level...” General Zhao grumbled.
Afterwards, there were long twenty minutes of silence, interrupted by an occasional cough or shuffle before finally screen shifted, and displayed the aliens. It appears they also were in a private conference room, like us. In the middle, standing tallest and looking at us was none other than Chief Hunter Isif from photos the Odyssey crew took. Behind him were two more arxur. One was similar to Isif in build and stature, though not quite as tall, and the other was notably shorter and scrawnier, with lighter scale coloration. Part of me almost assumed that was a female, before I remembered that in the data dump there were no signs of easily notable sexual dimorphism among the arxur. An adolescent then, perhaps?
“Humans. I am glad you responded to our invitation. I believe an introduction is in order. I am Chief Hunter Isif of Arxur Dominion.” The alien spoke, translators working already, translating the noises unlike anything human makes into discernable speech.
“Greetings, Chief Hunter Isif. I am Secretary-General Elias Meier. I represent the United Nations, or UN for short, a governing body meant to represent combined interests of all individual nations of Earth. Before we proceed, I need to ask. Will I not be speaking to your leader, Prophet-Descendant, today?”
That was on the agenda for the meeting, if I remembered correctly. Trying to interact with arxur other than Isif. To gauge just how far this goes. Though it doesn’t seem like it’s happening, considering Isif is the one who picked up and how now he was emitting a low hiss that almost felt like it was carrying amusement.
“No. No offense meant to you, humans, but we Chief Hunters are expected to conduct all business in our sectors on our own. You technically fall within my territory. Plus, why would I give up an advantage I have over other Chief Hunters so easily? We may not ever have war against one another, but the competition is fierce, and you might just be the edge I need to curry more favor.”
I noticed General Zhao scoffing at shameless honesty in arxur’s intentions for this ‘alliance’ they proposed in the databanks. Yeah, just use us to gain more advantage over his rivals. I can’t believe Secretary-General elected to deal with them after all.
“I see. I expected that. Still, even if we were granted an audience, our answer would have remained unchanged. Sorry to disappoint, Chief Hunter, but humanity simply cannot afford a full alliance with the Dominion.” Secretary-General spoke in neutral tone, but I could sense the strain in his voice.
The arxur on the screen had his facial features harden.
“I see. You’re still unconvinced of the prey’s threat to your unprepared world. You believe you may parlay with them.”
“Quite the contrary, we’re more than convinced and have no reason to believe you’re lying. However, while an alliance with you would grant us protection... It would also drag us into the war we wish no part of. We’re... grateful to you for showing hospitality to the crew of Odyssey, and for warning us of the threat, but we will not be diving into war we have no interest fighting.”
“You will not be able to hide forever.” Isif kept insisting, seemingly almost growing agitated. “We knew of you because they did, long before us. They may believe you dead, but all it’d take is one stray vessel for you to be doomed.”
Part of me wanted to be relieved that, despite the tense tone, the negotiations so far were going exactly as planned. Another part of me wept that we were intentionally alienating and putting distance between ourselves and the aliens. And a third part of me was disgusted at the fact that we were talking to them at all.
“Trust us, Chief Hunter, we do not plan to merely sit and wait to be discovered and exterminated. We will be preparing. We simply don’t wish to enter the fight without a good reason.” Elias continued, pushing on to the next topic. “That said, just because we don’t wish for alliance, doesn’t mean we can’t mutually benefit from one another still.”
I could see that the shorter arxur behind Isif was about to speak up, but flinched when the larger one glared at them. Isif himself narrowed his eyes at Elias.
“And what benefit do you see that isn’t us joining hands in battle for survival, Elias Meier?”
I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel Secretary-General smiling at Chief Hunter.
“Trade. Your people are, by your own admission, starving. We could provide a solution. What we lack, however, is information. In this universe, we’re blind, and just sending out probes risks discovery. If you’d be willing to supply us with intel on Federation, we’d be more than glad to relieve your hunger. Maybe not the whole Dominion... But definitely all of your sector’s arxur.”
Arxur behind Isif both slightly opened their mouths, eyes widening in almost human-like expression. Even Isif seemed to be taken slightly aback, though he composed himself much quicker, glaring at his subordinates to make them collect themselves. On our end, I could see General Zhao smirking, and General Jones tapping at her chin in contemplation, while I twiddled my thumbs nervously, waiting for rug to be pulled from under us.
“You promise a lot. Producing food in such quantities with just one planet, even if it were filled with cattle, is impossible. Simply unsustainable.” Isif replied.
“We have our ways, Isif. We solved hunger once, we can do so again. Not immediately, it will take time to ramp up production, of course... But once that happens, all you need to do is name your price in how much meat you need and we will provide. And all we want in return is information to better defend ourselves.”
There was a long pause of contemplation. When looking closely, I could see something that was either agitation... or excitement among Isif’s posse, but Chief Hunter himself remained unimpressed. Eventually he did speak up.
“Don’t think I will fall for such a trick, Elias Meier. You humans are still young, still naive to the cruelty of the universe. We were once like you, and were nearly wiped out for it. I will not have it happen to the only other True Sapient in the galaxy. I will trade information. But I can already sense what the first request will be, and you will not be getting translations for Federation languages.”
That made every human in the room except Elias tense up. I almost flinched at the accusation, Jones hid her mouth behind her hand and Zhao’s smirk turned into a frown. Only Secretary-General remained unshaken. Isif, in meantime, continued speaking.
“If you prove yourself capable of helping us, and manage to provide as much sustenance as you claim you can... I will consider it. But until then, I will not be accelerating your desire to commit extinction by Federation’s hands.”
“Then, if you need to benefit from us first before putting us at risk, we can only thank you again for your concern, Chief Hunter.” Secretary-General replied. I was surprised at how collected he remained despite the arxur completely seeing through our intentions with this ‘trade deal’. “Trust us, we have no interest in getting annihilated in antimatter fire, but we are willing to work to earn your trust. We will be sending lists of information we desire. I hope that partnership can strengthen the bonds between us further.”
“Indeed. We will review and return to you the amounts of food we will require for it. Show us what you are capable of, humans. Now let’s get this over with. Conversing like that is... tiring.”
Right. Arxur are naturally solitary, according to the databank they gave us. A species of biologically predisposed introverts...
“Farewell, Chief Hunter Isif.” Meier replied curtly, before the screen dimmed and camera light disappeared. Contact was over.
I let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing I’ve been holding it in for a while now. There... was a lot to consider about what just happened. I was told footage would be saved, so we can better analyze the arxur nonverbal cues later.
Elias turned to us and put his hands on the table.
“So, that didn’t go as bad as it could have. Any thoughts?”
General Zhao was first to speak up.
“We’ll need information on Federation tactics and weaponry. We’ll have to prepare a strong l space military regardless of whether they can be talked down, but it’s much easier to convince someone not to kill you when doing so risks their own life.”
“I’m more interested in whether there is any technology that could allow us to send spy drones into Federation space without leaving obvious trail back to us.” General Jones countered. “We might not even need arxur translators if we can decode the language via our own surveillance.”
Elias turned his eyes on me expectantly. I considered everything that happened, things Isif said and ways his presumably-lieutenants reacted to conversation, things we learned from their data bank... And it dawned on me.
“They... see us the same way we have seen them before learning of their horrid acts. First contact with someone who treats you like a person, and first people in the galaxy whom you can see as friends. We sought the stars seeking to not be alone in the universe, and while their ways are repulsive to us... It’s not true the other way. This cooperation to them is much more sentimental than it is to us. They want to be able to trust us and rely on us.”
Elias smiled and nodded at my assessment.
“Thank you for your input, everyone. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Dr. Kuemper, I hope you’re ready for tomorrow’s announcement and your promotion?”
Right. Tomorrow we’re revealing that First Contact has occurred to the public. It took a lot of effort to make it presentable without triggering mass panic, and some details will be omitted. That and I’m receiving a new position in the UN related to handling alien affairs. What a joy...
“As ready as I can be.”
“Then let’s get to it. It won’t be easy, people, but our entire civilization is at stake. We need to get this right, and in a way that won’t have our descendants condemning us.”
Right. Cooperation with arxur, this trade... I didn’t like the idea of it, but I understood. We needed their help. Perhaps through this cooperation, rather than them influencing us, reverse can be made true, unlikely as it may seem. Worst part was failing to secure any translators at all. While I’m sure generals are salivating at idea of cyber-espionage against the Federation, I just wanted to be able to communicate with the rescued child, and make sure we could properly help her recover. Still... We will do our best, even without them.
Memory Transcription Subject: Stynek, Venlil Test Subject
Date [standardized human time]: July 15, 2136
Second time I woke up; the memories came to me much faster. How I was captured during the raid. How I spent months in cattle pens. How I was used as a meal for mystery predators. How they took me with them. And how I was now in their laboratory, or whatever closest thing predators have in their feral science.
Of course, my first instinct was to try and escape, but I couldn’t. I found myself actively strapped to the bed. I was panicked at first, trying to break through the restraints, but to no effect. So I let my head fall back onto surprisingly soft pillow and lay there... Awaiting my fate. But fate wasn’t coming, and I found myself getting a bit bored. So I raised my head and examined the room.
It seemed different from the room I was in before. Most of the machinery was gone, and the only big machine beside my bed wasn’t actually hooked up to me anymore. There was a large, predator-sized closet in the corner, and two big tables with seats. Of course, there was also bed itself. If not for the fact that I was slated to be butchered on this bed soon, it’d be the most comfortable place I got to lay down on since my capture. As is... It felt like cruel irony. I felt my eyes watering again. Did predators want to taunt me? Give me this sense of near-comfort as one last cruelty?
Subconsciously I tried calling out for mom, but felt my throat burn and ended up coughing instead. I think all the screaming recently wasn’t good for it, and with how dry my mouth was it didn’t help. Looking around I spotted it. A glass of water on a small stand beside the bed! Except it was completely out of reach. I tried shifting my tail under me, to try and extend towards it, but I’d need to have the bed flipped to have the chance at reaching. They probably left it like that intentionally... Letting me feel thirst, see the answer, but not be allowed to take it, all to make me suffer more.
I attempted to shift and wiggle against the restraints some more, when it hit me. It finally hit me that my leg was gone, gone for good. Even if I could somehow miraculously break those restraints... And get out of predator captivity... And make it back home to Venlil Prime... It wouldn’t be the same. I’d never live a normal life. My vision blurred with tears again. Why couldn’t they just end it... Why did... they have to make me suffer more.
Then the door opened and my heartbeat quickened. I realized just what I asked for, and looks like the universe itself wanted to give me that. Through the door stepped a figure... No longer clad in big rubbery suit. They probably realized such deception won’t work on me. But which of predators it was made my blood freeze.
It was the same one again... The dark-colored one that was there in meeting with arxur, and when I first woke up... Why was it always this one showing up over and over? Did all those predators look like that? He was wearing different outfit, maybe it was a different predator? No, it’s too similar, it must just be... assigned to me. My personal warden. Just like the pens had specific wardens assigned to them that were in charge of picking out meals.
This is it then. They must have done everything they wanted to do with me while I was unconscious and now that I was awake to feel it, were ready to finish me off. I closed my eyes, squeezing them tightly shut as the predator approached. I lost count of how many times I was anticipating death recently, but this was it... This must be it, finally, right? Universe can’t be cruel enough to do more to me, can it?
And as I waited for my demise, with held breath I lay. And lay. And waited. Until I realized that by now predator would long be within reach of my throat. I slowly opened my eyes, and blinked a few times to get the tears out. Sight of predator right beside me made me flinch, as it sat down by the bed, looking over me with its hungry, binocular eyes. I could see its mouth, lips quivering in hunger. And yet it did not lunge... Why?! Why can’t they just finish me off already? I felt so exhausted and fatigued by it all...
Predator seemed to lock its horrid eyes with my own eye. The gaze was intense, and I felt frozen. I couldn’t move, not even a muscle, as it just stared at me and I stared back. I felt a tear roll down my face, contributing more to the clump of matted fur, grown stained with so many tears. And that’s when the predator reached its hand for my head. I closed my eyes, recoiling away to the best of my ability. I... I didn’t want it... Please... Why can’t I just wake up back home, why can’t it all just be a nightmare...
I was prepared for its claw to grasp my face, to twist my neck, to scratch at me... But the only thing I felt was a small caress right under my eye, where the tear ran, wiping it off and rubbing at clumped fur, getting bits of dirt out in process. And then it was over. There was no attack. It was just more prolonging of the inevitable. It was so... tiring. I opened my eyes again, to look back at the predator. Really look back in those cruel eyes, to try and understand why the universe would have such evilness exist at all. The binocular gaze was horrible, but no amount of my instinct telling me to flee could help when I had neither the limbs nor freedom to move. So I just looked back. Into those small eyes when they suddenly blinked. And what could only be a tear rolled down the predator’s face. This made me mentally recoil.
How? Did a predator just shed a tear? But that’s... impossible. Only creatures with empathy can cry. That’s the textbook prerequisite for crying! You need to feel things to cry! Predators don’t have that! Arxur don’t have that. We learn that since before school. One of first things parents teach their kids is always the dangers of predators. But this is... Maybe it’s something in the room? Some noxious agent irritating its eyes? Then why can’t I feel it? Is it simply copying me? But why would it do that? Can you even copy something you can’t understand, like feelings? I didn’t understand. Maybe their biology was way more alien? Their skin was naked and had no fur or scales or feathers, maybe their tears are different too? I tried to find any explanation at all, any possible answer to questions swirling in my mind, but nothing made sense. It’s like this one little tear shattered everything I knew about predators. Maybe... They were different somehow? No! That can’t be it. If they were, they wouldn’t... They wouldn’t have been ones to take part in eating me! They wouldn’t deal with arxur! It’s a trick... it must be... But tears are a sign of empathy...
“W-Why...”, I asked in my confusion. My voice came out as ragged and hoarse and I was reminded of how dry my insides felt. I glanced over to the glass at the bedside, still out of reach and now with a predator near it... I stood no chance at reaching it.
Then suddenly, the predator looked over at it as well, and picked it up. I was almost about to cry at the idea that it would drink it in front of me, taunting my thirst further. But it didn’t even bring the glass close to its horrid mouth, instead moving it towards my face. Naturally, I tried pulling back from predator reach, but still restrained, I couldn’t move much. And once the glass was in front of me, predator just tilted it and... left it hovering there.
Was it... offering me a drink? Does that mean the water is poisoned? Why else would it give me some? I didn’t open my mouth, but the predator kept hovering the glass in front of me... Clear liquid inside swishing a bit with unevenness of the movements. Tantalizing... My throat felt drier just looking at it. In the end, base instinct prevailed over reason-based self-preservation. Even if it is poisoned... I was as good as dead in this den of predators, this won’t matter, and at least I’ll die not feeling as dry as a piece of old tree bark. So I let my mouth open and I raised my head as much as I could within the restraints, putting the glass’s rim into my mouth.
That first sip was probably the most heavenly water I’ve ever tasted. It was just normal water, of course, but with how dry I felt, I couldn’t get enough as I started quickly gulping it down. The predator actually helped, tilting the glass, keeping up with how quickly I emptied it. Every gulp was a relief... It was no stale water of arxur pens. It was actually fresh water! But as quickly as it started, the happiness ended, glass fully tilted and empty. I smack my mouth, gathering little bits of moisture gathered on it with my tongue, while the predator moves the glass back onto the counter.
Well, if that had poison in it, I didn’t taste any. And if it was somehow tasteless... It was worth it. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the predator and its actions, so instead I did my best to just ignore it as I savored the feeling of hydration. If I somehow live through this, unlikely though it may be, I will never scorn water again. Though I will probably still prefer some good juice over it...
The predator started moving again, removing the blanket-like sheet that was covering most of my body and reaching to where my restraints connected to the bed itself. It locked its eyes with me again, and this time it at least didn’t cry, but it did start to growl something. It was quiet and subdued, and of course I couldn’t understand any of it, but it didn’t lunge or reach for me directly and didn’t seem any different from earlier. Was it trying to say something?
Then I heard a small click. The light pressure I felt on my arms and chest from the restraints relaxed. Then the predator just tossed the restraint over me, revealing that they released me. I tested it by raising my arms slightly. Why...? Did they plan on taking me somewhere? I could try running but the feeling of lightness, of hollow emptiness where my leg used to be reminded me of how fruitless the endeavor would be, so I just kept laying in bed. The predator’s mouth curved in some wicked expression before they growled out some more of their crude words and got up.
They moved towards the exit, turning around to give me one last creepy staredown before stepping out of the room. And, unsurprisingly, I heard a soft click from the door itself. Right. I was just free to explore my new pen. But even with the freedom granted, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. The shock of learning that a predator just shed a tear and fed me water was still too much. What is even happening?
It’s all so confusing. I grabbed the blanket and pulled it over my head, hiding in the dark. I tried to desperately convince myself to not get my hopes up, to remember what those predators did to me... But somewhere I felt like maybe things here will at least be better than they were in arxur pens. At least there’s that to comfort me. That’s right, they probably just... don’t want me to die yet because they haven’t finished experimenting on me... And the tears were just... I don’t know. It makes no sense! It’s stupid!
I let out a breath and snuggled tighter into the blanket. As long as it was dark and quiet like this, I could at least pretend that I was back home... That everything makes sense... That I am just fine... That I'll be okay...
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One example of what I mean is determined by capitalistic rules. In order for capitalism to work it needed checks and balances.
Those that want power and money found ways to manipulate how we think and what we buy. Monopolies are bad for obvious reasons and we the people are suppose to make choices that determine how this system works. ( For those of us that are under this system.)
We are manipulated by our ego's, our insecurities, propoganda and far to often our lack of integrity and education.
We are divided at the deepest foundations of beliefs and we are distracted by the massive and financed ways companies (power) reach into our pysche and get what they want. Often at the expense of our lives and our joy.
Money rules our world not common sense. Those that have dedicated their lives to acquiring it have found positions of power to control the rest of us.
Despite our techonological advancements I conside us a primitive race.
We are easily diverted from real problems for nonsense. We are tribal and basic so far as reality reveals. Some are enlightened but being the minority of the species they are not listened too and often mocked.
Some are terrified of the truth before them like climate crisis and it is easier to pretend it isn't real than face it. We have division over wearing a mask in a pandemic. I consider this madness. Math doesn't lie, biology tells us the best advice it can offer after thousands of years of trying to understand and yet we have division.
We stand at the precipice of extinction and the best of us have determined that to be true. But we fight over the colour of our skin or how we want to love or what sex we feel we are. This is the year 2024 and the world is falling behind expections.
If you are a bigot you missed the bus. If you are a racist you have failed to grow. Sci fi imagined that we would grow up. That we would become examples of civilized society but we have not grown we have fallen behind.
In many ways the ancient world was more advanced. It held a lot more acceptance of sexuality than we do now. If you don't believe that I invite you to explore history more.
A lot of people, companies, politicians are working really hard to control what you think and what you believe. Question everything you are hearing and seeing. What do you believe is right and wrong is best answered by you. Not what influences you. Not what religions tell you, not what politicians want you to think and not what culture demands.
What does logic and empathy tell you to believe? How are you judging that? Do you believe what you believe because you are told to by your parents or your family? Have you become entrenched by a politician or a label for how you vote? You matter. Your opinion matters. Your choices matter. Are you sure those choices are you and not influenced by outside forces? Our world is coming apart. Our choices have never been more important.
Our values do not have to be influenced by the rich or the past.
You can decide right now to reach for change, to reach for the future but first you have to make sure those choices are coming from you.
Here is truth from me. I hate trump I think he is a monster. I am not a fan of Biden I think we can do much better. Can we not find a middle ground of understanding? Neither is good enough for us the citizens of the world. We can do better. When did we forget that we are not suppose to love politicians? When did we forget that we the people are suppose to be in control of our world? Does the world suck? If it does that is our fault. We the people are suppose to control the flow of time and history.
Who is really making your choices? Culture? Religion? Blind obedience? Our parents? Our government? Commercials? They have all failed us. I invite you to consider that and hope you and I can find common ground on that.
Our world is dying and it is filled with inequity and abuse. It is so easy to blame our governments but are we not to blame as well? We let this happen. We keep letting this happen.
Diplomacy is the art of compromise is a lesson from a very smart man. A role model to us all.
I am begging all of you to reconsider your positions, your values, your outlook on life to include the fact that climate crisis is real. Bigotry is evil. Diversity is a gift to evolution and racism has no place in the future.
Diplomacy is going to be the only possible way we survive. Find the middle ground that includes what we the people need to be happy and survive not what companies or politicians need to be re-elected.
North Carolina just put a bill across that state no one can wear a mask including medical ones for cancer patients but the kkk are going to be allowed to continue to wear their masks. Are you really ok with that? Can you not see how obviously racist this is? Are you going to be so hung up on "freedom of speech" you are going to allow this? Can't we find a middle ground where we can agree this goes to far? What does rasicm actually give you if you are the person who is racist? Can it promise you a better world? Diversity is the gift from the natural world it offered you.
We the human race are a primitive species and we are going to be a dead end evolutionary race if we don't find a way to work together.
Please try harder and at least make your choices be because of of how you feel and not outside influences.
I believe we are at the end of the human race. What are you going to do about that?

I’ve been sober for a couple of months now. That part has been incredible. But I find myself being hit on a daily basis with shame every time I remember one more occasion when I was drunk, thinking I was being convincing and no one noticed.
Nearly all of my kids’ school events. Doctor’s appointments. Social events that took place in the morning. Occasionally even work. Always getting drunk beforehand, sneakily bringing along more to drink throughout.
I really thought I was able to drink and hide it, because no one ever said anything. But now that I’m sober, and also from reading posts on here, I realize that’s impossible, and it must have been obvious by the at least the smell, if not my speech and behavior. I must have embarrassed myself and made everyone around me uncomfortable hundreds of times.
It’s enough to make me want to avoid all those people and places. I don’t want shame to make me miss out on life. But it’s so palpable and scary.
Can anyone relate? How do you let go of the shame of your past mistakes?

I am going through the process of obtaining a formal autism diagnosis for my 5 year old daughter. We have tried different therapies before starting medication (speech pathology, OT and psychology) and didn't have much luck with engagement. I am curious if anyone here has attempted music therapy and will would be happy to share their experiences? Our current goals are emotional regulation and anxiety attending specialist classes (music, PE) at school.

I met a girl back a few years ago. The second I saw her, I knew I was head over heals for her. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I dreamt of dating her and doing all these fun things with her. But after that year, I began the think I could never get with her. So I gave up and stopped thinking of her as much as I did. But about a year later, my mom got remarried and I had a step brother that was a bit younger than me. He had been in some relationships before, and I thought he could give me some good advice. He did have good advice, and even convinced me to confess to this girl. I was still terrified of her, so I asked her out over text. That was the first mistake. Long story short, she said yes after I asked her to be my girlfriend. I was overjoyed that I had managed to get with my dream girl. I texted her everyday. But there was one red flag that I didn't catch at the time. She never texted me first. But when I asked her out, it was early summer. He hung out once over the summer and that was to go roller skating together. But I missed another red flag. She invited friends to go with us. I wouldn't be just us. That was the only time I saw her that summer. Finally as August rolled around, school was getting back in. I saw her everyday and we even had some of the same classes together. But there was one small problem. We never talked to each other. A few mouths of texting her everyday, but not saying a word to her, I thought it would be a good idea to text her "I love you." She never responded to that. I do admit, that was my fault for telling her that even though we never even say hello to each other. But I thought it was right at the time since we had been dating about six mouths at this point. Sometimes I would tell her how cute I thought she was, but I never got anything back, which did make me a bit sad, but it's whatever. After doing all of that, I thought it would be a good idea to talk to her in person about our relationship. I asked her why she never said anything back, because I was tjay dumb back then. But all I got for a response was "I'm a shy girl." I feel like the least she could have done was said something to contribute to the conversation. But I think she realized that I was in the relationship for something a bit more serious. She was just there to try it out. since then, she avoided me, and I her. Finally, I got sick of it. I talked to her one last time. It was to break up with her. I have a speech about the things that I did wrong and I was hoping for a conversation between us since it was the end of our relationship. All she said was "I understand." But in a cheery way. She was happy that I did that. Later that day, I was talking to one of my friends about what had happened and he happened to be close to my ex. Not so close that he was wanting to date her though. He knew what she was thinking the whole relationship. She only said yes at the beginning to be nice. She never had the same feelings for me that I did for her. I had never felt that amount of love for anybody in my entire life before. The way she acted around me also made it seem like she hated me. I loved her so much so this breakup really hurt me. But I knew I had to do it to make her happy. So I did. But ever since then, I've had a mild hate for her. I don't know why. I think I'm mostly in the wrong for this. But now I can t stop thinking about her. I think about her the way I thought about her when I first saw her. I can't get over her no matter what I do. So I turn to reddit to ask for advice to get over.

This is going to be a long read, and I would really appreciate the feedback on how to move forward with this case and supervisors.
I have been working with my company as a part-time behavior interventionist for a little under a year, and I've been enjoying it since I love working with children and I've had positive experiences until now. I have two clients, and I started working on my second client's case in January. The constant neglect from the case supervisor is making me want to quit the case, as it's turning into an "ugh, I have to go to this client's house today" situation.
For some background, my second client's case has two supervisors, which I think is odd. One only joins via Telehealth twice a week, biweekly, for supervision, and the other one is supposed to go in person to fulfill the in-person hours they must do. Since the end of January, the in-person supervisor has gone to the client's home three times during my sessions.
Here are the multiple problems:
1: The client has been showing aggression towards me by hitting me with an open hand wherever the hit lands, but mostly in my face. The antecedent appears to be excitement, as she started doing it when she was smiling, laughing, and eager, yet lately there has been no apparent antecedent (more on this later).

1. The client (F7) has a little brother (M4) that has also started hitting me. I'm not even standing at the threshold of the home, and he already has his tiny hand up to slap me wherever the hit lands. Mom was non-efficient in redirecting him until recently. The thing is, he is constantly hitting me for no reason. He comes out of nowhere and hits me, and this has been going on since February or March.
   
2. It was up to me to redirect both children after they hit me, as their mom would not do anything about it until I sent a message to both supervisors and the other BI saying how the client and her brother are showing constant aggression towards me. The other BI shared how the brother would also hit her, and after that message last month, the mom has been on top of parenting him to prevent hitting and putting him in time out when he does. Other BI and I have noticed that he started doing it when we gave attention to his sister, aka the client.
   
3. Because the little brother is constantly hitting me and playing with all the stimuli I once had neatly organized are now lost (including dtt, puzzles, stickers, the token board, coloring books, shaping posters, etc.). It used to feel like I was babysitting him, but now it feels like I'm giving both children ABA therapy as he is constantly engaging in unwanted behaviors towards me or my client (his sister). The only thing left is a couple of DTT stimuli and the token board, and he cries when I say "my turn" and take the materials from him in order to work with his sister.
   
4. The client and her brother go off each other's energy. If the little brother tantrums, she will tantrum; if the little brother hits me, she will hit me; if he does unwanted behavior, she does it too; and that adds to the feeling of having two clients in one session (I'm not a professional to diagnose, and it's wrong to make assumptions, but I completely believe the little brother is also on the spectrum as he shows signs such as echolalia, delayed speech, aggression, and tantrums when access is not immediately granted to items he wants or needs help with; he is in a general and special education class at school). The siblings go off each other's energy, and although mom is more helpful with my brother now, it still feels like I'm doing a double job with no support.
   
5. Last week, my client threw a cup at my head, which she had never done before. It was just her and me in the playroom, and I got my device to record data, and when I was looking down, she threw a cup at my head and laughed. I redirected her once again, and mom came into the room afterwards, but it was the moment where I thought, "Wow, I'm completely alone in this case, and it's making me want to quit it." I immediately sent a message to the Telehealth supervisor, saying what happened and letting her know I needed more general support on the case.
   

The supervisor's response:
I sent an email in March letting both of them know that the client started showing aggression towards me and how I redirected her. All the in-person supervisor told me was to add the "show me nice hands" prompt to the redirection. The second supervisor did not even reply until two days later, with no help. As mentioned, I sent a message last month in the group chat (in which I suggested creating, thinking we would be in constant communication) that the client and her brother were constantly showing aggression towards me. The response from the in-person supervisor was to prompt "nice hands" and "calm body," which is clearly doing nothing for my client as she won't even look my way when I try.

1. The problem with the Telehealth supervisor is that I've reached out to her three times total since the cup aggression behavior, requesting a meeting to discuss the case. I told her I would prefer to have the meeting before going back to the client's home this week, and the Telehealth supervisor has yet to respond, which fills me with anger and disappointment. Although she was quick on asking me the required medical attention question and reporting it to HR. The following day, HR sent me documents to sign due to declining medical attention. She was quick to send it to HR, but she still hasn't provided a meeting for me.

I clearly don't know how to handle the aggression and the little brother, and all I'm asking for is support. The constant unresponsiveness from the supervisor I'm reaching out to is making me want to take the next step from the employee handbook, as it clearly states, "You and your supervisor can satisfactorily resolve most problems. You should first present any questions or concerns about policies, procedures, equipment, safety, or other matters to your supervisor. If you are not satisfied with the answer from your supervisor or you feel that you cannot discuss the issue with your supervisor, you should talk."
I have to go to the client's house tomorrow, and it's sad that it's turning into an "I hate my job" situation when I know I can have a proactive team and support as I do for my first client, which is run by a completely different supervisor.
How should I move forward? Because of this, I'm thinking of emailing both the in-person and Telehealth supervisors and CCing HR, letting them know I'm uncomfortable going to the client's home and refusing to go until I meet with them, providing the support I definitely need. Could I get in trouble for that? Is that the right move? What would you do? I feel bad for complaining about the client's little brother, but I'm getting paid to provide ABA services to a client, not two. I'm not a babysitter. I shouldn't be putting up with this. It's an unpaid hour drive to their home, so as of now, refusing to go until I get support is one choice, or asking to be removed from the case (which I would hate to give up on my client) is the only thing on my mind.
TLTR: My client and her little brother are constantly hitting me, although mom stepped up her parenting game; the shared case supervisor I'm reaching out to for support is practically ghosting me, and I want to quit the case if it doesn't get better.

I have no programming experience but plan to take ICS3U (Grade 11 CS) in summer school but I don't know how that will work out. I may try to complete CS50 also.
The first-year courses are:
COMPSCI 1JC3
COMPSCI 1MD3
MATH 1B03
MATH 1ZA3
COMPSCI 1DM3
COMPSCI 1XC3
COMPSCI 1XD3
MATH 1ZB3
Can someone try to rate the difficulty of these courses on a scale of 1-10. It would be helpful if the rating was done by someone who held no prior coding experience.
Since CS comes under the faculty of Engineering, would the electives be only chosen from the complementary studies elective courses list? And which ones would be easily 12-able? (especially the ones with no exams).
Is the schedule pre-made? Can you submit a request to change the timings?

Just completed it for the second time. I beat it probably 7 years ago when I was in high school, but I rushed through the main quest and missed a lot.
One of my favorite moments was the battle for Adytum, I got the Blades weapons from the gun runners by destroying the deathclaws, but I still tried to keep the peace by telling Zimmerman first. I gave him the holotape or whatever, and watched as a Regulator killed him. Then I watched Blades storm the town with combat armor and plasma rifles killing all the Regulators. I watched the Regulators kill civilians in the street, but sometimes when a Regulator would die I'd see a civilian pick up their weapon and fight back. It was an awesome setpiece lol, it was fun to witness blind without knowing what would happen.
I also got hardened power armor and a turbo plasma rifle, which made me insanely OP. Killed the Master first, my first playthrough I was too scared to fight him so I used speech and the holotape to make him kill himself or something. This time I manned up and fought, and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be lol.
I've tried to play Fallout 2 several times, and I got far once, but it didn't keep my attention and was too hard for me. I suspect I was rushing through it like I did the first game and was getting punished as a result. Maybe I'll have to try to complete it now.