Originally Posted by LaurenM (Post 454298)

I freaked out in the Great Barrier Reef when I was six to go down and see the fish even though I knew the duck dive and everything, because the water was too salty and made me itch.

Originally Posted by LaurenM (Post 454306)

But at the time I just had to wear goggles and do the duck dive.
Was it in the sea?

Originally Posted by SilverMoon (Post 454318)

I'm feeling nostalgic, but alright.

Originally Posted by Sandy (Post 454369)

I literally just came here to vent about nostalgia.

Someone beat me to it... :'I

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454370)

What are you two feeling nostalgic about?

Originally Posted by Sandy (Post 454372)

Eugh. Everything, I suppose. Well, no... not everything. (*is very conflicted*)

School = dread, normal school feeings, excitement, the good kind of nervousness (for some twisted reason I'm actually EXCITED for exams... ._.)
VM = eh. Not sure. I'm considering leaving the story and I'm fairly certain that the next time I start writing it, it'll be in the form of a script, and I'll be sketching panel thumbnails as I go. o_O
KidPub = REALLY nostalgic about this, but at the same time, not? NOTHING MAKES SENSE (*flips out*)

Also, I don't know if you remember me talking about being torn between writing and art...? I think I've finally decided. O_O I'd... I'd like to go with art. I've been practicing staging in graphic novels nonstop since the weekend started, along with colouring and panel flow. I've gotten an offer through my family to be housed in the Netherlands should I require it for the art school there, and the other day I was invited into a street art group, but because of my schoolwork, I had to decline. (Also, I don't know how to do street art... at all...)

I guess right now I'm caught between now and my future. Leaving stuff behind, trying to take on new stuff and being unable to even. (*flails*)
I guess this is what high school is all about. :I

Originally Posted by L.S.Trendom (Post 454480)

haha
i actually feel kind of physically sick from how much i hate myself right now

Originally Posted by Sandy (Post 454485)

Okay.
(*looks around at life*)
(*looks around at my dreams*)
Okay.
I CAN do this.
I can DO this.

(*looks at tablet*) (*looks at sketchbook, then at laptop*)
(*turns on music*)
I can DO this!

(*looks at time*)

Oh god nope.

Originally Posted by AlgebraAddict (Post 454500)

oh my god


what the eff is my life coming to


this week


wth is going to happen here


I don't understand


I swear, if I can make it through this week I can make it through hell and back


halp


MY FUGGING PIANO COMPETITION IS ON TUSEDAY AND I STILL HAVE A FREAKING SOCIAL STUDIES BOOKLET TO TURN IN. AND FREAKING PASCHA. BECAUSE I AM SO GETTING HOMEWORK DONE NEXT WEEKEND.


i don't get it. because i'm not religious, not really, i mean i believe in God and i try to be nice to people, but i'm not that into it and i never have been but this time is different. this is probably my first Pascha being as effed up as i am. so now i have to deal with all of this. i broke down crying in the church choir when we were rehearsing the music just because it overwhelms me. Pascha is the one time every year when i feel safe and happy, and i can say that i'm alright, and i would probably rather die than let any of my friends know how much this means to me, but i don't even know if i can make it through. i always cry, just a little bit, because it's so perfect, but i can't trust myself to just break down and sob like i die during choir practice. i don't even know if i'm crying from happiness or from terror. Or both. i'm just so fucking happy, and i can't explain how much this one time a year means to me, but i don't know if this time will be the same. i hate not knowing. maybe in that moment when it goes dark and then the light spreads, spreads across the church, one candle to another, that moment of peace and love, i'll be okay.

but i'm not sure.

Originally Posted by rebecca (Post 454514)

Atheists, please back off. I think AshWolf made a great motivational speech. So I am sincerely hoping none of you turn up and are critical about it.

Originally Posted by Sandy (Post 454485)

Okay.
(*looks around at life*)
(*looks around at my dreams*)
Okay.
I CAN do this.
I can DO this.

(*looks at tablet*) (*looks at sketchbook, then at laptop*)
(*turns on music*)
I can DO this!

(*looks at time*)

Oh god nope.

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454513)

It's good that you believe in God, AA. <:^J I know it might be hard for you to believe, but God really does care about people. And that includes people like you--those who are sad, depressed, confused, and/or overwhelmed.

And I have scriptures to prove that.

Psalms 34:18 says, "Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; And those who are crushed in spirit he saves."

Isaiah 41:10 says, "'Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not gaze about, for I am your God. I will fortify you. I will really help you. I will really keep fast hold of you with my right hand of righteousness.'"

2 Corinthians 1:2-4 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those in any sort of tribulation through the comfort with which we ourselves are being comforted by God."

We are all imperfect. Not a single one of us deserves love from Jehovah God. And yet, he loves us anyway, but not only as a whole species, but also as individuals. He knows your name. God knows all of our names. He knows everything about all of us. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered," says Matthew 10:30.

I know you've probably heard this many times before, and I know a lot of people either don't believe it or dismiss it as not being much, but, as John 3:16 says, "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."

This isn't some sort of a fairy tale or a myth. That actually happened. The most perfect father in all the universe, who has the purest kind of love gave his firstborn creation--the one who had been with him the longest, perhaps for billions of years--so that us humans, one of God's most precious creation, could enjoy the everlasting life that God wanted us to have from the beginning. And we can have that everlasting life if we choose to draw close to him and do what he wants us to do. In return, we will not only live forever on paradise Earth, we will also enjoy a multitude of other benefits. Revelation 21:4 reads, "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away." Imagine that, AA...no more tears, ever. No death to fear. No pain to endure. ^_^

When you feel upset or alone or depressed or plain old sad, feel free to pray. God wants us to pray to him no matter what our mood is. He wants us to talk to him. He knows what we're thinking and what we need, but he also wants us to make the effort to talk to him. He loves to see that we're turning to him. We should thank him when we pray, too, since we owe him everything. We should ask him for help if we need it. He certainly has the ability to do so. How often do you pray, AA? Don't feel bad if you don't pray very often. It's a habit we need to make a conscious decision to start. <:^J

Originally Posted by Lily09 (Post 454517)

holy smokes. im an atheist and woah... *huggles ash* that was great, and sometimes, i forget to appreciate religion and how much it can help others.

Originally Posted by AlgebraAddict (Post 454519)

Wow. That was... amazing. Thank you. Wow.

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454522)

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454521)

I really hope that helped you, AA. <:^D

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454523)

D: What's wrong, Max?

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454525)

SO MUCH FREAKING HOMEWORK
I always write down everything down for Maths, Geography, Science, everything and everything and then we just get more homework and it is freaking draining me and I feel like I don't get any time to myself or any time to relax and it is paining me. Tonight I have another 20 questions of Maths continuing on from 60 questions that I did last night—they are all on square roots and squares. 3 to the power of 5 equals blah. I have to write all this down and then I have to actually do the work in my book and then resolve it and this is for every subject every night and this is so annoying and I just want peace and and and ahgsffhjdasgfgasfhjad. Seriously.

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454526)

I understand your frustrations, Max. I really, really do. I've been in that same exact situation countless times. All I've been able to do when things get like that is to take a deep breath, tell myself it's okay if I get some of the questions wrong, but also tell myself that I DO have the ability to get them all correct and to finish them. You will survive this, Max. <:^) You just have to endure the stress of it for a little longer. It IS possible for you to get all of them correct, and it's perfectly alright if you don't. I know you can do it, though. You've done it before, haven't you? And if you're having trouble, there's no shame in asking for help.

Originally Posted by AlgebraAddict (Post 454524)

It did. Thank you.

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454527)

So... it's okay if I ask you for help?

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454529)

O_O Of course! There's a bit of a catch, here, though, when it comes to asking me...I'm not very good with Algebra. <:^D I'm perfectly fine with other kinds of Math--fractions, integers, Geometry, questions like "three to the power of five", all that--but I'm pretty much useless when it comes to square roots, graphing the slope of a line, or finding what a variable equals if there's one on both sides of the equals sign. If you specifically need help with Algebra, I suggest asking someone else. A teacher or a parent or someone you know who's good with Algebra, I mean. SO sorry I can't help with that. x_x

Nevertheless, I'm willing to help you any other way I can when it comes to homework. <:^D What exactly do you need help with?

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454531)

Mostly Geography and how the world works and just... integers and Geometry...

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454535)

What are you studying in Geography right now? :D I can help with that. Also integers and Geometry.

I'm going to start with integers. Tell me if this helps you at all.

When it comes to adding integers, I like to think of negative integers as empty flower pots, and positive integers as bags of soil. Say you're trying to solve something like this: -4 + 5. So, that's four empty flower pots, and five bags of soil. You fill in the four empty pots with four whole bags of soil. This leaves one bag of soil left over. So, -4 + 5 = 1.

When it comes to subtracting integers, think of a bank account. Say we have the problem -11 + 5. Think of a bank account that you have. Say you have five dollars in the account, but then you spend eleven dollars through your credit card. That means the five dollars get spent, and then you owe six MORE dollars because you did not have those six extra dollars to spend. So, -11 + 5 = -6.

When it comes to multiplying (OR dividing...the same rules work for dividing) integers, all you have to do is ignore the negative or positive value for a moment, then multiply or divide the numbers as usual. Multiplying or dividing two numbers with the same sign (both positive or both negative), the answer will be a positive number. If the two numbers have different signs, then the answer will be negative.

If you remember all that, then all you have to do is remember some of the other rules--like if you see something like this: 5 - (-7). Since there is a subtraction sign right next to the negative sign of a negative integer, that makes the negative integer turn into a positive one, thus making the problem change to 5 - 7.

Like I said before, tell me if that helped...if not, please tell me what you're having trouble with and I'll try to help. ^_^

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454536)

The only thing I don't understand the stuff like: 8 - (6 - -5) -4 + +70 and stuff like that. It's so complicated. I'm learning about all of the towns and cities in Australia. x_x For Geography.

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454537)

For things like that--which is actually Algebra, also--you have to learn the Order of Operations.

The Order of Operations is P.E.M.D.A.S.
That stands for:
Parenthesis (or brackets),
Exponents,
Multiplication,
Division,
Addition, and
Subtraction.

This means, from left to right, you need to solve it in the order of the most "important" sign. Like, in the case of that equation, you'd start with (6 - -5) because it's in parenthesis. Then you would solve the different parts of the equation from left to right, each time in the order of PEMDAS. If there's something you can multiply, multiply it before you divide. After there are no more things to multiply, if there's something you can divide, divide it, and so on and so forth.

Originally Posted by maxi (Post 454538)

;-; I don't get anything of this...

Originally Posted by TheAshWolf (Post 454540)

I know it's hard to understand. <:^/ I don't totally understand it myself. XD XD DX DX Sorry I'm not much help, here, Max. Maybe you should ask someone else for help?