#uncoffeed...

A tree on Roanoke, photo by débora Ewing The first English Expedition to explore Roanoke Island in 1584 was a fact-finding mission bent on gaining land as a means of wealth and strategic advantage for the British Crown. A second expedition came in 1585 as a military and scientific mission, far from peaceful. The extant citizenry of The New Land were disrespected and blood was spilled. In July of 1587, a third expedition to the island came with women and children, intending to control property by permanently settling British colonial families. Not  only did the attempt fail, but the settlers disappeared completely, possibly integrating with natives in order to survive. The only clue was the mysterious word 'CROATOAN' carved into a tree. In 1607, Jamestown was founded. Christian white settlers became permanent fixtures in the new British territory. Expeditions sent by France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal carried out similar missions. Their narratives have n...

I just found out someone I know is amazing. It's so great when that happens, and you should give people more opportunity to show you what they've got. Try to grasp what they are presenting, rather than looking to find something they offer that's already in a language you understand. We hide ourselves because society is quick to throw rocks at anything they don't understand. Quick to try and put the Other outside  the wall. This is a defence on the part of people who don't get you, and everyone has mechanisms, but you know what? You are not responsible for their defences. You need to worry about your own. Let those defences work for you, not against you. Don't try to do everything at once. You will quickly discover that you can't. My World History teacher noticed, in what should have been my senior year of high school, that I was not taking notes but copying a black-and-white photo out of the textbook. Other than the graphite being too shiny in the d...