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Beth Howard

@june-6-bug.bsky.social

620 followers 730 following 2K posts

childless gay cat lady Trans rights are human rights. Black lives matter. Everyone deserves healthcare, food security and safe, stable housing.

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Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 1m

Alas, because the grade was always good enough, I learned nothing from that fear and thus repeated the cycle every time I had a paper due. There's no way I could go back to college now; I don't have the stamina for that many all-nighters

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 4m

. . . followed by the crushing fear of failure that haunts you (or maybe just me?) before the grade confirms that the paper was as good as it seemed when you were running on too much coffee and nowhere near enough sleep.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 12m

Somehow no one suspected me of having ADHD til I was over 40, but looking back . . .

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 14m

I wrote so many A papers between 11pm and 7am - I'm not sure I ever started writing more than 48 hours before a deadline. During one undergrad all-nighter, I accidentally drank a whole pot of coffee on an empty stomach and was severely nauseated for the next two days. Turned me off coffee for years.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 1h

I suspect I'm the only person I know whose teachers wished they'd read less 😬

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 1h

After my mom passed a couple of months ago, my sister and I dug through boxes of stuff she'd saved - apparently every damn thing we ever brought home from school. This is how I found out one of my teachers thought I'd be a more productive learner if they could get me to do something besides reading.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 1h

Hahaha, same! I used to tuck a book into my lunch box so I could read during lunch and recess, too

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I love Chicago, but I don't miss the winters, and I'm not interested in experiencing any other Midwest winters either! They all sound like months of misery. I wish all Midwesterners warmly insulated homes, big steaming pots of chili and work-from-home jobs.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

Yes, and the sunny days are even colder!

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

Hahaha, I didn't think about those poor Texans deployed to Chicago in the winter. I hope their uniforms include warm coats and hats . . . Or not 🤷🏻‍♀️

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I remember when Republicans bragged about being the party of free speech

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I'm not a Christian anymore, but I'd support this mission.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

So true - after 15 or so winters in Chicago, I was thrilled to come home to the grey, rainy, blessedly temperate Seattle winters. Nothing made me nostalgic for the PNW like waiting on the L platform while my nose hairs froze and the wind chilled me to the bone.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

🤣🤣

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I'm pretty sure this is the key reason my white, conservative suburban relatives are so damn scared of cities and public transit. They might see a Black person or a trans person or a kid with green hair and facial piercings; they might overhear a conversation in a language they don't understand 😱

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

Probably just as well. I should probably avoid the comments more often

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

Sadly true 😭

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

Good lord, that's even worse

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

totally!

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I'm both baffled and impressed by their seemingly endless capacity to believe so many contradictory things at once. I couldn't handle the cognitive dissonance - I abandoned conservatism and evangelical fundamentalism for good about 10 years ago, after years of failing to make it make sense.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 5h

I'm both baffled and impressed by their seemingly endless capacity to believe so many contradictory things at once. I couldn't handle the cognitive dissonance - I abandoned conservatism and evangelical fundamentalism for good about 10 years ago, after years of failing to make it make sense.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 6h

Yup. It's sad.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 6h

I was definitely holding my tongue every time they raved about the maze of books and the fantastic Thai restaurant

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 6h

I'm not sure these particular relatives are self-aware enough to realize they're being lied to, but it's something I can point out if they bring up lawless liberal cities again. Last time, they tried to tell me, a person living a few blocks from the former CHOP, that Seattle is a smoking ruin.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 6h

the way you phrase it shows that teaching as obviously false. So much of what I was taught in that subculture turned out to be dead wrong.

Beth Howard @june-6-bug.bsky.social · 6h

Thank you, this has been a really helpful set of posts. I was raised in white American evangelical fundamentalism, and even years after I left, I'm still running into things I need to reconsider. I was taught that faith and theology are somehow above or outside of culture, but