I think I just need a place to rant about my life that isnt my family, I dont really have anyone in person to talk with and I dont really want to bother anyone.
I guess I should start at the beginning, when I was in elementary school my family and I were broke af, like more than I realized at the time. I knew that we didn't have much money and that my dad didn't want to tell me what our actual financial situation was, but I knew it wasn't good. looking in from outside it seemed like I had it all, and it still does...
I should mention, my dad was working full time, with overnight but it didn't pay well enough to sustain a family of 4. he had to quit due to health reasons, the job was literally killing off their employees (that's not an exaggeration), from my current understanding and from what I remember, they had to take these biological shots (I don't know why) and people stopped showing up to work over time. according to the info I got back then, they all died due to some reason like "heart attack" or "organ failure". It was in accordance with the gov and whatnot. So it's either leave or die, my dad's health was declining hard because of this. He had to take up learning health and related things on his own, he's alive and well now.
At the beginning of 7th grade, I somehow got the newest iPhone at the time, the iPhone 7Plus, I was super excited because that was my first smartphone, I kept it all the way till 2020, I still love that phone and the memories that I made with it. Anyway, it was the coolest thing at the time, it wasn't till later that I found out that it was my uncle that paid for it. Life seemed... fine, I was having fun. Nearing the end of 7th grade we had to sell the house, we rented another one close to my school at the time so that I could finish elementary school there.
Everything seemed great till the end of 8th grade, we couldn't stay there anymore since (I believe) we were behind on rent. So we had to move out, luckily enough we have some relatives that we could fall back on but they were a few town/cities over (~230kms), I was trying to do my best to stay positive, in all honesty I don't know if it worked.
Some time after we settled in, we managed to find a stable source of income but there's no paper trail. (we didn't think it was at the time). Now we have the financial freedom to buy whatever and to whatever (within reason obviously)

1. "Friends"

After leaving my home town, I only stayed in contact with a couple of friends till a couple years ago (2022). one of my childhood friend's who I thought as a "best friend" couldn't be more wrong, he said he didn't want to be friends anymore, which was weird because we went through thick and thin together, we did everything together, you could've mistake us for brothers. He ghosted me for a whole month, I called up a mutual friend to ask about him and put us in a 3-way call, that's when he said "I don't think we should be friends anymore". That's when I truly realized that I was alone, although I did make some "friends" in high school. I know that I'll never have anything as close to that friendship ever again, there isn't some 2nd chance to get a childhood friend.
I went to high school in the new city with my cousin, that was my only saving grace. We were pretty close and still are. At the very least I met a couple people that have become good friends even after graduation.
I remember clear as day, 2 of my close "best friends" in 8th grade promised each other that we would get manual cars as our first cars, so far from that I scraped from social media and what I last heard about them, I'm the only one that went through with it. Not that a promise meant much to me, it never had.
Actually if you're reading this, what does a promise mean to you? I know doctors are not allowed to promise anything, so that tells me it's supposed to be impactful. I guess I have a life full of broken promises.

1. Relationships

After grad in elementary school I got into my first relationship thanks to my school's "bully" (he wasn't really targeting anyone, just picks on everyone (except in his friend group)) at least he knows and acknowledges it according to his instagram/snapchat story (years later).
One day in 8th grade, he just straight up tells this girl that I like her while walking past a doorway (which I didn't, I was interested in another girl but we had went our separate ways already) I was right behind him... after graduation, it gets a bit blurry but we got into a relationship because I didn't have the heart to say no (this haunts me later on), she broke up with me because of "long distance" but a short couple years later she told me that it was all a facade, she just wanted to know what it was like to be in a relationship, not that she had any interest in me. I- am still conflicted about it.
In freshman year of high school, I got asked out by a guy who was a year older, we were in the same club, I didn't have the heart to say no so I was in that for less than half a month, I still don't know how to feel about it.
Not too long after I asked a girl out (also a year older) and they said yes! Confidence boost +1. they wanted to identified as non-binary. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though, the longer I was in that relationship, the more I learned about this person, the sooner I wanted to give up, disappear, they weren't the right one, they were nice but had some issues that I wasn't ready to deal with at the time. they kept talking about their ex, being abusive and such. after leaving that relationship I heard something that they said about that was similar to what they said about their ex, so what they said about their ex was a possible lie as well. good thing I left when I did.

1. Life

We are pretty well off now, still living with aforementioned relatives.
I got my first car halfway through grade 11, I wouldn't ask for any other car, its the manual version of my mom's car, she got that car when I was born so there is quite a bit of sentimental value to it even though I had just got it.
For this next part I swear I'm not trying to flex or anything, around 2021 I bought the newest macbook, ipad, iphone, etc. (my old ones either didn't work or didn't have) a fresh start.
but now I feel somewhat depressed, I don't think I have depression but at the same time I think I might. It's just lonely, Covid19 did not help. Whenever I think about it my heart aches, now I'm lost, I feel alone, I don't know what to do, I'm scared.
Somehow this is the only place I can turn to. The uncertainty of the future is truly scary.
I don't really say it in real life but, I'm sorry, for it being this long, for taking up space. I don't think anyone is actually going to read all this, but if you did, thank you, and I'm sorry for wasting your time.

Are you planning to sell on Amazon FBA but unsure what to sell? The best products to sell are those that already have a demand. Whether you're selling your own products or reselling someone else's, I'll guide you on how to find good products to sell for yourself.
First, let me be blunt: this might not work for everyone. Everyone's success is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all plan. What works for one person might not work for another, so keep that in mind.
Don't choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I just saw one other product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, "If they are selling well, I can throw up my product, and it should sell well too, right?" Nope. I was wrong. Looking back, it's funny now, but at the time it wasn’t.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So in general, you should approach your product research like this:
Learn From My Mistakes
Don’t choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I saw one product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, “If they are selling well, I can throw up my product and it should sell well too, right?” Nope. I was wrong.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So here’s how you should approach your product research:
Find the Market
For your first product, look for ones that are easier to ship and manufacture so you can launch quicker. The main factors to consider are:
Small and lightweight
Non-seasonal
Non-fragile / non-electronic
Non-brand dominated
Price between $12 and $55
Already selling well (over 500 units per month)
Next, you want to find other potential, successful products that will lead you to the overall market. Here are two effective product research methods:
Free Method
Check out the New Release section of any sub-category. The idea is to find products that have just recently launched and are already selling well. Some good categories to start in are Home & Kitchen, Office Products, and Pet Supplies. Go into their sub-categories to find oddball products that are doing well. For example, Home & Kitchen > Kitchen & Dining > Tabletop > Tabletop Accessories > Kitchen & Table Linens > Tablecloths. You can use the free AMZ Scout Chrome extension to estimate how many units are being sold each month.
Paid Method
Use the Jungle Scout Web App ($40 a month). The product database lets you search through Amazon with the criteria we went over and only pulls back products that fit.
Analyze Market Trends
Research the current trends and popular products in your target market. Look for gaps and opportunities where there is a demand for new products. It's important to start doing this for just one market, ideally your country’s market.
Use Product/Keyword Research Tools
Use these tools to identify potential product ideas. They can help you identify popular search terms and phrases related to your target market. Use Amazon’s search engine autocomplete, which will show you the daily trends for that Marketplace. Start typing (for example, "car Christmas decoration") and get ideas.
Think Outside the Box
Don’t just rely on scraping Alibaba for the next big product. Millions of people are doing the same. Even Alibaba’s manufacturers are directly selling those products on Amazon. Think outside the box: attend trade shows and local markets related to your target market. This can be a great way to learn about new products and trends and to connect with potential suppliers and manufacturers. Plus, it’s not as easy for your competitors to attend a trade show.
Network and Connect with Other Sellers
This is an absolute must and a game-changer. Join Facebook groups, Discord servers, and follow relevant Twitter accounts. Meeting face-to-face and networking with other sellers on Amazon will give you new ideas, and you'll share the ups and downs of selling on Amazon. Don’t expect other sellers to show you their secret formula. They won’t give you an idea for their next great product, but exchanging ideas with someone in your same position is really helpful.
Avoid Amazon Gurus' Courses
Nobody who is going to make you a millionaire or make you drop your 9-to-5 life will give you the keys to it for $3,000 or $30,000.
Tools for Amazon Product Research
There are several tools that can help with the research process. Some popular options include:
Jungle Scout: A product research tool that helps you identify potential products to sell on Amazon based on data and analytics. The product database includes over 500 million products.
Helium 10: A suite of tools that includes a keyword research tool, product tracker, and other features that can help you research and find profitable products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 400 million products.
Viral Launch: A product research and launch platform that offers tools and services to help you find and launch successful products on Amazon. The product database includes over 250 million products.
AMZ Scout: A product research and tracking tool that provides data and insights to help you find the best products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 20 million products.
Now that you generally know how to find good product ideas, don't get overwhelmed with the entire process of selling on Amazon. No need to stress about ranking, launching, PPC, sourcing, or anything other than finding the right product to sell. Once you have a good product to sell, figuring out all that stuff becomes so much easier since you know specifically what to sell. You'll start to see how things work and what products sell well once you've been doing product research for a little bit.
Remember, success on Amazon varies for everyone, and there's no guarantee this will work for you. However, by following these guidelines, you'll have a much better chance of finding a product that can succeed in the marketplace.

Are you planning to sell on Amazon FBA but unsure what to sell? The best products to sell are those that already have a demand. Whether you're selling your own products or reselling someone else's, I'll guide you on how to find good products to sell for yourself.
First, let me be blunt: this might not work for everyone. Everyone's success is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all plan. What works for one person might not work for another, so keep that in mind.
Don't choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I just saw one other product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, "If they are selling well, I can throw up my product, and it should sell well too, right?" Nope. I was wrong. Looking back, it's funny now, but at the time it wasn’t.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So in general, you should approach your product research like this:
Learn From My Mistakes
Don’t choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I saw one product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, “If they are selling well, I can throw up my product and it should sell well too, right?” Nope. I was wrong.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So here’s how you should approach your product research:
Find the Market
For your first product, look for ones that are easier to ship and manufacture so you can launch quicker. The main factors to consider are:
Small and lightweight
Non-seasonal
Non-fragile / non-electronic
Non-brand dominated
Price between $12 and $55
Already selling well (over 500 units per month)
Next, you want to find other potential, successful products that will lead you to the overall market. Here are two effective product research methods:
Free Method
Check out the New Release section of any sub-category. The idea is to find products that have just recently launched and are already selling well. Some good categories to start in are Home & Kitchen, Office Products, and Pet Supplies. Go into their sub-categories to find oddball products that are doing well. For example, Home & Kitchen > Kitchen & Dining > Tabletop > Tabletop Accessories > Kitchen & Table Linens > Tablecloths. You can use the free AMZ Scout Chrome extension to estimate how many units are being sold each month.
Paid Method
Use the Jungle Scout Web App ($40 a month). The product database lets you search through Amazon with the criteria we went over and only pulls back products that fit.
Analyze Market Trends
Research the current trends and popular products in your target market. Look for gaps and opportunities where there is a demand for new products. It's important to start doing this for just one market, ideally your country’s market.
Use Product/Keyword Research Tools
Use these tools to identify potential product ideas. They can help you identify popular search terms and phrases related to your target market. Use Amazon’s search engine autocomplete, which will show you the daily trends for that Marketplace. Start typing (for example, "car Christmas decoration") and get ideas.
Think Outside the Box
Don’t just rely on scraping Alibaba for the next big product. Millions of people are doing the same. Even Alibaba’s manufacturers are directly selling those products on Amazon. Think outside the box: attend trade shows and local markets related to your target market. This can be a great way to learn about new products and trends and to connect with potential suppliers and manufacturers. Plus, it’s not as easy for your competitors to attend a trade show.
Network and Connect with Other Sellers
This is an absolute must and a game-changer. Join Facebook groups, Discord servers, and follow relevant Twitter accounts. Meeting face-to-face and networking with other sellers on Amazon will give you new ideas, and you'll share the ups and downs of selling on Amazon. Don’t expect other sellers to show you their secret formula. They won’t give you an idea for their next great product, but exchanging ideas with someone in your same position is really helpful.
Avoid Amazon Gurus' Courses
Nobody who is going to make you a millionaire or make you drop your 9-to-5 life will give you the keys to it for $3,000 or $30,000.
Tools for Amazon Product Research
There are several tools that can help with the research process. Some popular options include:
Jungle Scout: A product research tool that helps you identify potential products to sell on Amazon based on data and analytics. The product database includes over 500 million products.
Helium 10: A suite of tools that includes a keyword research tool, product tracker, and other features that can help you research and find profitable products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 400 million products.
Viral Launch: A product research and launch platform that offers tools and services to help you find and launch successful products on Amazon. The product database includes over 250 million products.
AMZ Scout: A product research and tracking tool that provides data and insights to help you find the best products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 20 million products.
Now that you generally know how to find good product ideas, don't get overwhelmed with the entire process of selling on Amazon. No need to stress about ranking, launching, PPC, sourcing, or anything other than finding the right product to sell. Once you have a good product to sell, figuring out all that stuff becomes so much easier since you know specifically what to sell. You'll start to see how things work and what products sell well once you've been doing product research for a little bit.
Remember, success on Amazon varies for everyone, and there's no guarantee this will work for you. However, by following these guidelines, you'll have a much better chance of finding a product that can succeed in the marketplace.

Are you planning to sell on Amazon FBA but unsure what to sell? The best products to sell are those that already have a demand. Whether you're selling your own products or reselling someone else's, I'll guide you on how to find good products to sell for yourself.
First, let me be blunt: this might not work for everyone. Everyone's success is different, and there is no one-size-fits-all plan. What works for one person might not work for another, so keep that in mind.
Don't choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I just saw one other product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, "If they are selling well, I can throw up my product, and it should sell well too, right?" Nope. I was wrong. Looking back, it's funny now, but at the time it wasn’t.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So in general, you should approach your product research like this:

Learn From My Mistakes

Don’t choose a product just because you can source it cheaply, because you like it, or because you think it will sell well. The first product I tried to sell on Amazon was a complete failure because I didn't do any market research. I saw one product that seemed to be selling well and tried to sell the same thing. I thought, “If they are selling well, I can throw up my product and it should sell well too, right?” Nope. I was wrong.
They had hundreds of reviews, a much better listing, and were already ranked. I had no idea how to set up my listing back then. I had three poor-quality iPhone pictures, horrible copywriting, and worst of all, I had no idea how to launch or rank my product. I just knew someone else was selling well.
Enough about my failed product. I say this to highlight how important it is to pick the right product, especially when you're first starting. So here’s how you should approach your product research:

Find the Market

For your first product, look for ones that are easier to ship and manufacture so you can launch quicker. The main factors to consider are:

• Small and lightweight
• Non-seasonal
• Non-fragile / non-electronic
• Non-brand dominated
• Price between $12 and $55
• Already selling well (over 500 units per month)

Next, you want to find other potential, successful products that will lead you to the overall market. Here are two effective product research methods:

Free Method

Check out the New Release section of any sub-category. The idea is to find products that have just recently launched and are already selling well. Some good categories to start in are Home & Kitchen, Office Products, and Pet Supplies. Go into their sub-categories to find oddball products that are doing well. For example, Home & Kitchen > Kitchen & Dining > Tabletop > Tabletop Accessories > Kitchen & Table Linens > Tablecloths. You can use the free AMZ Scout Chrome extension to estimate how many units are being sold each month.

Paid Method

Use the Jungle Scout Web App ($40 a month). The product database lets you search through Amazon with the criteria we went over and only pulls back products that fit.

Analyze Market Trends

Research the current trends and popular products in your target market. Look for gaps and opportunities where there is a demand for new products. It's important to start doing this for just one market, ideally your country’s market.

Use Product/Keyword Research Tools

Use these tools to identify potential product ideas. They can help you identify popular search terms and phrases related to your target market. Use Amazon’s search engine autocomplete, which will show you the daily trends for that Marketplace. Start typing (for example, "car Christmas decoration") and get ideas.

Think Outside the Box

Don’t just rely on scraping Alibaba for the next big product. Millions of people are doing the same. Even Alibaba’s manufacturers are directly selling those products on Amazon. Think outside the box: attend trade shows and local markets related to your target market. This can be a great way to learn about new products and trends and to connect with potential suppliers and manufacturers. Plus, it’s not as easy for your competitors to attend a trade show.

Network and Connect with Other Sellers

This is an absolute must and a game-changer. Join Facebook groups, Discord servers, and follow relevant Twitter accounts. Meeting face-to-face and networking with other sellers on Amazon will give you new ideas, and you'll share the ups and downs of selling on Amazon. Don’t expect other sellers to show you their secret formula. They won’t give you an idea for their next great product, but exchanging ideas with someone in your same position is really helpful.

Avoid Amazon Gurus' Courses

Nobody who is going to make you a millionaire or make you drop your 9-to-5 life will give you the keys to it for $3,000 or $30,000.

Tools for Amazon Product Research

There are several tools that can help with the research process. Some popular options include:

• Jungle Scout: A product research tool that helps you identify potential products to sell on Amazon based on data and analytics. The product database includes over 500 million products.
• Helium 10: A suite of tools that includes a keyword research tool, product tracker, and other features that can help you research and find profitable products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 400 million products.
• Viral Launch: A product research and launch platform that offers tools and services to help you find and launch successful products on Amazon. The product database includes over 250 million products.
• AMZ Scout: A product research and tracking tool that provides data and insights to help you find the best products to sell on Amazon. The product database includes over 20 million products.

Now that you generally know how to find good product ideas, don't get overwhelmed with the entire process of selling on Amazon. No need to stress about ranking, launching, PPC, sourcing, or anything other than finding the right product to sell. Once you have a good product to sell, figuring out all that stuff becomes so much easier since you know specifically what to sell. You'll start to see how things work and what products sell well once you've been doing product research for a little bit.
Remember, success on Amazon varies for everyone, and there's no guarantee this will work for you. However, by following these guidelines, you'll have a much better chance of finding a product that can succeed in the marketplace.

I (24, M) have a childhood friend (24, M) na kasama ko buong buhay ko. My friend's family parang rags to riches iyong buhay nila pero hindi naman super mayaman like maginhawa lang sa buhay. Iyong family niya super bait talaga sa akin and they treat me as part of them since kung may gala lagi akong kasama at lagi akong may gift. They treated so kindly talaga. My childhood friend, mabait naman siya towards me. Growing up, mayroon pagka-spoiled siya at ayaw niya magpatalo sa mga arguments kahit hindi akma iyong mga points niya. Kahit bata pa ako noon alam ko iyong ugali niya kaya tikum-bibig na lang ako kapag may heated arguments na, mostly sa other friend ko (pinsan ko) lagi niyang ka-debate. Happy naman ako kasi nag-improve friend ko from shy type to active person sa school namin during HS kasi magaling talaga sumayaw at talented siya. Ewan ko ba, baka siguro nagulat siya sa sudden recognition at appreciation ng mga tao at parang na-boost ego niya. Ahead ako ng one school year sa kaniya so ang naging classmate niya iyong pinsan ko dahil pinalipat siya sa first section. Naging friends naman niya iyong classmates niya. I'm happy for him kasi may new set of friends siya and was never jealous of it. He always lead their group. Kasi siya iyong may malaking ambag sa kanila tuwing galaan so siya mostly nasusunod. According sa pinsan ko, masyado talaga siyang matampuhin at biglang nagka-cancel or nagba-backout sa plano pag hindi nasusunod gusto niya. May mga instances na nag-aaway sila tapos maya't maya ay aalis sa GC. I hear both of their sides naman, parehong may mali at lapses. Hindi naman ako iyong tipong gagatungan ang apoy. I stayed neutral kasi kaibigan ko sila. Noong nag-college na kami, his Mom offered na siya ang iyong mag-sponsor sa schooling ko. Mabuti na lang at sa city siya nag-school. Alam ko kasi magiging sunod-sunoran ako sa kaniya kasi naman hindi gaanong marunong sa gawaing-bahay tapos noon lagi kong tinutulungan sa project niya either hindi niya ginagawa dahil tinatamad siya o siguro alam niyang tutulong ako. As a friend, gusto kong matuto siya at magsumikap na hindi umaasa sa iba lalo na sa academics at luckily natuto rin naman and I'm proud of him.
We are so DIFFERENT talaga. In every aspect, we do not have the same interests and likes. Maybe we become familiar to each other but never really get know the each other.
Noong pandemic doon ko napaisip that we will never become friends kung hindi lang sa magkapitbahay kami. Our perspective in life is so different. When he starts to work out, doon iyong nadevelop superiority complex niya as per my observation lang. A KNOW IT ALL ALPHA. He proudly and verbally says he is an Alpha and points out people who are Sigma, Beta etc. He does not openly says he is better than everyone but the context and everything tells otherwise. His a fan of Andrew Tate as well. When there is ganap sa HS batch, sumasama naman siya pero hindi nakikihalubilo tapos iyong pinsan ko masyadong nahihirapan kasi ayaw ng friend ko makisali sa grupo which getting together lang. Casual talk kumbaga. He says he is not into bodyshaming pero mina-mock niya friends niya. Also he has a beef with LGBT people. Sabi niya di naman siya homophobic but I can sense the internalized homophobia. He knew and can sense that I am not straight since I told him about it. Maybe he approves the version of non-straight of me because I dress like a man and I'm comfortable with the version of me. Doon talaga ako na-off noong Presedential Election. By the way he is BBM supporter and I do not have problem with that. I am open to discussion with facts only and no biases. Yet, iyon na nga nagpapaniwala sa theories na mga youtubers na pawang haka-haka lamang at open naman ang internet to find legit sources to fact-check tapos dumaan sa research subject noong HS pa lamang pero bakut di magawa. Hindi man sabihin pero sobrang competitve niya sa other men. He always says "Hindi ko sila ka-level. Why would I give a fuck about them?" He claims he does not care about other people but was unaware that he talk bad about them (now, I talk bad about him which is not good). He brags. When I bought my Ipad he doesn't want to be outshined so he tells that his mom bought latest model of the ipad, iphone and he will be getting new one, brags about his motorbike na parang siya ang nagbabayad and one time nagalit siya sa kapatid niya kasi ayaw magcontribute pang-down for installment sa motor. He lectures his sister kung paano palakihin at disiplinahin iyong anak niya where in fact wala naman siyang experience paano palakihin ang anak. He held a grudge with his kuya.
I'm losing trust of him and I do not share my personal life with him because I knew how judgemental he is. I am not seeking his approval or anything. It's just that he is too draining to be with. Mabigat siyang kasama. I do not see him as my friend if he continue to be like that. I did not communicate with him on what I am feeling pero dinaan ko sa one-on-one talk with him to check his perspective. Ang hirap niyang pakisamahan. I am worried sa magiging future partner niya because she has to deal all of his drama.
I do not wish with end of the friendship but pero hindi rin ako magugulat. I wish him well in life. ABYG?

Hi all. My current phone (Moto One 5G UW Ace) is almost paid off and I'm in need of an upgrade. I've recently changed jobs and this is the first time I've had to use my personal phone for business, so I need one with some good specs. I'm hoping you guys can help me find a good android that meets my needs below, but if an iPhone is what I need then tell me.
I've been an android follow ever since I was able to recognize Apples shady business practices, but I'll bite the bullet if I need to.
My needs:
Large memory capacity - for personal use, I use large apps like PoGo and stuff like that, but for work I need a lot of storage space for pictures (I'm an engineer and need to collect a lot of pictures at client sites). And I believe memory is what governs agile app functionality (apps opening and switching quickly). I also currently use a micro SD card for all my pictures, so it'd be nice if the new phone had that capability so I can take the SD out and put it in the new one.
Good and FAST camera quality - as mentioned above, I take a lot of pictures for my job. I need a camera that takes clear pictures in a variety of lights while also being FAST. My current camera isn't bad, but it locks up my phone whenever I try to use it. I had an iPhone for work once and switching between the camera and other apps was so quick and non-intrusive and I'd like to get that again.
Battery life - The longer, the better. I've only ever used Motorolas in the past (I currently have a Moto One 5G UW Ace) because of their battery life, but nowadays it doesn't seem line Motos are heads-and-shoulders above anyone else in this regard.
Connectivity - My phone does not play nicely with my wife's iPhone. Pictures we send to each other turn out poor and sometimes there's a delay in receiving messages.
My wants:
Fingerprint scanner - I'm not a fan of the face-based unlocking, but I do love the quick opening of a fingerprint scanner.
Car connectivity - My current phone is garbage at connecting to my car via Android Auto. It takes way too long and I feel is actually kind of a safety hazard because of the delayed response times.
Separate profiles? - I think this is more of a software thing, but I'm asking just in case there's a company that really good for this: Since I use this for both work and play, I'd like to keep them as separate as possible. It'd be nice if I had two different instances of the OS running at the same time (like having different desktops running off the same machine) so that files and apps I have for my personal use can't bleed over into my work environment.
Large size - I don't think this will be a problem because of how the market works, but the larger the screen, be happier I will be. Not super critical though.
Peripherals - I'm looking into a smart-watch in the future, so something that plays well natively with my phone would be nice. USB-C port for hooking into things. Wireless charging would be cool, but it's not super critical.
Country of origin - I know Chinese companies have been making waves recently, but I'd prefer to stay away from devices affiliated with geopolitical rivals of the county in which I reside (USA). I don't really care THAT much, but I feel like it may save some headache in the future.
My constraints:
Carrier - My carrier is Verizon and I'm still squatting on my parents' account (yay millennials) so this would be purely a hardware upgrade. No new lines, no changing of plans. I know good phones probably run around or above $1000 now but the more affordable I can be with Verizon, the better.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And again, if the answer is an iPhone, just rip the bandaide off so I can make piece with myself before making my wife happy.

I've had a homepod for about a year now. I bought the nanoleaf smart bulbs, they didn't work. fine it's probably the smartbulbs anyways.
for a while all I've used it for is as an alarm clock but it can't even do that right. half the time it says "Give me a sec" and then says it cannot complete the action.
what a stupid device to not even be capable of setting a timer or alarm clock without connecting to some damn server in the cloud. I'm at a point where I'm seriously like "i could do better and i barely know how to code"
i can't even troubleshoot it after it suddenly had connection issues because i can't even find it on my iPhone anymore. so i can't do anything besides plug it in and out of the outlet because there's no damn screen. the biggest waste of 99$ of my life.
like its 11pm at night. i want to go to bed but i now don't have even an alarm clock and have to hope that my failing phone speaker will wake me up.
oh well, guess its time to get a new phone and throw away a bad home pod... unless that open ai deal makes siri useful for more than the most basic of requests that don't end with "repeat again and open on iPhone!" (which doesn't even work for me)

Recently, my school organized a special lecture on the history of the Orient.This lecture was called "The Miracle of the Han River," and it was given by a professor from outside Korea.I was very curious about Korea, so I was looking forward to this lecture. In fact, the reason why this lecture was held was at the request of the students. Since Korean culture has been penetrating into American society for a long time, and many things that we enjoy without thinking are related to Korea, students were curious about what Korea is like.
Then Patrick, the student leader and president of our school, asked the teachers if they could organize a special lecture on Korean history, and they accepted, and eventually the whole class gathered in the auditorium and participated in the lecture. Often, our school invites outside professors to give lectures like this, and most of the time, the interest in such lectures is very high, and the lecture on Korean history was also extremely popular. However, the lectures that invite professors from prestigious universities and the opportunity to gain new knowledge about Korea are popular enough to fill the gymnasium.On this day, there were many students in the gymnasium converted into a lecture hall.As the professor entered, gave a brief introduction, and announced the topic of the day's lecture, everyone looked at him with interest. The professor said that he was asked to give a lecture on the history of the East, and when he was thinking about what topic to tell the students, he thought it would be better to talk about the modern history and economic development of Korea, and for two hours without a break, he explained in depth, in detail, easily understandable, and really interesting.
The professor's first words were impactful: "You all know Haiti, the country that receives U.S. aid, suffered a major earthquake about 15 years ago and has never recovered from it, and is in a state of chaos as one of the poorest countries in the world." "But how would you feel if, 30 years later, you were told to congratulate Haiti on becoming an economic powerhouse?" "I'm the generation that actually witnessed it. "I'm the generation that actually saw that happen, where we were the poorest country in the world, and all of a sudden, we were told that we were an economic powerhouse and that we should be congratulated."The students were surprised to learn that South Korea was once the poorest country in the world, even though it was still a decade after the end of World War II.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Korea was a very poor country until the middle of the 20th century, but since the 1960s, it has experienced rapid economic growth and made remarkable progress, which has been called the 'Miracle on the Han River', and today I am going to tell you the story."
From the beginning of the lecture, the students listened attentively as the professor engaged their interest, and I was particularly curious about how South Korea was able to develop so quickly.
"Korea was devastated after the Korean War in the 1950s, but in the 1960s, a government-led economic development plan began.At that time, Korea made a five-year plan for economic development under the leadership of the government, and fostered industries centered on heavy chemical industries such as steel, chemicals, and electronics.In addition, the country invested heavily in education, and many talented people were produced based on high educational enthusiasm."
The professor's explanation was very detailed and interesting, and I was in awe as he talked about Korea's economic development.
"In particular, in the 1970s, the Saemaul movement was launched to promote the development of rural areas and improve the living standards of the people."At that time, residents in rural areas voluntarily maintained their villages and strived for the development of their communities."These efforts helped Korea to rapidly transform from an agriculture-oriented society to an industry-oriented society.""And this Saemaul movement has become an example for many developing countries to this day, and countless policies have been implemented to copy Korea's Saemaul movement. "It is now accepted wisdom that Korea's Saemaul movement was a seemingly simple campaign that contributed tremendously to building the country's economic foundation, with reports of rapid development in some cases and failure in others." "Korea has written a textbook curriculum on how to grow an economy, and its achievements have become a model."
I realized how much effort Korea, which was poor in the past, made to grow its economy.It was a huge lecture of 2 hours, so I can only write down the core flow, so please understand.The process of Korea laying the economic foundation and starting the high-speed growth was really interesting, and there were many points where I learned how much effort Korean policy researchers made at that time.And the efforts of Korean people who believed in the government and followed the policy, even sacrificing themselves, were also great.
"Today, Korea is an IT powerhouse, with world-class companies such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai Motor, which have great influence in the global market and are an important pillar of Korea's economy." "The characteristic of Korean companies is that they have always strived to develop technology. "There are five technological powers in the world," he said, "the United States, Germany, Japan, Korea, and France." "The United States and Germany have been doing research and development since the Industrial Revolution, while France has been doing research and development since the Industrial Revolution, and Japan received a huge amount of aid from the United States in 1950, taking advantage of the Korean War. It was thought that Japan, which started 20 years earlier than Korea, would be recognized as the last technological power of the 20th century, but how Korea, which started research and development from the 1970s onwards, became the world's fifth technological power, was a very interesting topic among professors in the 1990s.
And unlike Japan, Korea became a semiconductor powerhouse in the 21st century, and even succeeded in fostering an industry that Japan did not, and created a great foundation for Korea to become a developed country.Look at the iPhone you're using right now, and look at it.Do you see a Samsung product in there?
Most Americans think that the iPhone is made by Apple and developed by Apple, but many of the components in it come from Korea, and without Korea, the product you're using would be half as powerful as it is today.
The professor kept the students' attention for the entire two-hour lecture, explaining the difficult content in terms of the smartphones they use.
At the end of the lecture, the professor said that there are only two role models of economic development in the 20th century, Germany's development and Korea's development are very meaningful, and if you want to major in economics or international affairs, you should familiarize yourself with these contents because they are all liberal arts contents.
And originally, this kind of lecture should be 200 hours instead of 2 hours, but since it was shortened to a hundred and one, the fun is only a hundred and one, and if you want to hear more details, you should study hard and go to the prestigious university where you are, and the excellent lecture ended with the story.
After the lecture, I wanted to ask the professor more questions, but there were already a lot of students gathered around him.Then, my friend Xiao approached me.Xiao was a student who was educated in China until elementary school and then moved to the United States."Avery, how did you like the lecture?" Xiao asked me. I really liked the lecture and I have a lot of questions, so I wanted to ask the professor, but I could already hear the other students lamenting that they wouldn't be able to because the professor was surrounded by other students.I had to leave the lecture hall with Xiao, who was listening to the lecture with interest next to me.As we walked down the hall, I continued to talk to Xiao.Minhwa and Jia told me that they didn't know why they hated Korea so much, and they had to tell me a frustrating story.
In fact, Minhwa and Jia are two students who are very anti-Korean, especially since the student council voted for and against this lecture, and there were two votes against it, so everyone could tell that it was Minhwa and Jia from China, and their anti-Korean feelings, or even hatred, were very strong.
Xiao told me that today's lecture was very different from what they teach in China, and what the professor told us today. Of course, in China, they teach distorted facts, and they don't believe in it, but if you're like Min Hua or Jia, who went to school in China until middle school, it's natural to have a negative opinion of Korea.
Xiao's words were sincere because he had lived in China until elementary school and had been educated in China, so he knew the reality of China very well.In China, Korea is often taught negatively, and Xiao also said that when he went to elementary school in China, he was taught that way, but when he came to the United States and was exposed to different perspectives, he realized that it was wrong.
At that moment, Minhwa and Jia walked up to us, or maybe I should say they walked up to Xiao.Minhwa had a disgruntled look on her face."Korea is so great? I never think so, Korea is worse than our China," Minhwa said unhappily.Jia, who had an equally unhappy look on her face, also spoke up."Right. What's so great about Korea, our China is better."
I was offended by their words, because the facts I learned about Korea all seemed interesting and amazing, so why didn't they think so? And when they said that China was better, they didn't have any basis, they just said that China was better, what's so great about Korea, and there was no power in their argument.Xiao was also not happy when his two Chinese friends asked him to sympathize with them.
Xiao usually doesn't like to argue with them, but this time he was in the mood for a fight.I intervened first."Korea has made great progress, and you'll see that when you do a little more research," I said calmly to Minhwa and Jia.But Minhwa and Jia didn't listen to me.They wouldn't even look at me when I was talking to them.That's when Xiao stepped in and said.
"I'm sorry Avery, Minhua and Jia have been mis-educated, so I'll apologize for them.I know why they think that way, but I know the truth is different, so I want to apologize to you."
After hearing Xiao's words, Minhua and Jia still showed their disapproval. They even loudly argued with Xiao in the hallway. All the students passing by couldn't help but notice that two Chinese friends with wrong ideas were bullying Xiao, a normal thinking Chinese friend, again.
In fact, this scene was not uncommon, but this day was different. Despite the fact that everyone had attended an impactful and fact-based lecture by a professor from a prestigious university, Min Hua and Jia seemed to have no room for improvement, and they were still shouting distorted facts and misinformation without any basis.
From that day on, they were increasingly bullied by their schoolmates. Even when Minhua and Jia tried to talk to their American friends, all their American friends would scold them, saying, "Are you going to distort American history like that?" and no one would listen to them.
At first, Minhua and Jia's attitude was nonetheless brazen and confident, but two Chinese students armed with wrong ideas can't live in isolation in this school. Our school has group work as the basic form of class participation, so there are many tasks that require the help of other students.
Eventually, Minhua and Jia came to me, Xiao, and our Korean friend Minji and apologized to us.To be honest, to this day, I don't know if their apology was sincere.They said that they had learned that much of the education they had received was false, and they promised that they would never say anything wrong again in the future.Part of me wanted to tell them that I knew they were lying to survive, but I couldn't turn my back on them, so I accepted their apology.After Minhua and Jia's disturbance and apology
Although I'm still a high school student, I know that when I grow up, I want to exercise my right to vote and join the anti-China movement. We also realized that China's policy of teaching the wrong history and the wrong international affairs is having a negative impact even here in the United States, a country so far away, and that it is causing the Chinese people to suffer.China's ambitious plan to turn the tables by playing shallow games is just ridiculous and will not work.
I can't help but think that the impact of these lectures on our school is great: first of all, we learned how important it is to filter out misleading and distorted information, and how important it is to listen to such information; secondly, many students have a deep understanding of what exactly the "Miracle of the Han River" is.
As a reminder, South Korea was very poor until the mid-20th century, but through government-led economic development plans and people's efforts, it has achieved remarkable growth, especially spontaneous rural development movements such as the Saemaul movement, which played a huge role in accelerating South Korea's industrialization.
Korea's development has been not just economic, but social as well, with Koreans overcoming difficulties and achieving remarkable results through their high levels of education, hard work, and sense of community.
Now, do you feel that there is any reason for Chinese people here to say that China is greater than Korea? Isn't it just that Korea has created a remarkable growth in the history of East Asia, and it is because of Korea's development that China's factories are able to operate? Just because China is lagging behind, to say that Korea is a lesser country is an expression of inferiority, and it is seen as a desperate attempt to deny their own lack.
This is a good liberal arts course where you can learn the facts about what Korea has done and speak about it with confidence in public, but I think the disturbance by the two Chinese students clouded the essence of the course, because the impact of the miracle of the Han River was diluted by the emotion of outrage at the Chinese students' behavior.
In my final presentation at the end of the semester, I plan to find more information about the Han River Miracle, add new information, and present it to my class, because I feel that it is unfair that the attention to Korea has been diverted for a while, and I think that it would be meaningful to talk about Korea in front of Minhwa, Jia, and my Korean friend Minji.
I hope that the country will soon develop into a mature society that can accept the truth as the truth.

I had this sermon yesterday, and it helped me collate my thoughts
For the everyone, Christianity isn't a self-help or a religion that makes you feel good. It is a faith that is real. Sharing the word and preaching may not turn the hearts of others. You need to clarify the non-believers' doubts. However, this is for everyone to read.
Science doesn't argue that God isn't real. God and science aren't enemies. They are in fact allies. God made science and science proves of God is existence.
1) Faith and science are complementary.
John 4:21-24 describes the Samaritan woman asking Jesus which is mountain/temple is the right place to seek God. Jesus instead tells her how God is spiritual. Heaven and hell are not physical locations, but a spiritual location. Therefore you need to connect to God spiritually.
Science cannot prove about why the existence of any number. For example, why is 7 seven and not 1 or 2 or 3? Science only assumes numbers. What about right and wrongs? We know that they are real things. We believe they are factual. But right and wrongs differ from person to person. Science can not scientifically prove what is right and what is wrong. Science is used to prove the physical and not physical world. But science also cannot prove science. For example science cannot prove where an atom is from. People say the Big Bang, but what caused it to happen(explained later)? God is beyond the physical world. So science is to study the physical world, whereas faith is to know the spiritual world.
2) Faith provides a basis for science
Science is to prove a principle of a law. But you need to assume that this law exists in the first place because if it doesn't then results are unattainable. This is a hypothesis. If the experimental results are achieved, then the law is true. However, when the results cannot be obtained, the law either is false or needs further proving. But He separated the dry land from water as can be seen in Psalm 105:5-9. The waters flowed over the mountains, went into valleys and He set a boundary they cannot cross and would never again cover earth. Same again in the story of Noah. And also can be seen in Genesis 1 when the world was just water. Before He made these boundaries, the waters were chaotic and with no order. God gave order.
In fact there are also many many famous scientists out there who used the Bible for their hypothesis and so far they are all correct. Johannes Kepler said that he was was merely thinking God's thoughts after Him. Isaac Newton said he studied the Bible to prove scientific theories. However, what the Bible says that is in the later part before the end, that cannot be proven yet. Other than that, God made the world follow a fixed law. Therefore, Christianity is a faith with science to prove that it is true. This leads to the last point
3) Science provides evidence for the Christian faith
Romans 1:18-20 says ‭" [18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, [19] because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. [20] For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse". This shows that there is so much evidence of God in the world like science and the miracles done. So how can God not have the rights to condemn someone to hell? It isn't because He remained hidden and they didn't have the opportunity to know Him. They closed their hearts and believe in His works but not Him. They have everything around them to prove God exists, but they do not heed.
Psalm 8:3-4 shows us the magnitude and power of God. But there would be critics who disagree because we jump into conclusions and "assume" it's right. What if there is an argument to prove that it is right and it in fact is God's powers?
Kalama Cosmological Argument states: 1. Everything must have a cause. 2. The universe began to exist 3. (if the first 2 points make sense which they do, then) Therefore, the universe must have a cause
The Kalam Cosmological Argument can be used on Islam and Christianity but the Christian God is the true God. In Islam, Muhammad was not the Son of God. He was just a prophet. Neither did he die on the cross for the people to redeem their sins. And I don't need to talk about the kids he married. It's pedophilia and there's no argument that that is very wrong. God is righteous and His son should be righteous as well. We know Jesus was righteous and has never sinned. He bored the cross for our shame and suffered to redeem us. This is the real Son of God. Therefore, only our Christian God is true. The gods of other religions cannot exist because of the Kalam Argument that we can agree is true.
The Big Bang, which people argue that this is how God doesn't exist, was only proven in 2003. Do I believe in the Big Bang? Yes. But you see, science is to study the physical world (definition: the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained). Science only can be used to study the physical world. So the world cannot make the world because the world is science but science cannot make science. In that way, something external must be making the Big Bang happen. So who is this Someone who is external?
Using the Kalam Argument, we can come to a conclusion that 1. The Creator must be extremely powerful to create the world. 2. The Creator has to be non-physical for the world cannot make the world reason. 3. The Creator must be eternal. If not something else would have made Him, thus He would have a beginning. But He cannot have a cause, but cause a cause unless the cause is a person which cannot be true. Complicated to read but try to understand. This sounds like our God that we read about in Gensis! People don't believe because they don't want to, not because they didn't have more than enough evidence to know of God's evidence.
Next, God can use something natural and unnatural to create something. For example, the Red Sea turning red was proven to be because of sediments in the water. And so were the rest of the plague. But the destroyer was a curse (a really bad miracle) and isn't natural. So was Jesus when He went around to heal the sick, blind, deaf, mute, lame, and the possessed. A miracle = cannot be proven by science and totally unrelated to science. Who else can create miracles but by Someone not in the physical world? The consistency in the miracles cannot be a chance. It is the God factor. This can be proven by the Teleolgical Argument.
The Teleolgical Argument says that: 1. The fine-tuning of the universe is due to physical necessity or chance or design (proven by biology, physics or scientific experiments multiple times and would be explained after this) 2. It is not due to physical necessity or chance because unless the universe has a mind then it knows its necessities. And chances are so hard to come by (said later) 3. Thus the universe has to be designed (by God)
Like y=mx+c or other formulas with a constant inside. Gravity, speed of light in vacuum and other laws are also constant.
Now to answer "Can it be by chance?" The answer is 99.999999% no. But let me add that little 0.000001 to prove the God factor. Stephen Hawking said if time at the beginning slowed by 10¹⁰⁰ seconds, the universe would be dead. How can a chance be so accurate? How can there be a chance with such an unspeakable number without a design given? For example, you find an iPhone in the desert and you say its because the winds and weather conditions had assembled and put it together, and Steve Jobs picked it up. So with LOGICAL CONCLUSION, it can be said that there is a Designer to design the universe. According to the first law of thermodynamics, something cannot exist without being created from existing energy. The law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed and Einstein established that energy and mass (the two essense of existence) are essentially the same. But why does God not need a creator? Because the creator would be greater than God. Then won't we worship that creator instead? But thermodynamics only apply to our world. We often forget that God is of a spiritual world and He is eternal, hence, He doesn't need or have a creator.
In conclusion, science and faith are not compatible. That's too weak a word. Science and faith are complementary. Thus, do not disbelieve in God and only believe in science or vice versa. You need something that you can rely on that doesn't change. A constant. Then you might ask why do we believe in a book? We don't believe in book. It's the faith we believe in that is true. As science cannot prove science, the Bible cannot prove the Bible. But so far all the things the Bible was true, even before science had proven these. And those not of science are miracles or not proven yet. If you cannot debut these reasonings, then it only means God is true and that you should start believing in Him. Psalm 8:1-9 shows the magnitude and power of God. Science isn't something we should use to doubt God but to marvel and appreciate the works, even to the finest detail, of God and His designs. Gensis 1:26 says "[26] Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ". We have dominion over the world as through science and the manipulation of science helps us understand God at a deeper scale. Your faith must have a deeper intellectual evidence. What reflects God's words or existence? I know that all He has said and still says has come true and thus will also come true. I know this because I see His works through History, Science etc. Build a faith with facts and knowledge but also with belief. You can further read things to strengthen your faith, like Reasonable Faith(or William Lane Craig, his youtube channel if you hate reading a lot, but since you got this far then maybe you do like reading), or books from Timothy Keller and C.S Lewis.
I would say that faith by knowledge is to accept in God and faith by feelings is to strengthen our love for God. I pray that we would have more brothers and sisters as well who would come to God through all these factors and we would have the brothers and sisters we lost to come back to God. In Jesus's most precious name I pray, Amen.

I had this sermon yesterday, and it helped me collate my thoughts
For the everyone, Christianity isn't a self-help or a religion that makes you feel good. It is a faith that is real. Sharing the word and preaching may not turn the hearts of others. You need to clarify the non-believers' doubts. However, this is for everyone to read.
Science doesn't argue that God isn't real. God and science aren't enemies. They are in fact allies. God made science and science proves of God is existence.
1) Faith and science are complementary.
John 4:21-24 describes the Samaritan woman asking Jesus which is mountain/temple is the right place to seek God. Jesus instead tells her how God is spiritual. Heaven and hell are not physical locations, but a spiritual location. Therefore you need to connect to God spiritually.
Science cannot prove about why the existence of any number. For example, why is 7 seven and not 1 or 2 or 3? Science only assumes numbers. What about right and wrongs? We know that they are real things. We believe they are factual. But right and wrongs differ from person to person. Science can not scientifically prove what is right and what is wrong. Science is used to prove the physical and not physical world. But science also cannot prove science. For example science cannot prove where an atom is from. People say the Big Bang, but what caused it to happen(explained later)? God is beyond the physical world. So science is to study the physical world, whereas faith is to know the spiritual world.
2) Faith provides a basis for science
Science is to prove a principle of a law. But you need to assume that this law exists in the first place because if it doesn't then results are unattainable. This is a hypothesis. If the experimental results are achieved, then the law is true. However, when the results cannot be obtained, the law either is false or needs further proving. But He separated the dry land from water as can be seen in Psalm 105:5-9. The waters flowed over the mountains, went into valleys and He set a boundary they cannot cross and would never again cover earth. Same again in the story of Noah. And also can be seen in Genesis 1 when the world was just water. Before He made these boundaries, the waters were chaotic and with no order. God gave order.
In fact there are also many many famous scientists out there who used the Bible for their hypothesis and so far they are all correct. Johannes Kepler said that he was was merely thinking God's thoughts after Him. Isaac Newton said he studied the Bible to prove scientific theories. However, what the Bible says that is in the later part before the end, that cannot be proven yet. Other than that, God made the world follow a fixed law. Therefore, Christianity is a faith with science to prove that it is true. This leads to the last point
3) Science provides evidence for the Christian faith
Romans 1:18-20 says ‭" [18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, [19] because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. [20] For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse". This shows that there is so much evidence of God in the world like science and the miracles done. So how can God not have the rights to condemn someone to hell? It isn't because He remained hidden and they didn't have the opportunity to know Him. They closed their hearts and believe in His works but not Him. They have everything around them to prove God exists, but they do not heed.
Psalm 8:3-4 shows us the magnitude and power of God. But there would be critics who disagree because we jump into conclusions and "assume" it's right. What if there is an argument to prove that it is right and it in fact is God's powers?
Kalama Cosmological Argument states: 1. Everything must have a cause. 2. The universe began to exist 3. (if the first 2 points make sense which they do, then) Therefore, the universe must have a cause
The Kalam Cosmological Argument can be used on Islam and Christianity but the Christian God is the true God. In Islam, Muhammad was not the Son of God. He was just a prophet. Neither did he die on the cross for the people to redeem their sins. And I don't need to talk about the kids he married. It's pedophilia and there's no argument that that is very wrong. God is righteous and His son should be righteous as well. We know Jesus was righteous and has never sinned. He bored the cross for our shame and suffered to redeem us. This is the real Son of God. Therefore, only our Christian God is true. The gods of other religions cannot exist because of the Kalam Argument that we can agree is true.
The Big Bang, which people argue that this is how God doesn't exist, was only proven in 2003. Do I believe in the Big Bang? Yes. But you see, science is to study the physical world (definition: the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained). Science only can be used to study the physical world. So the world cannot make the world because the world is science but science cannot make science. In that way, something external must be making the Big Bang happen. So who is this Someone who is external?
Using the Kalam Argument, we can come to a conclusion that 1. The Creator must be extremely powerful to create the world. 2. The Creator has to be non-physical for the world cannot make the world reason. 3. The Creator must be eternal. If not something else would have made Him, thus He would have a beginning. But He cannot have a cause, but cause a cause unless the cause is a person which cannot be true. Complicated to read but try to understand. This sounds like our God that we read about in Gensis! People don't believe because they don't want to, not because they didn't have more than enough evidence to know of God's evidence.
Next, God can use something natural and unnatural to create something. For example, the Red Sea turning red was proven to be because of sediments in the water. And so were the rest of the plague. But the destroyer was a curse (a really bad miracle) and isn't natural. So was Jesus when He went around to heal the sick, blind, deaf, mute, lame, and the possessed. A miracle = cannot be proven by science and totally unrelated to science. Who else can create miracles but by Someone not in the physical world? The consistency in the miracles cannot be a chance. It is the God factor. This can be proven by the Teleolgical Argument.
The Teleolgical Argument says that: 1. The fine-tuning of the universe is due to physical necessity or chance or design (proven by biology, physics or scientific experiments multiple times and would be explained after this) 2. It is not due to physical necessity or chance because unless the universe has a mind then it knows its necessities. And chances are so hard to come by (said later) 3. Thus the universe has to be designed (by God)
Like y=mx+c or other formulas with a constant inside. Gravity, speed of light in vacuum and other laws are also constant.
Now to answer "Can it be by chance?" The answer is 99.999999% no. But let me add that little 0.000001 to prove the God factor. Stephen Hawking said if time at the beginning slowed by 10¹⁰⁰ seconds, the universe would be dead. How can a chance be so accurate? How can there be a chance with such an unspeakable number without a design given? For example, you find an iPhone in the desert and you say its because the winds and weather conditions had assembled and put it together, and Steve Jobs picked it up. So with LOGICAL CONCLUSION, it can be said that there is a Designer to design the universe. According to the first law of thermodynamics, something cannot exist without being created from existing energy. The law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed and Einstein established that energy and mass (the two essense of existence) are essentially the same. But why does God not need a creator? Because the creator would be greater than God. Then won't we worship that creator instead? But thermodynamics only apply to our world. We often forget that God is of a spiritual world and He is eternal, hence, He doesn't need or have a creator.
In conclusion, science and faith are not compatible. That's too weak a word. Science and faith are complementary. Thus, do not disbelieve in God and only believe in science or vice versa. You need something that you can rely on that doesn't change. A constant. Then you might ask why do we believe in a book? We don't believe in book. It's the faith we believe in that is true. As science cannot prove science, the Bible cannot prove the Bible. But so far all the things the Bible was true, even before science had proven these. And those not of science are miracles or not proven yet. If you cannot debut these reasonings, then it only means God is true and that you should start believing in Him. Psalm 8:1-9 shows the magnitude and power of God. Science isn't something we should use to doubt God but to marvel and appreciate the works, even to the finest detail, of God and His designs. Gensis 1:26 says "[26] Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ". We have dominion over the world as through science and the manipulation of science helps us understand God at a deeper scale. Your faith must have a deeper intellectual evidence. What reflects God's words or existence? I know that all He has said and still says has come true and thus will also come true. I know this because I see His works through History, Science etc. Build a faith with facts and knowledge but also with belief. You can further read things to strengthen your faith, like Reasonable Faith(or William Lane Craig, his youtube channel if you hate reading a lot, but since you got this far then maybe you do like reading), or books from Timothy Keller and C.S Lewis.
I would say that faith by knowledge is to accept in God and faith by feelings is to strengthen our love for God. I pray that we would have more brothers and sisters as well who would come to God through all these factors and we would have the brothers and sisters we lost to come back to God. In Jesus's most precious name I pray, Amen.

I had this sermon yesterday, it helped me collate my thoughts
For the everyone, Christianity isn't a self-help or a religion that makes you feel good. It is a faith that is real. Sharing the word and preaching may not turn the hearts of others. You need to clarify the non-believers' doubts. However, this is for everyone to read.
Science doesn't argue that God isn't real. God and science aren't enemies. They are in fact allies. God made science and science proves of God is existence.
1) Faith and science are complementary.
John 4:21-24 describes the Samaritan woman asking Jesus which is mountain/temple is the right place to seek God. Jesus instead tells her how God is spiritual. Heaven and hell are not physical locations, but a spiritual location. Therefore you need to connect to God spiritually.
Science cannot prove about why the existence of any number. For example, why is 7 seven and not 1 or 2 or 3? Science only assumes numbers. What about right and wrongs? We know that they are real things. We believe they are factual. But right and wrongs differ from person to person. Science can not scientifically prove what is right and what is wrong. Science is used to prove the physical and not physical world. But science also cannot prove science. For example science cannot prove where an atom is from. People say the Big Bang, but what caused it to happen(explained later)? God is beyond the physical world. So science is to study the physical world, whereas faith is to know the spiritual world.
2) Faith provides a basis for science
Science is to prove a principle of a law. But you need to assume that this law exists in the first place because if it doesn't then results are unattainable. This is a hypothesis. If the experimental results are achieved, then the law is true. However, when the results cannot be obtained, the law either is false or needs further proving. But He separated the dry land from water as can be seen in Psalm 105:5-9. The waters flowed over the mountains, went into valleys and He set a boundary they cannot cross and would never again cover earth. Same again in the story of Noah. And also can be seen in Genesis 1 when the world was just water. Before He made these boundaries, the waters were chaotic and with no order. God gave order.
In fact there are also many many famous scientists out there who used the Bible for their hypothesis and so far they are all correct. Johannes Kepler said that he was was merely thinking God's thoughts after Him. Isaac Newton said he studied the Bible to prove scientific theories. However, what the Bible says that is in the later part before the end, that cannot be proven yet. Other than that, God made the world follow a fixed law. Therefore, Christianity is a faith with science to prove that it is true. This leads to the last point
3) Science provides evidence for the Christian faith
Romans 1:18-20 says ‭" [18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, [19] because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. [20] For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse". This shows that there is so much evidence of God in the world like science and the miracles done. So how can God not have the rights to condemn someone to hell? It isn't because He remained hidden and they didn't have the opportunity to know Him. They closed their hearts and believe in His works but not Him. They have everything around them to prove God exists, but they do not heed.
Psalm 8:3-4 shows us the magnitude and power of God. But there would be critics who disagree because we jump into conclusions and "assume" it's right. What if there is an argument to prove that it is right and it in fact is God's powers?
Kalama Cosmological Argument states: 1. Everything must have a cause. 2. The universe began to exist 3. (if the first 2 points make sense which they do, then) Therefore, the universe must have a cause
The Kalam Cosmological Argument can be used on Islam and Christianity but the Christian God is the true God. In Islam, Muhammad was not the Son of God. He was just a prophet. Neither did he die on the cross for the people to redeem their sins. And I don't need to talk about the kids he married. It's pedophilia and there's no argument that that is very wrong. God is righteous and His son should be righteous as well. We know Jesus was righteous and has never sinned. He bored the cross for our shame and suffered to redeem us. This is the real Son of God. Therefore, only our Christian God is true. The gods of other religions cannot exist because of the Kalam Argument that we can agree is true.
The Big Bang, which people argue that this is how God doesn't exist, was only proven in 2003. Do I believe in the Big Bang? Yes. But you see, science is to study the physical world (definition: the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation, experimentation, and the testing of theories against the evidence obtained). Science only can be used to study the physical world. So the world cannot make the world because the world is science but science cannot make science. In that way, something external must be making the Big Bang happen. So who is this Someone who is external?
Using the Kalam Argument, we can come to a conclusion that 1. The Creator must be extremely powerful to create the world. 2. The Creator has to be non-physical for the world cannot make the world reason. 3. The Creator must be eternal. If not something else would have made Him, thus He would have a beginning. But He cannot have a cause, but cause a cause unless the cause is a person which cannot be true. Complicated to read but try to understand. This sounds like our God that we read about in Gensis! People don't believe because they don't want to, not because they didn't have more than enough evidence to know of God's evidence.
Next, God can use something natural and unnatural to create something. For example, the Red Sea turning red was proven to be because of sediments in the water. And so were the rest of the plague. But the destroyer was a curse (a really bad miracle) and isn't natural. So was Jesus when He went around to heal the sick, blind, deaf, mute, lame, and the possessed. A miracle = cannot be proven by science and totally unrelated to science. Who else can create miracles but by Someone not in the physical world? The consistency in the miracles cannot be a chance. It is the God factor. This can be proven by the Teleolgical Argument.
The Teleolgical Argument says that: 1. The fine-tuning of the universe is due to physical necessity or chance or design (proven by biology, physics or scientific experiments multiple times and would be explained after this) 2. It is not due to physical necessity or chance because unless the universe has a mind then it knows its necessities. And chances are so hard to come by (said later) 3. Thus the universe has to be designed (by God)
Like y=mx+c or other formulas with a constant inside. Gravity, speed of light in vacuum and other laws are also constant.
Now to answer "Can it be by chance?" The answer is 99.999999% no. But let me add that little 0.000001 to prove the God factor. Stephen Hawking said if time at the beginning slowed by 10¹⁰⁰ seconds, the universe would be dead. How can a chance be so accurate? How can there be a chance with such an unspeakable number without a design given? For example, you find an iPhone in the desert and you say its because the winds and weather conditions had assembled and put it together, and Steve Jobs picked it up. So with LOGICAL CONCLUSION, it can be said that there is a Designer to design the universe. According to the first law of thermodynamics, something cannot exist without being created from existing energy. The law states that energy cannot be created or destroyed and Einstein established that energy and mass (the two essense of existence) are essentially the same. But why does God not need a creator? Because the creator would be greater than God. Then won't we worship that creator instead? But thermodynamics only apply to our world. We often forget that God is of a spiritual world and He is eternal, hence, He doesn't need or have a creator.
In conclusion, science and faith are not compatible. That's too weak a word. Science and faith are complementary. Thus, do not disbelieve in God and only believe in science or vice versa. You need something that you can rely on that doesn't change. A constant. Then you might ask why do we believe in a book? We don't believe in book. It's the faith we believe in that is true. As science cannot prove science, the Bible cannot prove the Bible. But so far all the things the Bible was true, even before science had proven these. And those not of science are miracles or not proven yet. If you cannot debut these reasonings, then it only means God is true and that you should start believing in Him. Psalm 8:1-9 shows the magnitude and power of God. Science isn't something we should use to doubt God but to marvel and appreciate the works, even to the finest detail, of God and His designs. Gensis 1:26 says "[26] Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ". We have dominion over the world as through science and the manipulation of science helps us understand God at a deeper scale. Your faith must have a deeper intellectual evidence. What reflects God's words or existence? I know that all He has said and still says has come true and thus will also come true. I know this because I see His works through History, Science etc. Build a faith with facts and knowledge but also with belief. You can further read things to strengthen your faith, like Reasonable Faith(or William Lane Craig, his youtube channel if you hate reading a lot, but since you got this far then maybe you do like reading), or books from Timothy Keller and C.S Lewis.
I would say that faith by knowledge is to accept in God and faith by feelings is to strengthen our love for God. I pray that we would have more brothers and sisters as well who would come to God through all these factors and we would have the brothers and sisters we lost to come back to God. In Jesus's most precious name I pray, Amen.

I noticed that the ability to ping the iPhone from the phone has lost a bit of functionality. At least for me they have now introduced a 8-10 seconds delay between two consecutive attempts to ping the phone. It used to be the case that one could send continuous pings if needed (which was helpful to find the exact location of the phone when it’s not in the same room)
I wonder if this is an issue happening for me only or if anyone else noticed the same thing. If it’s a change in how it works, why? I don’t see the point in reducing functionality like that

I created a zagg account years ago. I’ve used them for screen protectors for every iPhone I’ve had. I’ve ordered warranty replacements several times, it used to be 4.99 for shipping then it was 9.99.
I literally just ordered a screen protector through the warranty a few months ago. My screen protector cracked so I just went to go in and order it. My email and password is not working. I had it saved on chrome but it’s just the password saved and no email listed anymore. I have 2 emails but neither are working. So I went to my emails to confirm which email I used for the account and I have NO Zagg emails in either inbox, ever. I never delete emails. Searching “zagg” and “invisibleshield” bring up no results for both of my emails.
I feel like a Mandela effect is happening cause wtf! Even clicking forgot password and putting in both emails on zagg, I get nothing. No results. How did my entire account and email history disappear?? I can’t even find evidence of all my previous orders. Can someone explain what is going on?!

Year after year the California government and especially the local governments around the Bay Area continue to make it more difficult for the middle class to survive here.
Meanwhile, lower class individuals (not an attack on any individual here what so ever) seem to at least from my perspective get “free” handouts, things like EBT/Snap, free full rides or huge financial aid for their kids or themselves to attend college. Not to mention, sometimes they qualify for the “Affordable Housing” or section 8 housing that we all pay for in our tax money where they get to pay as low as $1500/mo for a family unit. Of course when your groceries, college, and housing are basically free, things like a $2 gas tax don’t hurt you. Not having windows or a garage don’t bother you either. Of course you can afford a new iPhone or car when all your other expenses are taken care of, and I far too often see “lower class” people with things like this.
Meanwhile, middle class individuals qualify for jack shit in aid, so we are left to fend for ourselves. And that’s not saying middle class aren’t inherently better off, because they are. There is a reason lower class people get assistance, but this system ignores the struggles and needs of the middle class people who hold jobs that make the economy of the Bay Area move. It leaves the brunt of the economy on the middle class.
One day, you’ll look around and notice the middle class has left the Bay Area, and you’ll only have the rich/wealthy, and those who don’t have the motivation or drive to work because they grew up with everything being handed to them by the government.
For context this is from the perspective of a South Bay resident. I genuinely want to open this up for a healthy debate and hope maybe my mind or others minds can be changed, but I highly doubt it can.
My question to you all, is there a solution to this problem?
Edit: clarification, I am not blaming the lower class, I understand the wealthy have a play in this, and I understand that not every single one of them are abusing the system. But I do find it unfair how both lower and middle class people struggle in the Bay Area yet they get so many more free handouts and it almost seems like none of them are very grateful for any of it, which makes me angry.

Hi! I apologize in advance if I did any of this wrong, I’ve never made a post before. But I just wanted to turn here to ask for help with this issue I keep on repeatedly having.
So I (21F) have an iPhone 11, which comes with 64 GB of storage. Currently I’ve used up 63.78 GB of this. Since maybe a few months ago, I started to run into the issue of running out of storage. When this happened, I would go to my settings, look at which things were taking up the most and do what I can to minimize them, for example: if my messages were taking up a lot, I would go to “review large attachments” and see which longer videos and screen recordings I sent or were sent to me that I could delete, and delete or offload the data of apps that I don’t use. But then time would pass, and it would happen again. I really don’t have that many apps, over and beyond the ones that come with the iPhone (some of which I’ve deleted) and ones that are crucial for banking, transit, and other essential ones, only one mobile game, and I only have two social media apps (3 if you count Reddit I guess lol), etc.
It is currently not at all financially feasible for me to fix this issue by upgrading my phone, unfortunately. Even if it was, I really try to minimize my consumption of new tech with how exploitative, unethical, and environmentally damaging the cobalt / lithium battery mining industry is. So I try to make each devise last as long as possible and only upgrade when I absolutely need to.
Even though I’m young, i have never been the most adept with technology. I’m good enough with computers to have passed a basic coding & programming course for school, but let’s just say I’ve never been the kid who helped the teacher fix the projector, or the family member who messes with the wifi router and TV cables at home. So I’d really love some advice if possible. I’m going to lay out as much info as possible so someone can hopefully identify something that might be the issue and what could help. I wanted to attach screenshots of my storage report in my phone settings to help, but it seems that this community does not allow attachments to posts, so I’ll have to do my best to describe.
The one thing that I do have is a lot of photos. For some background as to why / rationalizing it, next paragraph: if you dgaf then skip to the paragraph after that, where it goes back to being specifically about the situation at hand:
One reason I have so many photos is that I have moved around a lot my whole life, and lived in a lot of different places, so with the very frequent change of scene, you can imagine I would probably have more photos than the average person who grew up and lived in one or two cities their whole life. To add onto this point, I’m currently overseas, far from my home country, doing working a job for the next four months, and this involves a lot of travel, where I’d be obviously want to be taking pictures of the places I go. I’m also in a long-distance relationship, and as such, we send each other photos, and screenshots of how we did on the wordle, etc. I try to delete these afterwards, but it still adds up. Furthermore, I’m an ecology and wildlife biology student, so a lot of what I do involves taking pictures and making sound recordings of observations while I’m outside, both while conducting fieldwork, identifying species, taking down observations for classes, and out of my own personal interest / passion while I’m out and about and find something interesting. One final important reason is that I have a little sister who has stage 4 cancer, of an extremely rare kind, with a very unpredictable nature. It seems that she is ok for now, but I my family and I are burdened with knowing that that could change very rapidly, and we really can’t know how much time we may have together. So as you can probably imagine, I have a lot of photos with her, and of her, that I would not ever consider deleting to make space, as you can hopefully understand.
I do try to go through my photos regularly to clear my camera roll of trash, blurry photos, random screenshots, and pictures of physics questions. But doing this isn’t a solution, or not a sustainable, realistic one anyway. I’ve already spent so much time doing this, to the point that I’m sure there has to be an easier way.
I used to have Google photos and used that, but then my Google account storage was full (google drive documents, emails, photos, everything) and that gave me trouble for a long time so eventually I resorted to deleting the Google photos app off my phone, and downloading my photos only onto the iPhone photos app. But eventually, because I was missing important emails, I decided that I’ll just have to pay the like $4.99/month subscription to get more Google storage.
Now, I’m thinking that I might be better to archive my photos using Google photos instead, now that I’m paying for more storage there, but I already deleted the app and currently don’t have enough storage to download it again. I also can’t download this app that is required in my building to be able to do laundry (which is honestly ridiculous but whatever). Moving overseas in general has required me to download quite a lot more apps than I expected to have to use for daily life, which contributes to my issue.
There’s also been an update available for my phone for some time now, but I’ve been unable to start it because of insufficient storage. In the mean time, my phone has started to have some weird issues it didn’t have previously, like one thing has been that a few days ago, all of my notes on my phone disappeared. This is highly distressing to me because those went back a very long time, and had very important information I’ve carefully recorded over the years I’ve had this phone. This is very upsetting so I’m hoping desperately that once I am eventually able to start the update on my phone, and get more storage, the notes will show up again. Another example is that sometimes, apps will just stop responding to touch, and I’m unable to scroll, to click, to type for a while until I close the app out and open it again, but sometimes that also doesn’t work right away. It usually only responds to sliding up from the bottom to return to the Home Screen, and the volume and power button. And before anyone asks, yes I have tried turning powering my phone all the way off, and on again.
One thing to note is that since arriving to this new country to work 2 weeks ago, I bought a new SIM card so I could have a functional phone number and a cell service plan. I don’t know if that could at all be contributing to any of this..? Maybe? But I also had these storage issues start up months ago, so it’s definitely not entirely that.
Another piece of information is that I do have a laptop, unfortunately it’s a MacBook Air tho (which I know is really not the best PC, it was a gift) which I got in 2020. Is there any way I could download my photos onto my computer to free up storage on my phone? Or would this not work because they have the same connected iCloud account? Also, if my photos were on another device, would that make it more complicated to send people photos from my camera roll, and would I be unable to pull up old photos I have in my camera roll (like of my pets, memories, things that come up in conversations, etc.) on my phone to show people?
Like I said before, I would really appreciate any advice you can offer whatsoever! I really don’t want to into an Apple Store and have to pay a fortune for a consult, when they might end up just telling me that I simply need to upgrade my phone. If you have any questions or points to clarify, please feel free to ask in the comments. Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this, I am deeply grateful, and may life treat you well <3

I'm here working outside under the sun. No clouds in sight, just a friendly wind making the set up perfect.. I did my workout already at 7 o'clock, went for a little run and hit the gym. 1,5 hours in total. I'm finishing my thesis for university, tomorrow is the deadline and after many painful weeks I'm 100% positive that I will graduate this spring.. oh my god how good it feels to say that.
My background is quite dark. I'm 25, I've had a decent life so far; I have quite large social network and supporting family and friends. Careerwise I'm doing okay. I got a job and our band is about to sign a deal with one of the major labors. People describe me as a friendly, positive and funny person who's easy to hang out with. Well breaking news, that's all fake fellas..
Behind the scenes I was/I've been depressed as hell for 6 years. Today I realize the reason behind that was pörn and mösturbation addiction. For every single day ever since I was föcking 13 years old.. The shame I've carried all these years made me feel literally miserable and different from other people. Last time I was in relationship 7 years ago, which ended bc my low self esteem caused by pörn. My parents never taught me a single this about söx or pörn, I had to gain the knowledge by myself. Unfortunately I did it in a wrong way by watching pörn...
My nofap journey is currently at day 40, yay! I gotta tell you bros, I haven't felt this good since 2016.. I always used to dream it was 2016 again, now I realize that's unnecessary. The life is here right now. My confidence is flying through the roof, I find it super easy and interesting to talk to everyone all the time. I used to find small talk waste of time, now I'm living for it haha.
My focus is 1000% better than before. I find little things interesting such as this sunshine or writing a föcking journal update. Without doing this change, I wouldn't have been able to graduate.. Also I already have a thing with a girl I've fancied literally ever since I was 18. I föcking sent her a message and turns out she had a thing for me too back in the days.. Imagine. My first relationship in 7 years is potentially about to happen..
Earlier this year I already had some nofap attempts which makes this time easier I guess. I'm 100% committed for this new lifestyle and I NEVER want to go back to the darkness.
If you're still reading please listen. I just want to tell you that you HAVE TO fight real hard bro to get rid of pmo. I've been hitting my head against the wall, I've stayed up all night with the urges, I even had to leave my house at 2am just not to masturbate and stay in local gas station like a föcking idiot... It will be super hard at times, but believe me, the reward is just so amazing.. Something I didn't know even existed. I had already made the conclusion that I'm just different from the other people and will die alone.
I know day 40 is just the beginning but I feel like I've beaten the hardest part already. Now it's only one hard day per week, it used to be 7. 90 days will come so fast. Lastly, my tips on how to do it based on how I did it:

• Block porn sites on your phone and computer. On iPhone and Mac that can be done in settings, or then install a blocker app
• Start dopamine detox. This is crucial. Only this way your brain will get rid of the need of constant dopamine caused by porn. After week or two you won't be looking for porn just for boredom which is a trigger for many.
  • Remove TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, all the apps on your phone causing 1. dopamine overload 2. you to expose for sexual content.
  • Stop video games, Netflix series, all the things that give you infinite dopamine. Your brain is ruined I'm sorry to tell you. Most of ours are. And yes, you really have to suffer from boredom to make an actual progress. So goodbye all the discord friends, it's time to make real life friends.
  • Block the news sites on your phone. At least on iPhone you can manually block certain websites. The reason for this: 1. just like everything else, news are sexualized these days for more readers. You will get exposed for sexual images and titles. 2. News are mostly negative, which affects our brain wrong way. No, everything is not wrong in modern world, you just read too much news.
• Start working out. This is the hardest part for the most. Even if you're at bad shape, start walking outside, then running. Only this way you start to respect your own body and heal from the damage pörn did you your self esteem. Start lifting heavy weights in gym. Your testosterone levels will get back up and morning wood will be crazy,
• Avoid any sexual content as much as possible. Just do it. Don't watch twitch or play tinder. That will make you relapse. Unfortunately.
• Sleep with pants on.
• Don't even dare to touch yourself. Do not edge, or mösturbate even a little bit. Blue balls will make everything so much harder.
• Optional: start eating healthy and avoid sugar, quit nicotine, gambling and other addictions. Okay, this sound really hard, but I did it too. Now I'm addicted to new things like working out and having social life.

You have the strength in you to make the difference brother! Imagine having a hard time for ONE MONTH just to have the best time of your life for years. It's so easy to waste our life in internet but there is so much to feel and experience. Start today, and don't quit no matter what happens. 💪

I have a iphone xs max that needs a new motherboard but i also want to keep face id, i see a lot of motherboards with the sensors on aliexpress but i dont know which one is a good one if someone could help me find a good but cheap one that would be nice but other than that how do i even do this repair.

I live in the Uk (northwest), and caught scabies a few weeks after having covid and the covid vaccine (unsure if relevant but I think these reduced my immune response. I have had it for 2.5 years ever since and tried everything to try and cure it - spending thousands of pounds). I have never had any type of skin problem in the past. I have seen many doctors and 3 dermatologists - all said I did not have scabies - but I showed the spots that are present all over my body, face and scalp (hundreds / thousands) to a pharmacologist and his words were that it was "100 PERCENT SCABIES". I still have it and it keeps me awake at night - sometimes all night with itching / scratching and painful bites. I am constantly pulling the mites out of my skin on scabs which have dozens of tiny oval shaped yellow crusty little mites all over them in clusters - sometimes many are deep red with blood. I look at these under a microscope and you can see the mites with claws that show that these are living creatures. I have showed these photographs to doctors and dermatologists of these mites but they take no notice, don't seem to care, and say that I am mentally ill etc. I have a PhD in Physics and still lecture all over the world plus I am a Fellow of The Royal Society and so I am functioning at a high level and patently I am not mentally ill. All of the doctors and dermatologists that I have seen are completely stupid, poorly educated and simply don't care. They seem to have been trained as fools, I am sure there must be some good ones but I have not seen any. Anyway the condition seems incurable by all of the methods listed on this reddit. Although when I take Ivermectin horse-paste in the correct dose that seems to kill many of them overnight and the condition eases or goes away for a few days but returns when new eggs hatch or larvae mature etc. I did not catch this from a sexual partner either but believe I caught it lying on a beach where dogs had been; lying topless sunbathing (with a tiny open wound on my stomach) and noticed burrows on my stomach close to this wound a few days later. Doctors do not believe this is possible since you are supposed to not catch it from animals - different type of scabies - but that is not true you can catch animal scabies! This is by no means the only misconception about scabies - because I have it on my scalp and in my nose etc; but once again it is not supposed to go on the scalp as I have been told by many doctors - but if you look up medical papers you find many examples of people with it on their scalps. Plus the spots do move about the body in groups - and also sometimes form large scabs sometimes over 1cm in size. Also I often feel a painful bite like a bee sting and then go to the site of the sting and see a bloody spot - and can even pick the scabies from its burrow (yellow oval shaped beastie which looks like a triangle 1-2mm in size)- also the sheets are full of bloody spots every night where I have been bitten - once again doctors do not believe you can feel scabie bites but you can - they are super painful. Someone needs to to start a petition to government to get this disease looked into - because I hear that there is a severe outbreak in England and Europe right now in 2024. Anyway its late at night and I must try and get some sleep. I have lost almost all hope of finding a cure - either with natural medicines or drugs etc; I have tried everything. Many bad thoughts arise in my hopeless condition in relation to suicide - but I shall try and continue.
Below you can see a photograph that I took of a dead scabie through my professional microscope using an iPhone (around 100-200 times relative magnification). It is dead but I believe you can see its head and some legs, however the doctors / dermatologists just ignored this image and say nothing. Below you can see a photograph that I took of a bloody scab on my skin that I removed, and the region you see is about 5 mm in size - and shows some kind of creatures or scabie lavae I believe - but once again doctors and dermatologists are not interested and in fact make no comment when I show these pictures to them (printed out at A4 size). Below you see more images that I have taken through my microscope of dead scabies taken from my skin. Once again nobody seems to think anything of these images - even when I explain that I am an optical scientist by profession and have taken these images myself using professional skills and knowledge. Do readers of this post think that it is right that I should be ignored and ridiculed (called mentally ill) by doctors and so-called dermatologists who cannot even recognise scabies. I would show even more horrific images of the way my once full head of hair (a few weeks ago) has been eaten away by these creatires with large bald patches now showing.
Oh and I think there is something else going on here with the poorly trained and woefully unknowledgeable doctors and dermatologists - whereby because the scabies are microscopic creatures (at biggest 1mm for adult females) - then because the doctors cannot easily see the creatures for themselves they seem to have some kind of psychological episode THEMSELVES (ongoing) where they ascribe these as imaginary and existing only in the mind of the patient! This only happens with this condition primarily I believe because the scabies are microscopic. When I went to the doctor with pain in my knee they sent me to have a scan and found that yes I have slight arthritis in that knee. So patently checkable conditions that happen at the macroscopic level (real world visible) do not result in the patient being called mentally ill - but the very nature of scabies as a microscopic parasite seems to bring about this 'mental projection' from the doctodermatologist - and so it is they who are suffering from a mental delussion as many people on this reddit can attest. So we need to re-train all of these people and stop the possibility of them suffering from mental delustions that the paient is delusional just because they have a microscopic parasitic skin condition. Once again we need a government investigation and re-training of everyone involved. Also I have been told by these people (doctors / dermatologists) that they have seen scabies many times before and know what it looks like. But we have over 300 different kinds of scabies that are known to infest humans; and also we have different forms such as classical, nodular and crusted etc, and I do not believe that the bite spots look the same in every person because they do not even all look the same at all times on my own body. Sometimes I have crusted spots up to 1cm in size, sometimes pin-prick bites isolated, and sometimes groups of hundreds of spots over about a 10-20cm region of skin. I have read dozens of academic papers on scabies plus all of the reddit posts of hundreds of people here - and I do not believe that the doctors and dermatologists have read anything about this disease and are aware of its features in any way whatsoever - they are simple not interested and need some kind of wake up call.
GPs or General Practitioners (read also dermatologists here whenever I use this acronym) also are unaware of the medical literature on scabies, for example: 1) There are many academic papers on how scabies can move from animals (dogs) and live and reproduce on humans - although there is widespread belief in the contrary amongst GPs. 2) GPs say that it does not affect the scalp on adult humans - but many papers and images prove it does. 3) GPs say scabies always show burrow like spots in a straight line - but that is simply not always true. 4) GPs say that you have to catch it from a human or sexual partner - but you can catch it in other ways also. 5) GPs say that permethrin and Ivermectin etc will cure it easly - but there is widespread resistance as explained in many papers. 6) GPs say that you cannot feel scabies biting - but as attested on this site many people do feel the stings of these creatures. 7) GPs think that scabies is only for people who are homeless, unclean and in crowded conditions etc - that is is somehow the patients fault but this is simply not true - anyone can catch scabies as many academic papers attest. etc etc. Basically GPs are uninterested in educating themselves about the true nature of this disease, perhaps because they do not know how to cure it, and want to simply get you out of their surgery and to ascribe it as a mental illness (and this goes double for the dermatologists who just sign you off without asking for your permission after you wait 6 months to see them with this miserable disease). And worst of all - my sister works for the NHS and has access to my secret NHS records - they write on your record that you are mentally ill because of your claims about having scabies - when you have never in your 59 years of life ever before had any such claim made against you. I am a professor who has spent years teaching hundreds and hundreds of students and never once did anyone (to my knowledge) ascribe such a problem to myself.
By the way lack of education and knowledge are not the only problems exhibited by the GPs and so-called Dermatologists - because in my experience (8 doctors and 3 dermatologists) - many of these people suffer from a bad case of ARROGANCE - combined with LOOKING DOWN UPON THE PATIENT WHO THEY PATENTLY HAVE DECIDED IS AN IDIOT. They do not listen to logical arguments, evidence etc; and I have written many several page letters to these people explaining all of the medical details, evidence and logical facts - but they never once refer to any single detail related from my letters or logical points and evidence - but rather they simply ignore each and every point. See the attached letters which were not addressed or replied to in any way by the GP practice (anonymised).
Plus the medicines they prescribe do not work (often) and they then take that as evidence that you do not have scabies - but it is well known (in the academic world) that the scabies are becoming resistant to all drugs used against them. The low level doctors simply do not care - and have no idea how this terrible disease detrimentally affects an adult humans life - children with stronger immune systems may be able to cope and throw the disease off - but not all adults can do so easily as seen on this reddit - it actually ruins ones quality of life (in every respect) and so much that a normal person begins to think of suicide. If they (the GPs) had it they would know and perhaps take it more seriously.
https://preview.redd.it/gvfldnahl21d1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e12198dd1b3890f7e8fe6bda59ce43ca31e0f6d9
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https://preview.redd.it/cptrowslm21d1.png?width=2154&format=png&auto=webp&s=826afe23059732d49c54fb13d0a4a1ca61933e99

Getting good dating app pictures is a hot topic within my Discord server, so I took to the time to cook up a video on how I took solid shots of myself for dating apps with actual demonstrations. I'll cover those points in those post as well. For context, I recognized the need to get better pictures of myself when I started using dating apps back in 2017, and I didn’t want to pester my friends to help because they sucked at it. So I got myself into self-photography using a DSLR camera (Canon 60D), a tripod, and a self-timer remote for years while practicing shots, and have since then been able to use what I learned to help other guys get appealing pictures of themselves to get more matches. But if you’re driven and dedicated enough, you can get some solid shots on your own.
Here's a few self portraits that did well over the years
[Gear That I Use]
So let’s get into gear real quick. For the camera, I've just been using my phone (iPhone 12 Pro Max) now. Why not the DSLR? Well, modern smartphones now have great cameras and functionality that allows you to take high quality photos without lugging around a big old camera. Most phones past the mid 2010s use cameras with 12 megapixels and higher which gives you plenty of detail, and the camera apps have plenty of default options including auto focus, self-timer, lighting adjustment, and portrait mode. Also, most dating apps are designed to use photos straight from your phone.
I also demonstrate using my content camera (Sony ZV-1). The main benefit is having a flip screen that I can use to actively calibrate my position and posing. This feature was also present when I was using my DSLR camera.
My standard camera tripod is a 55 inch aluminum travel tripod that I got off Amazon. The key features that led me to get it include the collapsible design, extendable center pole, and ball head. The ball head is really key as I get 360 degrees of angle compared to other tripods that only allow up and down lever positioning. This is the tripod I use to hold my camera for my YouTube videos, but I can also use it to hold my phone by adding a tripod phone mount.
My other tripod is a collapsible selfie stick tripod which features a supportive tripod base with nonslip ends. A lot of other selfie stick tripods that I tried were too flimsy and could be knocked over easily with light pushes or wind, but this one holds up. It also includes a bluetooth remote control, but it's unreliable so I purchased a separate one that had an on-off switch.
[Setting Up and Taking the Shots]
So now, let’s get into setting up the shot. I will exemplify a standard 3/4 body shot and sitting prop shot. With every single picture that I take, I take the time to conceptualize an idea and what that shot looks like. So I need to ask myself the following questions:

• Where and when am I taking the shot?
• Where is the subject (me in the examples) going to be in this shot?
• How much of the setting do I want to capture?
• What are my angles for the camera and subject?
• How’s the lighting?
• What is the subject going to be doing?

As for the actual setup, first, we'll need to figure out the positioning of the subject.
There are two methods of capturing shots that I will exemplify. The first is using the self-timer with a remote and the second is recording a video and taking screenshots.
Since I'm using the rear facing camera on my phone, I won’t have feedback on the shots until after I take them. I use the self-timer on my iPhone camera app to start capturing shots. If you don’t have a remote, I would set it to 10 seconds and then run back and forth. Otherwise, you can set it to 3 and click away. Take a good number of practice shots and then review both positioning and lighting. For positional adjustments, we can move either the camera or the subject closer or further as well as raising or lowering the angle.
Proper positioning is vital for portrait mode shots, which automatically detects a subject in the center of the frame and defocuses the area around it. If I am not properly positioned, the camera won't pick me up properly as the subject and parts of my body like my face can be taken out of focus.
Using a camera with a flip screen expedites this part of the process as I can set the camera up and actively calibrate positioning. This is the key difference between using a flip screen camera and rear facing camera on a phone. While you can use the front facing camera used for selfies to do this too, most front facing cameras are inferior to the rear ones and you will lose image quality as a result.
Once I know where to stand, then we'll work on posing.
We'll now practice different placements, angles, and expressions for our body and face. This will depend on the type of shot we're doing. For the 3/4 body shot, I will be standing upright and testing shots for each side of my body and face, where I'm looking (at the camera or away in either direction), what my hands are doing, and different facial expressions (light smirk, big smile, neutral face). For the sitting shot, I'm noting what I'm doing with my arms and where I'm placing the glass in the shot (in my fingers or palm, on the table).
3/4 body shot test shots
Sitting + prop test shots
As I'm posing, I am actively reminding myself to hold my poses as I take the shots so I don't cause blurring from action. Gradually, I should notice which posing and facial expression aspects are more appealing when I review the shots.
After the posing flow is established, take the time to crank out a bunch of pictures.
I'm talking 50-100+ photos per concept. You're going to take a lot of bad pictures for the sake of practice before you find a great one. Depending on how serious I am, I'll spend anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes cranking out shots and reviewing them for a single concept.
Once I finish taking all of my shots, I will review them and favorite the most appealing ones, and then do a second round to finalize my picks.
Final 4 Example Pics
[Editing and Post Processing]
Because these photos are digital assets, we can enhance them quite a bit with software and apps. The key is to get them as photorealistic as possible without being a complete catfish. I have a two part process in touching up my photos.
First, I use an app called BeautyCam (free) to clear up my skin a good amount. I don't have perfectly clear skin but it gets pretty close to it on my best days. I can touch up my looks to that point in my photos. I don't have a paid subscription so I'm going to just stick to free features. Here, I go to Beautify -> Smooth. I stick to the default Intensity of 80 to keep it from being perfect.
Next, I use SnapSeed (free) to do the rest of my edits. I like this app because it includes all of the tools that I normally use in Photoshop. I'm wearing a pimple patch on my nose in the example pictures, so I'll want to use the Healing tool to blend it in with my skin.
I then go through the Details and Tune Image tools to add some detail and adjust color and lighting. Remember not to go overboard as we want the photos to look candid and not overly edited. This is why I highly advise against using filters or any of the editing presets on the apps. Each photo needs different adjustments to bring the most out of them.
Once all the edits are done, I will save a copy to use. For best practices, I also crop a square version of the pictures. When it comes to cropping, we always want to only remove excess space and not zoom in as that will lower the resolution and thus the detail of the photo.
Edit Comparison (Sitting Pose)
[Final Notes]
Getting into self-photography has been very rewarding for me as it has allowed me to test out poses, outfit selections, and settings. Most importantly, it has made me build a high level of comfort being in front of a camera as well as being extra in public. You need to have a high level of shamelessness to put yourself out there and do the proper workflow to get a good picture when traffic is involved.
Doing pictures on your own can be cost effective but it comes with a lot of hassle. It's basically impossible to calibrate your shots quickly and I know that if I had someone else doing it for me, I can save a lot of time and energy while getting a much higher quality shot. That's why I only ever used anywhere from 1-3 self taken shots on my dating app profiles and filled the rest with candid shots. But I was able to take what I've learned doing it myself to provide other guys with baller pictures to get more matches on the apps and I'm open to doing more for anyone that's interested.
Then again, this post is mainly dedicated for guys that have spare time and are driven and dedicated enough to give this a shot, especially the younger ones. That was how I was in my early to mid 20s and I was able to learn and get some good results for myself. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or interest in anything that I discussed.

”Stop.”
I really needed the bathroom.
For fifty painstaking minutes, I had been staring at the clock on the wall, willing it to go faster, uncomfortably shifting side to side in my seat so much that I was starting to get weird looks.
2:52pm.
Eight minutes, I thought dizzily, squeezing my legs together.
Which was just two chunks of four minutes.
Four chunks of two minutes.
The pain started like normal stomach pain, the kind I could deal with.
I swallowed two Tylenol with lukewarm soda.
But this was different.
This kind of pain was contorting and twisting my gut so much, I had to keep leaning onto my left buttock for relief.
I must have done it so many times, I caught the attention of the guy sitting next to me. Roman Hemlock who was half asleep, dark blonde curls hanging in half lidded eyes, his chin leaning on his fist. He shot me a look. I couldn't tell if it was Are you okay? or Can you stop moving around so much?
From the single crease in his brow, the slight curl in his lip, I guessed the latter.
It's not like Roman was helping.
For half the class, he'd been tapping his foot on the floor, then his chair leg, and to complete the orchestra, his fingers joined in, tap, tap, tapping on the edge of his desk. I didn't know if it was a bored thing, an ADHD thing, or he was trying to keep himself awake. It was easy to tolerate without the pain, but with it, the boy’s incessant tapping was more akin to a dentist drill splitting my skull open. I already felt nauseous, the sad looking chicken nuggets I forced down at lunch making an unwelcome appearance at the back of my throat.
It was too fucking hot, the stuffy summer air glueing my hair to the back of my neck. The material of my shirt was making me cringe, sticky against my skin.
Tipping my head back, the lights were too bright. Every sound was too loud. Imogen Prairie, who was sitting behind me chewing her gum a little too loudly.
Kaz Samuels scribbling notes like a maniac.
I could hear every stroke of his pencil, every time he paused, looked up at the presentation, and continued writing.
When I leaned forward in my chair, I could smell exactly what Isabella Trinity had eaten for lunch, the stink hanging in the air.
It became a case of sucking in my stomach and taking slow, deep breaths.
I’d never had these kinds of stomach cramps before. But it didn't take me long to figure out what they were.
I was yet to start my period at the grand age of sixteen, which meant this was it.
After countless sessions with the doctor, and feeling like a social outcast among my group of friends who started their periods in middle school, it had finally happened. The cramps in my gut that felt like my torso was being ripped apart, was in fact me entering womanhood. When my breath started to quicken, my mouth watering, I raised my hand, biting my lip against a cry.
Fuck.
Something lurched in my gut, a wave of nausea crashing into me.
I was going to throw up.
“Mr Brighton.”
Roman spoke up before me, waving his arm. “Can I use the bathroom?”
The teacher’s answer was always the same. Which was why I had been crossing my legs for the entirety of the class, unable to focus on anything but my gut trying to twist itself inside out.
Mr Brighton leaned against the wall, his eyes glued to the PowerPoint awash in our faces. We had been staring at the exact same slide for maybe five minutes now, and our physics teacher was yet to speak, his gaze somewhere else.
Mr Brighton was my Dad’s age, a greying man in his early fifties who always wore the exact same suit with the exact same stain on his collar.
The man was about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Normally, I would drift off myself, lulled into slumber by the low drone of his voice.
But the pain ripping me apart was keeping me awake.
“Mr Brighton.” Roman said, louder. His voice snapped me out of it. “Can I use the bathroom?” He paused, exaggerating a loud sigh. ”Please?”
The teacher straightened up, folding his arms.
“Mr Hemlock, you know the rules. Why didn't you go before class?”
“I didn't need to go an hour ago, did I?”
“You will no longer need to go to the bathroom, Mr Hemlock.”
Roman made a snorting noise.
“What?”
The low murmur of my classmates collapsed into white noise.
Glancing at the clock, I was anticipating the school bell.
The sickness swimming in the pit of my belly was reaching dangerous territory.
2:52pm.
Something ice cold trickled down my spine.
It was 2:52 the last time I checked, and five minutes had surely passed.
This time, I waited a whole minute and counted the seconds under my breath. The clock still didn't move. The ticker was frozen halfway between three and four.
Slowly, the same realisation began to hit the twelve of us. The clock on the wall had stopped. But it wasn't the only thing that had stopped. The cool breeze drifting through the window was gone.
The sound of birds outside, and the cheer squad practising their routine.
Everything had stopped. Trying to ignore a sickly slither of panic twisting its way through me, I checked my phone under my desk. There was a text from my Mom lighting up my notifications. When I tried to swipe it open, nothing happened. My lock screen was frozen, stuck at 2:52pm.
With my hands growing clammy around my phone, I stared at the time, willing it to move, to flick to 2:53.
But nothing happened, the numbers stubbornly staying at 2:52.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Roman’s voice brought me back to reality, though I was sure I'd dropped my phone. I heard it hit the floor with a sickening crack. Whatever he was saying, though, faded into dull murmur, when I turned toward the window.
Something was wrong outside.
The cheer squad were nowhere to be seen.
Being on the top floor gave us a front row seat to their practice sessions.
I stopped watching when their flyer did a death defying flip, almost breaking her neck. 2:52pm. I couldn't see the cheer squad. But I did see Jessie Carson mid-sprint across the track field, strawberry blonde curls suspended in a halo around her.
I could see exactly where she had frozen in place, her left foot hovering off of the ground, her right foot driving momentum. It wasn't just Jessie who had stopped. The dirt she was kicking into a cloud behind her was hovering, caught in mid-air.
Studying the faces around me, my mouth went dry.
Roman Hemlock, mid-argument with our physics teacher.
His eyes were wide, lips curved into what would have been a yell.
Fuck.
Was I the only one?
But then Roman blinked, and I realized the boy wasn't frozen. He was trying to think of a comeback. “What do you mean I won't need the bathroom anymore?”
“Mr Hemlock, please lower your voice.”
“Why? You can't dictate to me when I do and don't need the bathroom, dude!”
Moving onto the rest of my class, the others were still moving.
It was too quiet, though.
Yes, Roman was still tapping his foot.
Imogen was still chewing her gum.
Kaz was still scribbling notes like a psychopath.
But they were the only noise I could hear.
I wasn't the only one confused. The classroom had pricked with a sense of urgency. Kids were checking their phones, their gazes glued to the clock. Even Roman, who was still arguing, was starting to notice. I watched his gaze lazily roll to the clock on the wall.
I pretended not to see his cheeks visibly paling.
We had all come to the exact same terrifying conclusion.
2:52pm.
Time had come to a halt, and somehow, we had not.
“Is that clock broken?” Roman interrupted, leaning forward in his chair.
Kaz twisted around, settling the boy with an eye-roll.
“Check your phone, dumbass.”
“I broke my phone.”
Imogen threw her iPhone at him, narrowly missing hitting him in the face.
“Everything is frozen,” She said, her voice shuddering. “It's not just the clock.”
I waited for Roman’s response. For once, though, he was speechless.
“Well done, Imogen. That is correct.” Mr Brighton spoke up, tearing a piece of paper from a workbook and striding over to the door, glueing it over the glass window. When we started to protest, some of us were shouting, while others bursting into tears, he calmly took out his key and locked us in.
I should have been surprised that our teacher had spontaneously decided to take his entire class hostage, but the rumor mill had been churning.
According to Becca Jason, the guy’s wife divorced him and took his kids.
I could feel myself sinking into my chair, phantom bugs filling my mouth.
So, this guy had nothing to lose.
Taking his place in front of his desk, the man settled us with a patient smile.
“From now on, you will stay inside this room.” He said. “In case you haven't noticed, time is currently frozen at fifty two minutes past two. The thirteen of us are tucked into the twenty first second, and will be, for the foreseeable future.”
I could tell the others wanted to argue, but we couldn't deny that time had stopped. Kaz was staring down at his frozen phone, Imogen hyperventilating behind me, Roman glaring at the clock, chewing on a pencil. We wanted it to be a prank, a joke, some kind of glitch in the matrix that would fix itself.
But then a whole minute passed by. Followed by another. Kaz threw his phone on the floor, hissing in frustration. Imogen let out a wet sounding sob.
Roman’s pencil split in his mouth, slipping from his fingers. We couldn't pretend it wasn't happening or call our teacher out on his BS, because it was everywhere around us. The sudden absence of outdoor ambience, birdsong, planes flying overhead, and traffic outside the school gates. Everyone and everything had stopped, and we were the only ones left.
This was a nightmare, surely.
My physics class were some of the most boring and pretentious people in the school, and somehow the world had been reduced to the twelve of us inside our classroom. We were scared, of course we were. But reality had stopped making sense, crashing and burning in a single second. We had no choice but to listen to our teacher. “Now, before you freak out, it may not feel like it, but the twelve of you have also stopped.”
Mr Brighton held out his own hand, and placed it on his heart.
He was right.
I was so busy trying to understand what was happening, I had failed to realize my period cramps were gone.
“Do me a favor, and press your hand over your heart.”
“You mean like, in a culty way?” Imogen whispered.
“Obviously.” Roman grumbled, halfway out of his seat. He was hesitant, though, in case our teacher was armed. It only took one glance from our teacher, and he slumped back into his chair. “This crazy fucker clearly wants to play mind games with us.”
“No, I'm just asking you to feel for your heart.”
I felt for mine, and there was nothing, my stomach twisting.
Roman stabbed his fingers into his neck, feeling for a pulse.
He tried his wrist.
Then his heart.
Nothing.
“The twelve of you are currently in a state of stasis,” the teacher explained to us, “You are not alive, nor are you dead. Your bodily functions are also on pause, such as your heartbeat and your pulse. In this state there will be no need for food and water, or going to the bathroom.” His gaze found a ghastly looking Roman, who looked like he was going to faint. “Your minds, however, as you can see, are working as usual.”
“But why?” Imogen demanded in a shriek.
Mr Brighton’s lip curled. “I would rather not answer that question.”
“Because you're lonely.” Roman spoke up. He swung back on his chair, narrowed eyes glued to the teacher.
“Your wife and kids left you, so you're asserting power over a group of sixteen year olds. Which is kinda fucking pathetic.”
Mr Brighton’s expression darkened, and something slimy crept up my throat.
The worst thing any of us could do was threaten him. He had taken kidnapping to a whole new level, and we were alone with this psychopath, trapped inside a second. I waited for the man to stride forward and attack the kid. But he didn't. Instead, the teacher leaned back on his desk. “Yes.” The man nodded.
“I suppose you could say I am.”
“But why us?!” Kaz hissed.
“Because you are children.” Mr Brighton responded casually.
He straightened up, taking slow, intimidating steps towards Roman’s desk. The rest of us leaned back. I tried to pull my desk with me, but it was glued to the floor. Frozen. Mr Brighton’s shoes went click-clack across the hardwood floor.
“You are right,” the man said in a murmur, “I am lonely. My wife and kids did leave me, and I have nobody left to control. I have nobody else to contort and use to my advantage.” Reaching Roman’s desk, he leaned in close until he was nose to nose with the kid.
“Congratulations, Mr Hemlock. You have just earned yourself detention.”
Roman stayed stubbornly still, but he was visibly afraid. I could see him very slowly backing away. Roman was all bark and no bite. He was a loud mouth, sure, but he was also the least confrontational person in the class.
“What?” He spluttered. “You trap us in a time loop or time trap, or whatever, and you still want to act like a teacher?”
“Stand up.” The teacher ordered.
“What if I don't?”
Mr Brighton’s expression didn't waver. “You said it yourself. I can and have trapped you inside a single second. What else do you think I'm capable of?”
Roman stood, kicking his chair out of the way.
“What are you planning on doing to me, old man?”
The teacher maintained his smile. “Stand up straight, and close your mouth.”
To my confusion, Roman Hemlock did all the above.
He straightened up, and closed his mouth.
“Do not fight me.” The teacher said calmly, “Do as you are told, and follow me.”
The boy did exactly as instructed.
His jaw slackened, that rebellious light in his eyes fizzling out.
I think that's when we all collectively agreed that going against this teacher and trying to escape was mental suicide.
“I will use Mr Hemlock as an example to all of you,” Mr Brighton said, turning to the rest of us. “If you break the rules or are derogatory in any way, you will be given detention.”
He grabbed the boy’s shoulders, forcing him to walk towards the supply closet. Roman moved like a robot, slightly off balance, his gaze glued to thin air, like he was tracking invisible butterflies.
"Your time in detention will depend on the severity of your rule-break.” He opened the door, gently pushing Roman inside, and following suit. When the door closed behind them, there was a pause, and I remembered how to breathe.
Kaz Samuels slowly got up from his desk, inching towards the closet.
“This guy is a certified nut.” He announced.
He turned towards us. “Whatever he's doing to Hemlock, we’re probably next.”
“He stopped time.” I spoke up, my own voice barely a croak. “He’s capable of anything.”
“But how did he stop time?” Kaz whistled, tipping his head back. The boy was slow, his fingers grasping each desk as he slid down the aisle. “He said he was lonely, right? But why take it out on us? What did we do to him?”
“Check his desk for a weapon!” Imogen whisper-shrieked.
Kaz nodded, striding over to the man's desk, his hands moving frantically, shoving paper on the floor. He took an uncertain seat on the man's chair. “There's nothing here,” he murmured, lifting stained coffee mugs and ancient textbooks. “It's just…test papers.” Kaz ducked from view, trying the drawers.
“He's a fan of Pokémon,” he said, “There's a tonne of Pokémon cards,” Kaz straightened up, running a hand through his hair. “No sign of a weapon, though.”
He picked up a ruler, waving it around. “This could work. If we plunge it in his eye.”
“Try his laptop!” Imogen was halfway out of her seat.
Kaz did, slamming the keys. “It's locked.”
“Look harder!” Ren Clarke threw a pencil at him.
“I am!”
After a minute of searching, Kaz grabbed a single piece of paper.
He held it up, and I squinted.
It was a list of our names, with several of them highlighted.
“Fuck.” Kaz dropped the list, his expression crumpling. The stubborn bravado facade transforming him into our sort of leader dissipated, hollowing him out into exactly what he was. Just a scared kid. Kaz’s hands were shaking.
“Mr Brighton’s got a hit list.” He whispered. “He's going to kill us.”
“How do you know that?” I found myself asking.
Kaz slowly dropped into a crouch, picking up the paper and holding it up.
“Look.” He pointed to a capitalised name at the top of the list highlighted in red.
ROMAN HEMLOCK.
There were six names highlighted in red, including mine.
CRISTA ADAMS.
As if on cue, Roman’s cry rang out from the supply closet, suddenly, freezing us all in place. Kaz jumped up, adapting the expression of a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide, almost unseeing.
He fell over himself to tidy up the desk, putting everything back where he had found it, sliding the list between a pile of test papers. Kaz took slow, stumbled steps back, his feverish gaze glued to the closet, before turning and making a break for it and diving into his seat.
“Brighton’s got a hit liiiist,” Kaz said, in a mocking sing-song, “And we’re all on it.”
What followed was deathly silence. I think we were expecting Roman to cry out again. But when he didn't, the class started to stir. Some kids started praying to a god they didn't believe in, while others were in varying states of denial, trying to call their parents with dead phones.
I wasn't sure what parts of me had stopped, but I was still alive, still felt like my lungs were deprived of oxygen, my chest aching. I'm not sure how long I sat there, trying to find my voice, a shriek trying and failing to rip through my mouth. Being kidnapped and held hostage is one thing, but being imprisoned inside a single, never ending second, was an existential hell worse than death. Slowly, I pressed my palm over my heart once again. Then I breathed into my cupped hands.
I was expecting it, but no longer being able to feel my own heartbeat and breath, was fear I didn't think was possible. The kind that glued me to my seat, hollowing me out completely until I was nothing, an empty shell with no heartbeat, no breath, no thoughts, except denial, followed by acceptance.
And finally, regret.
I regretted not hugging my mother goodbye before I left for school.
I regretted acting like a spoiled brat when my parents refused to drive me halfway across the country so I could attend Coachella.
I regretted stepping inside Mr Brighton’s fourth period physics class.
Mr Brighton reappeared, slamming the door behind him and locking the boy inside. Part of me flinched, while the rest of me remembered not to move a muscle. I was barely aware of time passing. Or it wasn't. Time had stopped, so now long had I been sitting there?
I could no longer measure the passage of time with hunger or thirst, and my body felt the same. I wasn't stiff or tired or achy. Looking out of the window, the sky was the exact same crystal blue, every cloud in the exact same place.
Jessie Carson was still frozen mid-run, strands of dark red hair caught around her.
“What's wrong with you guys?” Mr Brighton chuckled, and I twisted back to the front, a shiver writhing down my spine. “Why don't you give me a smile?”
The teacher returned to his desk, and I was already subconsciously sitting up straight in my seat, forcing my lips into a jaw-breaking grin, following Brighton’s instructions. In the corner of my eye, Imogen was sitting very still, forcing an award-winning cheesy smile, while Kaz grinned through gritted teeth.
“Mr Hemlock just earned himself two weeks inside the supply closet.” he said casually, perching himself on the edge of his desk. The man studied each of us, taking his time to rip every shred of us apart.
Mind, body, and soul.
I struggled to maintain my stupid smile, shoving my shaking hands in my lap.
“Would anyone like to join him, or are you going to follow the rules?”
The rest of us stayed silent. I don't think any of us breathed.
Our teacher nodded to Kaz, inclining his head.
“Samuels. Are you all right?”
Kaz’s smile faltered slightly. He shifted in his chair. I could see sweat trickling down his right temple. “Uh, yeah.” He swiped at his forehead, like he couldn't believe he was sweating. “Yeah, I'm good.”
The teacher’s eyes narrowed. He moved toward his desk, and we all held our breaths. Mr Brighton seemed to study his hit-list, lips curving into a frown.
His gaze flicked to the boy, and then the paper.
He knew, I thought dizzily.
Mr Brighton knew the kid had been rummaging through his desk. But this was all about control. The teacher was using fear to control us, to manipulate our thoughts without having to get physical. He could have called out the boy right then, but Brighton was settling with mental torture instead. He just wanted to make my classmate squirm.
Without a word, the man folded up the piece of paper and slipped it into his pocket. “Mr Samuels, you are sweating,” our physics teacher said, mocking a frown. “Are you feeling okay?”
Kaz hesitated, tapping his shoe in a rhythm.
Being one of the smartest kids in the room definitely gave him an advantage.
I could already see the cogs turning behind half lidded eyes. Kaz was weighing each scenario, sorting them into positives and negatives.
The positives of answering would mean he was one step towards being in the clear, but there were two negatives.
Brighton would question him if he had left his seat, and then demand how his hit-list had magically moved across the desk.
Talking back was surely a rule-break, as well as outright lying.
Opening his mouth would get him in trouble, either way, and Kaz knew that.
So, he just nodded, forcing an even bigger smile.
Brighton’s lips pricked, his gaze straying on Kaz. “Good!” He cleared his throat, turning to the class. Kaz slumped in his seat with a sharp breath, resting his head in his arms. If Mr Brighton noticed, he didn't say anything. “Ignore the sweating. It should stop, along with hunger and thirst.”
Our teacher seemed to be able to manipulate everything in his vicinity.
Time.
Minds.
And slowly… contorting us into his own.
In the single second we were trapped inside, I felt days go by in a dizzying whirlwind that was like being permanently high. When I stood up, I felt like I was floating.
When I sat down, hours could go by, even days, and I wouldn't even feel them. I did try and count the days, initially, scribbling them on a scrap piece of paper, but somewhere around the thirteenth or fourteenth day, I lost count. The world around us never changed, in permanent stasis, and maybe that was sending us a little crazy.
After a while of being stuck at our desks, Mr Brighton allowed us to wander the classroom, as long as we stayed away from the door. I lay on the floor for days, counting ceiling tiles.
Sometimes, Imogen would join me.
I couldn't sleep, but I could pretend to sleep, imagining a world that was back to normal. I didn't feel hungry, but my brain did like to remind me of food at the weirdest times. I was aware of weeks passing us by, and then months.
I never grew hungry or tired, and my bodily functions were none existent.
I couldn't remember what pain felt like, or the urge to go to the bathroom. Even the concept of eating and drinking became foreign to me. Putting something in your mouth and chewing to sustain yourself?
That sounded odd.
The only thing that was changing was our slowly unravelling metal state.
I don't know how it started. Weekends and Tuesdays blended together. On one particular SaturTuesday, I was hanging upside down from my desk, watching Kaz and Imogen doodle on the whiteboard.
Kaz had a plan to escape, but after a while, his ‘plan’ to distract the teacher, had gone nowhere. After passing notes between us, the twelve of us had decided that we needed a weapon.
That was maybe a month ago. I wasn't sure what mind games our teacher was playing, but Kaz Samuels, who we were counting on to be our brains, was slowly falling under his spell. Their game had been going on for three days. The two of them were having a competition to see who could draw the craziest thing.
Mr Brighton was at his desk as usual, marking papers.
Imogen was drawing a weird looking ‘skateboard’ when the doors to the storage closet flew open.
Roman Hemlock appeared, and to my surprise, wasn't a hollow eyed shell.
He held up his hand in a wave, his lips forming a small smile.
“Yo.”
Roman’s reappearance was enough to snap us out of it. Kaz and Imogen stopped arguing, the rest of the class going silent. I sat up, blinking rapidly.
I was sure our collective consensus was that Roman Hemlock was dead.
Mr Brighton lifted his head and gave the boy a civil nod. “Mr Hemlock will be rejoining us,” he said, his gaze going back to marking papers. “Please make him feel comfortable. I'm sure he's very excited to be able to talk to you again.”
Instead of going to his desk, the boy immediately joined the others, snatching the marker off of a baffled looking Kaz, and drawing an overly artistic sketch of a penis. I wasn't sure what confused me more. The fact that Roman Hemlock had some serious artistic skills, or that he seemed suspiciously fine for someone who had been locked in the storage closet for two weeks with no social interaction.
With my last few lingering brain cells still clinging on, I studied the boy.
There were no signs of bruises or scratches.
His eyes seemed normal, not diluted or half lidded.
Unable to stop myself, I jumped off of my desk and joined the others, where Kaz was already interrogating the guy.
“WHAT–”
Imogen nudged him, and he lowered his voice, leaning against the wall. “What did he do to you?”
Roman shrugged, rolling his eyes. “Relax, dude. He didn't do anything to me.”
“Then what was that yell?” Imogen hissed.
The boy cocked his head. “Yell?”
“You yelled out,” Kaz folded his arms, narrowing his eyes. He was already suspecting one of us had been compromised– or worse, brainwashed into compliance. Kaz stepped closer, backing Roman into the desk. “You cried out when you first went in there,” he murmured, “So, what was that?”
Something in Roman’s eyes darkened. “Oh,” He said, his lip curling. “That.”
Kaz’s expression softened. He rested his hands on the boy’s shoulders. “Yeah,” He whispered. “What did he do to you?”
Imogen shoved Kaz out of the way, shooting the boy a glare.
“You don't have to tell us, you know.” She said in a small voice. “If it's too traumatising, or he did something you don't want to talk about–”
Roman cut her off with a laugh, and suddenly, all eyes were on him.
The remaining nine of us were eagerly awaiting an explanation.
“Are you fucking serious?”
When Kaz didn't respond, Roman gathered us in a kind of hustle, the four of us grouped together. I felt like I was on the football field. Still, though, if the guy’s goal was to look as suspicious as possible, he was doing a great job.
Roman studied each of us, one eyebrow cocked. When Mr Brighton glanced up from his work, Roman shot him a grin, lowering his voice to a hiss.
“You seriously think our fifty year old physics teacher has been abusing me in the storage closet?
“Then why did you cry out?” Kaz demanded. “Did he hit you?”
Roman stuck out his bottom lip. “I'm pretty sure he didn't hit me.”
“So, you cried out for no reason.”
“Why are you covering for him?” Imogen poked his forehead. “Are you lobotomised?”
Roman wafted her hand away. “Stop prodding me, and no, I'm 100% good.” He backed away from us, like we were observers, and he was the zoo attraction.
“I won't be, if you keep treating me like I'm senile.”
“Okay, fine,” Kaz sighed. “Just answer one.”
“Shoot.”
“When you first went in there, you made an unmistakable sound of distress–”
“Not this again,” Roman groaned. “Of course I yelled! I was shoved into a pitch black storage closet on my own! What, did you expect me to stay silent?”
Kaz didn't look convinced, Imogen nervously sucking her teeth.
The boy leaned back, resting his head against the wall. His eyes flickered shut.
“Stop looking at me like that, there's nothing to tell you,” he murmured, “Brighton didn't do shit to me. I was just freaked out.” Prying one eye open, he fixed us with a glare. “I am so sorry for reacting like a human. Next time, I'll make sure to attack him and pin him to the ground.”
It's not like we believed him. I don't think Roman believed himself.
Something significant had changed in him. He was no longer argumentative, like half of his personality had been torn away. Roman set a precedent. Because once he was following instructions and walking around with a dazed smile, others began to follow. I can't remember how much time had passed since I thought about escaping.
Days and weeks and months had collapsed into fleeting seconds I only noticed when I wasn't playing games.
I wasn't aware of my own lack of sanity until I found myself, on a random SaturWednesday. I was laughing, gathered with the others on the floor, around a Monopoly board. The game had been going on for almost a week.
Reality hit me when I was laughing so hard I tipped back.
I can't remember why I was laughing. I think Imogen told a bad joke.
“Hand it over.” Roman, who was the King of Monopoly, held out his hand, demanding my last 250 bucks. I remember noticing his smile, my foggy brain trying to find hints that he was in some kind of trance, or being controlled by Brighton. But no. His smile was real.
Genuine.
To my shock and confusion, so was mine.
I wasn't in a trance or any type of mind manipulation. I was completely conscious.
Was this… Stockholm syndrome? I thought dizzily.
Was I enjoying this?
My thoughts were like cotton candy, disconnected and wrong, and they barely felt like my own. My gaze found Imogen and Kaz, the two of them sitting shoulder to shoulder, enveloped in the game.
They looked exactly the same, their hair, clothes, everything about them staying stagnant. It was them themselves who had drastically changed. I had never seen them look so carefree. Imogen was a hotheaded cheerleader, and Kaz was the smart kid who gave himself nosebleeds from overworking himself. But now, they were laughing, nudging each other, caught up in an inside joke. Blinking slowly, my gaze strayed on them.
Sure, it could be manipulation. It could be brainwashing. But it could also be real.
Kaz caught my eye, raising a brow.
“You good, Christa?”
Shaking my head, I nodded.
Again, my smile felt real. Like I was having fun.
“Good. It's your turn.”
I picked up the dice, throwing them across the board.
Two sixes.
“I can already see her landing on one of my hotels.” Roman murmured. He sat up, resting his chin on his knees. “As the clear winner, I have a proposition.”
Ignoring him, I moved my piece– immediately landing on Park Place.
“I'll give you 500,” Roman announced, “If you give up New York avenue.”
“That's all I've got!”
Imogen nudged me. “Don't do it. If you give him New York Avenue, he only needs one more.”
“One thousand.” Roman waved the notes in my face.
“My final offer.”
When I reached for the cash, he held it back.
“New York Avenue, he said, with a grin.
“And your pride.”
Reluctantly, I handed my only property over.
Kaz threw the dice and moved his piece, and I half remembered we had an escape plan. “Community chest.” Kaz picked up a card. “Go straight to jail.”*
Roman spluttered. “That's karma,” he said, “For stealing from the bank.”
“You were stealing too!”
We had a plan.
We had…. a plan.
After discussing it in detail, Imogen and I were going to try and get onto Brighton’s laptop. It wasn't a perfect way to escape, but it was coherent.
So, what happened?
We were going to get out, so what… what was this?
Kaz’s earlier words hit me from months ago.
“Mr Brighton *is the thing keeping us here,”* he explained. “If we kill him, I'm like, 98% sure we’ll go back to normal.”
“Okay, and what if he dies and we’re *stuck?”* Imogen whisper-shrieked.
“I said 98% for a reason. Yes, there's a small chance his power will die with him. But there's a bigger chance that its effects will die when he does.”
Ren nodded slowly. “Right, and where exactly did you learn this information?”
“You'll feel a lot better if I don't answer that.”
“Okay.” Ren gritted his teeth. “So, we just need to find a weapon, right?”
“And don't tell Hemlock,” Kaz rolled his eyes. “I don't care what he says, that boy definitely had his mind fucked with. Hemlock is a liability. If we tell Roman, he tells Brighton, and we’re screwed.” Kaz nodded to me, then the others. “Keep your mouths shut.”
Presently, I wasn't sure the boy wanted to escape.
Slowly, I rolled my eyes over to Mr Brighton, who had joined us to play.
He was happily marking papers, taking part when he could.
It felt…right.
Not like we had been forced or manipulated, but more like he belonged. Part of me wanted to question why I felt like this, but I found that I didn't care. I didn't care that we were essentially dead, in a never ending stasis and stuck inside fifty two minutes past two. I stopped thinking about the outside world a long time ago.
I couldn't even remember my Mom’s face.
I made my decision, dazedly watching Imogen throw a chance card at Roman.
He flung one back, threatening to tip the board.
I wanted to stay.
In the corner of my eye, however, someone was still awake.
Ren, who had been sitting next to me, kept moving, further and further away. I didn't notice until he was inching towards our teacher, a box cutter clenched between his fist. There must have been a point when we found a box cutter, when we made it our weapon of choice.
But somewhere along the way, I think we just… lost the longing to want to escape.
I didn't see the exact moment the boy stabbed the blade into the man's neck, plunging it through his flesh, but I did feel a sudden jolt, like time itself was starting to falter and tremble.
Mr Brighton dropped to the ground, and I found my gaze flashing to the frozen clock.
Which was moving, suddenly.
Slowly creeping towards 2:53pm.
Something sticky ran underneath me, warm and wet.
Blood.
Blood that was running.
Roman’s half lidded eyes found mine, and he blinked, dropping the dice.
Like he'd been asleep for a long time.
2:53pm.
We were free.
The cool spring breeze grazing my cheeks was back. I could feel my own heartbeat, sticky sweat on my forehead.
And outside, Jessie Carson let out a gut-churning scream.
For a disorienting moment, I don't think any of us believed we were free.
Roman twisted around, his gaze on the doorway.
The piece of paper the teacher had stuck to the glass slipped away.
But Roman’s gaze was glued to the door, his cheeks paling.
His lips parted into a silent cry.
Following his eyes, I glimpsed a shadow.
A shadow that was frozen at 2:52pm.
2:53pm.
“Fuck.” Roman whispered, stumbling to his feet.
He turned to the rest of us, his eyes wild.
“Get DOWN!”
When the thing crashed through the door, our classroom exploding around us, chairs splintering against the walls, I was already dropping to my knees, crawling under a desk. It took me a moment to understand I was already kneeling in what was left of Imogen.
Her body had been hollowed out, singed straight through.
I was crawling through pieces of her flesh, mounds of her bisected brain.
Keeping my hand over my mouth, I watched this… thing.
A bulbous black monster, chewing its way through my classmates. Blood splattered the walls, raining from the ceiling, and that same striking pain ripped through my gut, agonising enough to force a cry through my lips.
My frantic gaze found the clock.
2:54pm.
Lurching forwards, I heaved up what was left of my lunch, agonising pain wrenching my stomach back and forth.
I jumped when another body joined me, thankfully alive, squeezing under the desk.
Roman, his face slick and dripping scarlet.
When the thing was gone, neither of us moved.
3:05pm.
“What are those things?” I managed to get out.
“I don't know,” Roman whimpered, covering his mouth. “But they're everywhere.”
3:10pm.
Another thing found our classroom. This time I saw it up close, a giant, bulbous black thing with an eye stalk. It knew we were there, peeking under the desk we were hiding. But it didn't kill us.
The thing left the room, stopping to gorge on half of Ren’s torso.
Roman shot me a questioning look, but I could only be relieved.
3:15pm.
Roman threw up black slime all over me.
He caught my eye, swiping his mouth. “Well, that can't be good.”
The pain in my gut was getting harder to deal with.
3:20pm.
“Did you have chicken nuggets for lunch?” Roman murmured. He got a little too close, his breath on my neck.
I had to suck in my stomach to stop the pain.
I was going hot and cold, sweat dripping down the back of my neck.
“Why?” I hissed back, taking deep, shaky breaths.
“I dunno,” Roman murmured, “I can smell them on your breath.”
His teeth grazed my flesh, sending shivers down my spine.
“Weird… huh.”
3:30pm.
Roman nudged me.
“Fuck.” He hissed. “Is that Kaz?”
Following his gaze, I found the remnants of Kaz under a crushed desk starting to… convulse.
“Was he bitten?” I whispered.
Roman’s eyes were a strange color. “Maybe.”
3:35pm
“Mr Brighton.” I was on my knees, sobbing, shaking my physics teacher.
“Mr Brighton! Take us back!”
I squeezed his ice cold hand for dear life.
“Say, ‘stop’,” I whispered “Please!”
3:40pm.
The thing that found me didn't attack me. It sat there, head cocked, watching me roll around on the floor, the pain writhing through me. I watched its transformation in short bursts, consciousness swimming in and out.
When I found light again, the thing was sitting cross legged next to me, chewing on a human arm. Maybe I was hallucinating. I watched it for a long time, trying to figure out why it was wearing strips of Roman’s white shirt.
3:52pm.
No longer in the school, I was in the back of an ambulance, a lady screaming in my face. I could see the time on her watch. She told me I was going to be okay, and I think I was. But I wasn't sure how to tell her she smelled good.
Like chicken.
It's been three months since my teacher froze time.
Mr Brighton wasn't imprisoning us. He was protecting us.
I'm still alive, but I have to take regular shots. I think they're just in case I was infected by those things.
I asked Mom if the incident has been on the news, but there's no coverage.
According to the people in white who treated me, everything has been covered up. According to the Mayor, ten kids died in a gas leak.
No mention of the monstrous things hunting us down…
Our town is just a blip on the map. You can't find us. I wish you could, though.
I need help.
I'm terrified of myself.
I’m not going to tell Mom she smells like chicken, because she'll freak out.
Last night, someone, or something knocked on my window.
When I turned on the light, a single, bulging eye was staring at me through the glass.
I still don't know why it was crying.