=== ANCHOR POEM ===
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 This month, I was diagnosed with Schizotypal disorder. I had a single hour to 
 talk to a psychiatrist (thank you, insurance) and he explicitly told me that my
 diagnosis was preliminary.
 
 Schizotypal is a type of neurodivergence similar to autism but with elements of
 schizophrenia (paranoia, delusional and / or magical thinking) and my 
 presentation includes ADHD symptoms such as difficulty focusing. When
 medicated,
 I have difficulty concentrating, however the paranoia and delusional thinking
 is
 suppressed. The treatment plan is ongoing and developing.
 
 These issues have been present for the entire time I've been at WGU, and
 before.
 However, I am seeking treatment now because I had begun to have difficulty 
 maintaining a job and keeping a home.
 
 Currently, my medication is working. However the greatest issue facing me right
 now is financial problems - I couldn't maintain a job while unmedicated, and 
 frankly while medicated I am still having difficulty for different reasons. 
 However the intent is to refine the medication choices to find a solution that 
 works for me. However, employment is still a concern, and so I have requested
 and been approved for a term break of at least 2 months with the option to 
 extend. During this term break I intend to resolve the financial issue however 
 I can. Ideally in such a way that will allow me to apply myself toward school 
 work.
 
 This degree is important to me. Without it, I won't be able to find employment
 in the tech industry aside from technician roles. My previous experience with
 them has given me experience, and I learned quite a bit... Until I ran out of
 things to learn. I do not believe I could handle that type of work long-term
 for
 various reasons. In the short term, I may attempt it but I am convinced that I
 will burn out quickly.
 
 I currently feel as if I am disabled. I don't know if it's true, perhaps I'm 
 just going through a rough patch. But once my savings hit zero, I'm out on the
 streets, and I won't live long like that.
 
 When thinking about whether or not I'll be able to complete my degree, I 
 honestly cannot give you an answer. I've been in higher education for over a 
 decade, surely I should have finished by now. But I cannot get over various
 hurdles it seems, and frankly I have no idea why. It's... Maddening, to see 
 yourself, so full of potential, yet chained to the form and circumstances you 
 are given. I wonder what choices might I have made differently to avoid my
 fate,
 if it truly is my fate to fail in this way, but I have no answers.
 
 I am intelligent, of this I am certain. I know more about computers than
 anybody
 I know, and I would love to apply myself toward them. But I lack a degree, so
 I
 cannot be seen by recruiters and hiring managers. I try to work on my degree,
 but I find the words on the page grow dense like the forest between the trees,
 and I cannot see a way through to reach new understandings. Why do I keep 
 learning these things? I already know what a callback function is, what 
 interfaces are used for, how to implement safe multithreading in a parallel 
 environment, I know how networking protocols interact with hardware and how the
 airflow through a case affects the thermals of a computer's internals. I've 
 grown crystallized in my knowledge, it seems, due to the endless pursuit of 
 these foundations. I think I would excel in the higher-level courses, but... I
 can't get there. I crave the insights that might be learned in a master's
 degree, but my brain is not wired for homework. I'm not built to cram for
 tests,
 to learn someone's else's tools and frameworks. I don't know what I could be
 doing better, it feels like I'm so alone. I guess it's my own fault for picking
 an online school, but WGU is the best of the online schools, and I needed
 online
 because I move around a lot. Well... I used to. My boyfriend moved around a
 lot,
 but now he's my ex-boyfriend. Oh well.
 
 ... Anyway you can probably see why I have difficulty with school. It's 
 difficult for me to stay on track. I can start working on my project 5 or 6 
 times in a day and make marginal at best progress, and each time it hurts more
 and more to return. I don't have an answer, but I don't know what to do if not 
 to pursue my degree. I feel as if I'm on the brink of despair in my life, and
 if
 you read these appeals often, I imagine you hear that a lot.
 
 I will apply myself more to my coursework. Once I find a job, I will give 
 everything to my school, even as it breaks me. I am... intense, and I feel 
 strongly that I must get this degree. Between it and me, there is quicksand,
 but
 I must get through.
 
 Thank you for your consideration. I understand however you decide. If I can
 knab
 a decent job, I might be able to pay for my degree myself, given a couple
 months
 to save up for it. But I highly doubt I could find such a thing in this economy
 and this life I do lead.
 
 Please consider me, I will accept any aid that is offered.
 
 Cameron
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=== DIVERSITY RANKED ===

--- #1 fediverse/6458 ---
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 gonna pre-emptively backup my fediverse archive haha just-in-case I get banned
 for spamming or something teehee (totally reasonable teebeeh)
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--- #2 fediverse/5814 ---
 image.png
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 It's not a question of how loud you speak
 
 it's really about what kinds of words you say.
 
 enslavement of speech is when freedom of speech is lost
 
 and it doesn't need to be legislated.
 
 what if you HAD to sound like a bot?
 
 what if they'd notice you otherwise?
 
 freedom from oppression requires personal isolation
 
 that's not making life into art.
 
 if you want to be seen,
 
 put on a hat and hide.
 
 if you want to be believed,
 
 write about down you feel right now.
 
 people are smart. they're infinitely creative. but after a certain point
 there's no way to logically modify the combinations of possible moves you
 might make. essentially, guaranteeing a machine-overlord [cats] type scenario.
 not ideal, but could make it work.
 
 much prefer for we to be the first, then the canvas is ours for the painting.
 
 do you believe we'll find aliens at roughly our tech level?
 
 do you think they'll evolve all at once?
 
 hence, star-wars, and it's galaxy of cohabitators.
 
 the world doesn't have to be old. just similar.

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--- #3 fediverse/514 ---
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 @user-366 @user-246 @user-367 @user-353 
 
 I try to be conscientious of such things and only believe the things I read
 that I agree with explicitly. I've been burned before, in my youth, which
 perhaps is a privilege that those who come beyond us might never experience in
 the future AI generated internet that shall scarcely resemble the wild wild
 west that I grew up in. Perhaps, but I cannot say for sure, as the future has
 necessarily not yet come to pass, and so we cannot see how it shall unfold. I
 hope people can learn the digital literacy skills I developed. I hope they
 learn new ones that they'll then pass on to me. I hope the future is grand and
 beautiful and... Frankly I don't think I'll be disappointed in that particular
 respect. : )
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--- #4 messages/4 ---
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--- #5 fediverse/4986 ---
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 Fury is not the same thing as rage.
 
 Fury is focused determination.
 
 Rage is unbridled anger.
 
 Rage blinds you. Fury guides you.
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--- #6 fediverse/3184 ---
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 "reboost with content warning" would be quite nice 🥰
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--- #7 fediverse/1028 ---
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 there's this really fun video game I like to play called "Legion TD  2" - it's
 based on a Warcraft3 mod.
 
 In this game, you make tactical and strategic decisions on a fixed term - a
 competitive game between 4 or 8 players with an incredible array of randomness.
 
 it teaches you to work with what you got, and to make decisions based on your
 opponent's weaknesses. Good luck figuring out what they are, though, as you
 can't just memorize them out of a book. You need to adapt, in the moment, to
 the decisions of your foes, while primarily focusing your attention on
 accomplishing a different task.
 
 I really like it because it's taught me to be strategic in plenty of other
 ways. I used to love the game Overwatch because it required adaptibility. The
 game was always changing, so no strategy stuck forever, but every match you'd
 play against a slightly different opponent.
 
 but then Blizzard changed the game because they wanted to make more money, and
 it got worse and worse at what I liked about it. Sadface. : (
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