Just wanted to ask quick, what flavor of chapstick it is you kiss my ass with. // Hi, Michelle here. I love music, books, traveling, candy, a good glass of Sangria, and making people laugh.
![thedailywhat:
Street Art of the Day: “Before I Die”: Candy Chang (previously) reclaims the side of an abandoned house on the corner of Marigny and Burgundy in her NOLA neighborhood for a giant chalkboard “where residents can fill in the blank and remember what is important to them in life.”
The collective project, she says, is “also about turning a neglected space into a constructive one where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.”
[ignant.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhi5tokWhN1qzpwi0o1_500.jpg)
Street Art of the Day: “Before I Die”: Candy Chang (previously) reclaims the side of an abandoned house on the corner of Marigny and Burgundy in her NOLA neighborhood for a giant chalkboard “where residents can fill in the blank and remember what is important to them in life.”
The collective project, she says, is “also about turning a neglected space into a constructive one where we can learn the hopes and aspirations of the people around us.”
[ignant.]
All you have to do is hold up a sign; simple as that.
It’s going to be fun and unique, and I think everyone will love it! I have about 20 people who want to be in it, but it would be great to have more. The more the merrier! :)
Any more takers?
(Source: conflictingheart, via petticoat-deactivated20120326)
By the Hand was created to help underprivileged African American students in the Chicago area of Cabrini-Green.
Cabrini-Green is a public housing development on Chicago’s North Side, bordered by Evergreen Avenue, Sedgwick Street, Chicago Avenue, and Larrabee Street. At its height, Cabrini-Green was home to 15,000 people, living in mid and high-rise apartment buildings. Over the years, gang violence and the city’s neglect created terrible conditions for the residents, and the name “Cabrini-Green” became symbolic of the problems associated with public housing in the United States.
I was able to join her for a day before I returned to Boston for summer school. It was such a moving experience to see all of these struggling children, to see just how different it is for those in an impoverished inner city environment. The teacher in the classroom my mom and I were helping in lectured the students that day, not about helping others or doing your share in the community, but he was explaining to them why they shouldn’t get caught up with gangs and to stay off the streets. It’s a lesson worth learning to them… I mean, the kids at the program come from rival schools, and they get into fights often as a result. These students are in elementary school for God’s sake. It’s so sad to see how their surroundings and upbringing have such a huge effect on how they live their lives.
Families have to apply for their children to attend By the Hand because so many people in the area need their help. Many families don’t have the income to purchase phone service, and due to that and the fact that it’s an application-only program, the staff has to make home visits to check in on kids who haven’t attended for a number of days. My mom called me a few days ago to tell me about how she made her first home visit with the head of the program.
She told me about the horrible housing conditions - imagine something like A&E’s Hoarders. As upsetting and terrible as the places were, it was so wonderful for my mom because it’s essentially what she wanted to do career-wise. She said to me, “I was living my dream of being a social worker.” I pretty much started crying after that. As close as my mom and I are, that was probably the most personal thing I’ve ever heard come out of her mouth.
She never talks about her college degree in Child Development or her aspirations of being a social worker. I’m too scared to ask her, because I know how much she wanted to have that type of job. It’s the reason why she’s always helping people in any way she can - PTA, charity work… even just helping someone plan a trip. Whether my mom knows it or not, hearing her so vulnerable and honest definitely brought me closer to her.
I was chatting with @koeppelicious and @celluloidhero yesterday about the effects of Nyquil on dreams. I’ve never taken Nyquil, so I wouldn’t know but apparently the dreams people have are loopy. I think because of our conversation, I had the craziest, weirdest dream ever.
The most memorable part [aside from sitting with Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper on a private plane] was at the end when a rabid animal that looked like a weasel attacked me and clamped onto my hand. I was trying to pry it off, and I started to choke it but it wouldn’t let go or die. It hurt like a mother in the dream, obviously. I actually woke up breathing really heavily and sweating. It was pretty freaky, not gonna lie.
And I blame Blood Creek for that part of the dream because in the film, Henry Cavill’s character gets attacked by a dog and his brother had to kill it because it wouldn’t let go of his arm. Then he just happens to have a rabies vaccine [what a thoughtful EMT] in his bag:
[SRY. I confess. That was unnecessary.
I just wanted to post Henry. Obviously.]
