Diary Comic #1 - 7.15.22

Lil warmup today💕 I think I’ll name her…… Candy🥰 Or maybe Delulah? I’m not sure that’s a real name but like whatever.

Diary Comic #2 - 8.25.22

Got the results for my blood test back

So fun fact when I was a kid my mom decided I wasn’t active enough. So she bought me absurdly expensive running shoes I did not ask for, dragged me out in the below freezing east coast weather, and started me on this “couch potato to 5k” challenge.

Every day after school, we ran. First it was 5 minutes a day, then 7, then 10… you get the gist. I think after 2 months we were running about an hour every day. By the time I quit running when I was 10, my mom and I had run 3 5ks together over the span of a little over a year.

A little after stopped running, I noticed some pain in my right knee. It got a little bit worse, and a little bit worse, and a little bit worse… and then five years later, when it had gotten to the point where I couldn’t pay attention in geography class because I was in constant pain from having to sit all day, I finally went to the doctor.

They told me the cartilage under my kneecap was worn down from overuse. It’s called chondromalacia patellae—also known as “runners knee.”

The thing is: When we were in races, and I was overwhelmed, I told my mom I wanted to stop. I told her I was in pain and I needed to slow down. I told her I didn’t like running.

And you know what she said to me?

“Suck it up.”

And I’m not saying “don’t tell your kids to exercise.” Your kids SHOULD exercise—not because of any bullshit weight reason or anything, but because they’re kids, and it’s good for them. Good for their bones, or whatever.

And I’m not saying “don’t exercise WITH your kids” either, because again, they should be exercising a little. And if you being there helps them stay motivated, that’s great.

What I am saying is: Listen to your kids. Trust that they know their own limits better than you do. Even if you think that they’re being over dramatic, or whiny, or whatever—don’t take the chance.

I’m 20 years old now. My knee still hurts. I have a whole suite of other, unrelated chronic conditions that would be improved if I exercised more. And I try to, I really do. But it’s kind of hard to do squats when just one makes your knee feel like it’s on fire for the rest of the week.

Listen. To. Your. Kids.

sometimes I forget standing up isn’t painful and difficult for most people so I’ll be watching something like game changer and see the people standing behind their podiums the whole episode and think ‘wow don’t they need to sit down. how can they still think coherent thoughts’ and then I’m like oh. yeah. I have a disease

Diary comic #3 - 8.26.22

More messy colored pencil shenanigans✨

(Tags from @releasedfromhiscage)

THANK YOU THATS WHAT IM SAYING. LIKE. Your life matters because EVERY life matters. Because you are a living thing and your experience and existence has inherent value.

And you GOTTA fucking remember that, okay??? Like I know it’s easy to forget sometimes but I swear, you are not worthless, you will never be worthless, because you are a person and that means something and it always will. Being unable or unwilling to do certain things does not make your life less valuable than anyone else’s. Life is life, mothefucker.

Dude for real though your worth as a human being is not dependent on how productive or “useful” you are. You could do nothing but lay in bed all today and you’d still be worthy of respect and care. Bro you are a living breathing human being and your life has inherent value. Like straight up you don’t have to do something impossible or world changing with your time on earth in order for you to matter. We are all specks of dust in the cosmos and the fact that you exist at all means you are important. Dude you don’t have to earn the right to live bro, like I swear bro, like no cap.

Me @ my therapist in 10th grade:

New video out today! If you’re looking for some motivation this week, one open up the Thera-Pets deck with me! All 64 cards were illustrated and written by Kate Allan, author of “You Can Do All Things:”