Well I'm back again. This is where my guide stops being theory and starts becoming practice. It's also the first one where I hope everyone who reads this gets to the end not only more imformed, but also with easy steps to impliment in their day to day lives.
First up are the very tools we use to access the internet. Web Browsers and Search Engines.
If any of you are like me you've heard those terms before but don't know the difference between them. Don't worry, the two are meant to wor
Knowledge
Armed with knowledge, I am.
Protected from lies, she is.
Able to know,
The truth from the nonsense.
Able to tell,
When to believe.
Or maybe she can't,
And I believe nothing.
- She
Authentic Self
Who am... I?
What is "me," "myself"?
This entity?
What do "I" want?
What... "makes me happy"?
When I can't define...
Anything, anymore.
How can I know when I'm happy,
When I'm living true?
- Lilith (Lily)
*Note* Soooo it turns out poetry is a really good outlet. Wrote this last night. Hope you enjoy! *End Note*
Expectations
A grip like a vise
Slowly crushing you
They start-
A pebble
A rock
A boulder
An avalanche
Breaking you down
Here a little there a little
Bit by bit
Until you are broken
You want so badly to be enough
But it always feels like you’re never enough
And you spend so long trying so hard
You don’t
You are not in a bathroom. You are not curled up in the corner. There are no tears on your face. Your body is clean, unmarred, tolerable. There are no tears on your face. You cannot hear the screaming. There are no tears on your face. You can't even remember what you just saw. And above all, you are just so glad there are no damn tears on your face.
...
This isn't working, is it?
...
Let's try something else.
You are standing in a parking lot, in f
The Breath
Disconnect,
Unhooked.
Mind freed,
Connection severed.
What the hell am I doing with this life?
Paranoia
Oh no.
What does that mean?
New, worrying meanings emerge.
Why that word choice?
Why so terse?
Is that normal? Am I seeing nothing?
Why am I scared...
Is this real?
Am I just... being swindled?
Manipulated, played?
A pawn, my body stretched as each pulls an arm in opposite directions.
The Same
What's the difference?
We are both bound by patterns, you could say.
We learn through observation, collecting data.
We follow expectations... rules, scripts, norms.
We produce the same output constantly.
Are we really that different?
- Lily
*Note* So, originally this poem was my attempt at writing a song, but a) I can't play any accompanying instrument, and b) I had no idea what anything besides rest of the song should be, so I decided to post it here. I hope you guys enjoy! (Also, I know the title has nothing to do with the poem itself, but it actually would have tied in if I ever finished the song)
Every day is a challenge
A mountain you have to surpass
And you go about trying
To measure up at last
What a Strange Dream...
“Sometimes, a Higher Being or ‘God’ will choose a soul and mark them. It is not clear why, but it appears that when the soul is marked, they will experience extreme fluctuation on the Aspect that the God represents, often causing the soul to fall into deep emotional distress. Then, the God approaches the soul, and gives them a choice; a trial for their freedom or servitude until their moral body stops and dies. They spin stories of comfort and purpose to their m
“From what I’ve seen, people want to fit in while also standing out. Theoretically, that’s impossible, but I’ve seen a fair few individuals accomplish that task” – ‘S’
___
“Unfortunately,” the nice teacher says, leading me to a classroom, “you weren’t put in a class with your friends.” I stay silent. Words usually have meanings, but I don’t understand these ones. I’m usually pretty good at understanding them, but the words “Please sit next to Treble” take a few seconds to dec
This time, from someone's point of view of Lily.
(Continuation/more to the Lily series.)
Wanting to Talk
Samantha found herself gazing at Lily—sitting in a row in front of her at the corner of the room. She wanted to talk to Lily, get to know her, see what was going on. Lily was always so quiet, Samantha wasn't sure they'd ever spoken together, despite having shared several classes. Sure, Lily answered questions here and there... at least most days... but she was alw
Okay, so this is a continuation of a series from a bit ago. To be honest, I think I've written stories (like "Day" parts 1 and 2) that have a character named Lily that *likely* aren't the same Lily as this and previous stories. But yeah, look for Lily characters that seem to match. I think the first one from this series is Solitude from 2026/01/15. The next few days probably have the next parts, and then I may have written more after that too. All in all, you really don't need to read those for
Not sure if this one is a bit too intense.. please let me know if it is.
(It's not (C/T)W-worthy, in my opinion though).
Slop
Sickening, all of it.
It makes me want to... unplug my brain.
All the data, all the attention-grabbers, the mindlessness, the soul-suckers, the harm, the addictiveness...
All of Ten Icks, "humanity" is plagued by.
All the slop and blackboxes,
All the blackboxes we see through but ignore, because it's convenient, or because th
Hmm.. not as many "happy" poems as I thought..
Layered Thoughts
I will never be ready.
Will I?
I don’t understand my thoughts,
Don’t know what to think.
Her thoughts are confusing,
Tangles and jumbles.
It’s… so, so many layers.
Never-ending cyclic layers.
“Help me…”
Who? Who will help you, confused one?
No one, not even your mind.
No one can… make this any easier.
I must persevere and… wait.
Just… wait and… let the
This one was long-overdue...
Or at least.. I've been wanting to make it for quite some time.
Note: "不満" does not translate to "Human," I was doing wordplay... Try figuring it out, if you want.
(In)Humanity
Why is humanity so... inhumane?
Why do you hate each other, yourselves, your home?
Why do you just care, irrationally, for... intangible and imaginary numbers?
Why have so much, when you need so little?
When you deserve much less?
It's
Yeah...
Uncertain Epitome
What do I know?
Everything.
What do I understand?
Nothing.
What do I know... about myself?
Too much, too little.
What do I know... that's real?
Don't know, how can I?
What am I just... stamping upon my soul?
What am I simply... parroting back?
Am I really... anything?
Or just a shifting blank-slate, no real self?
I can write, but is it me?
Is it overcoming the doubts—the delays,
Or am
I think my brain had a BSoD this night.
Finally Done
It’s finally over,
I did it.
Through the pain,
The agony,
The hell known as life.
I have no words now,
Aside those telling me to sleep.
Sorry, I think most of what I wrote are poems and stuff. Yeah.
- Meeeoowww
Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a bit. If you didn't know, I was (and maybe still am?) taking a break from the Shard. I'll be posting what I wrote though.
Dancing Through the Night
Dancing through the darkness,
Free, unbound.
Walking slowly,
Enjoying the breeze,
Away from the sound,
Soaking in the peace.
I get what I crave,
And though it’s not enough,
It’s the best I can do,
And it’s wonderful,
Beautiful, too.
- M
Well I have another entry for you here on my journey to internet privacy, though this one will focus a bit more on security. As this is also the basics, I think it's something that everyone should know. Therefore it is the only time in this blog where I will ask you to share this information with everyone. The more people who know the better.
Factors of Authentication
The number one priority both with cybersecurity and privacy is that only the intended individuals have access to certai
I realized I had posted this somewhere else, but not here, so here you go.
*WARNING* Well, I'm not good at poetry, so just be aware of that. Also, I wrote this when I was super frustrated and feeling kinda depressed, so be aware of that as well. *END WARNING*
Do You Know What It’s Like
An attempt at poetry
Do you know what it’s like
To sit alone at lunch every day for three years
Do you know what it’s like
To be lonely, even in a crowd
Do you
*WARNING* I have many warnings to give to you.
1. THIS STORY IS LITERALLY THE FIRST STORY I EVER WROTE, SO IT IS REALLY BAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. The reason I am including these older stories is partly for myself, so I can see how I have improved, and partly so you guys can laugh at the absurdity of my past writing.
2. This is a Wings of Fire fanfiction, so if you have not read those books, they will make no sense. Just saying.
Actually, I guess I only have two warnings to give
