Catalyzing Education & Humanity: World of Pioneers

Link to Instagram!

Hi, my name is Evan Lacey; I'm a 27 year old Psychology graduate and I'm from Boston, Massachusetts. I've worked as an educator, tutor and mentor; alongside 15+ years of other jobs. I am an advocate for many things humanitarian, and have personal interests in Autism Spectrum disorders, parenting and teaching, the DSM, anxiety and depression, mental health and medicine, prejudice, philosophy, education, and learning. I also have an interest in government and it's programs, like the education and justice systems; systems which use tax money to assist those who are having issues assimilating in our complex and rigorous culture. I have strong beliefs about how to improve our world, and believe it all starts with educating our children.

During my 20's, I have spent great deals of time doing personal research, considering and writing about humans in our modern habitats. After many years of school, research, writing, doing creative projects, alongside frustrating and limiting career of being dictated at jobs that don't listen or pay me nearly enough, I want to do what I can do best. I am asking for support on here so that I can contribute to the world of social science; producing various medias, collaborating with others, learning, surviving, enabling others, and surrounding myself with people who share passion.

Currently, I primarily use my Instagram as an outlet for expressing my philosophical views and conveying messages. However, I would really like support so that I can have the means to go about meeting and collaborating with others. The biggest thing is the ability to get my brain with other brains, and that may mean going back to school.

I have been as good as I can to people, and as hardworking of a person as I can be, but I haven't been half of the person I've wanted to be. As my debt has slowly gotten worse(-1.5k avg. per year, + student loans), I've become less and less of a real person. I once a very social creature with a large network of friends, and I was coming to understand and be sociable with many extents of our population.

When I first mentioned Aspergers to my family and friends at age 22, people said things like "but there's nothing wrong with you"; my doctor laughed and said "well you know there's no cure", and told me my best option was to join a support group. I was frustrated that people were telling me that my social issues were normal, that people weren't understanding that I felt like I have deficiencies, and I was looking for answers and help. I knew that my anxieties and quirks were getting worse, and with a refreshing knowledge of my own psychology, that my financial situation was truly sole issue in my progress. None the less, I had to go on and too desperately took and worked at virtually any job I could take. To this day, I have not made as much in a year as I did when I was 19 years old, and at least then I actually saw the money and had a reason to work for it.

My background in Psychology has saved me from a lot of my own bad habits. A lot of people get a lot more mixed up than I ever have, and end up in much worse places. There is science behind all of our social problems. It is indeed convenient for us to believe world problems won't exist for us or our children, but that is not the reality. We are all victims to an oppressive, predatory capitalist system. More and more children are being diagnosed, and with a 1% prison population, 1 in 3 are arrested by age 23; 1 in 5 are also on food stamps in our country. Norms, nor laws can be used as a metric for ethics. Our compulsory schooling system which uses testing as a measure for intelligence has methodically dissolved dissent and alternation from some of our brightest children -- in the name of special education and learning disability. Bernie Sanders has been spoon-feeding some major messages to the American people, and I appreciate that -- but you may understand like I do that the truth is much deeper. We are a truly divided and conquered people, and from cartoons and family dinners on, our kids are being sold a the dream that is often chasing a mirage of security.

My childhood experiences made me a critical thinker. I really was bullied badly, even by a teacher. I was 10 when Columbine happened. I was very struck by it. I understood why they did it. A couple years later, 9/11 happened. It took me a bit, but even with such little knowledge then, I understood. People do things for a reason. Later I would realize so much more; things like opportunity, education, social, physical, and mental health are all necessary things for all people; if they have to survive without it, living in frustration, living in poverty, living in misery, in some sort of deprivation, we know what becomes of these people. If you don't grow up with opportunity, love, the education to make healthy decisions, and the essential human things you need... who are you to become? What is it like for some one to grow up and be who they are before they fly an airplane filled with people into a building?

I believe that positiveness and reception is paramount to motivation and action. Utility and relativity is paramount to learning and absorption. What happens when the place you go to for 17 or 18 years has in some ways rejected you socially or academically? And what about when you have a conflicted life with your family? And what about consistent friend groups? I think the statistics of drug use, drop out, suicide, and public violence shows this. I think that prison statistics show that background is directly related to upbringing. No one wants to hear this; especially no parent, but I'm also sad to say that children with mental health needs or learning issues often are experiencing issues because of their social and physical environments and outlets, and the way we address struggling youth. Honestly, I believe it's absolutely INSANE the way that we address raising our youth. I feel there is no honest, natural development of appreciate in children -- they don't need to work together, develop differently to benefit the group, share, etc.

Most people around me do not believe there is anything that I can do about the so many problems that I see and the way that I see things. I have come to be an extremely dissented person. I do not see "America's enemies" as my enemies, I do not see my best interest being provided by the government I pay for, I don't see a need for idea ownership or extensive personal capital, and I empathize with struggling people of all backgrounds because I understand that we all have our own roads, bracing the bumps the best we can while trying to stay moving.

Voting and protesting does not do much. I am an educator and a communicator. I am tired of sitting in boiling soup while we go about our lives casually watching the bubbles, seeing and feeling the burn while being shown everything is fine. Our habitat is a cluster of horror. People manifest in any sort of way. We are burdened by our subjective experiences, influences, knowledge, and appreciations. Every human action is a product of science. I had an issue taking money to help people who need help, and doing so 1 at a time, so I didn't want to be a Psychologist. I don't want to teach what some one else says is useful so I didn't want to be a public teacher. Some people are able to take their struggling and experiences and become artists of some type, and do something great; but many fall short of their potential -- I no longer wish to be this person, falling short of my potential, being told how to help people, pretending to be happy at duties that do not address the pinnacle of my skills. In losing everything I have "had" to avoid being creative, I feel it is no longer realistic for me to continue to avoid treating myself as a creative person. Great minds have inspired me and I'm here to rise up.

I want to do a quick recap:

1. 50% of the world's children live in poverty
2. 50,000 people die a day due to poverty and related illnesses
3. 270 million people have died of poverty since 1990
4. The world has 7 billion people, we could feed almost 9 billion with crops -- but much of these crops generate livestock for Western/Western-influenced meat consumption
5. 80% of the American population lives on or near the poverty line, 50% live below it.
6. 76% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck
7. We have 25% of the world's prisoners but only 5% of the world's population
8. In 2005, 4 out of 5 drug arrests were for possession, not sales
9. In the 1990's, marijuana possession accounted for nearly 80% of the spike in arrests
10. 1 in 28 parents are behind bars
11. 86% of federal inmates are there for victim-less crimes
12. There are more people behind bars today for a drug offense than there were in 1980 for all offenses combined
13. In California, 70% of prisoners spent time in foster care system
14. Americans consume 75% of the world's prescription medication
15. A study found there was a doubling of risk for aggression and suicides in medicated children and adolescents
16. Suicides among 15-24 year old youth is the third leading cause of death for youth
17. Over 16% of students seriously consider suicide, 13% create a plan, and 8 percent have made a serious attempt
18. While murder is only the 17th cause of death suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for all age groups
19. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the world for people aged 15-44(what other animals commit suicide!? In almost any species, it is directly ineffective to the survival of a species to end it's ability to reproduce... the genetic will to kill one's self also cannot be reproduced... to choose to do so indicates that much is seriously, seriously wrong with the ENVIRONMENT of our species. Note: Poverty is manmade.)
20. Depression effects 25% of the population 18+
21. 4 in 10 jobs are reported to be "extremely stressful"
22. High stress jobs make you 3x more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder
23. 75-90% of physician visits are due to stress
24. 1 in 3 female homicide victims are murdered by their current or former partner every year
25. Financial abuse is found in 98% of domestic violence cases
26. The number of American troops killed in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women who were murdered by current or ex male partners during that time was 11,766. That's nearly double the amount of casualties lost during war
27. 56% of America's troops to Afghanistan and Iraq required medical treatment on returning home
28. 70% of countries have more equal income distribution than the United States
29. During 2012 alone, incomes of the wealthiest 1 percent rose nearly 20%, whereas the income of the remaining 99 percent rose 1% in comparison
30. In America, you're most likely to have a heart attack on a Monday

A summary of my experiences growing up with learning issues, being indoctrinated to my culture, and my current outlook:

I believe that we do not really choose who we be come; I think that we perceive, and we just try our best to survive, and with a mix of our own biological impulses, we attempt to acquire the things that we are influenced to want.

In 1993, I was 5 years old; it was this year that Asperger's was added to the DSM. I was obsessed with cars even though I woudn't be able to drive them for 15 years, and for whatever reason, women. Back then, I just wanted to grow up, have my own car to work on, and a girlfriend. Subconsciously, I didn't realize that I also had a strong desire for so many things I was not yet conscious of; social reception and relation, expression, family support, unique skills, and so on. I was certainly robbed of a lot, and I didn't know it, and most people don't, at least consciously; but we all are. I definitely had fears that I wouldn't be able to do things normally as an adult. I didn't grow up in a neighborhood, and spending a lot of time alone, I certainly lived in my head. I remember feeling that anything I wanted seemed impossible to get. I definitely developed the ability to pick myself apart. My parents wanted to me to be involved in stuff, but I was always really uncoordinated and disengaged. I also struggled socially/academically, but was denied help from my school system. I was shy, quirky, pretty badly bullied, and didn't have many consistent friends. I didn't have cable and for my generation that was like the end of the world -- I had no idea what people were talking about since that's all kids do. I hated school, but was told I just had to wait until I was older to have the things I wanted. I spent much time thinking and observing, and a substantial amount of time alone. Despite having so many issues, it would be many years until I could get anyone to even consider diagnosing me with something.

In my teen years, I began to stick up for myself and come out of my shell, but I had no idea how burdened I was by the anxieties that I had already developed from rejection -- with friendships, interests, grades, social situations, and really anything. Tutors, summer courses, lower level classes, and always doing my homework never seemed to help. All of this effort my parents put into trying to get me to be smart -- especially while my sister was a savant, hugely impacted my confidence. I most always had a negative attitude towards work, because I had been PROVEN so many times that my work was not acceptable; it becomes simply... fill in the blanks, make them happy. move on. I was never in any special education classes except math in my senior year... but would those (at the time, especially)little classes have helped me, anyway?

Going into my senior year, I was 274 out of 301 in my class. I hadn't developed an appreciation for teachers or learning, I still mostly hated school, and like most students with bad grades -- school was almost solely interpreted as a social environment for me. However, I did develop an appreciation for earning money; and working as much as I could, I quickly developed an interest in making as much money as I could.

People go to college to make more money, so I went to community college because the world told me that's where bad students like me go to college. After a year of post-high school independence, I made a group of friends outside of college that I actually related with, and got a job that utilized my skills. Through reception and usefulness, for the first time I learned how to pay attention, integrate, and converse. I developed, grew respect for differences, and grew a thirst for knowledge that would be reflected in my academic performance. I generally cared about people and was able to show it; I became confident in my abilities, and so therefor I succeeded. I loved being able to randomly buy things for people I cared about; I felt that I finally had a feeling of meaning to gift-giving -- not just as a ritual. It is important to note that the skills I gained and the support system I obtained were acquired solely out of my own will and interest, to satisfy myself -- but most everything that I had done prior, and most everything I would come to do later was to meet the expectations of the world around me. It does indeed take great strength to remain one's self in modern societies.

Destination Syndrome:

When I was 20 or 21, despite minimalist spending, I stopped having a positive income and began my journey as a debtslave. The job that I 'loved' lost a lot of business, and I turned to many outlets which did not provide to be worth my time, effort, or heart. I kept the job part time, and with other experiences, I kept leaving them feeling defeated. I lived very frustrated and adaptive, trying to acquire good working experience, adding a minor to my degree for flexibility, and trying to take on things like oddjobs and unpaid internships. All the while, I was searching for reception from my friends in hobbies that I couldn't afford to be active in any more. I had found myself right back in unhappiness.

I had been hoping that someday it would all pay off, but hoping for someday is not living everyday; I wasn't in the present. I was however, thinking -- after all, I could hardly sleep; and in trying to be what the world wanted, I had to observe about the world around me and who and how people became successful. I was also looking at what wasn't working in society; and having considered that I had just done better in life than at any point in my childhood, I noticed what worked for me, what hadn't, and why a lot wasn't working out for other people.

I watched many people get addicted to drugs, drop out of college, change fields, have issues in relations, and have trouble finding work -- let alone find a 'good' job. A lot of people from my town died. I observed the behavior of all different generations. I noticed how many people's behaviors illustrate concerns about their future; with with things like relationships, jobs, where they'll be living, when they're graduating, who they'll be with, what will make them so happy -- a house, a car, their degree, a new job, whatever. I found that in finding out the world isn't exactly as we thought, we can come to be part of a quite submissive population, shaving off the temptation and potential to become more than what we will end up being. In being hopeful, we come dismiss truths, and avoid potential self.

I observed how others perceived new information and how trusting and untrusting people are; like how quick people are to give up their autonomy to mechanics, doctors, police, brands, services, and so on, and often defend their own, but are suspicious of others. I learned how acceptance and appreciation is so limited by our subjective manifestation. I looked at the prison system, our government, our history, the education system, the history of business, and modern business ethics. I've intensely studied the depressed, the artistic, the famous, and the scientific. I noticed how habitat is directly related to development, appreciation, interest, and success; and as I understood more, I became less and less of a judgmental person, and more of an advocate for children and people in need; recognizing that people need outlets for reception, reward, relation, respect, meaning, and so on; recognizing that people grow ideas about themselves and the world around them and this happens with anyone from police and judges to children to parents.

Through my 20's, I still continued to take the approach of combining a life made for us with the life I wanted to make for myself. At my first job out of college, I was working at a public highschool. I tried to make myself as available and utilizable as possible; and I tried to inspire others those around me. I advocated to the high school that changes should be made to the way we treat struggling children, and that I could help implement improved philosophy -- but I did feel brushed off; I could not amount anything with program and class ideas in the 2 years I worked there. A coworker was raped and murdered by a student at this school, and having gone to the school saying I understood how these issues happen, this deeply affected me. At a 2nd job I had during that time, I was requested to treat children unethically on a daily basis; the owner wanted me to be honest, but she didn't take my advice; after months of being told things would improve, I quit, and the business closed a couple of months later.

There comes a time in many people's lives where going through a radical change is necessary to achieving there success.

"Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind." - Bertrand Russell

"That's just the way the world is" does not, and will not work for me.

My life has been almost solely academic since I was in my early 20's. I don't have a lot of friends and with my time, I mostly just improve myself; I study, I focus on my health, spend a lot of time and nature, and exercise every day. I believe myself to be as enlightened as any great thinker, as they have been some of my greatest teachers. Today, after advocating issues and being misunderstood by friends, family, doctors and coworkers, I have come to be diagnosed with some of the same mental health disorders that I have been talking about for so many years.

Catalyzing change:

In truth, I mostly just need the means to have personal, creative space and to be around likeminds. My most enlightened/down to earth friends understand some of my ideas, and I know I'd do well being back in school somewhere new; a better, opportune, and encouraging environment.

I'd like to pursue creative, intellectual, academic, and expressive interests. I'd like to be able to afford a minimalist life, to become a speaker, entertainer, or artist of sorts, and to be able to survive as an active advocate. I'd maybe get a part time job for sure, but I really, really want to prove to others that you can survive from the love you receive for your skills. I want to become a speaker and influence others. I genuinely consider myself some one with the skills to orchestrate great change. I am defeated; but I do not want money, nor homelessness to be my Waterloo.

The world needs passion, deviation, and support, because we need pioneers; I believe I can impact this change, and this is why I insist on being enabled today.

Being financially stable/mentally healthy means having the time, patience, and will to do stuff. I want to put my heart into bigger projects, and continue to sharpen my tools of communication. An off-the-top-of-my-head list of things I would like to go about creatively addressing: education systems, mental health and pharmaceuticals, drug use, learning and absorption, the burden of perspectives and subjective experiences, collaboration vs. competition, passion vs. submission, indoctrination, neurochemical stimulation, the significance of norms, humanitarian catalyzation, security vs. insecurity, business and money, social support services, inequality, imperialism, police, prison, rehabilitation, childhood, agriculture, evolution, humanity, technology, energy systems, social sciences, human behavior, parenting, biodiversity, Autism and ASD, Western lifestyles, poverty, corruption, religion, war, violence, prejudice, relationships, sociological history, hunter-gatherer life, and much more.

While there are many, many more, here is a list of some of the people who have influenced me: C.S. Lewis, Bertrand Russell, Eugene Debs, Charles Darwin, T.S. Eliot, Cornel West, Plato, Stefan Molyneux, Bill Nye, Ernest Hemingway, Theodore Roosevelt, Isaac Asimov, John F. Kennedy, Johnny Depp, George Orwell, Kurt Cobain, H.L. Mencken, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Martin Luther King, Noam Chomsky, Bernie Sanders, Ezra Pound, Randall Jarrell, Eckhart Tolle, Ron Paul, Osho, Bill Hicks, Marilyn Manson, Carl Jung, Nelson Mandela, Carl Sagan, George Carlin, Sylvia Plath, John Berryman, Terence Mckenna, Randall Jarrell, Ludwig Von Mises, Bob Marley, Nikola Tesla, Henry David Thoreau, Alvin Toffler, Albert Einstein, Robin Williams, Milton Friedman, Frederick Douglass, Maximilien Robespierre, Lysander Spooner, Aldous Huxley, Tupac, Voltaire, Bob Marley, Plato, Larken Rose, Bruce Lee, Mahatma Gandhi, and many, many more!!!!

If you want to learn more about me or my views, I do encourage you to check out expressions of my thoughts and influences on my Instagram/Wordpress; right now, these are my two main outlets for expression. If you're interested in my philosophies, I also encourage you to search the tag "yoloSTARDUST' on IG, as I often elaborate on different posts, and sometimes include my own terms, such as the genocide of dissent, the burden of subjective experiences, and "money is a vessel for slavery".

As long as I am supported in life, I will be nothing but the real deal. We shouldn't be putting our dollar in the wrong places with corporate domination and perpetuating government; funding people void of passion(often government and corporate employees) and allowing them to shape our world for our children, our kids aren't theirs! We need to enable each other and start supporting those who will provide more than they reap; we need to start allowing children to become these people, and not becoming people who play a game that isn't there; a game that so disproportionately distributes the fruits of domestic and international labor.

Please feel free to ask any questions, and feel free to make offers or requests. There is a need for people like me, but as those facts illustrate -- environment is relative to success. We shouldn't live in a world where children think the world is impossible; as educators and parents, we need to enforce possibility on our children and on ourselves.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Anything is a way for me.