Shannyn Weiler‚ a Utah-based interior designer‚ has caused a debate on TikTok after she urged people to use caution when displaying family photos in the home. The discussion started a debate over whether a home should be decorated for visitors or the family itself and if having a “shrine” dedicated to family members is tasteful. The video began with a stitch from a designer passionately saying that one should “never’ display “personal photos” in the living room. “So family photos can become a problem when they become what I refer to as the shrine‚” Weiler begins the video. She shared an example from her life‚ to make the case why family photos should be hung judiciously. “I got married when I was 21‚” she shares. “We were both in school‚ absolutely broke‚ we had $50 to buy a couch‚ so imagine what type of couch that was. We went to go decorate our first apartment and lo and behold‚ there’s no money for decoration. So we do what most newlyweds do‚ we use our wedding photos‚ because we’re so cute and we’re so in love and we just love our wedding day. Everywhere in our apartment was wedding photos… it felt like what I call ‘the shrine.’”“It’s very real. This also happens if you have one baby‚ and you might have baby photos taken and it’s the shrine to the one kid‚” she continues. “This also happens if you have one grandkid.” @shannynweiler Interior design art tips Art decor interior design Interior design 2024 art prints Interior design art trends 2024 interior design trends #hometips #homedecor #wallart #decortips #walldecor #interiordesign Weiler believes that people should hang artwork or photography about more than one subject.“They can’t just be on every wall with one subject‚” she says. “We need to mix it up. There needs to be a mirror in the space. We need some Etsy art prints or something like that. We just need to mix it together to get rid of that shrine feel.”The post bothered many who love having pictures of their family around the house. The vast majority of commenters were people who love having family photos strewn about their homes"The house is for us not company‚" Sarah Murdock‚ the most popular commenter‚ wrote. "I’d rather have pics of my kids and our life up than prints of random flowers and art‚" Ty Harman added."I grew up in an interior design magazine and HATED that my mom never displayed any photos of my family. Felt like she cared more about material things‚" Alexandra DiGiovanni wrote.Others noted that people decorate their homes for themselves‚ not for guests."OR we do what we want with the homes WE live in‚ not guests‚" Ergot wrote. "I like myself‚ I don't have a problem seeing myself everywhere. After all‚ I paid the bills‚" Gege Chic added.Some people agreed with the interior decorator and said that having too many family photos in a house looks tacky."YES. Photographs of ourselves in my own house feel so weird to me. Narcissistic kind of Jamiecakes wrote. "I don't have a single photo of a person in my house. I think they look tacky‚" C wrote. "One friend's house comes to mind for me‚ it was tacky (for me) to see nothing but wedding pics. Like‚ do you have other interests? Just my opinion but also‚ they’re divorced now. Mixing in art helps‚" _sigred added.Even though the post received a pretty sizable backlash‚ Weiler’s opinion is widely accepted in design circles. “To us‚ having too many portraits of yourself on display in your home is kind of like having a tattoo of yourself on your own body. It can come off as vain and tacky‚” Sarah Han writes at Apartment Therapy.After her thoughts on family photos went viral‚ Weiler posted a follow-up video where she shared an example of a student changing their mind about home decor.“Sometimes in design‚ we hear the design ideas and go‚ 'Mmm nope‚ that's not for me.' Sometimes‚ we try those ideas and we still say‚ 'Nope‚ that's not for me.' But occasionally we try things and we go‚ 'Okay‚ I do kind of like that‚’” Weiler concluded her video. @shannynweiler reply to @Shannyn #homedecor #interiordesign #hometips #interiordesigntrends2024 #wall art

Dealing with a mental illness is hard. Loving someone who is dealing with a mental illness is also hard. When you're the person struggling‚ you need support from your loved ones‚ but you may not be able to verbalize what you need exactly‚ especially in the moment. And when you're a loved one who wants to provide that support‚ you can feel lost and helpless trying to figure out what actually helps. This is the dilemma TikTok creator Sharon Johnson (@Sharon.a.life) highlights in a viral video explaining how she and her husband passed that impasse.Johnson starts by acting out a conversation she and her husband often have she's in a depressive episode. She says she's sad and doesn't know why. Her husband asks what she needs‚ and she says he could be more supportive. He asks how he can be more supportive. In her head‚ she thinks‚ "I have about a thousand ways that I think you could be more supportive‚ but they're all tiny and little and insignificant‚ and it feels weird to have the conversation and tell you a thousand things that you could do‚ so instead I'm just gonna continue being sad and we'll both be frustrated.""You're not saying anything‚" says her husband. "Please tell me what to do‚ because I don't know what depression is like and I don't know what to do."End scene. Sound familiar? Johnson then shares that she came up with a solution that solves this dilemma‚ helping her husband understand what support she needs when she's struggling. It's so simple‚ but not something most people would necessarily think to do. Watch: @sharon.a.life Now the list is there for us to add to‚ revise‚ and to refer to! He feels more supported and capable in being supportive and actually helping and I feel more supported and‚ less depressed! #depression #mentalhealth #bipolar #bipolar2 #depressiontips #supportperson Being unable to verbalize needs when you're in a depressed state is totally normal‚ so it's helpful to think about communicating those needs proactively‚ ahead of time‚ when you're feeling healthy. What's brilliant about the written list strategy is that‚ as Johnson points out‚ body language and facial expressions can sometimes be misinterpreted‚ especially when navigating mental and emotional realities. Even longtime married couples can misread worry for annoyance or interpret a thoughtful pause as reticence or judgment‚ so sometimes writing things down—even clarifying questions like her husband did—is more effective. In the age of email and texting‚ written communication has perhaps been overly dismissed as impersonal or as a way to avoid difficult face-to-face conversations. Certainly‚ it can be‚ but in some cases‚ writing things out can be preferable to verbal communication. This is one of those times. Having those ways to be supportive written down also provides a tangible resource her husband can access any time he needs to‚ and that resource can also be updated in real time as needed. People in the comments loved the idea."Extremely relatable as I just had a 10 min back &; forth of 'what do you need' 'idk' w my partner before he was just like ok I’m making you an egg‚" shared one person."The fact that he typed out the replies shows how much he understands the way your brain works!!! 🧡🧡🧡" shared another."It's like the equivalent of "this could've been an email" in the workplace when they schedule a meeting. It makes a lot of sense‚ really!" offered another.Many people asked if they could see her list as inspiration or jumping off points for their own‚ so she offered to email it to people who wanted it. (You can access that link here.)Find more from @Sharon.a.life on TikTok.

Cats have a reputation for being aloof and standoffish‚ like they're better than everyone and simply can't be bothered. Those of us who have cats know they're not always like that … but yes‚ they're sometimes like that. They can be sweet and affectionate‚ but they want affection on their terms‚ they want to eat and play and sleep on their own clock‚ and we puny‚ inferior humans have little say in the matter.There's a reason why we have obedience schools for dogs and not for cats. Maine coon or Bengal‚ Savannah or Siamese‚ ragdoll or sphynx‚ domestic cats of all breeds are largely untrainable little punks who lure us into loving them by blessing us with the honor of stroking their fur and hearing them purr. But perhaps we assume too much when we think cats are full of themselves for no good reason. Maybe they are actually somewhat justified in their snootiness. Maybe they really‚ truly are superior to pretty much every other creature on Earth and that's why they act like it. (Cats‚ if they could talk‚ would be nodding and prodding us along at this point: "Yes‚ yes‚ you're so close. Just a little further now‚ keep going.") Think about it. They're beautiful and graceful‚ but also quick and powerful. They groom constantly so they're almost always clean and their fur even smells good. They can fall from ridiculous heights‚ land on their feet and walk away unscathed. They're wicked good ambush hunters. They can walk completely silently‚ like ninjas‚ then pull out the razor blades on their feet at will and do serious damage in an instant. All of that makes them impressive specimens‚ but ironically it's their total hubris that makes them truly superior. When they feel like it (because cats only do things they feel like doing) they will take on anyone and anything. Big‚ small‚ dangerous‚ fierce—doesn't matter. That unbridled confidence—earned or not—combined with their physique and skill makes them the badasses of the animal world. Want proof? Here ya go: \u201cI love cats‚ they are very brave and there is a challenge in their nature! \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\n\n\u201d — Figen (@Figen) 1660655908 The lightning-fast smackdown is really the cat's weapon of choice‚ isn't it? They're so fast with the swipe-slap‚ it takes their victims by surprise. "Aww‚ you're so cute and cuddly‚ look at y—OUCH!" And then the way they just stand there and stare with their big eyes and their ears back. It's unnerving. Throw in a little hiss or yowl‚ and no thank you. If that video wasn't enough to convince you‚ here's another. The snakes‚ man. I can't get over the snakes. Cats really are better than us and every other living thing‚ basically. And even if they aren't‚ they believe they are‚ which counts just as much. They're either the ultimate creatures or the ultimate conmen. Either way‚ you just don't mess with them. This article originally appeared on 08.17.22

From 1940 to 1945‚ an estimated 1.3 million people were deported to Auschwitz‚ the largest complex of Nazi concentration camps. More than four out of five of those people—at least 1.1 million people—were murdered there.On January 27‚ 1945‚ Soviet forces liberated the final prisoners from these camps—7‚000 people‚ most of whom were sick or dying. Those of us with a decent public education are familiar with at least a few names of Nazi extermination facilities—Auschwitz‚ Dachau‚ Bergen-Belsen—but these are merely a few of the thousands (yes‚ thousands) of concentration camps‚ sub camps‚ and ghettos spread across Europe where Jews and other targets of Hitler's regime were persecuted‚ tortured‚ and killed by the millions. The scale of the atrocity is unfathomable. Like slavery‚ the Holocaust is a piece of history where the more you learn the more horrifying it becomes. The inhumane depravity of the perpetrators and the gut-wrenching suffering of the victims defies description. It almost becomes too much for the mind and heart to take in‚ but it's vital that we push through that resistance. The liberation of the Nazi camps marked the end of Hitler's attempt at ethnic cleansing‚ and the beginning of humanity's awareness about how such a heinous chapter in human history took place. The farther we get from that chapter‚ the more important it is to focus on the lessons it taught us‚ lest we ignore the signs of history repeating itself.Lesson 1: Unspeakable evil can be institutionalized on a massive scalePerhaps the most jarring thing about the Holocaust is how systematized it was. We're not talking about humans slaying other humans in a fit of rage or a small number of twisted individuals torturing people in a basement someplace—this was a structured‚ calculated‚ disciplined‚ and meticulously planned and carried out effort to exterminate masses of people. The Nazi regime built a well-oiled killing machine the size of half a continent‚ and it worked exactly as intended. We often cite the number of people killed‚ but the number of people who partook in the systematic torture and destruction of millions of people is just as harrowing.It has now come out that Allied forces knew about the mass killing of Jews as early as 1942—three years before the end of the war. And obviously‚ there were reports from individuals of what was happening from the very beginning. People often ask why more wasn't done earlier on if people knew‚ and there are undoubtedly political reasons for that. But we also have the benefit of hindsight in asking that question. I can imagine most people simply disbelieving what was actually taking place because it sounds so utterly unbelievable.The lesson here is that we have to question our tendency to disbelieve things that sound too horrible to be true. We have evidence that the worst things imaginable on a scale that seems unfathomable are totally plausible.Lesson 2: Atrocity can happen right under our noses as we go about our daily livesOne thing that struck me as I was reading about the liberation of Auschwitz is that it was a mere 37 miles from Krakow‚ one of the largest cities in Poland. This camp where an average of 500 people a day were killed‚ where bodies were piled up like corded wood‚ where men‚ women‚ and children were herded into gas chambers—and it was not that far from a major population center.And that was just one set of camps. We now know that there were thousands of locations where the Nazis carried out their "final solution‚" and it's not like they always did it way out in the middle of nowhere. A New York Times report on how many more camps there were than scholars originally thought describes what was happening to Jews and marginalized people as the average person went about their daily lives:"The documented camps include not only 'killing centers' but also thousands of forced labor camps‚ where prisoners manufactured war supplies; prisoner-of-war camps; sites euphemistically named 'care' centers‚ where pregnant women were forced to have abortions or their babies were killed after birth; and brothels‚ where women were coerced into having sex with German military personnel."Whether or not the average person knew the full extent of what was happening is unclear. But surely there were reports. And we know how the average person responds to reports‚ even today in our own country.How many news stories have we seen of abuses and inhumane conditions inside U.S. immigrant detention camps? What is our reaction when the United Nations human rights chief visits our detention facilities and comes away "appalled"? It's a natural tendency to assume things simply can't be that bad—that's undoubtedly what millions of Germans thought as well when stories leaked through the propaganda.Lesson 3: Propaganda works incredibly wellPropaganda has always been a part of governance‚ as leaders try to sway the general populace to support whatever they are doing. But the Nazis perfected the art and science of propaganda‚ shamelessly playing on people's prejudices and fears and flooding the public with mountains of it.Hermann Goering‚ one of Hitler's top political and military figures‚ explained in an interview late in his life that such manipulation of the masses isn't even that hard."The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders‚" he said. "That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country."Terrifyingly true‚ isn't it? This is why we have to stay vigilant in the face of fear-mongering rhetoric coming from our leaders. When an entire religion or nationality or ethnic group is painted as "dangerous" or "criminal" or "terrorists‚" we have to recognize that we are being exposed to the same propaganda used to convince Germans that the Nazis were just trying to protect them. Safety and security are powerful human desires that make it easy to justify horrible acts.Hitler was also great at playing the victim. While marching through Europe‚ conquering countries and rounding up millions of innocent people to exterminate‚ he claimed that Germany was the one under attack. Blatant anti-Semitic rhetoric surely fired up Hitler's core supporters‚ but the message to the average German was that this was all being done in the name of protecting the homeland‚ rather than a quest for a world-dominating master race.Lesson 4: Most of us are in greater danger of committing a holocaust than being a victim of oneI had to pause when this realization hit me one day. As fairly average white American‚ I am in the majority in my country. And as strange as it is to say‚ that means I have more in common with the Germans who either committed heinous acts or capitulated to the Nazis than I do with the Jews and other targets of the Nazi party. That isn't to say that I would easily go along with mass genocide‚ but who's to say that I could fully resist the combination of systematic dehumanization‚ propaganda‚ and terrorism that led to the Holocaust? We all like to think we'd be the brave heroes hiding the Anne Franks of the world in our secret cupboards‚ but the truth is we don't really know what we would have done.Check out what this Army Captain who helped liberate a Nazi camp said about his bafflement at what the Germans‚ "a cultured people" allowed to happen:"I had studied German literature while an undergraduate at Harvard College. I knew about the culture of the German people and I could not‚ could not really believe that this was happening in this day and age; that in the twentieth century a cultured people like the Germans would undertake something like this. It was just beyond our imagination... – Captain (Dr.) Philip Leif - 3rd Auxiliary Surgical Group‚ First ArmySome say that we can gauge what we would have done by examining what we're doing right now‚ and perhaps they are right. Are we speaking out against our government's cruel family separations that traumatize innocent children? Do we justify travel bans from entire countries because we trust that it's simply our leadership trying to keep us safe? Do we buy into the "Muslims are terrorists" and "undocumented immigrants are criminals" rhetoric?While it's wise to be wary of comparing current events to the Holocaust‚ it's also wise to recognize that the Holocaust didn't start with gas chambers. It started with "othering‚" scapegoating‚ and fear-mongering. We have to be watchful not only for signs of atrocity‚ but for the signs leading up to it.Lesson 5: Teaching full and accurate history mattersThere are people who deny that the Holocaust even happened‚ which is mind-boggling. But there are far more people who are ignorant to the true horrors of it. Reading first-hand accounts of both the people who survived the camps and those who liberated them is perhaps the best way to begin to grasp the scope of what happened.One small example is Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower's attempt to describe what he saw when he visited Ohrdruf‚ a sub-camp of Buchenwald:"The things I saw beggar description. While I was touring the camp I encountered three men who had been inmates and by one ruse or another had made their escape. I interviewed them through an interpreter. The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation‚ cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering as to leave me a bit sick. In one room‚ where they were piled up twenty or thirty naked men‚ killed by starvation‚ George Patton would not even enter. He said that he would get sick if he did so. I made the visit deliberately‚ in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever‚ in the future‚ there develops a tendency to charge these allegations merely to 'propaganda.'"And of course‚ the most important narratives to read and try to digest are the accounts of those who survived the camps. Today‚ 200 survivors of Auschwitz gathered to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its liberation. They warned about the rise in anti-Semitism in the world and how we must not let prejudice and hatred fester. Imagine having to make such a warning seven decades after watching family and friends being slaughtered in front of you.Let's use this anniversary as an opportunity to dive deeper into what circumstances and environment enabled millions of people to be killed by one country's leadership. Let's learn the lessons the Holocaust has to teach us about human nature and our place in the creation of history. And let's make darn sure we do everything in our power to fend off the forces that threaten to lead us down a similarly perilous path.This article originally appeared on 01.27.20

“Reading Rainbow” might have had its last episode in 2006‚ but LeVar Burton hasn’t stopped being a book advocate. The actor and beloved host has spoken out against the unprecedented levels of books banned in schools throughout the country—acting as executive producer do the 2023 documentary “The Right to Read‚” and has partnered with the nonprofit MoveOn.org to create a limited-edition T-shirt that reads “LeVar Burton Says Read Banned Books.”And recently on “Jimmy Kimmel Live‚” Burton brought attention to the subject by resurrecting the popular kids show. Only this is unlike any “Reading Rainbow” segment you’ve seen before. In the clip (which features the well known “Reading Rainbow” song with a few tongue-in-cheek lyric tweaks) Barton shows a group of kids a selection of banned children’s books‚ and shares the questionable reasons why they’re banned‚ including: “Harriet The Spy‚” because it “encourages spying.” “Charlotte's Web‚” because “talking pigs is disrespectful to God”“Stella Read Me A Story‚” because the author’s last name is Gay.According to AL.com‚ this last title removal was done in error‚ since the last name showed up in a keyword search‚ but only further shows how flawed the system is if this is the basis for which books are being tossed out of the children’s section.Burton also asks the kids why they think adults might be banning these types of books. “Because they don't want their kids to learn and be successful when they’re older‚” one kids says. Another adds‚ “They don't want their kids to be smarter than them.” If they had it their way‚ these kids would rather ban “racism‚ anti-diversity‚” and “Barbies‚ because when you cut their hair you get their DNA and it’s weird.” Watch the full clip below‚ which also shows the group take a little field trip down to a school board meeting so they can see exactly how a book gets banned: See on Instagram What makes this skit so impactful (other than hitting peak nostalgia) is that Burton is actual involving kids in the discussion‚ and allowing them to express their own ideas and opinions on the topic. Empowering younger generations to make their own informed decisions does far more for their future that strict censorship. This is clearly something Burton believes‚ and the reason why so many of us love him.

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