How do I ask for better communication? And how do I know when enough is enough?

Put the lack of communication in context of its consequences, e.g., “You didn’t tell me seeing this movie was the most important thing to you this month, so I thought it was negotiable. It seems like you expect me to just know what you’re thinking or feeling, which sets me up for failure.” You can always ask for better communication. (Others can ask it of you, too.) If you keep asking, and it keeps not happening… it’s also up to you when you’ve had enough. Everyone has flaws. A wise person once said to me about picking a life partner: you know they’re a keeper if you can put up with their flaws and you can’t live without their virtues.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.