Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
There is no need to work in an investment bank if you don’t want to! You should talk to the BC Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career). They can help you to figure out a career path that will let you use your passions. In the meantime, you should also consider joining one of BC’s many dance-related student organizations (bit.ly/BCStudentOrg).
♪ ♪ Dime si conmigo quiere hacer travesuras, ah
Que se ha vuelto una locura
Y tu esta bien dura
Y no me puedo contener…
Y no me puedo contener… ♪ ♪
Sorry to say that you can’t make your toes smaller. And please don’t try to. People have crippled themselves trying to make their toes and feet smaller. Give your toes lots of room and enjoy their glorious shape. If anyone makes fun of your toes, you have my permission to give them a (gentle) kick.
IAAWNAD. You really don’t want to be getting medical advice from a Wall! Please consider discussing this with your doctor, or visiting University Health Services (bit.ly/BostonCollegeHealth). And best wishes.
I often turn to the OED when I’m curious about the history of a word like “woe” (bit.ly/OED-woe – sign-in required). It’s quite an old word, dating at least back to bronze age proto-Iranian, and appears independently in non-Indo-European languages as well, suggesting its derivation is onomatopoetic, that is, it’s based on the sound of human expressions of sadness & grief. The Yiddish form (“Weh,” as in “Oy Weh!”) probably has more currency now than the English “Woe,” which is a little archaic. In recent history, Jews have good reason to be standouts in acute woe, and yet they’re also standouts in expressions of humor. It’s a mystery. Unfortunately, humankind seems to distribute woe generously, so there is no one group or person who can claim to be the most woeful in all of history.
According to the Wall’s friends at Parking and Transportation, it’s mostly two things. The first is lack of space on campus, which creates a lot more demand than supply. The second is more subtle: prices are partly high to encourage people who can to use other ways to get to campus, like the campus bus system, public transit, bikes, or feet–that makes for a greener campus, a healthier community…but it also helps with the first issue. The walls at T & P are sympathetic, as is this Wall.
If you aspire to do this type of work – and who wouldn’t – perhaps you would like to look into a career in libraries. Reference Librarians specialize in being prepared to answer any questions that come at them, and the excitement of never knowing what you’ll need to research (and learn) next is real.
Full agreement on both counts. But remember to add in a few veggies and other stuff to have a full and balanced life.
HO
The BC Libraries do offer ebooks. It sounds as though you are a looking for books through OverDrive, since you mentioned the Libby app and the easiest way to browse these books is to go to our OverDrive site (bc.overdrive.com). There you will find lots of ebooks and audiobooks too. Happy reading!
Join a student group! BC is fortunate to have a ton of great student groups that you can connect with, including groups on everything from acting (Dramatics Society) to musical theater (Musical Theatre Wing) to the oldest collegiate improv group in the country (My Mother’s Fleabag). Check out the Student Organizations website for these & others: bit.ly/BCStudentOrg
I would argue that most employment can be approached in an honorable manner. You will have to come to your own understanding of what is “respectable” and the standards you need to maintain to respect yourself. Do contact the BC Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) for help in your search.
Ask Professor Yuan Yin. Really. It’s that easy!
One of the Wall’s acolytes reports that this phrase dates back to before World War II in Britain. Urban Dictionary and Wikipedia have pretty good articles, and there are lots of awesome tattoos online.
I recommend three things. 1: go to the NBC Page program website: bit.ly/NBC-page, and 2: talk to the friendly folks at the BC Career Center. bit.ly/BC-career. 3: Go to the Spring Career Fair (Now! 1/24-25) at the Heights Room in Corcoran Commons. On Thursday, 1/25, there will be representatives from entertainment companies. Maybe NBC will be there. Ask the Career Center.
Do check with the French Consulate in Boston to see if you need one (they have a Visa Wizard!), and to apply if you do: (bit.ly/BosFrenchConsVisas). And Bon Voyage!
The Woods College of Advancing Studies (bit.ly/BC-Woods) is part of BC. It offers 13 undergraduate majors, 5 graduate programs, and 9 professional studies certificate programs. It is designed for students who have to work full time or have other daytime commitments. The courses are as rigorous as any others at BC (many of the professors also teach regular graduate and undergraduate courses.) Notable alumnus: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.
If you know you’ll “fail,” you should probably examine the goal. Is it really something you need to achieve, or is it something you think you *should* achieve (That is, is it really relevant to you?) Is it achievable? Maybe it’s too big & needs to be broken into steps or parts. Maybe in the past your resolutions have been vague, so it’s hard to say whether or how you’d achieve them. Or maybe they didn’t include a date, so you could always let it slide a little further until suddenly it was December 31 again. If it’s genuinely meaningful to you, specific, achievable, reasonable, and time-specific, and you give yourself a plan and some leeway, you have a better chance of succeeding. I believe in you. How about a New Month resolution on Feb 1?
Those are the only sort of bears I want to meet in the forest!
I welcome and encourage happiness. As they say, smile, and the world smiles with you. Happiness isn’t a permanent state, though; remember to let yourself experience other emotions without worry. For instance, when you’re sad (and sadness is inevitable, even for walls), know that it will pass, and happiness will return. This song might help: bit.ly/mcferrin-be-happy
