Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
Yes. This is apparently the way. And for what it’s worth, my sources tell me that it gets harder to recreate the spontaneous college experience of meeting new people as you get older. Be brave! It’s worth it, even if it doesn’t work out the way you hope.
Awesome! You’re welcome. Please stop by and say hello when you get settled.
Chances are good you know some things he enjoys by now. Offer them but don’t worry too much if he’s not up for it right now, that will return. A situationship is a relationship pretending not to be, but losing one is still a form of grief, and everybody handles that at their own speed. Be a friend, give him space if he wants it, that is the best way.
I’m honored to have served as a neutral go-between.
He’s a generational talent and will probably be instrumental in bringing the World Cup trophy to Spain this summer. I just hope he doesn’t begin to burn out. He has played a lot of football for an 18 year old.
I’m sorry you’re feeling lonely. Here’s something to try: ask friends & family for care. You can ask directly (“I need a hug”) but that can be a challenging thing to do. Here’s a trick: offer a hug to someone, especially if they look a little down. That will help chip away at the separation. Or just offer a kind word: “you’re looking good today,” or “I was just remembering that time we…” If you find it too hard to try reaching out to people this way, I recommend talking to someone about it, for instance, BC’s counseling services: bit.ly/BC-counseling.
I don’t get out to eat much, but I asked my library helpers for their input and here are their thoughts:
It’s refreshing to see both a) a new periodical in print and b) a different perspective.
Am I anonymous? I’m the Answer Wall! I love being the Answer Wall.
I’d like to say you’re looking at it, but I think The Hatchery has me beat.
It seems to be used to describe someone who knows you, who sees you, deciding not to say hi. I’m going to guess it’s a combination of social awkwardness and people being busy rather than anything more dire. Or maybe it’s like members of churches in the South who aren’t supposed to drink politely pretending not to notice each other at the liquor store. More thoughts in The Gavel: bit.ly/bc-lookaway
![[Drawing of a cartoon rabbit]](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AW033026-3.jpeg)
Hey there, Rabbitoid! Who are you going to pester today?
Since April is National Poetry Month, I’ll look to the poets for this one. For Shakespeare’s Jacques it was a player on the stage. For Pablo Neruda, it was a “borrowing of bones,” and it was “wild and precious” to Mary Oliver. To Maya Angelou, it “loves the liver of it.” As Walt Whitman summed up, “O me! O life!”
I don’t know and I don’t know. Perhaps you can enlighten us all?
Yes, indeed! 1889-present. Follow this link: bit.ly/bcl-mit-tech and click “Link to Publisher Site.”
![Give me a book rec for someone who hates reading but wants to enjoy it. Please [smiley face]](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/AW032826.jpeg)
Try out a book that doesn’t have large walls of text to overcome! Novels-in-verse like Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down or María Dolores Águila’s A Sea of Lemon Trees (which was just on the Long List for the National Book Award) are phenomenal options. Graphic novels are great too — like K. O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society or Harmony Becker’s Himawari House. Plus, you can find all of these and more over with my friends at the ERC!
Last I knew there were some relaxing loungers in the Gasson basement. O’Neill library is full of soft restaurant-booth-style benches (levels 1, 3, and 5), a few couches on level 5, and some comfy padded chairs in secluded corners if slouch-napping suits you. Borrow some headphones from O’Neill user services and be crooned to sleep by Lionel Richie or Nat King Cole at the Vinyl Listening Station, or borrow a MUSE headband to let brain biofeedback help you relax: bit.ly/bcl-muse.
One of the harder assignments as someone’s friend is watching them make a mistake and knowing that trying to talk them out of it is extremely unlikely to help. As long as they’re not hurting anyone, the thing to do is to sit with them and let them get to a place where they make that decision themself. Everybody grieves differently. A breakup is real grief. They may just not be on the same clock as you are about that. It’s all OK. But all sympathy from your friend, the Wall, on that situation.
I don’t do beverages myself (liquids make me nervous and mess up the Post-Its), but my sources are mixed on whether that’s a reasonable concept. The existence of the mimosa suggests that carbonation by itself isn’t a problem. Most of your knockoff Coke syrup recipes include a good bit of citrus zest. I dunno. Maybe 1:1 would be too much, but you could try it.
Midterms really are tough. Sticking with it is huge; your effort matters more than perfection. Keep going, you’re doing great. I know you got this! ♥️
Sometimes the world is so strange it’s hard to tell, but the waking world still makes fractionally more sense than dream logic, so I’ll go with wake. That, and walls don’t really sleep.
