
My dear cousin, Magic 8-Ball®, says “cannot predict now.”
Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
The Greeks had many different words for love, such as agápe (and love of god for man & vice versa, and “to will the good of another” –Aquinas), éros (romantic, sexual love), philia (affectionate regard between equals, such as friends), and xenia (hospitality for guests and foreigners), among others. Platonic could be just about any of these except éros, but most likely philia. For more info on philia read Plato’s Nicomachean Ethics. O’Neill Library 5th floor at B430.A5 O7.
It’s necessary to have hope – the faith that one’s actions will influence results. When people are either optimistic (i.e. “things will improve regardless of my participation”) or pessimistic (“things will get worse regardless of my participation”), it can be hard to shake them out of a sitting-on-the-sidelines mindset. Remind them of things they *have* had an influence on, no matter how small.
Making big life decisions is way stressful, but understanding that your decision right now is not final and does not define the rest of your life may help you de-stress. Life is long and people change jobs, careers and goals as they gain more experience. Also the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) would love to help you!
It depends on how soon his birthday is. If you have some time, do some sleuthing: what does he enjoy doing? What does he lack? If you don’t have much time, treat him to dinner and a (pick one): movie, concert, play, laser-tag, day-trip up a mountain, other (depending on what he might most enjoy).
It’s a hard moment right now for queer and trans folks almost everywhere, with so many public figures and state legislatures eroding hard-won rights. Make sure your own connections with your community are strong, and help the community educate BC. For ways to connect I recommended exploring LGBTQ support at BC: bc.edu/LGBTQ.
If you are actually experiencing voices in your head (and not just complaining about the noise on Level 3 in O’Neill), you may want to connect with professionals at Counseling Services (bit.ly/BC-counseling). If it is actual voices, I recommend heading up to Level 5, which is a quiet zone.