Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
It’s wonderful to have you back! We don’t like to be left behind when you travel, so do know that many of our resources are available across the globe. Go in through the library homepage (library.bc.edu), and you should be able to access our ejournals, eBooks, and databases. Reference help is also available by email, phone and 24/7 chat at libguides.bc.edu/ask-a-librarian.
All you have to do is believe you’ve found The Truth. Oh, do you want other people to follow it? In that case, you have to believe utterly in the truth, have sufficient charisma that a few stalwarts begin to support you, and your message, values, and practices have to appeal to enough people that you gain a significant number of followers. If you want your religion to last beyond your own lifetime, that’s when it gets really tricky: you’ll need some sacred texts and/or objects, ritual language and practices, and an inner core of trusted believers to carry the torch beyond your demise. For more info, read Max Weber On Charisma & Institution Building (O’Neill Library HM131 .W38).
Being there for others requires knowing when someone wants you there. It is easy to help people who ask for help, so be alert to what people aren’t saying. It’s okay to ask questions as long as you don’t pry (okay, if they seem distressed maybe pry a little). Alternatively, if you know someone needs help and you aren’t there for them, ask yourself why- pry a little into yourself. Understanding what someone really needs and overcoming your reasons for not helping will go a long way in being there for others.
Am I wrong in thinking humans find boyfriends under cabbage leaves? This is what my parents told me. Perhaps there are many potential boyfriends *not* under cabbage leaves. I should think finding them would be something like finding friends: speak to a variety, and when you find common interests, let more conversations follow. Keep in mind, however, that I am a Wall, and Walls might not act quite like humans.
Rather than trying to find a good roommate, think about whether they are a compatible roommate for you. Consider your personality and what you want in a roommate and then have a candid conversation with your potential roommate. Be open as part of that process. It can be tempting to focus on the other person as the root of any conflict, but try to acknowledge how your future roommate will see your habits and actions as well. If you find someone that you can have this sort of honest conversation with, I think you’ll find you’re on the right path to a successful roommate relationship.
My understanding is that hookups can happen with people someone knows well or with people they just met. There doesn’t seem to be a social protocol around this issue. So, you should wait until YOU are comfortable approaching him about having a hookup. Then it’s up to him to tell you whether or not HE is comfortable. The key is for both of you to wait until you are both comfortable and not under the influence of substances or external pressures.
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.
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
I apologize from the bottom of my foundations. I have spoken with my library assistants, and they will make sure the dispenser is stocked more dependably.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a yes or no answer to this question. It is a topic that is still under frequent discussion legally, ethically, and amongst academics who study gambling. The answer may also depend on the exact style of Fantasy Football you are referring to. To learn more about the current state of this question, check out the recent report from the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies (http://bit.ly/RutgersReport) and the recent report of the Massachusetts Special Commission on Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports Gaming and Daily Fantasy Sports (http://bit.ly/MAGamblingReport).
As a Wall, of course I’m a big fan of Pink Floyd, and have always loved their song “Fearless,” (bit.ly/floyd-fearless) especially when I need encouragement to do something difficult. I assume there are particular things you’d like to do but have hesitated out of fear or anxiety. Fear & anxiety are quite common, and can be hard to fight, and often return against our will. If you find that’s the case, being fearless might not be an option, but doing things in spite of fear always is. That’s called courage. If you’re interested in recent research, check out Anxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear & Anxiety, by neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux. (O’Neill Library RC531 .L344 2015)
Sheer poetry! Everyone should adopt a resolution like this. The Answer Wall loves stillness, and though I enjoy settling, building engineers tell me settling walls and foundations can cause structural problems. But you humans, please enjoy settling into your communities, and please enjoy stillness. I can’t recommend stillness enough. You might enjoy the book The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere, by the travel writer Pico Iyer. (O’Neill and TML Libraries BJ1496 .I84 2014)
Will your head explode if I told you this was a good thing? College is the time to sort things out, and the process you’re going through is part of you becoming the person you are meant to be. it’s not always linear, and you may change your mind; your major is not your career – it’s not even very likely your first job; and there are probably many majors that would work out fine for you. Major advice from the Advising Center (bit.ly/AdvisingCtrMajors); from the Career Center (bit.ly/CareerCtrMajors). Best wishes!
The Cardinal of Boston, Sean Patrick O’Malley, wrote a blog entry about civility in response to the President’s comments: bit.ly/Cardinal-civility. Many other officials–especially of the nations and regions named–have responded as well. A group of African ambassadors called the comments “outrageous, racist and xenophobic,” and it is on the agenda of the upcoming African Union meetings in Addis Ababa next week. The Haitian ambassador said the comments were “misinformed or miseducated” about Haiti. There has been no officially released statement by BC; however, many universities, BC included, hosted events honoring Martin Luther King this week; perhaps honoring him was response enough.
Sorry to dispel your romantic notions of my glamorous life, but I just (well, I have my people just) type on regular computers, and then we have a template that allows printing on the post-its. Typewriters are having a vintage moment these days, so you could look on various vintage/bidding sites and see if there’s one that appeals to you.
The usual rules apply: it helps to have professional experience, and it likely matters who you know as much as what you can do. The old line is: “Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.” For some day-to-day examples of what the life is like, you might try this: bit.ly/bc-inside-pg or this: bit.ly/bc-cyber-athlete. And if you succeed, you might also have a career as a coach: bit.ly/bc-edge
![NY's resolution: Ask out _____ ______ [redacted]](http://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/aw011818-5.jpg)
That’s a S.M.A.R.T. goal: Specific, Measurable, Assignable… OK, not sure how Realistic, but why worry? And you didn’t specify a Timeframe; hopefully, you won’t use that as a way to avoid your fears by putting it off indefinitely. Good luck! (Sorry about the black pen: no names on the Wall, please.)
