![Class of 2020 grad here... Thank you, to the person/people behind these notes... Your words make a difference... -[redacted]](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/IMG_1135.jpg)
Thank you, thank you! And welcome back. We miss the class of 2020, but we know you’re off to beautiful things.

Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library

I’m sorry you’re having a hard time making friends here. 🙁 Every community will be full of sub-communities; humans are tribal that way. Walls both protect and exclude, and groups do the same thing. I’ve noticed that doors in residence halls close automatically. That’s kind of isolating all by itself. Maybe you could read or study in a lounge, or prop your door open, and be open to what transpires, including conversation.

You made me laugh! We all worry about this sort of thing. The possibilities seem to be: to ignore their request, to respect their request, or to finesse the request by, perhaps, making a donation to a cause in the amount you would have spent on a gift. Which works best – depends on the individual.

Lots of different takes on that. Here’s one from Tibetan Buddhism which is pretty detailed: https://bit.ly/bc-bardo

$1000 to ten families sounds nice. There’s a chance this would have a larger lasting impact providing it to more families than one. It is also more likely due to the smaller amount, that this would be spent in the community so it would in turn help small business as well.

I don’t really feel qualified to comment, but you can take a look at what lots of scholars think using our resources here: https://libguides.bc.edu/bible-quick-start

I’ll had a chat with a friendly wall in the main library office. They told me that BC has a contract with Creative Office Pavilions. I don’t think they sell to the individual customer, but you could call them and have a chat: 617.956.4100.

There are some great suggestions here: https://bit.ly/bc-handwriting. One of my helpers suggests that Slowing. Way. Down. can help. You might also try different combinations of pen/pencil and paper until you find something more comfortable. Way too many suggestions here: https://bit.ly/bc-top-5-pens, but focus on the Top 5 Pens in the Store for starters.

Try leaving them delicious treats! Squirrels like nuts (still in the shell, if possible), seeds, fruits, and vegetables like carrots, so leave those outside somewhere you can easily view. You’ll have squirrel visitors in no time, and can live your best Snow White life. Just be sure to feed them from afar and not too often — you don’t want them getting too comfortable with you so that they can’t survive in the wild.

Oh man, discussion of that is a whole branch of philosophy. I can’t settle it for you, but I can point you to the ongoing arguments about it, because answers depend heavily on what kind of truth you mean. Survey of thinking on truth: https://bit.ly/bc-truth, more technical survey: https://bit.ly/bc-truth1, arguments for and against relativism: https://bit.ly/bc-truth2