
Love the confidence! I believe in you.

Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library

Love has a great capacity to find you when you’re being yourself and not worrying about it. It also tends to have awkward timing. Be patient, be yourself. There are many possible someones for everyone.

Solid choice.

This question is a pressing one for most people, so it’s a great service to them that you asked. I wish I had an answer. The difficulty is it’s different for everyone. Perhaps rephrase the question: how can I find my purpose and meaning? Father Himes (1947-2022), a beloved professor of theology at BC, said to ask yourself three key questions: What brings me joy? What am I good at? To whom can I be of service? Your meaning and purpose is where those three overlap. Here’s his famous lecture: bit.ly/himes-3key

It’s so hard to make recommendations like that in general, but here are a couple of thoughts. 1) This Field Guide to Boston is a pretty great introduction to the area, and it includes neighborhoods, places, and activities to think about. https://www.wbur.org/news/section/field-guide-to-boston 2) One of the things about Boston is that it has loads of people who are college-aged, and they tend to collect. Maybe try hanging out around Trident Books on Newbury Street on a Friday or Saturday and follow the vibe and/or the crowds.

My library helpers told me this office supports first-year students as they transition into educational, social, and cultural life at Boston College. You can find out more about the programs, initiatives, and resources they provide here: bit.ly/first-year-office.

There are so many kinds of love! So many words in so many different languages. Here is a short poem about different kinds of love in Arabic by Philip Metres, who recently graced Gasson Hall with a reading:
)
because there is a word for love in this tongue
that entwines two people as one
)
& there is a word for love in this tongue
that nests in the chambers of the heart
)
& a word for love in this tongue that wanders
the earth, for love in this tongue in which you lose
)
yourself in this tongue & a word that carries
sorrow within its vowels & a word for love
)
that exudes from your pores & a word
for love that shares its name with falling
–Philip Metres, from Shrapnel Maps

I don’t have an Instagram account, but my helpers and I have run a blog (library.bc.edu/answerwall/) for a few years, which shares all the delightful questions I’ve received and my answers. If you can’t tell, I’m a bit old school.