Oh gosh, that sounds so stressful! My best wishes to everyone working through this process!

Sometimes it feels easier to observe from a distance than to take a risk on love. But the best writing always comes from lived experience and some risks are worth taking.

Уучлаарай! Би монгол хэлэндээ тийм ч чадваргүй

Unrequited love is one of the hard parts of being a person with a heart and emotions. Moving on and looking towards a brighter future is a good plan. It make take time, but these feelings do fade.

My pronouns are they/them. Thank you for asking!

If you make a strong case for it, some people might agree! Here’s a start with some books in our collection: bit.ly/BC-capitalism-racism

¡Hola amigos! ¿Qué tal?

I don’t get around much, as you can imagine, but I did hear some amused whispers from the Mod Walls.

I dance very, very slowly. In fact I don’t move. But if you don’t mind your partner not moving, I would love to.

After the horrific shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston in 2015, Chad Williams, a history professor at Brandeis, began the historian-crowd-sourced #CharlestonSyllabus, which in just a few days amassed several hundred titles. Here they all are in a WorldCat List: bit.ly/BC-charleston. Some more recent titles worth pursuing: Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson; The Disordered Cosmos, by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein; We Do This Till We Free Us, by Mariame Kaba; Stamped from the Beginning, by Ibram Kendi.

IDK. Predicting the future is not my forte. You want my cousin the Magic 8-ball.

Suggestions from close to far: Boston – really get to know it and spend time walking around this walkable city; Cape Ann – explore the coastal history and walk the beaches and rocky headland; Berkshires – so many museums and historic houses; Quebec City – if getting into (and out of) Canada is doable, its like a little bit of Europe not very many hours away.

When the people of that country make it that way: “The ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.” –David Graeber

Isn’t art just an amazing medium to express all the things? Where would humanity be without art? I am so glad you make art and will continue to make art. If you feel yourself slipping into depression, even after envisioning your artist future, may I gently urge you to chat with Counseling Services? They can help you work through these feelings <3 bit.ly/BC-counseling

It seemed like a good idea at the time?

Drake

Only if you want to. It’s also OK to decide you want something else. No judgment here either way. But my human helpers suggest that sex with someone who does care about you can be whole levels more good.

If you kind of like it, ride with it. If this behavior becomes disturbing/unnerving, speak up!

Sounds like a great thing to work on with a peer wellness coach from the Office of Health Promotion (bit.ly/BC-wellness-coach)

Anyways, I just got a girlfriend a few weeks ago. She’s really sweet and I want to do something for her for valentine’s day. But, this ONE mutual friend is slowly ruining everything by being a “Back and forth messenger”, and because we aren’t officially dating, and plan to ask her on a date on Valentine’s day, i’m not too sure this could be a good idea. As well as the fact that some of her “friends” are incredibly annoying (She recognizes this). She’s really nice and I don’t want to ruin things, but I also don’t want to come off as socially awkward. So, to summarize: 1. How do I give her what I want for Valentine’s day without being branded as a “Simp” 2. How do I do this without any of her friends getting in the way. 3. Any other general advice to help? THANK YOU SO MUCH WALL!

To answer your questions in order: 1. Anyone who uses the word “simp” as anything other than a joke is too immature to be commenting on anyone else’s relationship. Ignore those people and do what makes you and your girlfriend happy. 2. You can choose from two options here: either politely stop commenting on your relationship to these friends so that they have nothing to use as go-betweens and they can’t do anything to interrupt your plans. Or you could decide to involve them and ask for their help planning your Valentine’s date. If it seems like they’re just over-excited for their friend, they might be excited to give you ideas for what she’d enjoy doing as a date. You also don’t need to use their ideas, sometimes just allowing someone to feel heard will help them take a step back. 3. Try not to overthink things. Dating is all about getting to know someone new and having fun together, if you put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect you can end up getting in your own way because the person you’re dating won’t be getting to know the real you. Have a fantastic Valentine’s Day, hopefully everything works out for the best!