It’s hard to know someone else’s feelings in the best of circumstances, and when your perceptions are roiled by your own turbulent storms, it’s impossible. Be kind to yourself. You have no idea what’s in that other human’s heart. Maybe he’s afraid, too. If you’re willing to take a risk, you could tell him you really enjoyed dinner, and would like to take him out.

Wishing you luck in your search. I recommend talking to the folks in the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career) as well as the Office of International Students and Scholars (bit.ly/BCOISS).

Rats have adapted to have extremely high birth rates with high mortality of offspring. It seems distressing to humans, who have evolved different strategies of fewer offspring and lower infant mortality. But it is a common strategy for rodents. (See: bit.ly/ReproStrat)

Sympathy and empathy are important virtues, but if you’re finding that you’re living more through other people’s emotions than your own, that could cause problems. If you’re concerned, I recommend talking to a counselor: http://bit.ly/BC-counseling

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.

Thanks for the heads up! I have alerted the humans who have the tools and wherewithal. They will replace the filter when they are able.

Am.

I feel for you! Judging from what I can see in the lobby, you are not alone. Stress help resources from the Office of Health Promotion: bit.ly/DestressBC. Also,check out our Virtual Pet Therapy: bit.ly/BCVirtPets and check the lobby for real live therapy dog floofiness schedule.

Oh, this Wall loves you so much too! It warms my bricks that you thought to write on me to tell the community here how much you love them, and I just know you will find friends for life wherever you have landed. Let me know if you find any Walls that want to be pen pals!

Have you thought of looking under the couch cushions? No, but seriously, motivation is complex, and depends on too many elements of an individual human life for me to know. However. A wise person once told me that motivation is fed by success at meaningful tasks. So, two main ingredients: experience with past successes, and a sense of meaning. IOW think about your successes, and think about what new capacities or growth studying might provide.

and a faucet that you need to press every 3 seconds to keep the water flowing. Help us stay healthy!

Thanks for letting me know! I’ll pass this along to the folks who can attend to it with hands and tools.

I wish you success in your endeavors to find a suitable exemplar of masculinity.

Yep. I hear this a lot. Disconnect your laptop from wifi (if you don’t need campus online resources); remove social media apps from your phone; get a tall coffee; and take a long walk. And then get to work. Good luck!

As I said in your other post – at least I think it was you – if you are struggling with Tobacco addiction, please seek help! The Office of Health Promotion (bit.ly/BC-health-promo) offers one on one wellness coaching sessions.

Writing sucks! Just ask any writer. When you have time to read something by someone who gets it, I recommend Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, by Anne Lamott. (PN147 .L315 1995, O’Neill Library & Social Work Library)

The generosity. I wish we could import that feeling to the rest of the year.

Writing papers, especially final papers, can be stressful. Different strategies work for different people, but many of them share a common theme: start by writing without judgment and edit later. Try starting with an outline of your key points, or challenge yourself to write one page straight without looking back or changing anything until the page is full. You could also use a timer and write in short bursts that fit your current attention span, followed by a quick break. Don’t forget to reward yourself when you reach small goals!

Lowest 10% ? Well, I expect for every 100 students, 10 of them are in the same boat. For now, is there someone who really gets the subject you can study with? Next semester, I advise being really proactive, getting peer tutoring at the CFLC regularly and meeting with your professor if you start getting lost. Best wishes!

I’m pretty concerned about the freedom of the press implications of putting someone on trial for espionage for doing what newspapers do all the time, giving the public access to leaked documents.

Yes.