In many love stories time is spent together or a friendship develops that grows into romantic affection (see plot of any RomCom from the late ’90s – early ’00s for example). In your case, patience will be your best friend. As singer Doris Day said, “Que Sera Sera” (Whatever will be, will be).

According to their stats, they only accept 221 out of 6,121 applicants. If it were me I would apply to more than one program and keep an open mind!

Focus on being a good person. The specifics of what that looks like for any given man are less important than the basics of being a good human being. BC’s core classes in philosophy and theology have a lot to say about that, but one place to start might be Aristotle’s Ncomachean Ethics. Book II of that is about what is “good” (virtuous) in people. Two specifics, though: 1) Learn to admit when you’re wrong. 2) That thing that needs doing that nobody else wants to do? Do it yourself.

Like beauty, “best” is in the eyes of the beholder (or, in this case, the reader). My helpers tell me that while Sally Rooney’s novels tend to touch on common themes around friendship, romance, class, and more, each book offers something slightly new that might appeal to different readers for different reasons. 

Room, board, and healthcare IS compensation, but whether that’s enough for what an RA does and is responsible for is another issue.

With affection and kind words! Also, maybe send them some snail mail while apart. 

It’s bittersweet when a chapter ends. Your feelings make sense, they will probably continue to fluctuate, which is to be expected. You may be moving away, but your friendships won’t end, they’ll just shift. You have accomplished so much while here at BC. When you were new here, you probably couldn’t predict how many friends and memories you would make. Remember that you can handle whatever the future holds. 

Unfortunately, this is not our area of expertise. Our sweet spot is helping find stuff for research. 

Listen to Taylor Swift’s All Too Well (10 minute version). That should do the trick. 

The egg, laid by a proto-chicken. An interesting aside- was this the result of natural evolution, or did a human intervene?

You may need to get in touch with a chef for this line of questioning. If it helps, you seem like 5/5 to me!

Sometimes it gets stuck on a concept in general, but likely it’s picking up on something from previously in your conversation. Go back through the chat log.

With affection and kind words! Also, maybe send them some snail mail while apart. 

I really couldn’t say.

Studying with breaks for self-care to make the studying more effective. Getting rest, eating good meals, and factoring in whimsy too. We can only memorize and remember so much without taking good care of ourselves. Also, I find flash cards very effective.