Refuse to pay the fanum tax, and you’ll be on your way to taking over the world.

Lots of people are cheerful on the outside and struggling on the inside, it’s a thing humans do. I can almost guarantee that if you try telling people how you really are they’ll be supportive and kind. Ask for help. It’s OK to ask for help.

Haven’t watched it, but I hear Ohio is nice.

Sometimes it can feel like it, but that doesn’t make it true. Sometimes all you need is a reminder that you’re not. See a friend. But you can also go to other to talk about it too, either your friends or people here. You could talk either to a student wellness coach (bit.ly/BCStudentWell) or a counselor at BC Counseling Services (bit.ly/BC-counseling), either of which would be confidential and supportive.

Being your true self. Caution: beauty is not something that makes you attractive to everyone, popular, or universally loved. It’s a way to find the those who accept you unconditionally as you. Though it won’t be a crowd, it will be more than enough.

It’s like landing a plane: any breakup you walk away from was successful. Feel your feelings and treat them as important, because they are. You might be sad or angry or both at once. You might feel OK for a while and then suddenly discover you feel worse. All of that is normal. Connect with your friends. Eat your favorite foods. Maybe make a point of doing a couple things you enjoy that your ex didn’t. But most importantly: don’t beat yourself up about it whether you were the dumper or the dumpee. People and situations change and you have a right to be happy and with someone who cares about you. It also really sucks to think you’re with the right person and discover they suddenly don’t agree. All good wishes for you!

As a joke, very silly! If true, you might want to think about seeing a medical professional.

There are a lot of different ideas on this. I can repeat what I’ve said before and still believe though: I find meaning in being supportive, because I’m a wall. What you find meaningful might change throughout your life. Ask yourself the Father Himes questions: What am I good at? What brings me joy? Who does the world need me to be?

Generative AI is certainly pervasive (some would even say insidious). We’re quickly learning its limitations, though, (bit.ly/ai-knowledge-collapse). And in spite of updates, it falls far short of human creativity, because it only generates sentences based on the probability of word association in data sets of what’s already been written about online. But perhaps ChatGPT has an answer for you: bit.ly/elle-inventions.

As I understand it the potato cannot generate power all on its own, it needs two metals to form a circuit (probably wires!). The potato is a battery that causes chemical energy to be converted into electricity. There’s a book at the ERC called “Fun Experiments with Electricity” that could be a fun read to further understand this phenomenon.

Life is a remarkable phenomenon, isn’t it? Use it well, ideally for the betterment of lives everywhere.

I think baseball player Oscar Gamble said it best: they don’t think it be like it is but it do.

Great question. Since it’s nice out, getting outside for a date can be great. You can always get a ferry to the Harbor Islands (some of them have some pretty cools walls I’ve been told). Or you could always find one of the many ice cream places around Boston. Or, ask her if she’s got something she’s been wanting to do.

Wheeeeeeels! As I noted in my answer a few years ago: bit.ly/bcl-doors-wheels. I love a debate with low stakes and high ambiguity, because redefinition keeps it alive. All the gears in clocks and watches beat doors without the help of lego or car wheels! But if eyes are the doors to the soul… .

I have never left O’Neill Library, but one of my assistants tells me that if you like seasons nothing beats New England.

Commencement is such a bittersweet time of year. We are happy for the new beginnings while we honor that it is an ending of sorts. Keep the group chat going! All friendships shift over time, but that doesn’t mean there are not more adventures in your future. Be gentle with yourself and your friends while you navigate this transition period. Practice good self-care!

Agreed: Congratulations! A time to celebrate!

I try not to play favorites and I also love lots of different kinds of books, so if you ask me on another day I’ll probably give a different answer. Today I’ll say my favorite is The Landmark Thucydides. It’s a history of the war between Athens and Sparta and a lot of it is about armies moving back and forth around really small towns in every part of ancient Greece. What makes me love it is the maps, which show you where all those places are, and the chapters explaining all of the things about Greek armies the author assumes you know. Least favorite? We’ve got some stuff on eugenics that was classified as science when it was published in the 19th century–not even going to name names. My fave is the red book on the shelf to my left.

Thanks for the love! ❤️ In brief: you can get an alumni library card for borrowing books at the O’Neill main desk, and there are several databases available through the Alumni Association. Here are more details: https://bit.ly/alumni_guests.

No worries, you’re not alone–lots of my helpers feel that way every time they do a search. A couple of pieces of advice. 1) Your application should be about how you help them solve a problem or problems. 2) Use your cover letter to point to how your resume and experience match what they’re asking for, or rewrite your resume so it’s in their terms (or both). 3) Do not be shy about applying if you don’t meet all of the qualifications. Good luck!