u/Mission-Attempt1134

I (18F) just visited my LDR girlfriend for the first time last weekend. I have sickle cell anemia SC genotype and extremely mild symptoms. Though, a major thing I have to look out for is trying my best not to get sick because my sickle cell amplifies it and often causes me to have to go to the ER. My girlfriend had a slight sniffle prior to visiting, we checked her temp as well to be sure, but that is easily explainable by allergies or other low risk factors. I believe I have at the very least a cold but I’ve been getting a fever that’s rising progressively regardless of how I treat it at home and I’m thinking I’ll need much stronger treatment. Has anyone with sickle cell been in frequent close contact or lived with someone who got sick in an almost unnoticeable way? How did you keep yourself from getting very ill while being with them?

I am a figure skater and when we spin anything not well secured can fly off. I’ve currently tried Jlab, Sennheiser, Beats, Bose and Sony versions of sport earbuds with my favorite being the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra that lasted for a longer time than the others. Most of them either broke the part that keeps them in (wing tips, hooking mechanism) or they broke internally (the Sennheiser and Sony started making loud squeaky/base sounds after 3 months, do NOT recommend!) I lost the Sony’s on my college campus and after a few days of relentlessly checking lost and founds and searching I can presume I won’t see them again. I liked the Bose the most with them having and internal wire issue after 1 year and a half which is the longest lasting I have had. Any recommendations are welcome but since I am a poorer college student, affordable ($70-95 or less) recommendations are preferred.

I (18F) will be going out of state for college in less than a month. I wanted to almost make a 180 in terms of how I approach my day to day living and I think it’s possible in every way but I am struggling with one area.

When I was younger I was always described as being the “loud kid” not necessarily a class clown or anything of the sort but I tended to talk to all sorts different people a lot and always shared about my passions and interests. For context, I am neurodivergent (tested gifted and talented) and have been repeatedly recommended for evaluation of ADHD and Autism but haven’t been an to afford it. In senior year, I started realizing it was severely draining to keep up with trying to be social and always there and present. I have accepted this part of myself and have tried to accommodate it (earplugs due to overstimulation in environments and to help me talk a little less/quieter) but it seems that other people’s perception of me as being this louder individual overrides what I know to be true and it doesn’t let me work on myself or listen to my intuition for once.

I have a fresh new start at this far away school and I don’t want to start it with acting how I always have which has damaged my peace and honestly hasn’t really brought me close connections or anything extremely meaningful with my peers. For people who have been in a similar situation, how have you managed to shed what others thought of you to finally give yourself peace?

I (18F) will be going out of state for college in less than a month. I wanted to almost make a 180 in terms of how I approach my day to day living and I think it’s possible in every way but I am struggling with one area.

When I was younger I was always described as being the “loud kid” not necessarily a class clown or anything of the sort but I tended to talk to all sorts different people a lot and always shared about my passions and interests. For context, I am neurodivergent (tested gifted and talented) and have been repeatedly recommended for evaluation of ADHD and Autism but haven’t been an to afford it. In senior year, I started realizing it was severely draining to keep up with trying to be social and always there and present. I have accepted this part of myself and have tried to accommodate it (earplugs due to overstimulation in environments and to help me talk a little less/quieter) but it seems that other people’s perception of me as being this louder individual overrides what I know to be true and it doesn’t let me work on myself or listen to my intuition for once.

I have a fresh new start at this far away school and I don’t want to start it with acting how I always have which has damaged my peace and honestly hasn’t really brought me close connections or anything extremely meaningful with my peers. For people who have been in a similar situation, how have you managed to shed what others thought of you to finally give yourself peace?

I (18F) will be moving to a private school in the north east in a month and am majoring in fashion design. I wanted to get back into music as I did choir for 6 years between elementary and highschool but only got to do orchestra for 1 year in elementary school before moving to a rural school with no orchestra.

Both groups have reached out to me and I know people often put their best foot forward at things like orientation and recruitment before the real demands and social hierarchies in clubs come to the forefront. I’m more advanced in choir but feel more passion towards orchestra, but I want to protect my social life first and foremost so I’m not drained or dealing with unavoidable toxicity.

I’m trying to be low-key for college and keep a bit to myself since I’m an introvert and recently discovered I’m neurodivergent and quiet/peace helps my mind greatly. My gut is telling me to do orchestra and that the kids in that will be closer to my temperament opposed to choir where in highschool people were often louder sometimes rude and many of the connections felt fake (not a generalization of all choir kids, just my experience).

To anyone in college orchestra or choir how can I try to I guess get ahead and understand more of the interactions in both activities during orientation and does this same social dynamic persist from high school to college or are there any stereotypes for either group that often ring true?

I (18F) and my girlfriend (18TF) have been in a long distance relationship for 3 years. We met through social media and we have called each other multiple times. We both live states away from each other and due to both of us not having supportive households we kept our relationship private. We both planned to go to college in the same due to it being our original dreams and best places for our careers. To preface, I am 1000% happy with my choice. I got nearly a full ride and the school has me registered in their honors program and the location is breathtaking. Students from her school and my school are know to hang out due to how short the distance is between the two. Our relationship hasn’t been easy, between her transition and both of us struggling with mental health we have had to fight through tooth and nail to be together through it all. But just as our plans have wrapped up for college I found out due to her not having enough money she can’t afford to attend her planned school and she hasn’t given or thought of any alternative. She’s been in a pretty deep depression lately and I’ve been trying to support her as best I can but by now I don’t really know how to move forward. Due to being a Black female I don’t have confidence in my ability to really date and I don’t want to spend college alone, but she also won’t be there with me and may sink into a depression to the point where she stops talking to me by text entirely. Any advice?

TL;DR Girlfriends college plans fell through and won’t let us close the distance gap on our relationship, what should I do?

I (18F) and my girlfriend (18TF) have been in a long distance relationship for 3 years. We met through social media and we have called each other multiple times. We both live states away from each other and due to both of us not having supportive households we kept our relationship private. We both planned to go to college in the same due to it being our original dreams and best places for our careers. To preface, I am 1000% happy with my choice. I got nearly a full ride and the school has me registered in their honors program and the location is breathtaking. Students from her school and my school are know to hang out due to how short the distance is between the two. Our relationship hasn’t been easy, between her transition and both of us struggling with mental health we have had to fight through tooth and nail to be together through it all. But just as our plans have wrapped up for college I found out due to her not having enough money she can’t afford to attend her planned school and she hasn’t given or thought of any alternative. She’s been in a pretty deep depression lately and I’ve been trying to support her as best I can but by now I don’t really know how to move forward. Due to being a Black female I don’t have confidence in my ability to really date and I don’t want to spend college alone, but she also won’t be there with me and may sink into a depression to the point where she stops talking to me by text entirely. Any advice?

TL;DR Girlfriends college plans fell through and won’t let us close the distance gap on our relationship, what should I do?

I (18F) started working at a fast food restaurant about a month ago and I’m not sure if I will have my job for much longer. My manager wasn’t the person who technically hired me, I was hired by a previous manager who quit before I could get on the schedule, so I met with my current manager to inform her I was technically hired but had not been scheduled. I’ve noticed since the beginning that my manager had been especially strict towards me, from not letting me train to do what I was hired for (taking orders and doing cashier) to hovering over me and micromanaging me when I was needed for these jobs if we were short people. I have had to learn almost completely on the fly because she does not want me to train on taking orders. My kind coworkers let me train on food stations and order taking if she is not present. She often has me clean and forces me to take breaks, that are cutting into my hours, even though my shifts are no longer than 6 hours. I have the lowest number of hours compared to my other coworkers as well. My availability opened up due to me graduating highschool and I informed her that I could take additional shifts but she has not responded to me. My coworker informed me we were short-staffed multiple days this week even though I asked to cover these weekdays and instead of increasing my shifts she has hired at least 4 new employees to cover this. As for my workplace behavior, I show up on time and try to remain busy for the whole shift and don’t check my phone. I respond with respect to her and don’t challenge her if she asks me to do things and I ask questions if I am unsure. I have not had this issue with previous employers, instead being over scheduled and doing the entirety of my job. I also have prior cash register experience. I took into account discrimination as I am African American but I have other coworkers both new and old who are my race and gender that do not get treated this way. How should I handle this?