u/fd4517_57

Basically the title.

I've never gotten a survey outside of the decennial and with the current administration, I'm terrified of how to fill this one out. I've scrolled through Reddit and people keep saying how invasive the 2026 one is.

For those of you who filled it out.. how bad was it?

Did it ask you things like sexual orientation (I'm a lesbian.. can I lie and select straight so my orientation isn't used against me?), who you voted for, etc? I'm also disabled and can't work and I'm worried it'll be used against me to take away my benefits. Things like this is what scares me, but it's required by law and I don't want to ignore the survey in case someone shows up at my door. I don't want anyone showing up and poking around my home, that terrifies me.

I'd just really appreciate some insight before I do anything with it, ty.

I keep reading not to chase book genre trends, but I have a handful of ideas across different genres and can't decide what to focus on.

I'm an aspiring sapphic author and the two ideas that are pulling at me the most right now is an apocalypse one set in the present that unfolds over the first few months of the collapse (not zombies or pandemic) AND a dystopian one set in the near future that's pretty dark and deals with a sort of extreme horror premise. As an aside, I also have a fantasy one (it's a rougher idea than the others) and a few historical fiction ones. All are adult, not ya.

I've always wanted to go the traditional publishing route and despite reading that I shouldn't chase trends, I thought asking for some advice here could help me make a decision on which book to focus on.

Tysm and I appreciate any and all insight and I'm hoping the advice can help others who are like me and struggle with multiple ideas!

This is the first time I've been asked to do this.

I was enrolled in a community college in fall 2022, but my my mom's cancer had gotten worse and she was in and out of the hospital that entire year and with what she was dealing with and the support she needed, I couldn't concentrate on school. So I withdrew.

I returned to that same CC in fall 2023 and earned some credits.

In fall 2024, I transferred to a university because I decided I wanted to try for a bachelor's instead of getting another associate's, but my mom passed away 11 days after the semester started. I tried to stick with it, but couldn't handle school and ended up withdrawing.

In summer 2025, I transferred to a different university because it was smaller and cheaper and I did earn credits, but I was still feeling overwhelmed.

So, I transferred to a strictly online self-paced university (WGU) in fall 2025 and I was able to stick with it. I've spent the last two terms (Sept-Feb and March-Aug) working towards my bachelor's and completed my degree yesterday and my graduation paperwork was processed today and I have officially earned my bachelor's.

My mentor and an enrollment counselor put in the application for me to continue my education at WGU and get an MBA which is what prompted the UEH because I'll need to use financial aid to afford the degree. I'm so worried that because of my past and bouncing around that I'll be denied? I just submitted my form along with a picture of my mom's death certificate for the fall 2024 withdrawal and documents proving she was in and out of the hospital during my fall 2022 attempt, but I'm still so worried.

Could really use some advice or insight, especially if you've been through this. Ty

I'm writing a book set in Ireland (15th century). I'm fascinated by souterrains and wanted to include one in the book, but some of the things I've read online said that entering, hiding in, etc a souterrain is considered highly disrespectful to Irish lore, Irish people, and the respect for fairies (that it would be seen as disturbing them) because the underground was considered their home.

I'm reading conflicting things and decided to try asking here on reddit. This might be a silly question, but I'm an American and want to be as accurate as possible to avoid insulting anyone or anything. Tysm

I've been disabled since 2021 and have held off applying for SNAP because I've at least been able to scrape by, but with the cost of food now I need help affording it, so I broke down and applied this month.

I had my phone interview last week and I thought everything went ok and I emailed the caseworker all the information she requested, but I never heard back until I I got the interview summary in the mail.

It showed that they denied my application and stated the reason as: all household members are ineligible students

I live alone, my ssdi is under the income limit, when I sent the caseworker all the info she requested it included my ssdi verification. I am a student and I am enrolled full time (it's a fully online program).

I don't understand why I've been denied for being a student when everything I've read said that a student who's enrolled at least halftime can bypass the work hours requirement if they're disabled? When I was on the phone for my interview, the caseworker made it clear she didn't know how it worked with being a student and being disabled so I don't know if it's something she messed up on her end or..?

I feel so defeated and I was really hoping I'd be approved and get help with food. Has anyone else gone through this or am I wrong and I should be denied?

I'm fostering a litter of chihuahua mix puppies (they're roughly 7 weeks old) and I'm considering keeping one of them because I'm obsessed with him, but I've never had a boy puppy before, always girls. I've spent the last couple of days turning this decision over in my head but there are two things I keep mainly worrying about: marking and humping.

My grandmother always had girl doxies until she got a boy in 2015 and he marked every single thing inside that he could every single day of his life despite being neutered at 6 months and having outdoor potty breaks daily.

So, witnessing that always made me say I'll never get a boy, but then the little foster entered my life and I love him, but can't shake that marking worry and I keep reading on reddit how people say their males drive their girl dogs crazy cause they hump constantly and I have an older girl (spayed chiweenie) so I worry about her sanity.

What has been y'all's experience with boy puppies and the marking/humping they're associated with? He's a tiny puppy (1.3 lbs right now) so he might be 10 lbs or less when he's full grown maybe.

I have a 7.5 year old chiweenie, Sofia. I've been fostering abandoned puppies for a couple of years now and my current group is chihuahua mixes which includes a little boy that I'm obsessed with. He's the first one out of all the fosters I've had that I've considered keeping and he's the runt (I have a thing for runts, Sofia was also one), but I'm torn on whether or not to add a puppy to the house.

Sofia is very much a velcro baby and loves her mama, she has to be where I am and sleep with me, etc. She spent the first few years of her life growing up with my late dachshund who passed in 2021 when Sofia was 3 but since then she has been an only dog child (has only been around my cats since). Size wise, Sofia is about 15 lbs and the puppy is currently barely over a pound and his full grown size would probably be half of what hers is.

She loves her things; her beds, toys, etc and I'm not sure how she'd feel about sharing although I could correct her easily enough but is this too big of an age gap.. her 7.5 years and him roughly 8 weeks? I've read posts about people getting a puppy and it taking years off their dog who turns into a puppy themselves again. But I also worry that she won't want to share me.

Could really use some insight and advice. Tysm🐾

I have a 7.5 year old chiweenie, Sofia. I've been fostering abandoned puppies for a couple of years now and my current group is chihuahua mixes which includes a little boy that I'm obsessed with. He's the first one out of all the fosters I've had that I've considered keeping and he's the runt (I have a thing for runts, Sofia was also one), but I'm torn on whether or not to add a puppy to the house.

Sofia is very much a velcro baby and loves her mama, she has to be where I am and sleep with me, etc. She spent the first few years of her life growing up with my late dachshund who passed in 2021 when Sofia was 3 but since then she has been an only dog child (has only been around my cats since). Size wise, Sofia is about 15 lbs and the puppy is currently barely over a pound and his full grown size would probably be half of what hers is.

She loves her things; her beds, toys, etc and I'm not sure how she'd feel about sharing although I could correct her easily enough but is this too big of an age gap.. her 7.5 years and him roughly 8 weeks? I've read posts about people getting a puppy and it taking years off their dog who turns into a puppy themselves again. But I also worry that she won't want to share me.

Could really use some insight and advice. Tysm🐾