Submissions for this advice column are taken from the ECHO Monthly Student Survey.
My problem is that the author of an advice column I read is unqualified to run an advice column. Her life is a mess. How do I tell her? How do I make it so she stops making her newspaper into a rag?
Dear I know who you are,
Perhaps you should realize that the author of the advice column is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the ECHO. So think about that the next time you say her life is a mess.
How to rid my extreme fear of women?
Dear Gynophobic,
Women can be super scary. Believe me, I am one. But most women, beneath that girlboss exterior, are also super nice. If at first you have a scary encounter, try again. Give it enough tries with the same scary woman or try talking to new ones and you’ll eventually make a friend (or something more 😉 that will make it worth putting yourself through the anxiety of facing your worst fear. You’ll never get over your fear by only chillin’ with the bros though!
Can the Co-Editor-in-Chief say “hi” to me?
Dear Hammond,
Hi.
Let’s say hypothetically you were talking to this person for like two months maybe, you went to HoCo with them, etc. You kinda break up with them but you don’t know why and you regret it. You still like them but you’re just friends now, what do you do?
Dear Regretful,
You should tell them how you feel. But also realize that most people won’t want to be with someone who dumped them. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person or don’t deserve to get back together with them, it’s just that the other person may think it’s likely that you will hurt them again. Still, if you really like this person it is 100 percent worth telling them that you’re sorry and want to get back together because you’ll never know until you try. And if you get rejected, at least you were the one that did the dumping first! 😉
How do I know if someone wants to date me? I don’t want to date, but I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression and hurt their feelings. Aside from telling everyone I’m not into them, I am not sure what to do.
Dear Hot Stuff,
Sounds like your problem is that too many people want to date you? Boohoo, sounds really hard. Kidding! In all seriousness, it sounds like you are a really nice person who doesn’t want to hurt others. Sometimes being honest will inevitably still hurt someone, though, no matter how nicely you tell them. Unless you want to be dating everyone in the school, you have to learn that it’s OK to reject someone. Just do it in the nicest way possible.
How should I make the last 20 minutes of seventh period pass more quickly?
Dear Restless,
We all struggle with this one. Here’s a little game I’ve made up to help myself with this exact problem. Twenty minutes before the end of 7th period, pick one person in the class to observe. This might sound creepy, but hear me out… Count how many times they look at other people in the class and chances are you can figure out who they like in 20 minutes or less. OK, nevermind, it definitely is as creepy as it sounds. Still, it’s also the surest way to make 20 minutes feel like 20 seconds!
Image by Helen Katz/The ECHO
