Brianna

I am a young woman and this has definitely been my experience on the few occasions that I have been able to travel internationally. I am 5'4'' and weigh 162 lbs. (that's around 163 cm and 73 kg for anyone more familiar with metric) which is definitely overweight, but also, sadly, somewhat the norm in the U.S.. I felt like I stood out more and was judged by my weight more because of my nationality (although my overall experience was always positive. I would be interested to know if anyone else had similar experiences? For those living outside the U.S. do you think it is easier for some to feel negatively toward a fat person from another country where obesity is very common as opposed to someone from the country you live in?

I did something terrible today; It was in class and the instructor asked us to peer review our essays which she was not originally planning to have us do. I am normally one of the best students in the class, but was extremely embarrassed by this paper. Honestly, it was probably not terrible, but it wasn't up to my usual standards and I'd been up until 3am trying to make it better (I didn't procrastinate on it FYI). We were supposed to form groups of three and I started to pair up with another girl who I knew and felt fairly comfortable reading my paper. Then another student, one of the smartest guys in the class, based on his contributions in discussions came up and joined us and I was so horrified to think what he would think of my paper that joined another group abruptly. At the time I knew it came across as rude and I was ashamed for that, but then my instructor later asked why I switched and shared with me (alone later that day when she passed me in the hall) that that particular student has social anxiety disorder and was concerned he may have done something to offend me. I myself am very uncomfortable in many social settings and I know what it's like to feel ostracized, so given that I couldn't believe how cruel I had been. I expressed to her how badly I felt and she said she would mention that I had been embarrassed by my writing because a direct explanation or apology from me could feel stressful to this student. But then what can I do to atone?

I'm a Junior student at a smallish liberal arts college that requires their students to live in campus housing for 3 years. Anyways... the way housing sign up works is that students form groups of 4 and then pick an available unit. Students who have formed a group of at least 3 are usually allowed to sign up for these same units as well. I originally planned on signing up as part of a group of 3 with 2 other girls that I didn't know particularly well, but needed a third roommate. That fell through about 4 days before sign up time when they found out they were accepted to an internship in Chicago for the spring semester. I'm somewhat of a loner on campus and basically had no other options at that point and very little time. The housing office placed me in one of the 4 person units that had been given to an already formed group of 3 other girls. I myself am happy with the assignment and the set up of the unit, but I feel very bad for the awkward situation this will put the other three girls in; I don't know any of them. They signed up with the understanding that the housing office could place another student with them and such situations happen occasionally, but not frequently. I'm not sure if the housing office has notified them yet, though I'm sure they will at some point. I have their school emails and I was wondering if I should let them know personally? Is there anything I can do besides introducing and explaining that would make them less likely to resent me?

I'm a Junior student at a smallish liberal arts college that requires their students to live in campus housing for 3 years. Anyways... the way housing sign up works is that students form groups of 4 and then pick an available unit. Students who have formed a group of at least 3 are usually allowed to sign up for these same units as well. I originally planned on signing up as part of a group of 3 with 2 other girls that I didn't know particularly well, but needed a third roommate. That fell through about 4 days before sign up time when they found out they were accepted to an internship in Chicago for the spring semester. I'm somewhat of a loner on campus and basically had no other options at that point and very little time. The housing office placed me in one of the 4 person units that had been given to an already formed group of 3 other girls. I myself am happy with the assignment and the set up of the unit, but I feel very bad for the awkward situation this will put the other three girls in; I don't know any of them. They signed up with the understanding that the housing office could place another student with them and such situations happen occasionally, but not frequently. I'm not sure if the housing office has notified them yet, though I'm sure they will at some point. I have their school emails and I was wondering if I should let them know personally? Is there anything I can do besides introducing and explaining that would make them less likely to resent me?

Final exams have made me put off my holiday shopping; I have three younger sisters who I would like to get Christmas presents. However I am a full-time college student with a quite limited budget- like $30 combined for all three of them. I have some general details about them below if that helps anyone come up with an answer.

My next oldest sister is 16- very mature and sophisticated for her age, well rounded, though she loves buying herself beauty products, I can never keep up with the newest "must-have" products and they would probably be too expensive anyways

After her, my next sister is fourteen- very practical and candid, likes movies and TV, not a big reader, although I do take her out with me to "book" movies on occasion

My last sister is 10- well into her tween phase, but too cool to like tween actors and music groups, very crafty, trendy, and outgoing

Thanks for any ideas you might have and I would like to add that I want to keep the gifts relatively equal in value between them all.

The way I read the text it almost sounds like it's meant to be a synonym for a person's repentance, but I know this can't be right, can it?

There's no way I'm pregnant; I'm not sexually active. I am 19 and have missed my last two periods in a row ever since I moved back to campus this fall. I'm not underweight, if anything anything I've put on a few pounds. Nothing about my diet or exercise habits have changed. I don't use birth control (no need). I'm not any more stressed out than I usually am and my periods have always been pretty regular before. Are there any other causes for missed periods than those I've already mentioned? Should I be concerned enough to talk to a doctor now? Or wait a little while...?

I recently had an odd experience after eating raw cauliflower. I've eaten this food in both its raw and cooked forms in the past (although not particularly often) and never experienced any symptoms of an allergic reaction. However this time my mouth became very itchy and painful and my throat mildly sore. I didn't burn myself, and these symptoms developed rather quickly- within a matter of minutes.

I am an education major and as part of my curriculum I observe a geography class at a local high school. The class recently started a unit on the Middle East and the teacher that I observe routinely pronounces Iran and Iraq like eye-ran and eye-raq (with the short a sound as well) when it should be more like ear-an and ear-aq (stress on the last syllable with a long a sound). I have never once heard him pronounce those country names correctly. Most of his students hear his pronunciations and think they are correct, but there is one girl who roles her eyes whenever he says those words and I know that he has probably lost a lot of credibility with her as an educator as well as contributing to the misinformation of his other students. I want to make it clear that I am not doing my formal student teaching yet, so I do not have a lot of experience or authority being in someone else's classroom. Would it have been alright for me to correct my supervising teaching between class periods or is it rude and overstepping? If it's okay to do so, how should I have approached the subject?

I am an education major and as part of my curriculum I observe a geography class at a local high school. The class recently started a unit on the Middle East and the teacher that I observe routinely pronounces Iran and Iraq like eye-ran and eye-raq (with the short a sound as well) when it should be more like ear-an and ear-aq (stress on the last syllable with a long a sound). I have never once heard him pronounce those country names correctly. Most of his students hear his pronunciations and think they are correct, but there is one girl who roles her eyes whenever he says those words and I know that he has probably lost a lot of credibility with her as an educator as well as contributing to the misinformation of his other students. I want to make it clear that I am not doing my formal student teaching yet, so I do not have a lot of experience or authority being in someone else's classroom. Would it have been alright for me to correct my supervising teaching between class periods or is it rude and overstepping? If it's okay to do so, how should I have approached the subject?