I have literally no idea why you joined this subreddit. I mean either you saw my profile and found this or you are very unlucky. All the best. Make a post of u wanna

In the realm of leadership, the principle of "Follow or Be Followed" underscores the importance of earning respect and trust. To lead effectively, you must first understand how to follow. Demonstrating respect for others' ideas, showing humility, and being open to learning from those around you are key aspects of being a good follower. When you follow well, you set an example, creating a culture of mutual respect and collaboration.
As a leader, your actions and attitude inspire others to follow you. Here are some key points to consider:

1. Lead with Integrity: Always act with honesty and ethical behavior. Integrity builds trust and establishes a solid foundation for your leadership.
   
2. Communicate Clearly: Transparent and effective communication ensures that everyone is on the same page and fosters an environment of openness.
   
3. Support Your Team: Be there for your team members. Provide guidance, resources, and encouragement to help them succeed.
   
4. Show Empathy and Understanding: Recognize the emotions and challenges your team members face. Being empathetic strengthens your connection with them.
   
5. Encourage Innovation and Creativity: Create an environment where new ideas are welcomed and valued. Encourage your team to think creatively and explore new solutions.
   
6. Be Adaptable and Open to Feedback: Show that you are flexible and willing to adjust your approach based on feedback and changing circumstances.
   
7. Demonstrate Confidence and Vision: Lead with confidence and a clear vision for the future. Your confidence will inspire your team to believe in the mission and their ability to achieve it.
   

By embodying these principles, you can effectively balance the roles of leading and following. You guide your team while also showing that you are part of the team. This approach not only helps you lead with confidence but also earns the genuine loyalty and respect of those you lead. Remember, the best leaders are those who understand the balance between leading and following.

Hello everyone!
Im a 30 year old german man, started a vocational training as caregiver at 16 but quitted it. Biggest mistake of my life. After that, i worked in a factory that want bankrupt last year.
Now im sitting at home since 1 year, having no idea what to do with my life. But i do know, that i dont want to take the next-best factory job again, neither do i really want to start a vocational training again. I only have secondary school leaving certificate, so if i wanted to go study or do something that interests me, it would be such a long timeconsuming way to go.
I have always dreamt of travelling to/through asia, so at the moment im looking for free internships or remote jobs to explore a new country and culture. But i can only find ungodly expensive volunteer-work and untrustworthy remote-jobs.
Do you guys here have any websites or ideas for me for my dream to come true? Japan,Thailand and China are the countrys i know most about, but i´d be open for any new expierience really.
Thanks in advance!

I've commented a few times in a few posts about my family's experience going through the F-1 to H-1B to GC route to migrate to the US and I've received a lot of questions over the DM, many of which I thought were pretty basic. I thought it might be helpful to put this primer together so folks know the right questions to ask and approach their planning more strategically.
This post is going to be very candid. I've noticed that the questions I've received come from misconceptions about higher education, F-1 visa, and what comes after graduation. I want to give folks the right information, but also temper expectations and give a realistic portrait of what it means and takes to use the student pathway to legally and permanently reside in the US. It is not a stroll in the park, and I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea.

BACKGROUND

Two of my siblings plus myself are all here in the US via the student visa route. I received my green card in 2021 after being in the US for nearly 4 years. After receiving my Masters at a prestigious university, I was hired immediately by an organization willing to sponsor my H-1B, which they did so after two years of employment under STEM-OPT work authorization. My employer started putting together my I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, which is the start of the process for an employment-based green card) shortly after receiving approval of my H-1B. As the paperwork was being put together, my partner and I decided to get married and I switched from employment-based green card to marriage-based green card. The employment-based green card would have added around a 3 year wait if we went through with it, while my marriage-based green card was approved in less than a year.
Both my siblings are currently in the same pathway. One received their Bachelors last year, was hired before graduation and has recently received approval for her H-1B. Their employer has committed to sponsoring their employment-based green card next year. My other sibling received their MFA last year and is now in the process of getting their O-1, which is a different kind of work visa. Like me, they both came to the US with a student visa. We were all very strategic about the programs we chose and how we approached networking within our industries.
We also prepared for years. I knew I wanted to get my Masters and permanently reside in the US even before I finished college in Manila. My siblings also knew that early on. So as a family we planned for years, including preparing financially because we knew that we had a very slim chance of getting free rides for our planned degrees. Our early planning also helped with our professional decision-making, because we became very strategic about what kinds of jobs we took after graduation in Manila (except our youngest sibling, who did her Bachelors in the US, so her planning revolved around her academic career in high school). I would say from start (initial planning) to finish (with the last sibling also now on the way to permanent residency), it took about a decade.

GETTING STARTED

Is the student pathway the right pathway for you?
The first question you should ask yourself: can you afford the student pathway to permanent residency in the US? Higher education in the US is not cheap. Universities very rarely offer full scholarships to Masters programs, and those that do are incredibly competitive. So you cannot depend on scholarships to help you pay for your degree--doing so will likely end in disappointment.
(PhDs are usually free and includes a living stipend, but the application process for PhDs are on a whole other level. I will not cover it here but I can answer any questions related to applying for PhDs.)
Most Masters programs in the US are two-year programs, and the average cost of a Masters degree is around $60,000 per year (source). That's $120,000--almost Php7,000,000--in two years. That is a lot of money. That does not include your cost of living, which depending on the location can vary. I personally spent around $1000 on living expenses every month (housing was through the school, so the cost of that was included in my tuition statement)--and that is living frugally in a very high cost of living city. That's an additional $12,000 per year. Of course, you can lower than number by living with family if that option is available to you.
So on average, you would need around Php4,200,000 per year for your Masters degree. Again, a lot of money. It goes without saying that the student pathway is a very expensive pathway to permanent residency in the US. Can it also be a quicker pathway than, say, being sponsored by a sibling? It can be, but that depends on how long it will take for you to save up for tuition.
What if you can make those numbers work? What else should you know?
I need to put this upfront: the F-1 student visa is a non-immigrant visa. Meaning that it is a visa meant for people who will enter the US on a temporary basis. This is why the student visa has no direct pathway or benefit to permanent residency in the US. You need to change status inside the US to one with immigrant intent or double intent to be able to be on that pathway or receive that benefit. That's where visas like the H-1B visa comes in.
You also cannot work outside of your school on an F-1 visa. During the school year, you are allowed to work part-time on campus, and during the summer you are allowed to work full-time on campus. Work outside of the school is only allowed if it's part of your curriculum (i.e. your program has a class for "onsite internship") and you are allowed to be paid while that opportunity is going on. You can do this part-time, but most legitimate universities will have limited opportunities for this (i.e. under your program you're only allowed to take credit for onsite internships one or two semesters). However, your eligibility to work full-time after getting your degree will be affected if you do this full-time for one year. If you want to jump from F-1 to H-1B, this is not something you want to do.
Your ability to bring dependents to the US on a student visa is also limited. You can only bring your spouse and unmarried children under 21. Dependents of F-1 visa holders are not allowed to work in the US (although children under 21 can go to school full-time). This means your spouse cannot work while in the United States, and that includes working remotely for a company in the Philippines.

APPLYING TO PROGRAMS

The student visa still seems like my best option. What's next?
The next step starts with you. I've received a good number of DMs asking me "Is Master of ABC the right course for me?" or "Will a Master of DEF get me a green card?" These are not the right questions to ask because they're not going to get you any good answers. Yes, we know the ultimate goal for taking your Masters in the US to get permanent residency. But the true purpose of getting a Masters in the US is to make you highly marketable and competitive to US employers that will be willing to sponsor your work visa and petition you for your permanent residency.
So you need to view this degree as a way to level yourself up professionally. I absolutely do not suggest getting a Masters degree in something "you already know"--the objective is not to coast while spending Php4,200,000 a year--but to be so much better at what you're already doing. Here's an example.

Maria Clara graduated from Accounting at a good university in Manila and now has around 2 years of experience as a CPA at the finance and accounting department at a multinational corporation based in Makati. She wants to get her permanent residency to the US via the student pathway and has done a significant amount of research on possible Masters programs and career paths in accounting in the US. She started reading into forensic accounting and realized how interested she is in various aspects of this career path. After looking through universities and programs, she has put SUNY Albany's MS in Forensic Science at the top of her list for a variety of reasons. One, it meets the education requirements for certified public accountant licensure in the state of New York. Two, even without a scholarship of financial aid, the costs for international students is not exorbitant at $23,000/Php1,320,000 for the year-long program--with some frugal living and help from relatives in the US, she can save that amount in 3-4 years. Three, New York is the center of global commerce--all the biggest companies and their accounting firms are either headquartered or have large offices in New York City, so she has a wide swath of employment options. Now she just has to get her ducks in a row and make sure her Bachelors meets the requirements for application, as well as put together a shortlist of other programs she should apply and create a timeline for herself and the milestones that need to be hit to make this dream a reality.

Bottomline is, your starting point in this entire process is reflection and research. You need to reflect on your own professional experience and skills, as well as your interests. You need to figure out which pathway will give you that professional and technical boost and do your research on available programs at reputable universities, what the job market looks like for your target profession, which companies are known to hire in this space.
Of course, you should also take into consideration your limitations. For example, you can only go to school in San Diego because you can stay with relatives while you're studying. That means your research is location-limited to however far you think you can commute.
When this is properly done, it should lead you to a place where you have a shortlist of programs to apply to. Each program will have their own application and testing requirements, as well as their own deadlines, so make sure to keep track of that.
PRO TIP: while grades during college are an important part of your application, many graduate programs put a lot of weight on your personal statement and professional recommendation letters. This is why the first step on reflection is critical--it gives you a good direction from which to build your story, which you will need to convince admissions committees to accept you into their programs.

ACCEPTANCE

I got into one of my top programs and I have my finances in order! What happens now?
Now it's time to apply for your F-1 visa. Your university will provide you with the documentation you need from them (this is mainly the I-20 and your acceptance letter), but the bulk of the documentation you need to present to the visa officer will mostly come from you. Namely, because the F-1 is a non-immigrant visa, you need to show strong ties to the Philippines. This can take a variety of forms, and oftentimes your mileage may vary especially depending on the school you will be attending (i.e. there will be less scrutiny if you're going to Harvard as compared to a university that's not that known).
If you did not receive a scholarship with your acceptance, you also need to show that you are able to afford the first year of matriculation. So bank statements containing the total amount of tuition, as well as room and board, will be important (usually the I-20 that the university will issue you will include this amount).
At the interview, be polite and only answer the questions asked. Do not offer up information not asked by the visa officer. I suggest you have a ready answer if the visa officer asks you why this particular school and program, but you should have this answer already if you followed my advice about reflecting and researching before applying to programs :)
Visa is approved and on hand! What do I do while I wait to leave for the US?
Networking starts the moment you receive your passport with your F-1 visa. You absolutely cannot and should not waste a single minute of your active student visa, so this is the time you start telling people that you're going to be studying in the US. You need to work your current network and find peers and mentors who will be willing to connect you with colleagues they know who work in the US or have ties to the US in your professional field. Let's go back to Maria Clara as an example.

Finally, after years of hard work, Maria Clara has her desired acceptance into SUNY's MS in Forensic Accounting program, and her F-1 visa was approved by the embassy without any issues. After celebrating with her family, she lets her boss know about her visa approval, who has been one of her most ardent cheerleaders during this entire process. Her boss has also offered to introduce her to their counterparts in the US once she got her visa approved, which is really important to Maria Clara--she knows she needs to get ahead of networking professionally since her time in the US is limited. She has also reached out to other people she knows in the company that engage frequently with teams in the US. She's messaged her college professors as well, as she knows that a number of alumni from her college have migrated to the US. Her plan is to get connected with as many professionals in her field as possible, connect with them in person once she's in the US, and build a rapport with as many connections as possible so she can be guided accordingly and stand out when the time to apply for jobs comes.

Remember that unlike US citizens (USC) and legal permanent residents (LPR), your time in the US is limited and bound by the rules set by your visa. So you have to be creative and get ahead in some way. You need to be more prepared and more strategic than USCs and LPRs because you simply do not have the time to dilly dally. Yes, enjoy and savor in the moment of seeing the fruits of your labor, but the hard part begins now. You simply do not have time to waste.

DURING THE PROGRAM

I'm in the US now and working harder than ever! Is there anything more I can do to set myself apart from others?
Other than to make sure you have high grades and you're setting aside time to build professional relationships, it's time to think outside the box. Remember that you are limited by the rules of the F-1 visa, so experiences such as an off-campus summer internship is off limits to you. You will need to find ways to strengthen your resumé that doesn't include working off campus, and that could take many forms. One of the most effective recommendations I've received on this is to do an independent research during the summer--you could do it via a professor whose class you really liked, or if you've made inroads with some of the connections you've been building since getting your visa, have a professor oversee a research project you could do with those connections. (This is still academic work, and many programs will give credit for this, so it is not considered off-campus work under the eyes of USCIS.) You can use your research to really elevate your skills and experiences when applying for jobs.
It's also time to seriously start looking at potential employers. You can use the connections you've built to get a sense of what the professional landscape is for your field, learn about peoples' experiences at various companies and organizations, and get a feel for hiring processes. Remember, you don't have a lot of time to apply for jobs once you near the end of your program, so you have to be armed with the right information to guide your job hunting strategy. You will need to put yourself out there and be the best version of your professional self if you want employers to disregard that they will need to spend more money to hire you rather than a USC or LPR who doesn't need sponsorship.

LAST SEMESTER AND GRADUATION

I'm in my last semester of my program! Any tips?
The last semester is usually job hunting season, so make sure that resumé is polished and your network is activated. By now, if you've done the leg work, you will have a shortlist of potential employers and you will have made connections in most, if not all, of them. Time to check-in and ensure that they know you're interested in joining their company and you'd like their support and guidance in doing so. This is one of the harder parts of this journey, and you have to be relentless. Use all the resources at your disposal to ensure your resumé is seen by as many eyes as possible, and that includes speaking to your professors, especially your favorite ones, so they can also lend a hand.
More importantly: submit your work permit application (more commonly known as OPT) as early as possible to avoid delays and getting stuck in the USCIS backlog. You need this permit to be able to work after graduation for a limited time (one year for graduates of non-STEM programs, with an additional two years for graduates of STEM programs) without needing to immediately require H-1B sponsorship.
Getting employed by a company willing to sponsor you is not the end of the line. All for-profit companies are subject to the H-1B lottery, which means you will be competing with other internationals for the limited number of H-1B visas allotted every year. So even with an employer willing to sponsor, the H-1B visa is still not guaranteed. You can work around this by joining what is a called a cap-exempt organization instead, and USCIS classifies those as institutions of higher education, nonprofit entities related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations. That means more research, and more targeted strategic networking, given that your employer pool now is limited.

EPILOGUE

The student visa is not an easy or cheap pathway to permanent residency in the US. It is getting harder and harder to beat out USCs and LPRs for great jobs in companies that have the experience and resources to sponsor H-1Bs and GCs. You need to do your research every step of the way and prepare to do some really grueling work in order to be the better investment for these companies. Plus, there is the luck element of the H-1B lottery. But it's not impossible. It can and does happen--my family is a great example of it (we're 3 for 3 in this pathway now). Your preparation and willingness to go the extra mile is critical, and you have to be ready to grind for a while. Rest often only comes when the green card is approved.
For those still considering the student visa pathway to migrate to the US after reading this very long post--good luck, and may the force be with you.

This is the greatest joy of retention yet also the biggest struggle to overcome
Okay so anyone who has done self improvement knows how difficult it can be I separate into 2 categories
Internal vs external work
SR highlights both
Typically if your fapping and losing sexual energy you can do external work and scape by without doing any internal work simply because your not holding onto energy To hold onto your life force takes lots of discipline when it comes to regulating your internal state instead of draining it
So this is the catalyst you will know your issues what needs to be fixed internally and externally this can be great but life doesn’t always work in a fluid manner to where you can instantly make the necessary changes Yes SR speeds the process up but it can also create massive suffering simply because you may not be able to make that change as quickly as you’d like
For example if you experienced a lot of pain at once you naturally are going to want to cope in some way and that can be a feasible strategy to stifle your energy so you don’t have to do the internal/shadow work at this time For anyone who has every gone emotionally numb you understand what I’m describing here The trauma or pain can be so dramatic and life can be so bad that numbing yourself in minor ways to avoid that shadow work could be a potential strategy so you don’t have to face it all at once
Vs if you retain you will feel all that pain at once because your energy is so clean your holding onto your life force You will suffer greatly because your not numbing your experience I believe this is the better strategy but it is much harder journey
And in my opinion that is the bitch of retention but also its greatest blessing because if you don’t numb yourself you will feel the blunt force of life but it will pass through your spirit much quicker
But a potential strategy is to numb yourself a bit if the trauma and pain is very dramatic I’m not saying fap
But I notice on hard days I might fast for less hours in that day and eat more which makes me tired and makes my energy less clear which could help to numb out some of life’s pain because it’s really hard rn I’m probably at my lowest in awhile it’s because I’m making good changes but life is still very hard
I’m lean and typically do omad always sub 12% body fat I’ve been retaining for years now rn currently at day 57
I’m saying play your edge push your limit take as much pain as you can with a clean spirit but if life gets very hard don’t go over your edge just stifle your energy a bit and do the shadow work in a couple days or a week or 2
If after work you eat a bit more then you typically would to stifle the energy a bit that’s okay but only if you are at your edge Stifling energy a bit by distractions or eating a bit Less clean is better then relapsing
I’ve noticed if I’m forced to be around low vibrational people I might eat before I interact with them because if I’m in a pure fasted state they will feel that I feel all of their energy and that they cannot hide because my aura is way to pure
So some strategies for playing the edge dealing with toxic people and waiting because you cannot make all the changes you need to make because of other life factors
I’m not saying self sabotage or fap When I stifle my energy it’s by eating another meal then I typically would and the food is still relatively healthy Or watch a movie after work because your waiting for a certain situation to pass
I still workout fast do cold showers and mediate
That’s a problem I’ve noticed with retention is that your just so damn engaged you know all your problems and how to fix them but strategy and timing is important And if you just have absolutely pure energy everyday all the time you could get pissed off at other people or life situations which is good to have that drive but if taken to far could backfire on you as it has on me in the past so I’m not saying lower yourself be who you are and stand in your power just be aware that this is a valuable potential strategy
The ideal situations is you have pure energy all the time life starts to align because synchronicities will happen new levels have new devils you suffer you make the changes without stifling energy you stand up for yourself everytime and continue to level up
But I feel that is somewhat hard to embody in practice I’m one guy with one perspective so if you can go a year without issues more power to you but for me personally playing my edge is the thing to do and works the best for me long term because if I get arrogant and on my high horse I start to have issues becoming super judgemental of others because you see demons when you have a clean spirit and that can cause self righteousness which itself is a trap so lowkey backing off have a super super pure aura when interacting with toxic people who are in your way then when the time is right to make the change jump at the opportunity to move onto better things
Again I’ve been practicing this since 16 I turn 20 this weekend
And I know this post seems a big negative and I know it somewhat is but it’s just a warning / potential strategy because like I said if you go on 3+ months streaks out here consistently with a clean aura I promise you will get attacked and repel People just remember though that repelling is good because it’s taking you where you need to go to match your high vibration but that’s scary because it could mean complete restructuring your life like me basically losing all your family
If your just doing it for the female attraction or some surface level reason and keep your streaks under a month you should be fine but if you get into longer streaks your going to start to trigger people with your clean energy especially if your intention is to grow and become a better person legit your light will irritate their demons
I believe retention on longer streaks makes you more in tune with energies and life which helps build faith and gets rid of fear a more spiritual component on longer streaks and then synchronicities happen which only Proves this to a further extent which makes life feel more trippy good luck as well
though other people have already gone over this stuff so I won’t get into it I just thought this playing your edge strategy on retention would be valuable asset and idea as I’m yet to see anyone bring it up so far particularly with the arrogance self righteousness etc it’s easy to hate but gotta remember some ppl are sleep and everyone is on a personal journey try to respect others even the demons who are trying to pull you down like crabs in a bucket in the end we are all the good guys in our own story and we all know in our head our good intentions wether others realize it or not same with the demons bro they have a life story alright peace out yall play your edge stay engaged take as much suffering for growth as you can stomach and don’t demonize the demons because that will just make them angry and make things worse eye for an eye makes the whole world blind have boundaries love from a distance

What do you think about sake (Japanese wine) consumption in Texas, especially in the DFW, and is opening a sake bar an okay idea in this time and space?
I have been working at sushi restaurants and tasted some of the best sakes I have encountered. I'm inspired!

Sorry! Not food-related; cross-posted.
Hi Everyone! I have Starbucks points expiring on May 31. I’m looking for the Starbucks Glass Water Bottle (preferably the Spring showers or a pink one). Anyone know where I can find one?
I checked Eaton Centre (the one beside Best Buy), Bay-Bloor area, and College Station locations. None there.
Anyone seen any? Thank you!

Help! I am new to the loan process because I was fortunate that my undergraduate college education was paid by a 529 my grandparents set aside for me. Now I am tasked with understanding how to finance graduate school next year-- I have no idea where to start. I have made about 15k USD for the last 2 years in service-oriented jobs, but prior to that I worked in consulting for 2 years making 95k USD per year (mostly in retirement accounts now or spent supporting myself in the last 2 years at my lower salary). Where do folks recommend I begin? Am I even eligible for financial aid, scholarships, loans?

You along with your family (two individuals specifically) created me into what I am today. I blame this all on you. Instead of being a man and discussing the issues with me directly, you sent your harassment attack dogs on me thinking that your little girl was this innocent child that was being harassed by some criminal. The people/family you hired took oaths to protect Americans. To protect their privacy, their freedoms, their lifestyle. Isn't it ironic that the same people hired to do this are perpetrating the exact opposite against me? I loved your daughter, but it was an illusion. A facade built on disorder.
Let me clarify things, I'm pretty certain that this abuse you are giving me originally stems from your daughter's lies about me. Let's start off with lie #1 in this post. It's what I'm doing now that you don't like me doing and I try and keep it a secret. I stopped for a year and your daughter managed to bring it on back. I'm not sure if you knew this, but your daughter knew about my extracurricular activity before everything. She knew very well what I was doing before we got married. She won't tell you that though, because she was so desperate to get married and didn't make a big deal of it. It didn't happen often until your daughter started her "Devaluation" of me and attacked me verbally, in court, and with private investigators ("agents" done from their day job ). Then it's use began to escalate to a point where I was even concerned. Sometimes we need an escape from the torture by other people (that's you and your daughter), but your torture was unrelenting. Then came the "Discard", the mounting of aggression against me. Then the harassment and visits to my home, the attacks on my technology, the destruction of my home, the lies in court attacking my character, my relationships and everything else. This was all based on that lie, and a portion of other lies. True i was doing what I was doing and there are reasons why. The fedz profiler probably can give you a summary of it.
Hell Michael, I'm a product of your own doing. But now what happened is that you've made me into the monster you always wanted me to be. But I'm still human and I'm still a decent person.
The fact of the matter is that your daughter has a problem. Instead of addressing that problem you are in absolute denial. There is nothing wrong with your perfect little angel is there? I often wonder if I was put in your shoes, what would I do. Firstly, I wouldn't be so pig-headed and close minded. Here's what I would do. I'd stop peering at the situation through a fucking clouded lens in order to get the truth and I'd metaphorically kick her in the ass, and tell her to drop her bullshit and start working with her husband for the benefits of the child. Importantly I'd tell her to stop fucking wasting all her money on this bullshit. But you came to her rescue to defend the actions of a liar., gave her money and support to attack me Oh when I was taken away, you pointed finger at me to the world, "Look, there's proof now". But in your defense, she stirred the pot and got her flying monkeys in order and ready for their attack, you being one of them. Oh this helpless little rich girl and this evil man that she married that she had no idea about. Oh God, has that story line been played out even to this day. Then you turned around and got your monkeys in order.
You don't want to protect your grandchild. You put up a good show to make it seem that way. You just want revenge for divorcing your daughter, someone that I never really knew, until after the marriage. Your daughter has a problem. I know it's difficult for you to believe such mumbo gumbo witchcraft, but it's called psychology and there is a known diagnosis in the DSM-5. You choose to ignore it. You make my life difficult. You enrich the pockets of people performing the abuse. They only give you the bad information about me, which, you believe, justifies your actions. When in actuality, this is your fault from the start. You have created these problems by a degradation of a person over a very long period of time. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I never did the things I do today until you and your daughter came along. My life is in chaos because of you. Nothing to be proud about. In my defense don't look to much into what was done by me after the marriage. They were all actions that I took to get you to stop your fucking abusive ways.
You can put an end to this all, but you choose not to. Instead of being the person fighting against a bad entity, you have become the bad entity and your actions are bad. I'd ask you to stop but you've made it apparent you wont. I'm going to start journaling again. Maybe someone will come along and ask me to publish one day. That would be cool. I would of course put you on the first page to thank for inspiring me to write this. I'll make sure the readers know what you've done.
You could stop me by making it clear to me that you're going to stop with your attacks against me or you can keep doing what you're doing. Monitoring me, harassing me, attacking me and keeping me from being 100%. With that I say sarcastically, Michael, thanks for nothing. You've made it to a level of being a bad person that does evil things, in my book and most people I've discussed you about. You've done the opposite of what you said to "protect my grandchild at all costs! blah blah blah". Instead you've made her life difficult by making the relationship with her father difficult. You've bad mouthed me and created parental alienation. You continue to destroy my life to the best of your ability. You have nothing to be proud of. I don't want anything from you or your family. Don't be so pompous when you say I ask too much. All I've asked for is to have my daughter in my life and for you and your henchmen to leave me alone.

What are the best/cheapest places for single recently graduated college students to rent?

Everyone who are trying to justify MBA to be something more than a job producer degree, get out of your illusion. If you spend 20/30 lakh on a course, you will expect a job at the end of the degree which gives you a good package. ROI matters. MBA is to generate income. Either to get you a new job (for freshers), or get a better profile job (for experience professionals who are doing MBA) or to manage your business better. Compared to other courses, MBA is expensive. There is a reason why only 3 lakh candidate give this exam instead of other exams where the competition is higher. Only a few privileged can afford an MBA. I see so many post about not being eligible for loan since only the candidate earns in the family.
So cribbing about MBA not being about ROI or Final placement is a coping mechanism when you don't get your dream colleges. MBA is about the final placement. Maybe accept it and move on. PS: there are millions of PPL doing same or better than an MBA without even an MBA degree. Best to not have an elitist attitude.

My name is Jessica, and I live in a small central American city of about 80,000 people.Today I'm going to share a story about Korea.First, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my family.When I was born, I already had an older brother.I don't mean just a little sister with an older brother.My brother was adopted from Korea.It's an unusual situation, isn't it? My parents struggled with infertility for several years before I was born, and they ended up adopting my Korean brother.Then, a few years later, they got pregnant with me, and I was born.My brother had different hair color, skin color, and eye color than me, but we got along very well.Even though we knew from a young age that we were adopted because of our differences, we got along well, and we were a family that loved each other deeply.
We played the same games, read books together, and spent a lot of time together. He always took good care of me, and he was a good brother who made me laugh.
I would say, “Brother, let's read this book together!” and he would always smile and read it to me. I think I liked and enjoyed his warmth to me, rather than focusing on the content of the book.
When we left our cozy home environment, it was time to go to school, and during this time, my brother and I were asked a lot of embarrassing questions.One day, while my brother and I were playing together, a friend asked me, “Jessica, why does your brother look different from you?”The question gave me pause, but he smiled and replied, “Because we are a family, looks don't matter. His positive attitude had a good effect on me, and I'm sure he had a good effect on himself, too.Watching him grow up right, and our family became interested in Korea. If he was a troublemaker and always in trouble, he wouldn't have had the time to take the time to learn about his country of origin, Korea, but when he studied well, didn't fight with his friends, and was a good person who always loved and cared for his brother, we couldn't help but wonder about his roots.
I think my parents also had the will to share Korean culture with my brother and me, to learn what they could, to broaden our horizons and deepen our family's understanding.Many years ago, when I was in middle school, my family visited Korea for the first time, and the experience left a great impression on me.
We visited many tourist spots in Seoul and saw the harmonious combination of Korean tradition and modernity.And Korea, with its many dark-haired, dark-eyed people like my brother, was somehow not foreign to me.For Americans traveling to Asia for the first time, this could have been difficult because people look different and give off different vibes, but not for me. My parents, of course, were very excited to revisit Korea, the country of my brother's birth, and spoke so many blessings about the land of my brother's birth.Of course, there were many good things to see and many fun things to do in Korea, but the most memorable moment was when I suddenly developed a high fever.
It was a quiet night in Korea at the time, and I suddenly developed a high fever.This change was so sudden that my parents panicked.Eventually, with the help of the hotel we were staying at, they were able to get me to the emergency room in Korea, where I was quickly treated.Upon arrival, the medical staff quickly assessed my condition and ran the necessary tests.The whole process was organized, and thanks to the professionalism and quick response of the medical staff, I was able to get comfortable quickly. My situation was so serious that my head hurt like a rock and I could barely understand what was being said around me, but thanks to their quick response, my fever started to come down and I was able to return to my senses.The tests showed that I had a severe flu, which had been contracted in the United States and had incubated in Korea.I had to stop traveling in Korea and be admitted to the hospital for treatment, but thanks to the fast and efficient healthcare system in Korea, this was not a problem.
My parents breathed a sigh of relief and expressed their deep gratitude to the Korean healthcare system.“If it wasn't for Korea, I would have been in trouble,” my father said.Although my family had to stop our trip to Korea and spend the rest of my stay in a Korean hospital, looking back, it was also a unique experience abroad.
Many years later, as an adult, my relationship with my brother was still good. We enjoyed Korean dramas, movies, and music together, cooked Korean food together, and learned Korean together.
However, there was a clear difference between me and him: he seemed to be better at learning, even if he spent the same amount of time studying, and he went to a prestigious university, while I failed to get into college and became depressed.
He helped me with my studies every vacation, taught me how to study, and helped me to get into a prestigious university, but the results were not good. I was rejected by all the universities I applied to, and I was going through a very difficult time. After he graduated from college, he moved back home from the East Coast of the United States and helped me study for the college entrance exam, and with his help, I was able to get into college, albeit late.
Although I didn't get into a prestigious university like my brother, I still had a satisfying college experience and broadened my horizons.Naturally, I discovered that Korea has been on the global radar lately, which was very exciting.Korea may be the latest trend for Americans these days, but for me and my brother, it's like going back to our roots.I've always loved Korea, and it was very interesting and fond to reminisce about my trip to Korea when I was in middle school and look through my photo albums, even though half the time I was sick. So, my brother and I decided to visit Korea again, and this time, we had several goals for the trip: we wanted to make sure that we got it right this time, because we didn't get it right the first time, and my brother wanted to get to know his Korean roots better, even though he is now an adult, working as an American and living as an American, and I wanted to get to know my Korean roots better in relation to my major in college, and this time, I wanted to research more about the Korean healthcare system that I had experienced as a child.
Of course, I also wanted to have fun in Korea and enjoy the freedom to roam around the country unlike when I was a student, but I didn't take it too seriously.
Korea was so different from the U.S. It had the look of a big city in the U.S., but it had its own unique vibe. It was much more developed than the neighborhoods we live in in the U.S., and everywhere you looked was filled with people, and there were hundreds or thousands of stores selling a variety of things. If you were walking around and traveling, and you got thirsty and needed a break, there were cafes all around you that you could just pop into and take a break, and you didn't have to go far to find a restaurant that had one Korean food and sold it, because all the infrastructure was there.
Everything is around you, and everything you want or need is always right around the corner, which is why people call city life so convenient and love it.The public transportation system in Korea, which is light years better than the big cities in the U.S., helped us get around without any difficulty.It was also so much fun to get a T-money card, carry it around, and use it to get around Korea for a very low cost.
And when my brother and I would walk around, going to cafes, restaurants, and other places where there was something to do, many Koreans would tell us that we made a good looking couple.When I would tell them, in a pleasant and complimentary way, that we were actually brother and sister, they would look surprised and apologize.
But it's completely understandable, because even in the U.S., more people think of us as a couple or friends than they do as siblings, and there's not much of an adoption culture in Korea, and no one adopts and brings European or American children to Korea, so it's no wonder we get these funny misunderstandings.
To be honest, even in the U.S. nowadays, you can still encounter people who ask my brother and I questions about our relationship with unpleasant intentions to hurt us, assuming that we are not a couple or friends, but maybe even a man.A recent memory is of an American grandfather in his 70s who made a very rude remark to us, asking us what kind of father our father was to have two women give birth at the same time.
In the U.S., most people are friendly and kind to me, but the problem is that some people sometimes make fun of my brother because he looks Asian, but this was not the case in Korea at all.No one discriminated against me because of my different appearance.
And there's actually a story I wasn't going to tell in this article, but I'm writing it down because I had my brother's permission to do so.After arriving in Korea, we decided to search for my adopted brother's birth parents in order to trace his roots.My parents and I respected his decision to pursue this endeavor in Korea, and of course, we decided to support it. We visited the Korean adoption agency and requested my brother's adoption records.The representative provided us with all the information possible and was eager to help us, saying that efforts to find one's roots are ongoing every day.Together, we were able to find some important clues in the records.
My brother decided to visit his birthplace based on those clues, and of course, I joined him on the journey.We were always laughing since we came to Korea, but at this moment, there was more seriousness than laughter.We visited my brother's birthplace together and talked to the local people.
At the time, there was only a vague record of my brother's father and mother, but no proper records, so we only knew where he was born, and we had to go there and find someone who had lived there for a long time.But Korea is a very fast-developing country, and the sad thing is that the area where my brother was born and spent the first few months of his life was already torn down and replaced by a huge apartment complex. We felt that if we had come sooner, at least before these new apartments were built, things would have been at least better than they were, but there was no point in regretting what had passed.We visited the social welfare center and police station in the area, explained our situation, and asked for help.The Korean people were very kind, listening to my brother's story and letting us know what we could do.
We were told that when a new apartment building is built in Korea, new people who have no connection to the area move into the apartment, but that some of the people who live in these new apartments have been living here for a long time, most likely elderly people, and that the best thing to do is to find them and ask them about their past.We felt that this information would be very useful to us, as we were very confused and frustrated.
So my brother and I, along with a Korean lady who felt sorry for us and wanted to help, approached the elderly people who came in and out of the apartment and asked them questions.But despite all our efforts, we were unsuccessful in finding my brother's biological parents.We had many clues and information, but we were unable to find any conclusive evidence.My brother was disappointed, but we were comforted by the fact that we had done our best. Maybe if we could have spent a few weeks, maybe even a few months here to find and talk to an elderly person with memories of the past, we could have found a clue to the solution, but we couldn't stay in Korea, so in the end, we had to give up without proceeding any further.When I saw the look on my brother's face as he said that if he had the chance, he would visit Korea next time for this sole purpose, I felt a great sense of disappointment.“It's a shame that we couldn't find them, but thank you for trying,” he said to me.I couldn't say it anymore.
It would have been great if he could have completed his homework, but he didn't.Contrary to my initial expectations, the Korean adoption agency tried to be as helpful as possible, and I was very grateful to the government officials in the place of my brother's supposed birth, who were very sympathetic to his situation and actively tried to help him, and to the Korean lady who passed by.
Having been treated by the Korean healthcare system in the past, I took this level of care for granted and thought that it was something that everyone could enjoy, but then, when I was a high school student in the U.S., I was seriously ill and did not receive the same care as I did in Korea, so I remember suffering terribly and tried to understand why this difference occurred.
Before I came to Korea, I had already arranged to meet with someone, and although I didn't get to visit any specialized institutions, I was able to meet with Korean college students, and I learned a lot of information from them: medical students, pharmacy students, and I was able to get a lot of information from them.
The Korean healthcare system was different from the U.S. in many ways: it was fast, efficient, and provided a high level of care at a relatively low cost.The quick response and organized system for emergencies was especially impressive.The emergency rooms in Korea were very reasonably priced, allowing people to go to them for minor and mild symptoms.At this point, I thought that if there were a lot of people going to the emergency room for minor symptoms, it would be a problem if someone came in who needed emergency care, but the hospitals in Korea made it very easy to answer that question. I also learned that when a really urgent patient comes in, the emergency room prioritizes the emergency patients and treats them first, ignoring the minor ones. It's so simple and obvious: the doctors have the skills to determine the severity of the patient's condition, and they can prioritize the treatment accordingly.
Not only that, but it was very easy to get an appointment in Korea and the wait time was short. The Korean medical staff emphasized patient care and prompt treatment, and they utilized the latest medical technology and equipment to provide the best possible medical care.
In the U.S., medical care is often very expensive, complicated, and difficult to access quickly, and many people are unable to get proper treatment due to insurance issues.I also received prompt treatment in Korea when I was in middle school without insurance and had to pay a reasonable price, but the experience was a nightmare as I remember being very sick in middle school and high school, and I felt that the Korean system was far superior.I felt that the Korean healthcare system is not for profit, but is dedicated to protecting the health of the people.
Through my experiences in Korea, I learned about a much broader world than what my brother and I knew before.There are many factors that make Korea such a great country, but the culture and system that my brother and I experienced firsthand helped us understand why.And most of all, Korea is the country that made my brother.I have grateful feelings for Korea, which is also my brother's roots.
My brother and I could tell without speaking to each other that through this visit, we saw in each other a willingness to continue to love Korea more and more, and to strive to learn and understand Korean culture.
Korea is now a country that has special meaning to me as an adult, and I think it will be a great pleasure for me to honor my brother's roots and watch Korea develop and grow.I will continue to connect with Korea and try to help more people discover its charms.
And next year, he plans to visit Korea to find his roots once again. He plans to stay in Korea for more than a month, and he will continue his best efforts during that period.

Im looking to start getting everything for deep Astrophotography not all at once but do plan on getting the camera my current budget for the camera is 1000-1200 USD my over all willing to spend is 10,000 usd for the kit and stand but plan on getting the camera first as I need to upgrade my current one im looking at several one that stands out is Nikon d7100 but wanted to reach out to others who have experience in here to see if you can offer help with your experience and see what camera you think would be best! Thank you in advanced!! If you also have a full kit idea that would fit the budget I would love to hear your suggestion for that too!

Money alone can’t buy Google rank, but with a little time and strategy you can improve your position on the search engine results page (SERP) without spending a dime. Here are 10 free ways to improve your Google search rank.

Tip#1: Improve your website’s user experience.

According to a study on ranking factors by SEMrush, the top four ranking factors are website visits, time on site, pages per session, and bounce rate. All four of those are directly related to your website’s content and user experience, which Google recently emphasized with its Page Experience update. It’s pretty simple: If your website is easy and enjoyable to use and offers valuable information, you’ll get more visitors, who will stay longer on your site and visit more pages, and that will improve your search rank.

Tip#2: Write great content optimized for SEO.

Knowing how to write good website content is one of the best ways to increase traffic and improve your search rank. In fact, Google itself said in a blog post on page experience that having great, relevant content on a page is more important for ranking than page experience. Make sure your content is mistake-free, keyword-rich, mobile-optimized, written to address the specific needs of your target audience, and includes valuable links to additional internal and external content.

Tip#3: Get more backlinks.

Backlinks — links from other sites to yours — are one of the most heavily weighted Google ranking factors. Incoming links to your website content from high-authority domains show your site’s authority, bring in traffic, and improve your search ranking.

Tip#4: Improve your page speed.

Load time is one of the key measurements in Google’s recent Core Web Vitals upgrade, so it’s a good idea to learn how to improve website speed — both to boost your search rank and provide a good user experience.

Tip#5: Fix broken links.

Having quality links on your website is one of the best ways to boost traffic and establish the authority of your site, but links that bring up a 404 error hurt both your user experience and your search rank. Use a tool like BrokenLinkCheck or Dead Link Checker to find any broken links.

Tip#6: Optimize your images.

Optimizing your images is crucial to boosting the speed of your site and making it easier for Google to identify the images on your web pages. Make sure all your website images are compressed, have descriptive filenames, and include alt text.

Tip#7: Use H1 and H2 header tags.

Not only do headers make your content more readable and easier to understand for humans and search engines alike, there is a strong correlation between Google search rank and the use of header tags in the body of your content. Header tags are also a great way to show the structure of your content and emphasize your key points.

Tip#8: Optimize for local search.

More and more people are using their smartphones to search for businesses “near me.” To improve local search engine optimization, make sure you claim your Google My Business listing, provide relevant content in Google Posts, get your business listed in local directories, and improve your online reputation with great online reviews.

Tip#9: Optimize for voice search.

According to a study by Perficient, voice search is no longer growing, but more than 60% of people surveyed still said voice search is their preferred method of asking questions on their smartphone. Make sure you optimize your website for voice search by incorporating likely voice search phrases into your website content — be sure to use full sentences phrased in a natural conversational style rather than single keywords.

Tip#10: Aim for “position zero.”

When a user asks a question in Google Search, Google sometimes pulls content from a relevant website and displays it in a special featured snippet or answer box above the #1 search result. Getting content into a featured snippet.) is a great way to increase traffic (snippets include a link to the page where the content came from), as well as boost the credibility and visibility of your brand. To increase your chances of having your content selected as a featured snippet by Google, think of likely searches related to your business and pepper your site with clear, authoritative answers.

(I’m pretty pissed rn so i’m just blabbering and not sure if it will make sense). I (20f) met my friend group that consists of 5. I’ll be giving fake names, Danny, Ivan, Ivory and Daisy. I met them in my second semester of university. This particular “friend” Daisy specifically in the friend group stood out the most since she was the first one I became friends with and got along right away. We started hanging out more with the rest of the group 3rd semester (2nd year fall semester). At that time I was dating my boyfriend (still am) who is abroad right now, so I haven’t seen him for a while. They were aware about him and at that time I was already dealing with a sh*tty roommate, so I was hanging out their dorm constantly. But once 3rd semester came around then we started spending Fridays and Saturdays at Daisy’s dorm. Keep in mind my dorm was a 25 min walk and near a forest and I would get home usually around 12am. Those days we chose to hang out we got high together and it became our norm. Somewhere in late September and Early October I started having really serious issues with my boyfriend and he honestly wasn’t treating me well at that time and I told my friends, because he brought up the plan of marriage and I was hesitant when the group asked me if I really wanted to marry him. Late October I was telling Daisy about it and she told me its best to break things off with him and how she did the same with her ex boyfriend because he was bad for her, and I’m pretty sure she says she misses him (but yeah I kinda forgot). I really didn’t want to breakup with him but I knew I needed to cut him off, so I got home at midnight and called him and broke up with him and instantly regret it. I was already dealing with so much other shit and I almost una****d my self after. But plans didn’t work so I kept my mouth shut. (I’ll get to the point I promise.) Late December I got news that a contract i signed over a year ago with a friend whose father owned a business offered me a job meaning I was going to move to another country. ( I ended up changing the contact for a later year) I would be super close to my boyfriend and I was pretty hesitant since so much had changed and I called my boyfriend who was my ex at that time and told him everything and we talked for a while. Long story short we missed each other a lot and we acknowledged that we both did terrible stuff but in the end if we worked it out together then our relationship could work. We set boundaries and rules for us to follow and we are currently together and I’m really happy right now. I didn’t tell my friends about me getting back with him because I knew they would be upset which I understand. I told Ivory first in late March and I asked for her to be understanding that he changed and she was upset but told me that she’ll always support me and be there for me which I needed to hear. Daisy didn’t find out until 2 weeks before my birthday and Daisy was super pissed at me and ever since she was cold and rude, ending all the convos with the gc that replied to me with periods. Since January I’ve noticed that Daisy would be pretty rude and only think about herself mainly and not the rest of us. There would be some days where I would ask if we can hang out at my place instead and I would always hear the same thing how my place was too far and that it’ll be late when they leave which did annoy me a lot since that was exactly how I went home. I walked back home a lot at midnight, ALONE and high. The 2 times they had came over they all left as a group since Daisy, Ivan and Danny lived in the same building and they would drop off Ivory on the way, while I was the only one who lived the furthest. When we would hang out at Daisy’s place she would ask what we wanted to watch we give ideas and would usually 85% of the time say no to our suggestions and pick the movies she wanted to watch instead. None of us have cars so we rented zipcars and I noticed a while after that when it was only convenient for her and when she was the one who needed groceries then she would text us like the day before or the day and sometimes an hour or so before of whenever she needed to run errands and when we weren’t able too then she would get mad. But when it came to us asking if we can go then she didn’t want too or was low on money which that one i understand. She would get pissed or annoyed a lot at Ivory for being herself sometimes, which honestly imo it pissed me off so much for the way how Daisy was with her. I slowly started distancing myself from the group for a while since I had my own shit going on and I was getting overwhelmed with it. My breaking point was when 2 weeks before my birthday Daisy found out about my boyfriend and went radio silent with me and was ignoring me in the gc and I remember her reposting posts on insta that were targeting me. I sound selfish but I was really looking forward to my birthday, but a week before my birthday I got a call that my mom was in the hospital and I was 12 hours away from her and I was an emotional wreck because I was just hearing she was dying. I didn’t tell my friends about it. I was FaceTiming my boyfriend and crying to him because I felt so alone and needed someone, but I figured celebrating with my friends would kind of help distract me. Since a lot of uni students were doing “peacefully protests”, my campus was shut down and there were many cops on campus and we werent allowed back on campus or else we would get arrested or idk. But the day before my birthday Ivory texted me saying (copied and pasted) “Daisy and Netty would have to walk across campus for it and I asked if there was a way to cancel it still and Dulce said yeah and I was like I don’t want yall to get arrested and then Dulce is being weird and was like “then we’ll cancel it problem solved” and long story short the car has been cancelled”. The plan was that we were going to rent a zipcar and get jack in the box and dutch and then head over to Daisy’s dorm (which i didn’t want and asked if we can maybe do it at my place) and just hang out. But I really didn’t feel like walking 30 minutes back to my dorm (since I couldn’t walk through campus and had to go around). But I’m not sure it just got confusing and in the end everything was canceled and being sad was an understatement. I was really sad about it because it would be my first birthday party with a group of friends who I thought were my actual friends. The day of my birthday and got myself a tiny cake and celebrated by myself in my dorm. Ever since my “amazing” birthday I was just depressed and figured it was time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life. ( I had other problems with my life besides them.) Right before school ended i texted the gc that I was leaving and never coming back and I miss Ivory because she was a really good friend and I miss her a lot.. can’t say much about Daisy because today I posted an instagram story note saying “(uni name) is is greedy and mean just like em. glad im gone” i got sent a letter saying how the school was asking me to pay the remaining medical bill which was like 144$ and idk it just reminded me of the many rude people i came across on my campus. I wasn’t directing it at her until she posted her own insta note and it said “ that’s so crazy, not my fault your delusional” which i know was directed at me. I want to text her and call her out for her the stuff she had done and tell her to grow up. But I’m not sure if I should just block her and move on. I kind of need closure and advice on how to handle the situation.

Hello, My name is Karol, I'm from Minnesota, and I'm new to Reddit. I don't expect this to get much attention, but I've been needing to get this off my chest for a while. So to jump right into it, there's this girl ive known for about eight years now and she has been a bit of a big part of my life. For the sake of this story, we are just going to call her by her middle name, Grace. I had first met her when I was sitting alone at breakfast one day in my elementary school cafeteria, and she and her sister came and sat with me. I was confused until we started talking, and I got to know her quite a bit. Flash forward to the first day of 3rd grade, where I walked into the classroom with my best friend Norma, and I saw Grace again, but this time she had much longer hair and was a little taller. I started to develop feelings for grace, not just normal feelings, though I felt like I really liked her. I didn't recognize Grace at the time; I thought this was a new student. I worked up the courage to talk to her, and that's when I realized it was grace. I didn't think she knew how much of a crush I had on her at the time. A few months into the school year, I met this girl, whom we'll call Lina. Me, Grace, and Lina started to all become friends, and one day we had indoor recess, and my friend Kayla invited me to play Uno with her and some other girls, but Lina also invited me to play Truth or Dare with her, Grace, and some other girls. I decided to go play truth or dare with Lina. It was my turn, and Lina said to me, "Truth or dare?" and I chose dare. She then proceeded to say, "Whisper in your crush's ear and tell them you like them." I began to grow nervous as I felt everyone in the circle looking at me, so I leaned over to Grace and whispered to her, "I like you, but if you don't like me back, don't say it while everyone is watching." Grace whispered back to me, "Well, I do like you," and that was the beginning of an era. Looking back on that moment as I am about to go into my sophomore year, I really wish I had never played truth or dare with them. I could've saved myself from so much bullying, so much drama, and from the worst thing that's ever happened to me: grace. But let me know if you want Part 2, since this is just the beginning.

Did anyone else find that so bizarre? Not particularly booktok, but getting off from literature. He reacted to the idea like this was some foreign concept, and mocks it like it's something weird and silly. Like, there's a reason romance is one of the best selling genres of books.
I'm not one to usually be taken aback by other's takes on stuff, but his handling of that felt fairly judgemental. Like, cool that you aren't into it, but plenty of people prefer spicy literature to visual porn and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

hii, i'm turning 4th year college this coming next s.y. and naiisip ko kung mageenroll ba ako sa public speaking class kasi sobra na ang pagiging introvert ko yung tipong hindi ko na alam kung saan kukuha ng lakas ng loob para magsalita sa harap ng tao especially pag presentation and recitation. hirap din ako magexpress ng ideas ko, hindi ko ma-construct ng maayos yung mga gusto kong sabihin. gusto kong iimprove yung sarili ko when it comes in public speaking especially speaking in english kasi i know importante din yun lalo na pag maghahanap ng work.
so, tingin niyo ba worth it?

Hey everyone, firstly I wanna say thank you for the support I'm getting talking about all this. I've mentioned it already but it really does help me feel less crazy just being able to dump this all on someone and not feel like I'm going to have to go to a mental hospital or something. I also meant to post this update earlier today, but my internet was acting strange and would let me do anything with it all day. Finally was able to post using the internet at work and I hope a few things that happened in this story will explain some stuff, or maybe just raise more questions. Who knows at this point.
One thing that's helped besides trauma dumping here is a friend I have here asked me to a lake nearby to hang out for Memorial Day. Of course with everything going on here, I was more than happy to accept. If not just to get away for a while. We had a great day, beers, swimming, finally seeing some people I knew were real again. The whole past weekend or so has been a lot and some sense of normalcy really helped my nerves. It still all weighed on the back of my mind though. The man with the box, the key, the screams and knocking. Especially Macy. Maybe some part of me just wanted to brush off our last weird text interaction and see her again. Maybe some part, I'd say the bigger part, just wanted to figure out if she's related to this somehow.
When I got back last night, it was the same as always. Not a single person around. Again I wanna be clear, there's a ton of cars in the parking lot, like to the point I have trouble finding a spot close to my building door. And obviously I've seen the man with the box and Macy, so I know there's definitely people that live here. But nobody around, except them of course. I guess this time it could've just been the fact I got home late. Still... it gives me chills the deeper I think about it.
I made my way up the stairs to my apartment, the echoing of my footsteps through the stairwell emphasizing to me just how alone I was. Back inside, I unconsciously threw my own keys on my counter right next to the key from before and it really all came flooding back. But I'm trying to stay level headed. Regardless, to try to keep it from sending me over the edge, I slid it away from mine and haphazardly threw a notebook nearby on top of it to block it from view. I went out to my balcony and lit a cigarette. What I had initially thought was going to be the end to the night.
Leaning on the railing, I let the nicotine calm me back down. Across the street I noticed house lights here and there shutting off, other folks calling it a night too as the holiday came to an end. As I finished and put it out in the, admittedly overly full ashtray, I noticed the mark on the small rug I placed out there from the coffee Macy spilled. I got it right after the box incident to cover the scratches from that in the concrete. The stain was right where the scratches would've been and I had a strange thought. I whipped out my phone and fumbled to turn the flashlight on. Once it was, I lifted the rug and shined the concrete underneath. The scratches were completely gone as if they, or even the box, had never been there.
As I stared in confusion, I got a text message. My heart skipped a beat and I dropped both the rug and my phone, luckily not losing it off the balcony. I snapped myself back to reality and picked it back up to check. It was Macy. After about a full minute of contemplation, I opened it.
"Hey I saw you get home," she had written. How? How on earth did she see me get home? I'm hyper vigilant for anyone, anyone at all I can see whenever coming or going given the circumstances, and I definitely didn't see her anywhere. The more rational part of my brain reminded me she came to my apartment, I hadn't any idea which one she lived in so maybe her window faced the parking lot and she had seen me that way. Even that though, what are the chances she would see me get back right when I did and text so soon after unless she had been watching for me already? I didn't know if that was flattering or another thing I should be worried about. On top of that, her last other text I could still see right above this one made me more sure that something was going on.
I immediately went into investigation mode. "Oh hey, yea lol I've been out with a friend all day," I replied. My whole goal now was to try to seem casual and see if I could pull something out of her to figure out just what the hell is happening here. I wasn't going to ask her about the last text, I certainly wasn't going to bring up the screaming or knocking. I had to navigate this carefully.
"Oh fun! How was it?" This is getting even stranger, she seemed more casual than I was actively trying to be. Granted I barely knew this girl, this didn't sound like the one I met. But I'm not stopping here.
"It was fun yea, I'm a bit exhausted haha," I tried not to leave it open for her to actually have a reason to come over. I was actually tired, but now I wanted answers and wasn't looking to have anymore weird incidences right now. Despite not wanting any though, I'm sure you can tell I wouldn't be writing this if they didn't happen.
"Good!" another out of character response.
As chill as possible, I replied, "So how was your day? Anything interesting?" Doing my best to pry at some sort of evidence or answers or something. I regret sending it now, what she said next just made me more worried. I should've just ignored my phone and went to bed.
"Yea I met a really nice guy in the building, he's cool we should all hang out sometime" I know exactly who she's talking about, I'm sure you know exactly who she's talking about. Now I couldn't stop myself.
"Did he give you anything?" Dammit. I hit send before thinking. That was definitely too much and too abrupt. At best I sound like a weirdo or like I was about to get jealous. At worse I was gonna get the answer I didn't want. The answer I expected as badly as I didn't want to.
"Lol yea actually how'd you know? He left a box with a really nice note sometime after he left. It's supposed to be a gift, but I don't really get it." I should've ended the conversation right there and just come up with a reason in the morning why. But I felt like the puzzle pieces were close to fitting together. Unfortunately, I was right.
I felt I was getting obsessed. "Really? So you opened it?"
"Yea there was like an old jewelry box inside, I think he forgot the key though, it's locked" I knew what would open it. I slowly looked to the spot on the counter where the key was. Still covered by the notebook. I went over to it and placed my hand on the notebook. When I did though I was jump scared again by the slam of a door. Rather, not a door slamming shut but the way it sounds when someone opens it hard and it bangs into the wall. Clearly coming from the hallway. Then another, then another. I heard this over and over again getting further and further away until finally it stopped. I wish I never walked out to investigate but like I said, I was obsessed now and just had to know. I cautiously, quietly as possible, opened my door and peered out.
Every single door down to the opposite end of the hall was wide open. I'd like to say I was relieved, finally seeing some sign of the other apartments being occupied. But because every one, at least that I could see, was pitch black inside, it still wasn't evidence per se. Until I started seeing hands.
Out of the next door apartment, almost coyly, someone's hand slowly stuck out and started waving. I started walking towards it. Looking back now it was like I was in a trance. I just had to see. I had to see what was in the apartment. As soon as I got close enough to actually try to see inside proper, the hand yanked back inside and the door slammed back shut, immediately followed by a quick series of angry knocks from the other side of the door. Then I noticed another hand coming out of the next apartment. Waving.
Picking up my pace now, I walked towards this apartment door. But the same thing happened before I got close enough. The door slammed shut and a quick set of the same aggressive knocks followed. This process repeated over and over the same way all the way down the hall as I kept walking faster until I was jogging. I had to see inside one of these apartments. But every time. Hand. Wave. Slam. Knocks.
That happened until I reached the end of the hall, where noticeably, no hand came out of the last apartment. I stopped in my tracks. Anxiously I started towards this last door. It was pitch black like the rest, but in the doorway, someone was standing there. It was Macy.
She was facing into the apartment away from me and she seemed off. Not the way she was acting, I mean obviously pulling a Blair Witch in the doorway was off, don't get me wrong. I mean there was something off about the way she looked. She looked taller...her hands looked bigger...her shoulders looked broader. "M-Macy?" I tried to get her attention. She slowly turned around and I noticed her looked different too. Bigger like the rest of the things that seemed off about her now, but I recognized those eyes. I couldn't forget those eyes if I wanted to. Ever since I saw them in the parking lot. Ever since I saw them from balcony. And there they were again, just staring again.
Macy began a slow smile. Wider and wider until she looked even stranger than she already did. I started backing away. She stepped out and turned. Now standing still in the hallway with the same expression and strange features. She didn't follow me but I didn't dare take my eyes away off her until I got to the other end of the hall and to my apartment. Still looking at her standing like a statue, I patted around my door until I found the handle. Slipping inside as quick as possible, I locked the door. The screaming started again.
I could tell where it was coming from exactly now though. It was coming from down the hall where I left Macy. And it was getting closer. Slowly but surely making its way to my end of the hall. I grabbed my gun, terrified at what might come next. Louder and louder, I heard this blood curdling scream until it was right outside my door. I raised my gun, but just as suddenly as it started, it completely stopped. Next thing I heard was my phone vibrate. Still watching for what might happen at the door, I checked my phone. It was Macy...
"Wanna open it?"
I didn't even think about texting her back. I stayed up for a long long time the rest of the night, but that text seemed to top off the night's events as nothing else happened. The day at the lake and then everything I had just been through had me wiped out and eventually I couldn't stay awake. I the time I was awake I was too freaked to write any update, so that's what I'm doing now while the memory is still fresh. I ended up taking a double and letting my evening shift run into a night shift. Hopefully, I'll get some ideas on what to do next after I spend a night or two away from that place.

Hello! <33 I'm a casual player and just got back into Genshin(good god the map is huge now :(( currently on Sumeru ) and want a bit of help! My current team is as follows
Main DPS: LVL 80 C1 Hutao(crimson witch build + Dragons Bane. Currently upgrading Primordial Jade. Talent lvls: 6/8/8 ) ; Sub DPS: LVL 80 C2 Fischl( Gladiator + Bloodstained + amos bow. Talent lvls: 8/7/6 and if im honest Hu Tao and Fischl both work as sub dps's and dps on their own), Healer: LVL 80 Jean(viridescent venerer + R2 Favonius sword. Talent lvl: 7/5/7); Shield: LVL 70 C6 Noelle(Retracing Bolide + Whiteblind. talent lvl: 6/9/9)
I'm not a super big grinder and all so that's more like a "i'll prioritize it if im building a new character and need to get them to my level." I've used this team for a majority of my time and it's dependable by my standards (which I will admit are not that high? I've seen teir lists and golly noelle is shit LMAO). I'm mainly asking for help as many things I look to just tell me what characters are good and they all tend to be 5 stars (which I totally get bc they're just inherently better I think) but as someone who doesn't really look to get 5 stars unless they're someone I'm absolutely in love w like Hu Tao bc her aesthetic is so cute or Klee bc shes the cutest thing i've ever seen and i NEED that backpack and most of the 5 stars I want are like..GOONEEE. I'll never get Itto or Ganyu I know Noelle and Jean both heal and it's neat and all but I think there are better options? These are the characters I have to give an idea of what to work with. I'd like to keep Fischl and Hu Tao if possible! I know Noelle is not seen as the best bc well..she's not LMAO but I got attached to her too quick and now struggle to let go. So with possibly keeping Hu Tao and Fischl...what works? I truly have no idea of what works with my team and what doesn't
C0 Childe; C4 Sucrose; C2 Diona; C1 Chongyun; C4 Barbara; C0 Bennett; C1 Razor; C1 Xinyan; C0 Kaeya; C6 Xiangling; C1 Lisa; C3 Lumine; C2 Beidou; C0 Amber; C0 Klee; C3 Ningguang; C0 Aloy; C0 Mona; C4 Gorou; C0 Lynette; C0 Faruzan; C0 Rosaria; C0 Kujou Sara; C0 Kaveh; C0 Collei; C1 Xingqiu; C0 Thoma

I have 1 free AP score report for my APUSH exam which I can send to any 1 college of my choosing. I don't plan on majoring in history or anything related to history, but if my score is bad would it be a bad idea to send it? If the school only accepts 3+ whats the lowest I should send in? What about 4? Thanks in advance!