Teaching appositives worksheets 3rd grade

I'm a college oboe performance major, going into my senior year and planning to start applying to grad schools soon.
My freshman year was the first time I was exposed to reedmaking (before I bought and severely overused my teacher's reeds, developing a lot of bad playing habits in the process). In undergrad, we are required to only play on our own reeds after the first semester, although we can ask for help in adjusting them. However as juniors and seniors we are supposed to be completely independent and suffer grade penalization if we buy reeds.
Over the last three years I have averaged about 10-12 reeds a week during the school year but have not been able to make anything on my own that I can perform on. Our professor really doesn't like to teach a lot of reedmaking stuff so while I did ask for help all the time, it usually didn't amount to much learning, and I was really inconsistent with my playing. I paid other people in the studio for reedmaking lessons and reeds so that I could get by, but that was also inconsistent because it started to affect my grade (my teacher knew that when I could play without severe issues it was because it wasn't my reed 🙃)
As you can imagine, this has created a really stressful reedmaking environment, especially when my peers and younger players in the studio are having more success, consistently. I'm really worried that my playing has stagnated so much as a result of my reedmaking that I won't be able to get into grad school, but also just so frustrated with my inability to learn despite spending far more time on reeds than anything else in school. I've been trying for so long, and I have made no shortage of effort to seek outside help, but I feel like ultimately a large part of the problem is my attitude and desperation creating more issues on top of just being a slow learner.
Has anybody here been in a similar headspace? Were there any strategies you were able to use to overcome it? Is reedmaking something that just never clicks for certain people and they have to circumvent it as professionals? Any and all advice would be appreciated, thank you all!

So of course this is about a girl. She is in my class (3rd year) and I really like her, and we text each other like almost every evening until sleep. She often asks me for help in subjects like maths and physics, and I do have good grades but she knows I never study. so I asked her why she wouldn't ask someone else, like the dude who has good grades in every subject (i would say nerd but hes a cool guy, one of my best friends). of course I told her that I wasn't asking because I didn't want her to ask me, but just out of curiosity, and I told her that I'm happy when she texts me. she responded telling me that she likes how I explain things, which is quite confusing since I'm bad at saying what I think, but I didn't ask further Couse i didn't want to make her uncomfortable. she often texts me first and at school she always tries to have some conversations with me, and also the while fucking class keeps telling us that know we like each other, and thank god (or maybe that wouldnt be that bad, its either a super good thing or super bad imo) that never happened when we were together. So, I know I should tell her my feelings and I'm pretty sure she likes me back, but there's a problem. I'm really bad at having conversations. like, I never know what to talk about, even with some of my friends, unless they keep up the conversation, and we end up in that weird state of silence not knowing what to say,but we end up laughing cuz we know its embarrassing but we accepted it for how it is. But even if I asked her and she said yes, then we would have to hang out toghether, and i would realky like it. but i know that probably, if she isnt the best talker, we would end up being silent and that would ruin it all. I get that if that happens it's both's fault, but I wouldn't surely blame her. also, I've been in relationships before, but well last one it was middle school so ye not something to talk about ig. Anyway, even in those relationships, I've always felt like I had to be perfect for her, even if she was the one that asked me out. I feel like if I'm not always perfect I couldn't be at her same level, even though she doesn't even have to try for me to like her. what is my problem, and is there any way I could avoid that weird silence and not get both of us embarrassed? also, sorry if my English was bad but I'm not a native

I wanna know what you think, and if a dream ever come true, what was it like and how did you react?
My story: So when I was way younger, in the start of 3rd grade, i was a soft-hearted and kind kid, never really told people about this, yet I come from mexico, and in 3rd grade there was a single teacher that spoke spanish, she was one of the only ones to actually try and help me with english... yet one day short after the start of the year, probably 2-4 months, I had a dream that she left the school... turns out on monday she wasn't there? I quickly realized that she quitted on the weekend, probably around the time when I got the dream. It still sends me chills and gives me goose bumps whenever I remember.

Hello everyone, I'm gonna start this off by saying thanks to anybody who will read this as it will be a long one, and anybody willing to offer me any advice.
PS. This post started as a post where I was asking for college advice, but as I wrote more I realized any advice would be really helpful so I changed the title a bit, Thanks in advance again!
[[ Beware: My whole lifestory coming up combined with tired midnight grammar 😅 ]]
To get to the point, I currently live in Croatia and just turned 19 a couple of months ago and a time has come when I am again thinking about college. Some background on me, from when I was very little I was always interested in engineering and art, it all started when a teacher of mine in the 5th grade of primary school introduced me to programming and robotics. From then on I was in love with everything to do with electronics, robotics, mechanics programming, and fundamental sciences, maybe even math itself, but that's beside the point. During those years the passion for all of that really grew. I went to countless robotics competitions during my time at school there and even won lots of prizes. One time I almost came to world-level competitions but sadly missed the first place by a point. When I was home I sadly didn't have much equipment for any of these interests except a computer. It seemed limitless what I could do with it, whatever I wanted to do I could make it. It's not like electronics where as a kid getting parts was difficult except from old salvaged electronic devices. I could learn and make whatever I wanted, as long as the old family computer could run it. So I started learning a lot about computers during these times like basic algorithms and some basic games random Python scripts etc. In terms of computers, I was no genius, but for the age, I'm grateful I took the time to learn even the basics of it. Other than that I was a somewhat weird kid because I couldn't really take picking off some classmates as a joke and got annoyed at it quickly when they started interrupting me while I was drawing ( My dad was an artist in his youth so I picked that up from him, been scribbling every day in primary school when class was either boring or some kind of recess ) but even though they were picking on me, I to this day still really don't mind them, we were a pretty close class at the end of the day. And that's how most of my primary school went by, me being social with only a few friends and my informatics teacher as well. Other than that I was pretty sad during those years, I couldn't understand people and was contemplating the meaning of life as well, and that combined with me inheriting some stubbornness from mom, she and I were always fighting for homework, screentime, etc. Right now we are in a very good relationship so I'm greatful for that aswell. Seeing how I didnt really talk outside of school to many people expect a few friends ( I do live in a small village so if they were the same age as me they were in my class ) i basicly spent most of my time while not staying after school in a computer club we had for few hours every couple of days a week, i was cooped upped inside my house, playing with legos, being with grandparents or my cousins or being on computer and doing some programing, scripting, photoshoping and other things you can reasonably excect a child to do. And so passed most of my primary school.
When time came to plan for highschool, I originaly wanted to go to art school, but was quickly turned down by my mother because she thought it wasnt a smart idea. Personaly didn't like it at first, but she is a smart woman so in time i understood. Basicly other then liking to draw and paint, I wanted to go there bacause my best friend from class was going there and he also wanted me to come along. ( Funny how me the least popular guy and the youngest guy in class and he the most popular guy in class while also being the oldest were best friends, but thats a story for another day ) As my mom turned down my suggestion for art school she suggested I go to a school for a Mechatronics Technician. I didnt not like the idea as well I loved everything related to it. Other than that another option was Computer Technician ( basicly a programming oriented path ) but I decided mechatronics because i said to myself i can learn programing at home because the only tools i need are a computer, and mechanics, electronics and robotics is something I dont have at home so it will be really cool to learn all of that here and so, highschool started.
Oh how fast has the reality come crashing down as I understood what the whole mess of the education system actualy was. Most of the classes didnt have any equipment to actualy do anything practical, the other small portion that did the rest lf the 95% of class didnt understand anything so we couldnt do much or what was the more often scenario is that the proffesors just didnt really care at all so we would come to class and do absolutly nothing, like literaly nothing except waiting for the bell to ring. After i realised that I just started not coming to school most quite a bit. Mostly was not comming on fridays, some wednesdays etc most of the times I was actualy abit sick, but every time i was sick i exadurated it so my mom would let me stay home. Even though i was missing quite a bit of classes, if a class had something to do with math or logical thinking ( which most were ) i would usualy either be best at it in the class or almost the best for the pure reason I was actualy really interested and loved all the cool engineering stuff. On the other side if a subject was about 0 logic, full random name memorisation like the croatian literature class, I was almost if not the worst in class managing just barely to scrape by. Other than that there was one proffesor who I admired so much for his style of teaching, as he tought me so much during the only 2 years he lectured me ( my fourth year of highschool he was out because pention ). In simply half a year we went from 0 knowledge to designing, printing, creating and soldering a whole circuit on a pcb, I was always there for his classes. On the other time we were doing something else, he always had some cool stuff prepared when i was finished with work early, he was a great guy and still respect him alot. Other than that i was really disapointed how there existed zero after school activities that i could do that had to do anything with electronic, mechanics, robotics or programing.
On the side of my social life, the summer just before starting highschool I realised this was a great opportunity to redeem myself as i really didnt want to get picked on like in primary school. So what other kind of persona would somebody come up in this situation than one being supported by my pride itself, other than that i was basicly a "chameleon" aka adapting to every person around me which was probably the reason i made some friends but it usualy tired me out completly. And so it started really great actualy, nobody was picking on me, i was socialising ( only inside of my class usualy, other than the people who went to this town from my village that i already knew, but it was a big step up for me ) and learned how to shrug of others banter by pretending it didnt effect me. It was definitly in a better possition then primary school alright, but i did realise alot of people just moving away sometimes because of how i just increased pridefulness as i got more vulnerable. I think i was able to keep my pride to just below some overflowing point as i still managed to make a few friends.
And so some time passed, at home watching more videos about everything to do with engineering, getting a 3d printer and messing with it, programing some more and even trying to learn some business, economy and more about money. I even developed a game for the school as some special thing I got by talking to a teacher of mine. Other than that at the third year, thanks to a profesor i was able to get in touch with a software development company and was able to secure an internship for basicly the whole summer, which was a blast. I learned so much new things that opened doors to alot more things. After that i focused my random "Jack of all trades" learning to be mostly focused on modern used technologies, and the needs of possible job recruiters, and well it in general. That is the point i feel i truly started learning proper programing.
More on my development of pride, in highschool and in primary school i was actualy praised quite alot and being actualy abit good at something maybe was the thing that allowed me to get even some friends by being prideful. We can call that being lucky as the stars alligned, but anyways. During those years i also had two experiences with me falling in love for the first time. The first one didnt last more than a 4ish months maybe, it was basicly a crush thing that ended in a broken heart, but o boy it was a good waking called. I wonder what would happen to me without this realisation. Then the next one lasted basicly 7-8ish months in the 4th year of highschool, and this one was much more complicated and longer, but after it i learned quite a new few things. These two things really awoken me to who i am today, as i try to live each day with as much virtue as I can. I threw out the pride out of the window, and dont really care too much of somebodies bad opinions on me, if there are currently any. I came to terms with alot of things and am just able to accept things for what they are, without judgment.
As im writing this its quite late and am tired so sorry for bad grammar i want to shorten this abit. Basicly my whole life i loved scientists, engineers and the idea of colledge. Was always dreaming of becomingba "great scientist" like albert einstein or nikola tesla but the older i got, the more things i learned, the more that dream of going to colledge got shattered by reality. As i realised the giant flaws in the education system, after learning about money and realising colledges are just big businesses trying to earn alot of money, and that that is their main motivation, combines with seeing that scientists basicly to get any money and recognition these days need to literaly hop from trend to trend, research what is "in" currently or well no bread on the table just made the academia route of my life shatter before my eyes. Seeing how i knew quite abit computers i thought i could atleast land something, but after seeing people who were much longer in the industry praise me for a impressive knowledge on alot of fields and my ability to almost instantly grasp any concept thrown at me, i actualy got a job. Well this was how I decided to start working immediatly instead of going to colledge. After weighing the options combined with the additional knowledge i got about the job market, this was an obvious choice. I believe that my key to being objective is me being realistic, so sadly i know am not some do it all genious and know i need to rely on whatever i have to use as leverage to enhance my life, so learning from Warren Buffet that out of everything I got, my time was my biggest asset. Simply being young with the above average skills i have, I believe i have a reasonably good chance to have a virtous and fulfiling life.
But i still have that burning flame in my chest, i still love the idea i had of colledge, of becoming a scientist, an engineer. I tried looking for ways to convince myself otherwise and see that i was actualy wrong about it all, but each time i look, more and more i realise my initial assumptions were right. The world is slowly moving away from official education like colledges as everything can be learnt online, because of ai the next few years are going to be revolutionary in all of these fields so either the colledge courses are going to be very outdated or just some concept of a job will not simply be needed as a diffrent one apears. The posibilities and their volatility is just so high that i dont feel even 1% safe actualy going to colledge, seeing how devoting like 5 years to it will mean loosing the onlx advantage i can use, and that is me starting out young. And as a bonus because i have a job i actualy have more time than colledge to persume my other interest like mechanics and electronics as well as actualy funds.
Thanks for reading all of this, I can trust it was quite a journey reading everything i written basicly half asleep but i hope you were able to understand everything. Im really confused what to do, as I love both options but knowing that one has a much better chance of being useful to me than the other. Any advice you can give me will be greatly appriciated, be it about college like is there an actualy good colledge in europe thats is worth it in my place, or general life stuff, about work etc. Once again I cannot thank you enough for reading this and helping me. Thanks!
Edit: I havent said much about my job because this is more of a general reddit but for people who are in the field I am a backend developer, with some freelancing and opensource contributions on the side

Looking for answers: my dad’s death
Hi CVille Reddit community. I am looking for y’all to come through for me on this one. I’m 35 years old and have lived in Connecticut/Massachusetts most of my adult life. But I grew up in Charlottesville, moving here up north to New England after fourth grade (Brownsville elementary in Crozet, stand up!!) for my mom’s teaching position.
I am looking for Redditors or loved ones of redditors who worked at The Colonnades assisted living facility (top floor) on Barracks Road anytime between 1998 and 2005. My dad lived and died there. In 2005, when I was 16 years old. His death devastated me. We were the best of friends.
I never found out any details about his death (my remaining nuclear family is super toxic), and I am now desperately seeking answers. Please reply if you can help, message me, or talk to your loved ones. I’ve seen this community do wonderful things in the past. I just ask that you take this into your heat.

Hi everyone,
I'm an elementary school teacher from Germany experimenting ChatGPT in my classroom in different ways to make learning more fun and effective. So far I am just winging it and seeing what sticks. My principal is super supportive in letting me trying stuff out to see what works. I am under no illusion that students won't be using AI for school at some point so I see it as my responsibility to teach them how to use it to learn instead of cheat. Maybe not in elementary school but they definitely will later. Here’s what I’ve done so far:
-Helped students get feedback and improve their stories.
-Used voice to text to help with reading aloud and enunciation.
-Took photos of homework worksheets to create core concept sheets for better understanding.
-Made advanced questions and contextual assignments to match students’ interests.
-Created questions to deepen understanding of the material.

• Made guides for parents to help with homework.
  
• had students make posters on the benefits and dangers of AI and fed that into CHatGPT to assist in transforming that content into a podcast that my students then recoreded with GarageBand
  

It already feels like just these little things I am doing can have a HUGE impact on better understanding but I am sure I still am missing so many potential use cases.
But I need some help and advice:
-Improving GPT Responses: Sometimes the answers I get are too detailed or not focused enough. How can I make GPT responses better and more to the point?
-Homework Assistance Bot: I want to build a bot that students can use in the morning to review their homework. They can scan their homework, find mistakes, and understand what they did right and wrong. It could also ask deeper questions for my advanced students. I think this will make homework more effective, especially for those who struggle and don’t get enough feedback. I have seen GPTs where you just have to type in a number to continue and it guides you through a predetermined set of questions. Something like that would be sweet for my young students.
Next school year, we’ll get access to a ChatGPT API, and hopefully, all students will get tablets. It seems like our state is setting us up to experiment. Data protection laws might become an issue, but as long as all student work uploaded is anonymous, we should be good—though nobody knows exactly how it will work yet.
I'm also working on showing my still skeptical colleagues the benefits of AI. My principal is supportive and sees the potential, even if they don’t fully get it yet. They’re encouraging me to help my colleagues see the value too. A lot of them are super skeptical. They think it is just the next toy that will fry our students brain not seeing the incredible potential IF used right. Please, please help me! I feel like a Trailblazer exploring a whole new world of education. There literally is nothing to work off of. I understand the accuracy of ChatGPT can be iffy so I always have to be considereate of that but with the proper context and right prompt it is basically 90% good for literally every student no matter their background. I will take that 90% for every student over me not being able to give every single student the attention they deserve. I don't want perfect to become the enemy of good. Plus I suspect when the next school year starts in September when I really want to shift to more adaptive learning we already have a slightly better iteration that will solve a lot of issues.. Exciting times but also really challenging.

i finished 3rd grade before i was homeschooled. now i've recently been reënrolled since my parents realized how hard it is to teach highschool after my freshman year. i spent my entire sophomore year in an actual school & yesterday was the last of the year for me. my academics haven't suffered - as i still have a 4.0 GPA - though my social skills have. this entire school year has been hell because of my social anxiety & awkwardness thanks to years of isolation. man i'm an extrovert at heart & socializing makes me happy, but i'm just so terrified that i can't. i haven't made a single close friend this entire school year. i'm just hoping i can continue to improve my social skils & i'm glad i was atleast put back in school before i graduated. NEVER homeschool your child, please. there's so many different things for you to juggle, you're bound to drop the ball on one of the aspects, whether it be academics, social skills, routine adaptability, etc.

Sounds silly, I know. But let me set the scene: I got a job at a jail right out of my ASN, which required basically 0 nursing skill. I was a glorified pill pusher. I got my BSN the following year in May. In August of that year I got into an FNP program assuming that I would get a thorough education and wouldn’t have to self-teach. Boy was I absolutely wrong. I left the jail and got a job at a psych hospital on an adolescent unit where I’m using even less nursing knowledge and skill. I’m going into my 3rd and final year of the MSN program and feel like I have 0 nursing skill, 0 knowledge, and am doomed. Because of this, I’m strongly considering leaving my job and going somewhere in a real hospital that I’ll learn something. Is it possible to be hired as a grad nurse or as a newbie 2+ years after graduation?
TL;DR: I have no useful knowledge or experience and feel trapped asf.

From my contract for next year:

Teacher acknowledges that any resignation or request to be released from this employment contract shall be presented in writing to the Board for approval. A release from this contract may be granted contingent upon the availability of a well-qualified, certificated teacher as a replacement. A teacher who resigns contrary to this policy shall be deemed to have committed an unprofessional act and shall be subject to the penalty as provided under Arizona statutes and State Board of Education regulations.

The contract also states that since it costs time and money to find a replacement teacher, there are now Liquidated Damages

Therefore, in lieu of proof of such damages, and not as a penalty, Teacher agrees to pay the District $2500 in liquidated damages for any such breach.

Teachers in my school were given an assignment change after they signed. For example, the science teacher was promised to continue with science but then was assigned to teach a self-contained 5th grade class, including ELA and math. She resigned a week later. She not only got a $2500 fine, but the school threatened to report her to the DOE and revoke her teaching credential.
At a time when there's a teacher shortage, my district has chosen to strong-arm teacher into staying after doing a bait-and-switch with contracts.
I was promised a 5th grade social studies position. Then I signed my contract and they switched my assignment to 5th grade self-contained. I already teach 3rd self-contained so the change isn't that drastic. But I expect that the board will put me into art, since I used to teach art several years ago.
There's a reason the school has gone through five art teachers in three years. It's the same reason the other district went through five art teachers in three years. One of those teachers was me, which is why I'm not teaching in that district any more.
If they put me into art, I'm going to give a list of conditions and demands, such as
•art grades will affect student GPA
•art grades will affect student eligibility for sports and other after-school activities
•school will provide consequences for disruptive behavior in art class, including removal of student from classroom. •each grade level will rotate between art, music, and PE on a weekly schedule, rather than daily.

TLDR: Is there such thing as a life boot camp with ppl with high-functioning ASD? An intensive, hands on, and or immersive type "experience" where one could learn "simple" things like how to open your mail, pay bills on time, make checklists for yourself, keep your room clean (make a bed, fold laundry), etc? It would be such a great bonus if there was ANYTHING that could teach basic intimate relationship skills too either in addition or separately. I have been overcompensating for my husband for almost a decade and a half and Im getting worn out. I don't want to do it bc not only do I think it wouldn't work but it would have me "playing mommy" and no one wants to f*ck their mother. At least they are not supposed to ;)
My apologies if I am in the wrong place.
I love my husband, I do. I don't want to get divorced, we have 2 kids F 13 and M 12. Our parents got divorced and we never want to do that our kids. That said, I have been pretty unhappy for YEARS. I posted in the deadbedroom bc our sex life ground down to a halt and someone there thought my hubby sounded ASD. It made so much sense the more I looked into it. Both of our kids have been diagnosed ASD and ADHD (both my hubby and I are diagnosed ADHD-He takes meds and sees a psch, I don't bc I don't feel the need). Ive told him many times you are either ASD or an a$$hole? Which is it or is it both?
ITB his parents got divorced when he was 6 months old, he never had a romantic relationship that lasted longer than 5 months, and the fact that he is a "geek" (works in tech and has a master's in Physics-he got on a full merit scholarship), he has little to no life skills and or understands what is involved in a healthy happy intimate relationship.
When we 1st met, he was living in squalor. Like never cleaned his bathroom for 13 yrs, only owned 1 fork, had only a bed, a desk, and a book shelf in a 1200 sq ft apt. Stacks of books everywhere and piles of old clothes, shoes, etc. I tend to be a fairly "dynamic" person and had owned my own company for almost a decade. My profession requires a HUGE level of organization, people skills, etc and utilizes all my positive attributes of ADHD. It seemed at the time I could take the guy out of the squalor, give him a beautiful home, children and a great life. But I guess I did not understand that you cant take the squalor out of the guy?!?!
We met when I was turning 40 and he was 42 going on 43. I got pregnant the 1st time we had sex, so we got married, bought our 1st home and other amazing milestones happened easily and quickly for us. For the 1st 5 yrs we were married, it wasn't perfect but things worked and I was happy. I now realize that I just overcompensated for him in MANY ways, thinking that he would get the hang of SOME things and learn how to pitch in and or be more of a partner. We have tried marriage counseling through the yrs but nothing seems to have any effect on him. He goes through the movements or just says what sounds good at the time but just reverts back or doesn't do anything that would be or lead to meaningful change.
He operates on this lvl where if he thinks things are fair or good, they are...even though they so arent. He LOVES playing the semantics game where he will claim things like he IS "trying" bc he does X (that is a very small baby step type thing) for X amount of time and I guess I am supposed to understand and take whatever he is doing bc....reasons and he is "trying."
Besides doing his job that he was doing for years before we met (he is the same "lvl" and has not taken on ANY advancement in his career) to earn the $ that supports our family (we agreed I would give up my company and career until our youngest went to the 1st grade and I have made some savvy investments to bring in considerable $) he does practically NOTHING. He works from home since 2020/Covid and at 1st it was good bc it offered us more freedom in where we could live but now he is around 24/7. I would LOVE to return to my beloved career, but I have nothing left energy and time wise between our kids, the house, and him. He wont even get our mail out of the mailbox, let alone open it and or deal with LIFE.
He is seeing a psychiatrist and says he doesn't suffer from depression. He has terrible sleep hygiene and we sleep in separate rooms. We have cleaning people in once a week but his room is almost constantly dirty, disorganized, and cluttered. He constantly maintains that he doesn't really see what the problem is and plays the "semantics game" like "I empty out the dishwasher" ( a task that I have timed myself doing in less than 2 min) or "I take out the trash" when I bring up that I feel like Im drowning in a sea of tasks.
I have told him that I am unhappy. I have screamed and yelled. I have tried being sweet and accommodating to ask that he be at least semi-accommodating in return but he doesn't seem to care that our relationship is not mitigated. I have tried letting things get so bad that he would HAVE to do more but he just lets things get so bad like when our water gets turned off due to lack of payment, he goes to the store and bought a few gallons of water so "it buys us some time" getting the water bill paid the next day. It is NOT like we don't have the $, he just doesn't "like" paying bills and or "dealing with drudgery" LIKE I DO!?!?!
I have asked him to live in a hotel bc I told him that if he didn't, I would go to a hotel bc I need a break from him AND I want him to know I am SO SICK OF HIS SH*T. He agreed and is supposed to be trying to find help. He has tried life coaches (he simply did not do any work that they gave him to do and they charge 1k a month) and allegedly is trying procrastinators anonymous but I see no real effort. I have asked him to get diagnosed with ASD but he claims he spoke with a therapist that specializes in ppl with ASD and the therapist said that "it wouldn't matter" if he got a diagnosis. I asked if he is telling ppl that his marriage is on the rocks and he told me that he did say that his "lack of effort has put some strife in his marriage." Some strife in his marriage?!?! Did he elaborate and or tell them about how unhappy I am? No. He is "concentrating" his efforts on improving "executive functioning" and I guess this is supposed to help make the MEANINGFUL CHANGE I so desperately want and need him to make.
I think that something like boot camp or a life skill clinic or a halfway house for separated/divorced dads would stand the best chance of having him make the changes to his life he DESPERATELY needs to make. If not for me or even more for him but for our kids. They are picking up his bad and destructive habits. In his defense, he doesn't know how to do most things. Both of his parents were highly toxic ppl. His father died in his apt and it wasn't until his body started to smell that anyone noticed. The fire dept had to climb in through the window-fire escape bc the apt was so cluttered/hoarded. His mother is anorexic, keeps no food in the house, will sleep in her clothes on top of a made bed rather than "do all that laundry," and lives in squalor. So, he never learned it at home.
Is there anything where a grown man could learn basic life skills and or how to be a halfway (Id take 1/8) decent partner? Maybe if he could gain some life skills and or the ability to deal with life's demands, he would be happier, healthier in mind, body, and spirit, and in turn me and our family.
ANY suggestions besides "just get a divorce" or "put up with it bc you have for over a decade" it would be helpful. Thanks for reading my BOOK.

this is a vent post. but also wondering if i should stick it out.
i have a lot of factors going into it. i went this way mostly bc i felt that i needed to pick a career and teaching seemed like the best fit. i’ve been subbing for the past few years at the same school, done long term assignments, and with living in FL i just had to take 1 certification test and i was able to start.
i started around january supporting a testing grade, but someone quit around february and i had a few days before i got put into a classroom. i’m familiar with the curriculum, but my classroom management isn’t the best. And i realized i was great at subbing bc even on the inevitable rough days, i knew that I wouldn’t have to go into that class the next day.
The responsibility of the children’s learning is a lot, and all these things to be tracked, and how i’m supposed to stick to curriculum but also have to do this specific method of student led learning, and having to take over a class with 3 months left into the school year was a lot.
i also realized… im lazy. as in if a kid was not interested in learning, i did not want to go the extra mile into making them learn. i focused on those who were paying attention, but even then my score with them were not where they were supposed to be. and it goes back into the classroom management. so many distractions and silliness affected the class vibe and i still haven’t gotten them reined in.
im already dreading next year, and idk if ill be able to make it through, but i don’t want to leave in the middle of a school year, and i don’t want to quit after 3 months. any advice? or should i jump ship.
another thing holding me back is judgement. i’m working in my hometown’s elementary school. word spreads and im sure my management skills have already spread through the school.

My (ex)fiancé and I had been together for almost 6.5 years, engaged for almost 2.5. Over the last several months, my (ex)fiancé has sat me down to talk about our relationship about once a month. Before these conversations, he would shut down and barely speak to me for several days even when I would ask what was wrong. Then he would finally tell me he was ready to have a conversation and would express his frustrations with the relationship. By the time of our conversations, I would already be on the defensive from his recent behavior. I also generally do not receive feedback well. When he would try to tell me that he was unhappy in our relationship because I didn't compliment him enough, flirt with him enough, or tell him I loved him enough, I would shut down. I was not able to hear what he was really trying to tell me. Instead, I put up a wall and told him to love me for who I am. I basically asked him "If I'm happy in our relationship despite my frustrations, why can't you be?" I now realize that is not an appropriate or healthy response when your partner is trying to communicate with you.
I did try to hear him. I gifted him some lingerie for the first time and let him take a boudoir photo shoot of me wearing it. I started sending a few more cute messages. I tried to make more time to cuddle with him when he would ask. I tried to give him more hugs. I tried to thank him more for picking up around the house. I wrote him a cute letter and surprised him with a few gifts for Easter. However, about a month ago, we had another one of those conversations. Except this time the first things he brought up were 'wondering what else is out there' and talking about how other girls are always complimenting him. Again came the walls and extra defensiveness. I ended up writing him a letter talking about how I didn't know if I could ever be what he wanted me to be and that maybe he should think about calling things off. This was obviously a defense mechanism to try to beat him to the punch line and talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy. Three weeks later he would sit me down and tell me he wanted to know what else was out there again and that he didn't know if he could go through with marrying me. My efforts did not feel like enough for him and I understand why. I was having a hard time connecting my emotions with my actions which made my actions seem reactionary and not genuine or provoked by love.
I have been through a lot more trauma in my life than I realized. My dad was in the Navy while I was growing up. We had to move every three years. A very pivotal point in my life was when we moved when I was in the 6th grade. I lived right next door to my best friend. I was finding my love for math and theater. I also played soccer and was a Girl Scout. When we moved, I became very depressed, though I didn't understand that's what it was at the time. I stopped all of my extracurricular activities. I stopped getting too close to people because I knew I would have to move or they would have to move eventually. I mostly stayed in my room and kept to myself, even from my family. I also have struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember. Then, in my senior year of high school, I got my first-ever boyfriend. We were in a relationship for over 4 years. In that relationship, I would always be the one to try to talk about our problems. I would be the one who would always want longer hugs and more cuddles. But it was not a healthy relationship. We broke up and got back together many times. I found several illicit texts to other girls on multiple occasions and he would always gaslight me by saying his younger brother stole his phone or I misinterpreted the messages. I think this caused me not to want to show my emotions because it wasn't reciprocated and resulted in heartache. Then, three years ago my younger brother died in a tragic car accident at the age of 17.
When I realized I could lose the love of my life, I realized that he was right about me not being affectionate enough. I had built up walls to protect myself. I thought I had made progress on my anxiety and depression, but I realized I was wrong. I also realized that I have issues with communication, trust, and vulnerability. I was a great partner in other ways and I did express my love in other ways. I moved across the country, coast to coast, with him to a state where I didn't know anyone so that he could attend his dream school. I take care of the household. I get the majority of the groceries. I do all of the cooking. I do all of the maintenance cleaning. I take care of our 2 cats and 1 dog. I say all of those in the present tense because we currently still live together but are sleeping in separate rooms. I also financially supported him by lending him money and letting him pay less of the rent because I made more money. I accept all of him including that he has terrible time management skills, he can have a hard time controlling his emotions at times, and he is disorganized and messy. I also accepted that I would have to wait for marriage and children because of his school and accepted that he did not have a lot of free time between school, work, and his hobbies. I supported his love for his hobbies by accepting his purchasing of expensive equipment even when he owed me money, traveling to watch several events that were important to him, and traveling to see him win an award from his job. I would write heartfelt cards for every holiday. I also bought him dozens of children's books about love that I wanted us to read to our children one day.
When I realized I could lose him, I felt something change inside me. It was like I could feel a hole being blown in the wall I had built up. I felt all my love for him overwhelm me. I couldn't hug him, kiss him, or tell him I love him enough. I tried to talk to him to apologize for my behavior and how badly I'd hurt him. I tried to explain how I felt like a different person and how I really wanted to work hard on improving myself as a partner to make our relationship work. I tried to prove my words with actions. I wrote a list of things I needed to work on including communication and being more affectionate. I also wrote out a list of ways to work on those things and actually started doing the things on the list. Some of the items I had already begun to do like hug and kiss him more and tell him I love him more. I also tried to ask more questions about his interests/hobbies/day. I was more vulnerable and talked with him about my feelings more. I even initiated intimacy, something I had really only done once in a blue moon when I was intoxicated. I also set up my individual therapy sessions.
Despite all of my efforts, over the next two weeks, he continued to say he did not know if he could be with me and wanted to know what else was out there. He was very wavering and said multiple times "I don't know what the right decision is." He said he could not trust that my changes would last and that it was probably too late. I begged him to try couples therapy, but he refused and said "Therapy takes too long" and basically said it wasn't worth the time. He finally broke up with me after 2 weeks of going back and forth and I was devastated. He later talked to a mutual friend of ours and changed his mind about therapy. I was so happy to hear that he had changed his mind. However, now I feel like I can't even trust him anymore. He's turning into a person I don't recognize and I don't know what he's capable of anymore. I don't know if the man I love still exists. When he told me he was now agreeable to try therapy he said "We're still broken up, but I won't talk to any other girls." and then promptly said "And it will give me more time to find a place to live if things don't work out." He deleted several Instagram posts that had photos of me after he agreed to try therapy which makes me think he's not actually that open to healing our relationship. He complained to me about how he might have to take out student loans after I told him he needed to pay me for half of the rent while we're broken up and not decreased rate he had been paying me. He also "checked on me" on the night of the 3rd year anniversary of my brother's death when he heard me crying. Then he just sat on the end of the bed scrolling his phone while I cried as if he was checking on me because he felt like he had to and not because he wanted to. When I asked him if he had some sort of deadline in mind for the therapy, because he had previously mentioned that it takes too long, he said July or August and I have a suspicion that is because a girl he likes is leaving for summer break but will be back at the end of August for the next semester.
I just feel like the way he has been acting is not how you act towards someone you were in a relationship with for almost 6.5 years. Especially after saying you still love them and have no negative feelings towards them. That means even though you don't think you are a good relationship match, you should still want to treat them with respect. You should care that they are hurting during this time. You should want to comfort them in their grief of a separate event. You should mean it if you say you want to try therapy.
TL; DR : Do you think therapy will help?

now senior so i thought id take a look back. most TFs or lab instructors missing bc i don't remember them and never attended most office hours.
Courtney Martin - FY101 freshman fall. utterly useless class (was an undeclared major so took it hoping to get some guidance, basically got nothing out of it.) very chill instructor though, no issues there, just waste of time.
Scott Possiel - WR120 freshman fall and WR152 freshman spring, grad student teacher. pretty chill and class was interesting (mediterranean religion [roman religions]), learned strong amount about writing. no complaints, hope he's on to great things.
Alexander Nikolaev - CL/208LX208 freshman fall. awesome class on zoom, funny and knowledgeable dude, learned so much about about indo-european linguistics, and sparked basically all my interest about linguistics. assignments were fun and refreshing. one of my favorite professors at BU despite only having had one class with him, unfortunately he disappeared (left?) after 2020 and I have no idea why, nor did any of my classmates. lucky to have had his last BU class in first semester of freshman year.
Christine Papadakis - CS112 freshman fall. her ratemyprofessor 1.9 score says enough, bad at explaining topics, strange class vibes, pretty unhelpful. seems like a nice person though. main reason i did not continue with compsci after 1 semester at BU, class wasn't too difficult (got B+ and could have done better if i tried harder) but it was so utterly boring it was the dread of every week and genuinely difficult to find any will to do work for it. lectures were insufferably boring, especially on replay when studying. avoid her at all costs.
Edward Loechler - first half of BI107 freshman fall, BI108 freshman spring? (i remember him and spilios teaching some class together or two part or something). chill old man vibes, class was solid and well taught. don't remember anything else except no issues. recommend.
Kathryn Spilios - second half of BI107 freshman fall. chill professor, class was solid and well taught. don't remember anything else except no issues. recommend.
Leah Kronenberg - CL102 freshman spring. awesome professor, very kind and good at teaching. recommend
thomas keyes - CH101 freshman spring. worst professor i had in all of BU hands down. so utterly useless and incompetent his syllabus was barely even divided into paragraphs, just a spam wall of text. lectures monotonous and uninteresting, bad at answering questions, mean to students, generally seemed like he was on the verge of suicide or homicide or both at any given moment. thankfully he retired so i do not have to say avoid him at all costs.
special shoutout to Alyssa Kranc - TF for CH101, grad student. actual angel sent from heaven to guide the class thru the horror that was CH101 with thomas keyes. great at explanations, patient, and brought good vibes. i actually really liked chemistry and it was only thru Alyssa's help and lab review meeting things that I learned anything in this class and got an A. Hope she is onto greater things and epic research.
jane x. luu - AS102 sophomore fall. chill professor, kinda made class easier as time went along when she realized nobody really gave a shit about the subject and was just there for hub or get chance to look thru telescope. actually discovered some really awesome things in her research (the kuiper belt). was visiting professor so dont think she'll be back.
brandon jones - CL101 sophomore fall. awesome professor, good lectures, chill guy. recommend.
john thornton - HI175 sophomore fall. boringest history lecturer ive ever had, quiet so had to sit in the front to even hear him (maybe cuz covid masks everything was quieter). chill guy, easy class, probably cooler to talk to at office hours than for survey history class. recommend.
cathal nolan - HI284 sophomore fall. Lowkey kinda pompous guy, but classes were always insightful and really felt like attending a speech notsomuch a lecture. history of war class was one of the few classes where i felt like i really gained wisdom and not just knowledge, but also fell short of my expectations at the same time if that makes sense. pretty easy if you like history / are good at writing. needs to learn how to use slides though lol, windows photo app on USB stick photos can only last so long. recommend.
Christopher McMullen - FY102 sophomore spring. genuinely do not remember a single thing about this class or professor. pretty sure we unironically did a meyers personality test thing, hilarious waste of time. or that was in FY101.
hannah culik - CL237 sophomore spring. very kind professor, learned a lot in the class. 0 official dealines so u can turn in everything late but i do not recommend leaving it all to the last minute. pretty political charged, but i think in an engaging way. she left BU but i would recommend if she were still here.
simon payaslian - HI176 sophomore spring. felt like high school class but i guess that's how history survey courses go. chill dude, kinda tough grader? dumb assignments. average lecturer. recommend.
bruce schulman - HI231 sophomore spring. very kind professor, i turned in my final research paper like a week late LMFAO and he still accepted it (with some completely justified points off for lateness of course). good lecturer. recommend.
Christopher Daly - HI231 sophomore spring. kind professor chill lecturer some course as schulman (double professors). retired, otherwise would recommend.
Alexis Peri - HI200 sophomore spring, HI272 junior fall - one of the best professors at BU hands down. kind but pushes you to truly learn. writing excelled under her and i felt i improved my overall skills as a student / scholar in every way. she grades easier as class goes on. genuinely proud to have achieved in A in both her courses, pushed myself to get there. maybe a bit too much class discussion for my tastes though, i don't really enjoy sharing out. recommend.
shoutout to Margot Rashba, TF for HI272. helpful explainer since I couldn't go to professor Peri's office hours due to time conflict. hope she is onto great things.
christopher Backman - HI101 junior fall. chill professor, class pretty boring but funny lecturer. completely ghosted my email sent in next semester discussing my idea for senior thesis lol, and wasn't at the office hours listed on website, idk what happened. apparently went on leave after some controversy regarding speech. so yeah lol. recommend.
Stephanie Nelson - CL161 junior fall. awesome professor, kind and fun class. recommend
Timothy Clark - CL162 junior spring, CL322 disorganized and seems like he didn't really care about the class tbh, but overall chill guy. really likes parthia and didn't really care about Rome at all. dumb assignments at times, but he did have no issue with me consistently missing a language class day to to schedule conflict without issue, which I appreciated. don't recommend.
eugenio menegon - HI363 senior fall. hard to explain but going to class just felt... uncomfortable every time? does lot of cold-calling. lecture was kinda boring, didn't learn very much, felt more like a high school survey class of china than a 300 level class on ancient China. covers way too long a time period in too little detail. dude seems pretty chill though don't recomment.
christopher ell - CL300 senior fall. very boring lecturer but he clearly does try to make it funny, which is appreciated. chill guy, some leniency on scheduling and assignments, very clear about all his instructions and overall taught well. very fair and no conflicts at all. enjoyed his class. recommend.
spiridon-iosif capotos - CL261 senior fall, grad student teacher. hilarious, deadpan dry humor. fun class, learned a lot of greek, hope he is onto great things. recommend
simon anderson - SY101 senior spring. chill guy, class not the most useful but was alright. not really that indepth, prob waste of time could've learned everything reading online guides. instructor was fine though, no issues.
hannah kloster - CL262 senior spring, grad student teacher. awesome and kind instructor, very fun class, learned a lot despite having no interest in Greek poetry. hope she is onto great things. recommend.
jilene chua - HI500 senior spring. very kind professor, chill class and great vibes, but too much discussion for my taste. new professor to BU, had her on her second or third semester teaching as professor ever (i think); class was kinda unorganized or ad hoc at times. will only get better as time goes on. recommend.
stephen scully - hi406 senior spring. no interest in the subject (iliad translations) when i joined class and minimal interest in the subject as I leave the class (and BU). chill professor, but grades harshly and requires a lot of writing. cold calls often. class was also quite unorganized for entire first half. in terms of material, honestly a lot of stuff in class felt quite arbitrary in understanding (as is probably the case with most literature classes, which i did not take outside of this). recommend if you really love classical literature / mythology / philology (or anything humanities), don't recommend for classical history (or anything social sciences).
Rui Hua - HI364 junior fall, HI370 junior spring, HI553 senior fall. the most energetic, fun, chill professor i've had at BU, every lecture was a blast and even if i went to class in a bad mood it was impossible to leave without a smile on my face. took us on field trips to relevant destinations when possible. I had the first 3 classes he's ever taught as a professor ever (I think), and it definitely showed bc they were somewhat unorganized or ad hoc. but i am sure his teaching will only get better as time progresses, learned a lot and had a great time in all his classes, he does cover some overlapping material in them so if u take them u might repeat some stuff. also super lenient on deadlines but i do not encourage delaying all of them to the last minute as I did like an idiot. easy classes overall, but if you like the subject he definitely is encouraging for those who want to learn more. recommend.
Loren J. Samons - CL321 junior fall, CL303 junior spring, CL202 senior spring. best professor i've ever had at BU, hilarious, funnest lectures of all time, learned so much, and brings so much old man sardonic energy to every class. CL303 fall of roman empire another class where I felt I genuinely attained wisdom and not just knowledge. assigned readings are some of the few I actually did. class might be difficult if not ur a good writer / not a social sciences person, but u'll definitely improve if you take the effort to do so, otherwise easy class got As in all of them. very straightforward. recommend.
feel free to ask individual questions about any of these professors / instructors in comments.

im a harbinger of bad luck so cant believe things actually went okay-ish considering im not a competitive applicant
₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Demographics

• Gender: Non-Binary
• Race/Ethnicity: Filipino
• Residence: Philippines (international applicant)
• Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): N/A
• High School: Religious private school that isnt the most competitive or well-known in the country but pretty alright.
• Income Bracket: 35k (considered middle class in the Philippines, my father is the sole breadwinner working as a lawyer and I have 2 more siblings who are still studying in private schools)
• EFC: 2k to 3k USD (i needed aid from every school)

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Intended Major(s): Media Production / Film and Television Production / Communications / Media Studies
₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁Academics

• GPA: 3.9 for Freshman/Sophomore/Senior year, 3.6 for Junior year
• of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.: NONE, my school offered AP classes but I couldnt afford them
• Senior Year Course Load: Mostly humanities and social science classes, I did not have any science or math classes in my coursework.

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Standardized Testing

• SAT/ACT: Went test optional but I took it once and got a 1230 (LOW AS HELL BYE)
• ENGLISH TEST: Took the Duolingo Test and got 155

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Extracurriculars/Activities:
i didnt plan my extracurriculars in high school i sure did a lot and most of them were scattered out HAHA. jack of all trades, master of none moments. i tried to include mostly my media and writing related activities. aside from the ones i listed on my common app, i was immersed in a lot of social justice and political advocacy works + other sports :)

• Elections Project - assistant project head of a city wide youth elections project where we conducted mock elections, podcast interviews with politicians, and daily news coverage of the national 2022 elections.
• National Newspaper - writer contributor of a political editorial article to a national newspaper
• School Play on Social Justice - wrote and directed a play that tackled social justice issues in the country, I was the overall head of the class project and the play had runs with audience members from invited schools
• Student Council - was the student body vice president (junior year) and student body president (senior year), I was the main organizer of projects and events such as the annual school carnival, christmas fundraiser, student assistance programs, family day activities, etc.
• School Newspaper - was the news and sports editor of the school newspaper for 3 years, i also competed in journalism competitions as the representative of my school paper
• Dance Varsity - was part of the hiphop dance varsity team of my school for 4 years, we won in many national competitions
• Photography Business - owned a mini-photography business for 2 years at which I was mostly working on freelance photo editing
• International Screenwriting Competition - won 3rd place in two screenwriting competitions during my junior year
• Elderly Volunteer Organization - was part of an organization that conducted monthly outreach programs to the elderly, I served as the treasurer of the organization for 2 years
• Tutor Services - worked as a tutor of an organization that offered free onsite tutor services to elementary children, i tutored language (Eng and Fil) subjects

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Awards/Honors

• Academic Honors 9th-12th Grade
• Leadership Recognition 9th-12th Grade
• Community Service Recognition 9th-12th Grade
• Awards for Journalism Competitions
• Awards for Screenwriting Competitions

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Essay

• Common App Essay - went with prompt 3, wrote about my favorite author and how my reading habits mirrored my flaws in handling everyday life. 8/10 could have been more fleshed out and i crammed it first week of Jan.
• Supplementals - yeah I just copy and pasted a lot of these from my supplemental essays to other schools. 7/10 to 8/10

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ LORs

• Media Studies Teacher - 10/10
• English and Literature Teacher - 8/10

I did not read the letters but im basing it on how much they like me as a student. I chose these teachers because I got high grades in their subjects and they got PhDs.
₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ Interviewss- I got none and I was too busy to go for optional interviews. I really did not display any demonstrated interest.
₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁ D*ecisionss *(ALL REGULAR DECISION, actually I filed my international applications late like 2-3 weeks after the deadlines because I was in a depressive episode last January)
ACCEPTANCES

• UPD, UST, ADMU, DLSU (Top 4 universities in the Philippines)
• University of Denver - Dean Scholar (29k) + International Diversity Award (11k)
• Brandeis University - Presidential Scholarship (15k)
• Syracuse University - Dean Scholarship (10k)
• Marquette University - Pere Marquette Scholarship (29k)
• Hofstra University - Presidential Scholarship (29k)
• Drexel University
• Rutgers New-Brunswick
• University of Maryland
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• PennState

WAITLISTS

• Wake Forest University
• Franklin & Marshall College

REJECTED

• Kenyon College
• Sewanee College

₊˚⊹♡.𖥔 ݁Reflection
well that was krazy HAHA. ik many people here showcase ivies and T20s and im not that remarkable with my t40s to t100s but i'd like to think its not that shabby for an unknown international from a third world country. my biggest regret is not applying for NYU, its my dream school but again considering my depressive episode from November to January I wasnt able to file my application on time. its a miracle that universities still accept late applications and im grateful for all that I have and received. If i could turn back time I wish I was a little bit stronger and more stable to have been able to apply for NYU, my common app essay about my favorite author was actually an alumni from NYU :")
but we carry the burdens of choice under the merits of luck; even with merit scholarships, I cant afford any of the international schools I was accepted to. more likely i'll have to attend the top university in my country. but i dont want to give up man i'll still try to appeal for financial aid and if that wont work I'll apply for transfer during my sophomore year to ivies and top LACs that give full financial aid to international transfers. the odds are low but never 0 and no harm in trying !! see you all again next year for my transfer results :]

I've been a substitute teacher for the past 3 years in my city's district. While doing this I've been going to school full time to be a teacher, what better way to get acclimated to the profession than to work in it as much as possible so you're more ready for it when you're hired, right? The harder you work, the more flexible you are, the more admin will notice, right? This is what I was lead to believe from my teaching school. I'm sure it was well-intentioned to us, but in the past months, I've come to believe that wasn't quite the case.
For perspective, my emphasis is mainly secondary social studies, I love history and teaching it to youth, it something I feel personally called to do. But however in those past 3 years I came to love teaching elementary too from consistent field experience subbing all grades K-12. So I applied for jobs in both my main field of study and elementary.
The hiring window has come and gone and I didn't get any interviews at all in my main field of study, and only made it too a pool interview for K-5. I discussed things with the assistant superintendent and the reasons I didn't get hired through to k-5 were for things that were pretty petty and not fully true. Which was one thing, but what was really dejecting was not getting any interviews in the area I was most qualified in, especially since I put time and effort into those places and went above and beyond in my subbing and student teaching to provide the best possible classroom environment I could (I have had great relationships with all the students and they are excited to have me in class as there teacher).
TBH I don't know what administration is even looking for anymore when they hire teachers, why wouldn't they at least give a chance to a candidate they know and trust? Unless someone has it out for me? I'm not the only one who's experienced this for the record my buddy graduated with me in the same field and he also didn't get any interviews, and he put in time as a great ST and a long term sub.
Tying in with the beginning, part of me feels like I may have damaged my reputation with my district by subbing consistently. Upon the assistant superintendents interpretation, it feels like with working as a sub for a long time, admin will pigeon hole little things about you as a candidate and miss the big picture of why you're a great choice, through consistency, friendliness, patience with students, and positive role modeling. I may have been better not subbing at all and straight applying with no knowledge yo admin of who I am or what I'm like. That seems to be what they prefer in my district, shots in the dark, instead of what's right in front of them.
For the record, my district is ultra competitive when it comes to teacher benefits and salaries, so I'm not totally surprised on how difficult it is to get hired, just confused as to why I'm not even considered a suitable candidate?

I have been teaching 1st grade for 3 years, and I have never ventured out to any other grade. My school offered me a 7th grade position and I took it. I AM EXCITED but NERVOUS. 😬 Can anyone give me advice? Like what to even expect? Be aware of? Is the curriculum consistent of what? It’ll be a( multiple subject 7th grade class btw) My principal told me he was going to support me throughout the year. I don’t even know where to start. Thank you! 😊

Everyday I wake up and the first thing that comes to my mind is whether I should be doing this or that for the sake of making it through the entire day without breaking. I acknowledge the fact that I find it hard to earn my own respect, or that I probably lost it already, and continuously seek validation in every aspect of my life , whether small or big. How do I cope? By hating myself, I suppose. Moreover, I deny the possibilities of having the "good" come into my life.
For example, I gave it my all into trying to get into a university abroad, but even after a year of preparation, I felt like my own efforts betrayed me. Maybe part of it was that mentality I had wherein I thought: "Everyone has equal chances anyways. It all ends up to personal reason if I get accepted or not and I'm rather sure my hardwork and talents won't fail me." Oh god, it was a relief to be wrong. I guess I needed someone or something to tell me to snap out of being so naive. For that purpose, it was all so that I could get another reason to hate myself. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a masochist that I enjoy failing (though I guess that's part of me seeking validation too), but my life's come down to the fact that it's part of my identity. It's become a part of me.
Moreover, I didn't have quite the childhood either. My parents expected a lot from me, in my opinion. When I was really young, my curiousity was all over the place. My parents saw that as an opportunity to teach me a lot of things, and I enjoyed learning. But when I started going to school, it was all about grades. Well, not initially, but eventually. I had a decent start with good grades. Top of the class, extracurriculars, etc. Then I got a bad score on my test one day and my parents scolded me for an entire hour, no kidding. I took it to myself to understand their point of view, and had nothing else to say. As the years pass by, my parents also didn't have a lot of time for me anymore. I wouldn't call it "neglect" but it's gotten to a point where I can't share my personal problems with them anymore because whenever I do, I get an earful amount of cusses and guilt trips. So I suppose all that's left for us to talk about is my grades, which I had been desperately trying to maintain, but it also stressed me out.
Everything I do these days feel so little and meaningless I can't give any effort to it anymore. Maybe I'm afraid of failing again. I would've hoped that was the only reason, but no. I just... can't seem to see what's good in me unless others pointed it out. I'm tired of loathing myself everyday, but I can't find any reason to love myself too. All the "good" points I have are results of my pursuit for validation. But I suppose there are parts of me where I still have love for, just that I find it to be... in vain. Like, I could spend hours alone just pondering about the meaning of life and I'd branch out to some other topics, or just stare at the horizon and wait for sunsets to come down; it calms me.
I know that this coming from an 18 year old, without much of an experience in life yet, seems to be absurd, but I'm really sick of the way I'm living. "Freedom" seems nice. I'm sure if I could look at it in a way where I'm not afraid of making a mistake, or in a way where I could just be grateful for whatever opportunities of happiness I can have, or I can forgive myself for taking this long to admit it, then I'm sure I can stop hating myself and do what I really wanna do. I just don't know how.

My family immigrated to the US when my parents were in grade school. They grew up bilingual (Urdu/Hindi and English).
I was born in the US and was bilingual until grade school started and then I completely lost (like, down to a few words) my ancestral language.
I am sure this sounds like I am whining, but hear me out. In my area there were many other Indian and Pakistani immigrants. Some kids were born in the US like me, others immigrated when they were young. I was the only one who didn't speak my mother tongue at that time.
At school everyone communicated in English, but the taunting, being accused of being "too Americanized", and "lacking culture" from my peers had a profound impact on me. At the time, my parents were taught by the school that if they spoke my home language to me, my English would suffer. So they said "you won't need it anyways". Obviously they don't know what negative affects would be, and to this day they still disagree with me on this. Heck, if you go on ABCDesis, one of the biggest complaints is when immigrant families don't teach their kids their home language.
I did end up learning Urdu at a later time in life, but I speak with a heavy accent and make grammatical mistakes. However, it gets the job done, and I am happy I was able to do this much. It was not easy, though, and it didn't have to be this hard.
This sounds crude, but ONE of the reasons I married my wife (who is not from the US) is because she was a native Urdu speaker. Yes, there were plenty of reasons I married her, and this was one of them. We planned to raise our kids speaking Urdu at home.
Since my childhood, things have changed in the world of linguistics. Now linguists say we should speak our home language at home, and that speaking improper English at home can be more damaging than not speaking English at all. It is counterintuitive but it seems to work. Despite all the haters saying my kids will have accents, they don't. Their English sounds like a native English speaker. They also know our home language fairly well considering the limited vocabular (basically just from the home).
Now here is where the issue begins. My wife seems to believe her friends (also immigrants, who are insecure about their English accents). They told her to speak English to the kids so "they won't suffer like us". So...she has started speaking English to our kids when I am not home. I work like 60 hour weeks, so that's a lot of time. My wife has an accent, but she also makes grammatical mistakes. This isn't an issue on its own, but it is relevant.
In a matter of a few months, our 9 year old has started responding in English. Our 5 year old already struggled and only understood our home language, and this is making it worse.
My wife and I have had brief discussions about this. My wife says "how can they learn English if we don't speak English" and "look at you, your English is good because your parents spoke English to you". The difference in my case is that I had a parent that was fluent, and even then this all did come at a cost (self esteem, identify issues).
I have a strong desire for our children to grow up knowing our home language. Besides us (the parents) there is nobody else for them to really learn it from. My parents speak to them in English. My wife's family is overseas and the kids only speak to them via phone/whatsapp a few hours a month. I work long hours, and I am not even the best person to teach them the language properly. How can I convince my wife to resume what we originally planned?

Good day! Is that real to accepted with scholarship from the waiting list. I was offered on 28th of March. HKBU extent my application from 30th of April to 30th of June. My academics is: IELTS 7.0 GPA 4.7 UNT predicted (National exam I am foreign student) 131/140 Have a lot of achievement as: 1) Seattle Education Department internship 2) International Olympiad of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology - 3rd Place. 3) MIPT internship for design work. 4) Nazarbayev University Ychem - republican conference. 5) young alpharabi from KazNU - certificate of honor 6) Network Olympiad among NIS 9th and 10th grade 3rd place 7) Novosibirsk State University Olympiad preparation

Good day! Is that real to accepted with scholarship from the waiting list. I was offered on 28th of March. HKBU extent my application from 30th of April to 30th of June. My academics is: IELTS 7.0 GPA 4.7 UNT predicted (National exam I am foreign student) 131/140 Have a lot of achievement as: 1) Seattle Education Department internship 2) International Olympiad of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology - 3rd Place. 3) MIPT internship for design work. 4) Nazarbayev University Ychem - republican conference. 5) young alpharabi from KazNU - certificate of honor 6) Network Olympiad among NIS 9th and 10th grade 3rd place 7) Novosibirsk State University Olympiad preparation

I've never been good at school, and since elementary school my teachers have been having a hard time trying to teach me stuff and getting me to remember it. I'm terrible at basically every subject, especially math. I remember there was so many times my teachers had to talk to my parents about me not being able to add or subtract as fast as the other kids, and from 1st-5th grade i basically spent all of my time after school sitting at the table with my parents yelling at me trying to get me to understand my homework but for some reason i was just too dumb to understand simple math.
With stuff like reading and writing, I was pretty average up until sixth grade, now I have to reread things a couple of times to fully process it because it feels like I'm just looking at the words and writing things like essays is very difficult for me because I will get bored or find it too hard and get distracted.
I graduated high school a year late because I failed every single class sophomore year, passed 2/6 classes junior year, and I spent my senior trying to make up the classes I failed but couldn't complete them all on time because I found the work really difficult. Before the start of my senior year, I was sent to an alternative school that was supposed to make things easier for me but I never made any progress, so I got put in independent study as a second time senior. In independent study, you don't actually have a teacher so you have to teach yourself, I got very lazy and bored of having to do my classes so I ended up just cheating which is the only reason I didn't become a third year senior.
I've also never had any interests or hobbies. As a kid I would just play with my dolls when I had time during school breaks or the weekend, but I was never in any clubs. I have no hobbies because honestly I don't like anything, and I never really have. I secretly don't want to do anything with my life and would rather spend it rotting away in bed and on my phone, but I know that's just because I'm incredibly lazy and unmotivated.
I've had tutors, I've been put in support classes, and I've made no progress. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, or what career I could tolerate having. Most of my friends are in college and even if they've changed their majors they at least have had some idea from the start what they want to do, or they're not as dumb as me. Also, this isn't an insecurity thing where I just think I'm dumb, I literally am. Most people think I'm so dumb that I lack common sense and can't do things that anyone with a brain could do, like being able to order my own food or driving a car.
I don't think it would be a good idea to take a gap year because I'm already turning 19, and don't want to be a 20 year old freshman. I'm also incredibly embarrassed about this because my friends don't really understand how I could possibly not like anything or have literally no idea what I want to do with my life and everyone just thinks I'm lazy (which I am but I really don't want to be). I have no idea what to do because I don't want to waste my parent's money and end up dropping out because I'll be too stupid for the work, but they're making me go. My parents are acting as if this is an easy decision to make and keep saying I'm the only girl in the world who doesn't know what she wants to do.
tl;dr
never been good at school, never had any hobbies, i don't like anything, and i'm very dumb. i need to go to college, but i'm not sure what i should go for and i'm afraid of dropping out and wasting my parent's money.

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Synopsis:
Juliette Contzen is a lazy, good-for-nothing princess. Overshadowed by her siblings, she's left with little to do but nap, read … and occasionally cut the falling raindrops with her sword. Spotted one day by an astonished adventurer, he insists on grading Juliette's swordsmanship, then promptly has a mental breakdown at the result.
Soon after, Juliette is given the news that her kingdom is on the brink of bankruptcy. At threat of being married off, the lazy princess vows to do whatever it takes to maintain her current lifestyle, and taking matters into her own hands, escapes in the middle of the night in order to restore her kingdom's finances.
Tags: Comedy, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Copious Ohohohohos.
Chapter 241: Until Now
The doors to the Hartzwiese Adventurer’s Guild opened.
Before, the sound of raucous laughter could be heard flooding the street outside, filling the quiet of a spring night with all the debauchery the local drunkards had to offer.
Despite the halls of adventurers not being formal drinking establishments, those within were ready to compete in boisterousness with all the taverns, inns and pubs of the town combined. And also win. Handily.
And yet–
The moment the doors parted and I stepped within, a hush as quiet as any grave fell over its inhabitants.
A woman balancing with her derrière upon the head of another became still, the alcohol in her cup the only movement as it dribbled onto a stunned face below her.
A man slurping from the communal cauldron stared wordlessly, the stew pouring in, and then out of his mouth as the muscles of his throat forgot the means to swallow.
A bartender asleep upon a row of kegs quietly rose, the sudden din of silence waking him where the sound of debauchery and those drinking from the taps beside him had failed.
Here, there, and everywhere, eyes widened as the sudden silence was filled with the sounds of my footsteps as I strolled past, my loyal handmaiden and my brother’s attendant in my wake.
And also–
Mreow.
Mrewowow.
Meww.
Cats.
Tabby cats.
Calico cats.
Ragdoll cats.
Cats with twirly whiskers. Cats with puffy faces. Cats with slightly rounded ears.
Behind me, skipping around my legs while taking turns to sit upon my shoulders and very occasionally my head, were a legion of cats of various shapes, sizes and colours.
But no matter the springiness of their whiskers, the shine of their coat or the liveliness of their tails, one thing to bring them all together was the anarchy they caused.
This was no neat line of ducklings following after their mother.
This was a barbarian horde.
With no sense of organisation other than a shared drive to claim everything as their own, they immediately skipped amidst the stunned adventurers, scavenging for all the copious scraps while still turning their noses away from the alcohol forming sticky traps upon the floor.
Saying nothing, I allowed their demanding cries to fill up the hall as I swept forwards, pausing before a wall plastered from end to end with faded notices and requests long gone unanswered.
One by one, I systemically tore every request featuring a crudely drawn image of a cat, gathering into my arms a pile of parchment large enough to reach my chin.
Then, I made my way to the wooden desk.
A receptionist waited with a smile at the ready.
“Greetings! Welcome to the Hartzwiese branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. I see you’ve removed several notices from the–”
Poomph.
Silenced but unperturbed, this latest clone watched as I dropped the stack of requests onto her desk, before promptly topping off the stack with a copper ring.
“Do what must be done,” I said, my voice defiant. “I am ready.”
The receptionist answered me with a smile more permanent than the wall the notices were torn from.
A moment later–
“[Identify].”
A green hue appeared in her clasped palms as she assessed the ring.
“Juliette. B-rank. Your registered branch is Reitzlake.”
The sound of several cups clattered against the floor.
“Welcome again to Hartzwiese. I see from your commission history that you have an extraordinary amount of completions for recovering lost cats. May I assume the significant number of cats now roaming the branch hall relate to the notices removed from the wall?”
I pursed my quivering lips.
“Maybe.”
“Wonderful. And how many cats is it that you’ve rescued?”
“... Lots.”
“I see. Please give me a moment while I confirm the requirements of our commissions.”
The receptionist swiftly retrieved a stack of parchment from a drawer.
As she flicked through, her eyes simultaneously went to every cat roaming, napping and clawing in the hall. A skill not even monstrous overseers from the abyss with their dozens of eyestalks could match. But that’s only to be expected.
Wherever these receptionists were found, it was from a level deeper than any monster dared roam.
Eventually, she gave a nod.
“Thank you for waiting. There appears to be an excess of cats in relation to the number of commissions we have available. We’ll endeavour to ensure that every cat is rehomed at the earliest opportunity through our partner agencies and charities. But unfortunately, I can only provide official acknowledgement for cats rescued through a formal commission.”
I sucked in a deep breath, hoping that patience was one of the things I accidentally inhaled.
“Fine. And how many commissions does that end up being, then? … 10? 15?”
The receptionist flicked through her bundle of parchments once more.
“94.”
“... Excuse me?”
“I can confirm the successful completion of 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions. Congratulations. This is a new record, breaking what appears to be one earlier set by yourself. A remarkable achievement befitting a B-rank member of the guild.”
The receptionist’s professional smile never wavered.
I thought that would be the worst of it.
But then–
She slowly brought her hands together … and started applauding.
It was the leak which broke the dam.
At once, she was joined by all who were present to witness this crowning moment of regret.
I turned around in time to see a riot in motion.
“W-Wooooooooooo!!!!”
“In … Incredible …”
“A new record … I … I heard it was broken in Trierport … to think I’d witness it broken again!”
“A B-rank adventurer … ?! Where … Where did she come from … ?!”
There was no polite, respectful applause here.
It was the wild cheering of a crowd at a tournament. The whooping cries of theatregoers calling for an encore. The acclaim of my father as he elbowed others to delight in the poetry I’d written when I was 6 and thus now regularly attempted to burn.
Everywhere I turned, I saw and heard the acclaim mixed with shouts of horror as mugs of alcohol were spilled on purpose and by accident. The layabouts stomped on the floor, doing their best to murder decorum under the strain of unbridled emotion.
Only a few falling teardrops formed any hint of more dignified revelry, the glimmer of admiration running down cheeks as sniffles were hidden amidst the raucous cheering.
And then I bore witness to the most morbid sight.
Like a tidal wave of soiled clothes and snotty faces, they suddenly came as one, hands reaching out for me with dripping mugs still in their grips. Horror struck at my soul. And unlike a farmer who’d scarpered into the night, I had nobody who could heal a wound caused by hooligans accepting me as their own.
“A-Amazing!! Take my drink! Take anyone’s drink!!”
“So many cats rescued … even my allergies can’t believe it!”
“My gods, it’s a legend! An adventurer among adventurers!”
This.
This right here.
This was the lowest point of my life … were I not an unparalleled genius.
“Oho … ohoho …”
At once, the wave halted.
Faces which were lit up in unabashed delight turned to looks of mild confusion against the tinkling music of my laughter.
They needed to cycle through the expressions until they reached horror and shame.
“Ohhohohohohohoho!!”
… For I was no drunkard seeking to join their ranks!
No … I was Juliette Contzen, 3rd Princess to the Kingdom of Tirea!
And that meant every action I took, every word I spoke, and every cat I saved was for a reason beyond the hopes and dreams these hoodlums had of wanton debauchery and rusting swords!
Indeed!
A lesser princess than I may slink away into the night, cowed by the utter shame, humiliation and disgrace of completing so many F-ranked requests that I somehow broke a record I’d only just set!
But I was made of greater things!
Of schemes and subterfuges so deep that it would take too long to explain! The plots I weaved were a silken web more intricate than any cogs which made up Coppelia as she doubled up, desperately trying to stop herself from succumbing to more pain from laughter!
And that meant with every cat request now denied to these louts … they would finally do some work!
“Ohoho … ohohohohoho!! Behold and be afraid! Witness before you the coming of a new dawn, here to lift you from your days of boundless reverie! Unfurl the shutters and gaze upon a radiance so pure it brands your dallying minds! The scorching sun has come to test the snail’s back, and all that your bleary eyes see is a great salt lake to devour you whole! Shrivel as you cling upon the sweat which drips upon your brow, for that is the proof you’re yet alive!”
A sudden silence met my proclamation of their coming ordeal.
And then–
“Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“I don’t understand! But what a speech!”
“If she can do it, so can we!”
I raised a hand to my lips, barely covering my smile.
“Ohhhohohohohohohoho … !”
Here it was!
Operation: Gainful Employment!
An entirely new strategy, as bold as it was uncharted!
By removing what was surely the vast majority of missing cat quests available to the adventurers of this town, they would have no choice, utterly none whatsoever, but to engage in actual work! The type of work adventurers openly advertised themselves as doing!
Monster subjugation! Crime prevention! Fetching artifacts from hidden dungeons and then succumbing to their wounds at the entrance while the Royal Treasury pocketed the treasure!
Yes, this was clearly a highly experimental tactic.
But what was I, if not a bastion of creativity?
At the very least, I utterly refused to accept the status quo! An organisation dedicated exclusively to rescuing lost cats or elbowing into my kingdom’s sovereign affairs was no good to me!
Thus … I could not cower like some towngirl nauseous from the smell of their revelry.
Instead, I would squeeze the Adventurer’s Guild dry until the day I replaced them with an army of trained poodles. Until that joyous day, I could never tear my eyes away when they waited to be robbed.
To do so was more than a dereliction of duty …
Why, I’d be an accomplice to their drunken escapades!
My vow remained unchanged. For my goal, I would brave any indignity. The ring I was hoping the receptionist would forget to return was proof of that.
And thus–
I stood tall as a summer reed, proud in the knowledge that I had no need to feel even an inkling of embarrassment over completing 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions! …
“Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft.”
“S-Stop at once! You are not to laugh!”
“Pffffttt~”
“C-Coppelia!!”
Clearly not seeing the angel of self-sacrifice who I was, Coppelia held one hand tightly around her mouth. Even so, she failed to stop either the sound of her amusement or the tears falling from her eyes.
My only salvation was that it came at significant cost to her. Even now, she careened between laughter and painful regret.
I decided to offer both her and myself mercy.
Turning to the receptionist, I found a modest pouch already waiting upon the wooden desk. As well as a copper ring waiting beside it.
“Thank you for your service to the Adventurer’s Guild,” said the receptionist, her professional smile undaunted by the commotion. “Your total remuneration is 102 gold crowns, 7 silver crowns and 9 copper crowns. I’ve taken the liberty to compile all your separate payments together.”
I took the pouch and ignored the ring.
The receptionist pushed the ring forwards.
A long moment later, I collected it, uncertain what a receptionist would do if I tossed it into the communal cauldron, but knowing it would somehow still end up on my finger regardless.
With my head held high, I bravely ignored the chorus of voices unknowingly cheering for their own hardship as I swept past. Renewed tears and applause filled the hall. A few cats attempted to follow me. I stopped to shoo them away.
And then I was outside, the door closing behind me.
“... Goodness, that was quite the sight,” said Renise with a bemused smile. “It reminded me somewhat of the inns of Reitzlake’s docks. I wonder if all the halls of adventurers are like that, or merely those which you frequent?”
“Please don’t insinuate I’m responsible for the debauchery which occurs wherever the Adventurer’s Guild is concerned. That’s something I can claim no credit for.”
“You say that … but to me, it seems that you caused quite a stir. That really is a remarkable number of cats you rescued, after all. Even I can tell that 94 simultaneous F-ranked commissions–”
“Miss Renise.”
The maid’s smile wavered against whatever fatigued expression I was making.
A moment later, it fell away entirely as she switched to her role as my brother’s attendant and the leader of whatever scoundrels he’d charged her with herding.
“... Yes, I suppose there’s time for idle conversation later. There’s a guardhouse nearby. We should report on all that’s happened tonight.”
I gave a nod of agreement.
Hopefully, the baroness hadn’t woken from her stupor yet. But if she had, I was certain the single portrait of myself I’d returned to the wall of her gallery to smile down at her gagged and bound state would calm her nerves.
Renise hummed towards the direction of Hartzwiese’s centre, before returning her attention to me.
“If you wish to keep your identity incognito, I can see guards sent to where they’re needed using my own authority, and arrange for the appropriate seizure of the goods and crowns we’ve discovered.”
I beamed at once.
My, so prudent! It’s little wonder she was chosen by Roland!
“A judicious offer. And one I’ll accept gladly, providing the burden isn’t too severe.”
“This is merely an administrative task, and little burden compared to what both yourself and Miss Coppelia regularly perform. In any event, it is only efficient. I expect I’ll be spending a significant amount of time at the baroness’s farmstead. It is quite extensive. If possible, I would like to make use of it for Rose House. I imagine having such a facility close to the Granholtz border would have its uses.”
I nodded, already forgetting the barn’s existence.
“I encourage you to use your discretion as required. My brother has put his trust in you, and so I both expect and know that you shall not disappoint in furthering the kingdom’s prosperity.”
The young woman smiled. One filled with appreciation, but also lacking ambition.
Good.
An excellent combination as far as retainers were concerned.
“Thank you. Although I worry you place too much trust in my abilities. In truth, those like Baroness Arisa would have made for a greater asset to the kingdom. Her resourcefulness must be acknowledged.”
“It is not resourcefulness my kingdom requires. It is loyalty. And hers is a pit so empty it drains others.”
“That’s true. But at least we were able to acquire some useful things from her nonetheless.”
Renise pulled out a tiny vial from the belt around her thigh.
A golden liquid was stored within, glimmering with an unnatural light.
“These were in her chamber,” she said, her eyes lacking emotion as she surveyed the bright liquid. “When we met, she actually attempted to purchase my loyalty with this.”
“A suspect vial. How quaint. And what miracle did she promise?”
“One that would wake my parents from their curse of eternal slumber.”
“... And is it?”
“I don’t believe so, no. This is one of many identical vials I found in her chamber’s desk drawer. All prominently labelled with instructions to only drink as required to stave off the effects of bloating.”
Renise returned the vial to her belt with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“It’s still useful,” she admitted. “But just not for what I require.”
I gave a simple nod as my reply.
Nothing else needed to be said.
She hoped to see her parents wake from their prison of dormancy. An understandable wish. And one I wasn’t required to supplement with the comment that no pair named the Smuggler King and the Smuggler Queen were likely to receive as light a sentence as their daughter.
I could not speak on behalf of Roland. Although I imagined that as a kind man, he would prefer not to pass judgements which were total. But as the Crown Prince, he did not have the luxury of kindness.
It would take much to change their fate.
But perhaps that’s why Renise was here, still proving true, and not accepting stomach ailment potions from a baroness.
A moment of silence followed.
Renise gave a short sigh. And that was that.
She set her eyes on the task ahead–at least until whatever words she’d parted her mouth to say were interrupted by Coppelia’s humming instead.
“Sooooooooooooooo … you just want to wake up two people eternally sleeping, right?”
A small smile met her optimistic voice.
“If a cure were readily available, I’m certain I would have found it by now. I believe one might be possible, but it would take skill and ingredients beyond any apothecary I know of.”
“Well, sure, you could go that way. But what about going straight to the source instead?”
“The source?”
“Sure. They’re asleep, right? So just ask the one in charge of where they are now.”
“I’m … not quite sure I follow?”
Coppelia clapped her hands together and beamed.
“The Spring Court is the realm of dreams. Chances are, they must have shown their faces around a few times by now. If you ask the Spring Queen nicely, she might do you a favour.”
“The Spring Queen? … The fae?”
“Mmh~ luckily, we have someone with connections here!”
Renise was startled out of her reply.
It was nothing compared to me. The one being pointed at.
“Coppelia!” I said, truly aghast at the suggestion. “The fae are not to be taken lightly. Why, I still have nightmares about my conversation with the Winter Queen! I learned a side to royalty that day which I shall never forget … and I’m quite poorer for it!”
“You met … the Winter Queen?” asked Renise, her eyes suddenly wide.
“Unfortunately, yes, but I had zero intention of meeting her, and I’ve just as little intention of meeting any other fae as well. Including the Spring Queen.”
I waved away the coming query to declare what was just as important as my lack of enthusiasm.
“Besides, I’ve not the foggiest idea how I would even hope to use these supposed connections I have.”
“Oh, that’s the easy bit,” said Coppelia, her casual disregard for what counted as ‘easy’ more terrifying than any lout I’d met today. “The hard part is getting them to do what you want. But meeting them? The fae are creatures of stories. If the time is right, they’ll speak to you–one way or another.”
“Then they must book an appointment. One which I can formally reject.”
“I mean, I don’t think you have much choice. You didn’t last time, right?”
“The last time, I was sat beside the Winter Queen’s crown. I see no fae artifacts to hook me away. And that means utterly no scenario in which I could be abducted without my express–”
I suddenly stopped, clasping my hands around my mouth.
A moment later, I raised my arms in a martial art I’d just invented, turning repeatedly on the spot.
Renise blinked at me.
“Excuse me, but what are–”
“Shhshhshh!!”
I paused, gazing intently around at the quiet, dark streets of Hartzwiese, all the while ignoring Coppelia’s giggling at my near miss.
That … That was close!
“O-Oho … oho … I almost invited something terrible. Truly, it’s perhaps best not to needlessly voice things which Fae Queens and their deviant brand of magic could use …”
Coppelia nodded at me, as proud as she was clearly disappointed.
“You’re lucky. If the Spring Queen had a sense of humour, she’d have snagged you right there and then.”
“No. If the Spring Queen had a sense of humour, she’d wait until–”
Click.
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