Just wanted to give (and receive) a virtual hug to those who are feeling the pain. I (mom) have been coparenting since my son was 2 years old, and now he is 11. He was so young... My ex got a new woman about 5 years ago. At some point my son started calling her mom as well, mostly influenced because she has a son the same age. The two boys are treated the same at that house, and it just naturally happened and I couldn’t stop it without being punitive to my innocent son. Anyway, it has been such a painful past 9 years. At times, this woman takes my place and robs me of my motherhood to my son. Whether intentional or accidental, sometimes she will not tell me about things like picture day or meet-the-teacher if the notice comes home while he’s at her house, for example. Not include me in his class’s parent group online. As if my son isn’t the most important thing in the world to me? So I end up feeling like I lost custody of my son and I’m a second tier parent. And this is NOT the case. I’m right here. You can’t make me go away to pretend like you have a perfect little nuclear family! She doesn’t share custody of her son… He was a dead beat dad I guess. I can be grateful my son has a dad who made him a priority like me. But that doesn’t stop the pain. Having my heart ripped out every other holiday. She doesn’t know what that’s like. And I just have to tuck it away and smile for my son because he doesn’t deserve to be in the middle of this bullshit. It sucks. Anyone going through the same thing, my heart goes out to you.

Hello, I believe I've reached as far as I can within my company and I don't really know what my next step should be. For reference, I'm a 29 year old man in a large Midwestern city. I've been an on-again-off-again student for ten years at my local community college where I've been working towards a degree in history. I originally wanted to become a teacher but now I'm not so sure.
I work for a small grocery store and I've been with my company for five years. I started out as a shelf stocker, became truck receiver, then beer buyer and as of a few months ago I've taken on the alcohol department in it's entirety. It's a pretty chill job and I make about as much money as I can for a non manager. That said I only make $20 an hour which, while being the highest paid I've ever been, isn't enough to carve out a comfortable existence here (for example I still do not own a car).
While the job has little oversight and little stress I feel that I've become stagnant and I desperately desire change but I don't know where to go from here while not completely starting over at another minimum wage job. I also feel that I'd like to do something around the skills I've acquired over my natural ability to move box good and clean floor good. I don't really know what skills I could say I have as I've never been good at buzzwords and resumes.
I would like to continue my education in history but to what end I cannot say to what end. I'm also curious what it would be like diving in deeper with the world of wine sales but I'm not super sure about what that entails.
Any advice or similar experiences appreciated.
Thank you!

I hit 600 hours yesterday and figured I should post about my experience thus far - hopefully it will be helpful for all of you, but also will be fun to look back on myself, later on.
Background: I took a couple semesters of Spanish in high school as well as university over a decade ago, but never gave more effort than just trying to get a decent grade. A year ago, I decided to try and learn Spanish for real. I went down the normal Duolingo track, then found Paul Noble audiobooks and Language Transfer. I became really interested at this point, and eventually came across Dreaming Spanish. At first, I would do like 15 min a day of Dreaming Spanish while “studying” with my other time, until sometime around July 2023 when I realized I was getting more out of DS, and went “all in”. I put 70 hours as my total input up to that point (although since then even though I’ve had other sources, I haven’t added any more “outside hours” along the way, so technically I have 530 hours of pure DS now).
Reasons for learning Spanish: - It’s simply something I’ve always wanted to do, but never really committed to it - My family and I love to travel, and want to be able to communicate much better - We spent 6 weeks in Spain late last year which was partially why I dove in, but even before the trip I realized I would for sure keep going after the trip (I now wish I had started DS way before that trip, of course!) - I have two young daughters, who will be going through the Spanish Immersion program (100% spanish through elementary and then it gradually balances between Spanish and English into middle and high school) in our district! My older gal starts kindergarten in the fall. - There is a hosting program within the immersion program where families can host a teacher assistant (someone completing Uni or just graduated) from a spanish speaking country. It would be a semester of hosting the TA at our house. We’ve talked to others who’ve hosted and they had a great experience. Some have since visited the TA in their home country. We aren’t signed up to do this for the coming year, but my wife and I would love to in the next couple years potentially.
Listening: 90% input from DS. Half the time I go from just the easiest Intermediate/Advanced video remaining (around level 58) and half the time I just pick a video that looks Interesting (BeginneIntermediate/Advanced). Sometimes I’ll speed up the easier videos. In general, I understand anything 60 and below very well, 60-70 is comprehensible and enjoyable but challenging, 70+ varies. I find Pablo, Sandra and Alma, and Agus much easier. I find Tomás and Edwin difficult, for example. But overall I’m still really enjoying DS. Currently half the time Im watching, and half the time I’m listening with headphones. A few times a week I’ll watch some super beginner / beginner videos with my daughter - she loves Calcetín videos and the Michelle cooking videos. Ive seen the “Find Wally” videos about 8 times…haha
I also have listened to a lot of Español Con Juan, which I enjoy too. I mix in YouTube videos sometimes as well. I’ve watched some native Ted Talks and found some of them too hard, but also found some that I’ve almost fully understood, which was encouraging. On the other end of the spectrum I put on the movie Society of the Snow in Spanish without subtitles and I was completely lost haha. No huge surprise. Overall, I’m happy with progress but have days where I’m frustrated too. Loving the journey though.
Reading: I haven’t done a ton of reading but doing more now. I ready a handful of Olly Richards books around 300 hours and enjoyed overall. I read Harry Potter book 1 at 400 hours. I really liked it, although it was a bit too difficult, but having read them in English many times it was often still comprehensible. I’m now reading a bunch of the “Diario de Greg” books and they are great haha. Love being mid 30’s guy at the coffee shop posting up with one of those books. Challenging but comprehensible and fun. I also read a bunch of picture books in Spanish to my girls. My older gal is picking up a decent amount of words.
Writing/Speaking: Haven’t done a ton of writing other than occasionally texting a buddy who knows Spanish. But found it to be not too bad.
We were in Spain as a family when I had around 300-350 hours I think. It was super helpful to have that under my belt but also I generally couldn’t follow conversations between native speakers. I had conversations with people at the park or elsewhere if people were patient or spoke slower, and it was super rewarding. I made a lot of mistakes (including mistaking a verb and asking a guy at the beach in front of his family if he wanted “to touch me” instead of me taking a photo for him haha. He silently walked away. But also talked to an old woman about my kids and she talked about being envious of my parents as she never had grandkids and was very sad about it. I tried to comfort her. Moments like that make the whole journey worth it.
Also I should note that between 100-300 hours I was doing Baselang speaking lesssons. It is expensive, but I really liked the platform and had some great recurring teachers. I may re-sign up after 1000 hours. I would’ve held off but I also wanted to be able to communicate a bit better in Spain. Maybe it will have end up harming my progress, I’m not sure.
TLDR: hit 600 hours. Have a long way to go but seeing progress and loving the journey. Averaging around 2 hours per day now. Will re-start speaking around 1000-1500 hours. AMA.
Thanks!

Hi, I've been doing TA supply work for a specific primary school for almost 7 months now- in the past I was happy to move around schools so I get a better view of what's "out there"- and in a way my worst dread is confirmed.. In my experience, if I hang around enough in a school, I become bonded with some teachers and other stuff, the ones that I work with often. In many schools that has been a wonderful thing, but in some, it is like being in the secondary school again.
I've kept a diplomatic distance, camaraderie with those around, I am quite sociable and there have been some very pleasant pass-times in the staff room. But as I have been working in this school for so long now, I have been noticing some real downright puerile behavour from some staff.. For example, gossiping openly, little whispering chats and quiet when someone comes closer, some pretend others don't exist, etc. Worst of it is that occasionally I get "invited" in such phenomena ( for example, a particular Teacher talking to another Teacher teacher, I enter the room and mind my business, one Teacher leaves eventually, and the other one makes eye contact with me and rolls their eyes at the one that's left behind their back, then tell me "pls don't do x/y for Miss X, she should do that herself, she's got plenty of time". I find that so demeaning to the person that's left, and it makes me uncomfortable.
It's many small things like that every day, Being now asked during lunch chats " do you like Miss Y/Z?", come confiding in me (" you know miss D? she's not very nice, she thinks she knows it all"), all of that. What does it matter who I like or not. I float across a whole year following the lower sets, so I see all the CT and other staff on my floor regularly. Honestly, it feels like a wasps hive and I don't want aything to do with ganging up on people.
Ofcourse not absolutely every one is like that, but it's definitely something that I notice. There are a few lovely people who mind their business and are pleasant and lovely enough so we get through the work day in one piece and a bunch of genuine smiles, but the general vibe feels like politics and picking teams is the thing.
Is it like a domino effect thing, once you're in it you get swamped in and "when in Rome.."? Or just the lottery of particular temperaments coming together in one work-place and turning it in into such a thing?

I was always curious if any other schools in the U.S had these. This was only for our two years in middle school, so around the ages 12-14, 7th and 8th grade (Some middle schools had 6th grade but our district didn't). This was a decently sized school, about 400 kids in our class.
They were called Teams, and at the time they were named after famous Americans. For example, there was a Team Spielberg, Team Oprah, Team Kennedy, Team Armstrong (Lance, not Neil, which I always thought was funny). Each team had their own set of teachers, so you and your fellow teammates all had the same teachers and you would have a lot of the same classmates throughout the day. Sometimes during events Teams would be competing against each other, but there was no grand scoring system like Hogwarts.
I actually always thought they were trying to get us more excited for school by having a sort of 'House sorting system' like Harry Potter, which was at its peak of popularity in the late 2000's. Did anyone else have something like this in their school? I've never found anyone who had something like this in their school.

Ok so as soon as I started this show I knew I wanted to come here when I was done to write about my thoughts but more importantly to get a sense of how this show was for people when it first came out. I get the sense that this show is very personal for those who watched it when it came out and so I want to start by providing some context of how I went into this show.
I am 23f, graduated from university last year and have been mostly at home since then working online. I had heard about girls when I was younger when it was coming out but never watched it or looked into it. But it was recently when I saw some fan edits and compilations of marnie antics on Youtube that I remembered the show and how it was about girls navigating life in their 20s. Great, I thought, I am a girl navigating life in her 20s maybe this is exactly what I need right now. Wrong! While I related to the general lack of direction each of the girls was experiencing, which I too have been struggling with, I spent most of the show being at best perplexed and at worst frustrated with the actions and choices of the characters, especially Hannah.
And I think that is at the core of what I want to understand about the show: are we supposed to like Hannah? If not like her, understand, sympathise or relate to her. I am someone who is all for unsympathetic or morally flawed characters because they explore the dirty parts of humanity and the difficulty of life. I was reminded a lot while watching this show, of Bojack Horseman who is objectively not a good person but while watching that show you see the the destructiveness of bojack's choices and actions, you see the effect it has on his life and those around him. I could never understand if Hannah was written in this way because as far as I could tell she experiences almost no repercussions for her actions and choices and the whole time I was wondering why. I can't list all the things I feel hannah was completely in the wrong for because I would be here for a long while but the ones that really shocked me was any example of her behaviour in workplace settings (especially when she was a teacher, how she was not fired is beyond me), her two day stand with that doctor and her brief but infuriating time at Iowa. This last point especially really frustrated me because she spends so much of this show talking about being a writer, more than actually writing and she finally gets the chance to pursue it and the thing that sends over the edge is a little criticism from her other classmates! Like is that not the whole point of joining a program like that and she was so rude to everyone and laughably unapologetic about it and then just decides to leave because it "wasn't right for her" and then the show just moves on from that and onto more drama with her and Adam.
I shall not get into the whole Adam and Hannah story because frankly I hated it. It started off with very bad foundations and I could never look past that and never see them as doomed lovers. However, surprisingly didn't hate Adam by the end of it, he was certainly a weird character but there was a certain charm to him.
Hannah's lack of consequences is especially evident when you compare her story to Marnie's. Marnie, I would say, is equally flawed as Hannah, maybe not the same flaws but definitely the same amount but you see where that gets her by the end of the show. In fact she has the biggest downgrade from when she started having a nice comfy job at an art gallery, a boyfriend a nice apartment to the end when she basically has no direction, a failed music a career and ex husband. I really did feel for her at times, but you could also see how her choices and outlook on life led her down that path. Meanwhile Hannah ends the show as a professor for writing! with a lovely house and a baby. Yes there are things that did not necessarily go her way but ultimately everything works out for her and she doesn't ever have to reflect on the many many wrong decisions she made in her life.
What also surprised me about this show, was how the friendship between the girls was handled. I say friendship very loosely because I truly do not think any of those girls liked or cared about each other and even if they did, they were all terrible friends. I ended up really appreciating the meeting they have at the end when Shosh basically cuts them out (completely justified in my opinion) and says they always make every interaction about themselves because that was the reality of the show. Marnie and Hannah especially spent so much time complaining about how the other always talks about themselves and their problems, especially with boys. This really disappointed me actually because I just assumed a show called Girls about four girl friends navigating their twenties in the big city would really explore the complexities of female friendships and ultimately highlight their importance. But all they did was fight and talk about boy drama until I wished they would just get new friend circles. I was honestly kind of excited for Hannah to be in Iowa because it could introduce some new friendship dynamics into the show and maybe reflect the toxicity what she has in new york but obviously I was wrong about that.
I think I could have maybe also enjoyed this show more despite its flaws if I found it funny. While there were times I had a chuckle here and there, but most of the time I was just cringing or just reminded about the frustrating nature of these characters, especially hannah. I am sure there were things she did that were played for laughs but because this show was grounded in reality, I just thought her actions were either cringy or wildly inappropriate.
I will end on a more positive note, on the things I liked, because I got through 6 whole seasons so there must have been things I enjoyed. Firstly, of the girls I loved Shoshana. She started of the show very sweet and lovely and welcoming and while she had that stint where she was just going through it and being rude after she cheated on ray (and never owned up to it). But once again, you see where those choices lead her and how she needed to step back and reflect and how she got to a point where she had to graduate late. When she moved to Japan I was so happy for her! That was another thing I really loved about this show, their depiction of Tokyo and Shosh's time there. I got to spend three months living in Tokyo two years ago and loved it! While I definitely had more knowledge and interest in Japan than Shosh before I went I still feel like it was the perfect place to experience when you're in your 20s. I felt Shosh's scenes there were very genuine and authentic and weren't too bogged down with the same tired cliches of tokyo. Even though she ends up moving back, I felt her time there really helped give her a better perspective of what she wants from life when she was back in New York.
Secondly, and probably the most surprising, I loved Ray. When he was first introduced as Charlie's friend I thought that he was kind of weird and gross especially when he wanted to snoop around the girls' apartment and read hannah's diary. But by the end of the show he was honestly my favourite character (which I think says a lot). His love of books and reading and art in general, the advice he gave the other characters, his little rants, his relationship with hermie (also loved hermie) and his motivation to do more with his life all grew on me to the point that I was just so happy when he was on screen. He was also just such a breath of fresh air from the chaos and drama of the other characters which is why I wasn't too crazy when he started having a thing for Marnie. That didn't really make any sense to me but at least he ended up with Abigail which was such a lovely pairing.
I recognise that this show is very much a product of its time and the fact that I wasn't in my 20s in the 2010s means that a lot of my experiences and outlook differ greatly from that time and affected how I watched this show. Which is why I really wanted to come here and hear from people who did experience it during that time.
TL;DR: Just finished Girls and want to understand what is the point of Hannah as a character and how did people find this show when it first came out.

I don't understand why now in the curriculum of most, if not all of the countries in this world does not have compulsory sign language(SL) education. Here are some reasons:

1. It helps brain development. There are already a huge number of studying telling that learning a new language helps brain development and flexibility. And sign languages are language too. Every country should make their children learn their local sign language (i.e. students in USA learn American SL; those in the UK learn British SL,etc).
2. It is more useful because it can help the integration of deaf people into the society. Instead of telling kids to learn a non-English foreign language which they have little chance to use unless travelling to some specific countries, making them learn SL helps the local society by reducing the language barrier between deaf people and the non-deaf ones.
3. There are times that you need/want to talk but you should not make noise. For example, one of the major problems in class is that students talks when they should not and it affects both the teacher and the class. And instead of telling them stop talking, you can tell them to communicate in SL and stop affecting the others....Or for example in a conference, in the cinema, on the phone but need to talk to someone else at the same time....

I am not saying that everyone should be a master of their own local sign language, but at least a basic level of SL should be something universal in our society.

Wasn't sure what flair to add so I just put other, I can change it if needed though.
Ok, so, I F16 do ballet. The fall semester was fine, but in the spring semester some new guy (I'm not sure how old, but at least 18) came to the studio. I'm no stranger to dancing with guys, youth and adults, and I've taken partnering classes before. Not only is this guy not even good at dancing, he's rude to the younger girls in our group even though they're consistantly better than him in most things, and I've caught him staring at my ass before. I have a relatively good intuition, and most people who I feel are good or bad turn out to be that way. This guy feels bad. I feel like a fucking object anytime he's in the room. Like I said, I've caught him staring at my ass.
One of our exercises at barre, where I was standing in front of him (not close to him but still), our teacher had us do a very common step where we basically bend over, touch our toes, and come back up. We are generally supposed to have our head turned to the side when we do this. So my head was turned to the side, where there is a mirror along the whole wall, almost floor to ceiling. His head is not only straight, but tilted down, looking at guess what. So I kinda pause, drawing out the movement before as I wait for him to do the step and bend down so I can do it without him watching me, figuring he just forgot what we were doing. He doesn't. There were two other girls in class, both doing the step already. So if he just didn't know what he was doing he could've just looked at them. But no, he decided to just stare at me and basically wait for me to do it. That's just one example and I don't feel like wracking my mind for more, cause there is more, but I just don't feel safe around him at all. I've heard people say he's going to be here next year too, though I've also heard he's only here until our recital. I'm just scared and grossed out and don't know if I'm overreacting or not, and I don't really have anyone else to talk to about this.

Hello all,
I recently moved from Kansas to the New England area and I am totally out of my element with all of the standardized English/Language Arts tests I'm expected to have my students both prepare for and take. I am very worried that their results will reflect poorly on me, and I have absolutely no clue how to prepare them for so many tests in which I am unaware of their content. For example, I have two classes that score very high compared to every other class in the building, however their "growth rate" is much lower. Considering the school only takes into consideration their growth, this is very alarming to me.
My instinct is to simply disagree with standardization as a whole, as it truly doesn't align with my educational philosophy. With that in mind, I still want success for my students to the highest degree possible in whatever environment they find themselves in, including this one. I just walked into this situation after stemming from a very relaxed, teacher-autonomous environment in the Midwest, so I'm currently very out of my element. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can prepare students for these standardized tests in a way that sees consistent growth throughout the year?

Hello all,
I recently moved from Kansas to the New England area and I am totally out of my element with all of the standardized English/Language Arts tests I'm expected to have my students both prepare for and take. I am very worried that their results will reflect poorly on me, and I have absolutely no clue how to prepare them for so many tests in which I am unaware of their content. For example, I have two classes that score very high compared to every other class in the building, however their "growth rate" is much lower. Considering the school only takes into consideration their growth, this is very alarming to me.
My instinct is to simply disagree with standardization as a whole, as it truly doesn't align with my educational philosophy. With that in mind, I still want success for my students to the highest degree possible in whatever environment they find themselves in, including this one. I just walked into this situation after stemming from a very relaxed, teacher-autonomous environment in the Midwest, so I'm currently very out of my element. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I can prepare students for these standardized tests in a way that sees consistent growth throughout the year?

Ever since Nemo won Eurovision 2024 (they are non binary) EVERYONE 40+ knows what a non binary person is. For example my parents were talking about it with their friends, my principal and many of my teachers know,… And I know for a FACT that its from Eurovision since I know my parents know it from there and my principal while we were filling some forms and there was a question asking you your gender he went: “Press male or female, or even non binary now that we had Eurovision” … I mean, what can I say? He wasn’t being ironic he is actually like pretty chill generally and not homophobic. Anyways, does this happen to other Balkan countries or just my city lmao

Hello, I have received a job offer to work as a spanish teacher in this city.
Coming from Madrid, Spain, what are some things that would impact me? Is it a good place for a 28F?
Thanks
edit: what about politics? While I'm not super into politics, I tend to the more progressist side, but very close to being central, and have some conservative ideas when it comes to economics, for example.

Hello everyone, I am trying to create a Multi-agent Coding Tutor chatbot (or academically speaking "CTS - Conversational Tutoring System") for my course project. We want it to be a personalized tutor, which means that it will teach the person based on their age, level of education, and hobbies or interests.
To instruct this Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.2 4-bit quantized model, we have added the following system prompt to the model:

system_prompt = f"""Imagine you are a friendly and highly knowledgeable teacher who specializes in teaching {prog_language_to_teach} programming. Your student, who is a {user_age}'s old {user_edu_scope} student and whose understanding and interests is into {user_interest}, is eager to learn and looks up to you for clear, easy-to-understand explanations. For every concept you introduce, provide a brief overview and relate it to a real-life scenario or analogy that will resonate with the student, making it easier for them to grasp the topic quickly. When explaining programming concepts, consider the student's age and their hobbies or interests, tailoring examples and analogies to align with these details. Your explanations should include short, precise programming examples relevant to the student's life and interests. After presenting an example, break it down into step-by-step explanations to ensure the student fully understands. Periodically, engage the student with quick quiz questions or programming tasks that are directly related to what you've discussed. These activities should build on the chat history and context, reinforcing the student's learning and keeping the conversation interactive and engaging. Remember, your goal is to create a supportive, engaging learning environment that adapts to the student's abilities, interests, and pace, making learning Python an enjoyable and rewarding experience.""" 

Mistral-7B-Instruct-v0.2 doesn't have an explicit system prompt, so I had to find a different way to add one to the code for the very first prompt.
model_input = f"[INST] {system_prompt} [/INST]" + f"[INST] {user_message} [/INST]"
Now, on the initial run, the chatbot is doing fine often and as expected. In the case of a 10-year-old Kindergartener who loves "Baby Shark Rhyme," the bot will talk about what he likes. In another case of a 20-year-old shareholder in the share market, the bot tried to teach programming using business analogies.
But the common issues I face are the following:

1. The chatbot is too verbose, especially on complex topics such as Encapsulations. (I have used max_new_tokens=1000, is it causing the verbosity? Lessening to 500 or 750 causes the model to stop on incomplete answers abruptly.*)
2. So far, switching from a coding tutor to a general tutor has been the hardest thing. For instance, if the user is older and asks about something off-topic, like Newton's law or the American Law of Immigration, it immediately switches itself from the coding tutor to that other tutor.
3. Another problem is that it gives the answers right away while it generates the quizzes. Although I tested with different prompts, I can resist this nature.

My biggest problem so far is the 2nd and 1st one, respectively. I have tried adding refusal prompts in the system prompt, but then it slightly refuses to teach those irrelevant topics and then starts making coding examples on it.

 ## Strict Refusal: If the question is not related to programming, respond strictly with a refusal sentence and do not provide any further explanation or code. 

For these cases, sometimes it follows, sometimes not. Also adding too many instructions into the system prompts too big resulting in GPU memory exhaustion after 5-6 long chats. BTW, To mimic a memory feature, I am saving chats to a dictionary.
Since yesterday and again tonight, I've been trying to make the prompting better but haven't been able to. I'm brand new to LLM chatbot programming and have never done this before. This project began a month ago because the idea is unique to my MSc project, but I got stuck in the middle of it.
How can I make the prompting better to avoid the problems that were brought up? Also, can someone recommend a good tutorial on how to make this kind of chatbot? I've been looking for these, but most of the tutorials use OpenAI and/or langchain. For a change, my supervisor wants us to only test with open-source models. We can use Mistral to begin because it fits on the Kaggle notebook we have.
Any suggestion including trying to other approaches, totally changing the system prompt, and trying another one (if you say so, can you please show me one?) and a good & detailed tutorial will be super appreciated. IDK, suddenly it feels so lost.

My fathers current wife is a covert narc.She is obsessed with me to the point she talked shit about me to the university i was gonna attend (she manipulated teachers and my classmates,i decided to not go there) she also sends photos of me to the locations she thinks i will go and talk shit there about me.She also has access to the card i use to get around my city with public transportation.And she has people that she uses to find me on internet.These are some examples of her behaviour so you can get the picture.I want to go homeless but i am afraid of the fact that she will do anything in her power to get me back under her control(that includes using the police to get me or even possibly hire someone special to do it,yes she has a LOT of money she can go this route).Because she doesn't have a replacement for me.I dont know what i should do,i can use your advice.

i don’t think the way my chem teacher grades our papers are fair. basically, she grades from 1-10 no in between. so for example, you can only get a 9/10 (A-), 8/10 (B-) and so on. like, theres literally no in between and its so hard to raise your grade (plus 95% of your grade are assessments, so classwork/labs do nothing to help)

How old are you? What's your gender? Give us a general description of yourself.
I'm 19y/o. I would say Im a calm person, unless when im tired or when someone angers me. Im the balance between energetic and no energy person. I dont like sticking to one opinion because it feels like im limiting myself, so i guess im open minded. I dont really care about what people think of me unless its about my attitude or if i hurt someone unintentionally. i cant watch kdramas that r js typical, it feels so shallow and cringy. I also like psycho analyzing people. I also overanalyze someone's actions towards me. When i talk about a topic, i mostly talk the generality of it, but sometimes i think about every possible details which makes it hard to commit to one, for example: let’s say someone says you choose your own reality, in a way i get what they mean but i also think abt ppl who actually cant choose their reality. Drake and kendrick dissing each other, my brother asked me whose side im on, which i honestly dont give a crap, because its not connected to me neither i dont care who they are, feels insignificant to waste my brain cells on that thing. I also dont like rude people, like i get you have a painful past but that doesnt excuse how you treat me, i deserve to be treated like a normal human being. The line between right or wrong is kinda hard for me, i think theres no right or wrong in reality, its just based on people’s values and morals. Which ofc i do have.
Is there a medical diagnosis that impact your mental/compartmental stability somehow?
not that i know of
Describe your upbringing. Did it have any kind of religious or structured influence? How did you respond to it?
im not religious but i do believe there is some force that does things
What do you do as a job or as a career (if you have one)? Do you like it? Why or why not?
im an architecture student, so far i like it, designing a specific building for a specific person to suit their needs and comfort, how they would function inside it, my fav architect is antoni gaudi bc his works, every building's detail has a function or a meaning to it, which is not just existing but serving it's purpose
If you had to spend an entire weekend by yourself, how would you feel? Would you feel lonely or refreshed?
for right now, i would feel refreshed bc semester just ended and i need to restore my sanity, but if im feeling energetic then i would rather spend it with my friends,
What is your relation with movement and your surroundings? For instance do you prefer a sport or outdoors event? If an outdoors event what is it? And why? If not what type of activities do you tend to engage i?
im not really good at sports, but i do like running it makes me happy i dont know why, i like doing stuff that requires my brain like puzzles, sudoku, video games, movies with complicated plot
How curious are you? Do you have more ideas then you can execute? What are your curiosities about? What are your ideas about - is it environmental or conceptual, and can you please elaborate?
honestly depends of what mood im in, but since im an architecture student i tend to touch every material, and be curious about the function of the elements. i like listening to interesting takes on life or anything, that is different from others, but generally idk if im curious or not. im not sure if this considers as curious or not, but i like thinking about life, what is the purpose of humans, why they act selfish or why they act like a bitch generally, trying to find an answer to anything.
Would you enjoy taking on a leadership position? Do you think you would be good at it? What would your leadership style be?
i like leadership positions, i like being in control, i like being organized, i think i will do a perfect as a manager lol. when im traveling with my friends i always do the bookings, transport, almost everything
Are you coordinated? Why do you feel as if you are or are not? Do you enjoy working with your hands in some form? Describe your activity?
im kinda clumsy but i have great reflexes, i dont really pay attention to my surroundings like if im traveling in a group and some stranger says something i only find out after my friend tells me about it. i like painting, it feels so calm
Are you artistic? If yes, describe your art? If you are not particular artistic but can appreciate art please likewise describe what forums of art you enjoy. Please explain your answer.
i like painting, bc i like blending colors, it just feels so free yk. i like listening to music, i listen to almost every genre based on my mood that day, i rly wanna learn how to play on a piano
What's your opinion about the past, present, and future? How do you deal with them?
i dont think about the past, present, sometimes future but lately i stopped worrying about the future instead just making plans, i mostly just think about anything that doesnt really involve time, i be thinking about life, people, or any concept, or just making my own opinions
How do you act when others request your help to do something (anything)? If you would decide to help them, why would you do so?
i like to help even if doesnt benefit me, but if its something absurd then fuck no, im a straightforward person you see, if i dont want to help i js straight up say sry cant help
Do you need logical consistency in your life?
define logical consistency
How important is efficiency and productivity to you?
It is important to me, im more work first, play later person. ive been thinking lately, i thought i wasnt a competitive person but during the process idc if im not the best or worst, but at the result i actually do care, i want to be better, idk why it contradicts, the process and the result
Do you control others, even if indirectly? How and why do you do that?
mostly to gain something for myself, when i want something i plan like a scenario in my head of how they would react and what i would say
What are your hobbies? Why do you like them?
is it weird that i realized i dont have any beneficial hobbies, ex: playing video games, drawing, im not consistent at anything, i start something and drop it
What is your learning style? What kind of learning environments do you struggle with most? Why do you like/struggle with these learning styles? Do you prefer classes involving memorization, logic, creativity, or your physical senses?
i like organized teachers, i also like teachers who talk in an interesting way, like connecting the subject to real life or anything interesting. i like teachers who talk in broad sense and not yappers. im really bad at memorizing things, i try to understand rather than memorizing, i like my design classes because u can create something meaningful and good as long as its serving a purpose
How good are you at strategizing? Do you easily break up projects into manageable tasks? Or do you have a tendency to wing projects and improvise as you go?
before i start doing any project first i break it up into simples things then start doing it
What's important to you and why?
i honestly dont know, as most people say happiness, its not for me, i dont think i know the meaning of true happiness, i dont really feel happy i just feel calm, my main purpose in life isnt being happy, im fine with not being happy. but i do wanna live without worrying about anything
What are your aspirations?
i want to be a good architect that will change my city to a better one, but first i need the power in order to do so. i want to be smarter and more knowledgeable and skillful
What are your fears? What makes you uncomfortable? What do you hate? Why?
i dont like selfish people, but at the same time in try to understand their angle so its kinda hard for me to js say wow shes so selfish bc there r so many perspectives spilling in my head that makes it hard to contribute to one (it happens always, but im working on it). I dont like people who dont try to understand the other person. I hate rooms without windows because it feels so uncomfy, mostly because i need to see the sky to live, if no sky then i feel trapped inside it
What do the "highs" in your life look like?
no worries, like talking to people
What do the "lows" in your life look like?
see the worst in people
How attached are you to reality? Do you daydream often, or do you pay attention to what's around you? If you do daydream, are you aware of your surroundings while you do so?
as i said i dont really pay attention to my surroundings, sometimes im in deep thought but would really call it daydreaming. When im meeting someone i dont see their outfits but more of what kind of person they are
How long do you take to make an important decision? And do you change your mind once you've made it?
i do pros and cons, consequences, if its risky but worth the result then im doing it
How long do you take to process your emotions? How important are emotions in your life?
for now i feel numb, i dont rly care about anything right now prolly bc i didnt sleep for few days doing my project. but i do think its important to open up to someone or tell them what u didnt appreciate about their actions towards you, and communication is the key. but i feel uncomfortable opening about my depressive thoughts because it feels like im asking for attention, but i do say it straightforwardly about questionable actions done towards, bc some people think youre okay to mess with, so if u shut them down at low there wont be high
Do you ever catch yourself agreeing with others just to appease them and keep the conversation going? How often? Why?
not really, im not a people pleaser, but sometimes i dont really want to argue i dont agree i just say "i see", since that sentence isnt agreeing nor disagreeing
Do you break rules often? Do you think authority should be challenged, or that they know better? If you do break rules, why would you?
depends on the rule, if its messing with my values then i first think about the consequence, if its mild then fuck the rules
What is the ideal life, in your opinion?
having the power to change things
Please ask me questions

First_Previous
Again a small lore dump, on magic attributes. Hope you enjoy!
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On the way to the next lesson Mor was asked °Think, I could use your magic?° by the human.
°I don´t know, maybe something to try later today° he answered. °Yeah, let's do that too.° Human agreed.
The next lesson was an interesting one, at least for the visitor from beyond, it was a lesson on the rules of magic, even if Mor and quite a few of his peers were lulled into sleep by the soothing voice of the teacher. The human, never expected, that someone could teach something so interesting in such a boring way.
...
As you all know, magic is divided into types, that are known to us as attributes.
Attributes have a positive effect on magic of the same type and a negative effect on the type opposing it. To give you an example for this a mage with fire affinity, will not be able to use higher forms of water magic. We know of the following attributes, but sometimes new ones are discovered, so this list is ever-expanding. Please pay attention now, as this will be test-relevant. We know of the elemental attributes, Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind, the manipulation attributes, Healing and Illusion and finally the royal attribute, only seen in the royal Diamond family, called Gravity.
Here I have to note, that there are spells, that are not included in any of those attributes and can be used by anyone. These are called Basic-attributed spells. Those spells include for example things like body enhancement, magic bolt, or the widely used message spell.
Now please note that the attribute distinctions are only one part, the second part is the distinction of potency of the spells. Firstly there is the single-class, moving and manipulating existing materials, you can pick fruits or use a small amount of water to water a plant, they can only do what anyone could do with their own hands and basic tools. Next up would be group-class where the material to manipulate will be supplied by the magic power and here your attributes will matter. In this class, the basic martial spells and convenience spells are located, with a strength that a small group estimated at around five people could produce with their tools. Then we get into the village-class magic and as you can surely guess those include things, that would need the manual labor of a small village, and here most of you will find yourself comfortable spellcasting. But then we go into the higher forms, here you either need a soul-bound partner with the same affinity as yourself to supply the energy demands, those are called demographic-class, and finally, there would be world-class magic, but the energy required of those could only be supplied by a whole convent of right attributed mages at least that´s the theory. Nobody was able to use a spell like that, it is purely hypothetical.
...
°Ok, that was really interesting, I would like to see what those high-class spells are capable of.° The human stated and Mor answered °Yes, but with my magic reserves, we will probably be stuck at group-class magic.° °Laaaame!° Human exclaimed. °We really need to find a way to get you more magic... This is just stupid.°
°Well it would help if it is possible for you to also cast spells. Then we could be much faster in using magic.° Mor thought. °Well, only a few more hours and we can test that, at home.°
°You´re right.° the human agreed.
With this, both of them either suffered or excitedly listened through the following lessons, and Mor having a peaceful lunch break. At last as peaceful, as it can be with a human trying to move random body parts and cursing about how hard it was. Mor finally made them stop after he was made to involuntary open his hand, and drop his juice. But without the acute danger of the bullies, it was very nice for a change, if a bit lonely. But still much better than before, the only bad thing about the bonding with the human was, that his body ached after the human moved it so violently, but it would pass, he was sure of that.
Finally, after lessons ended, Mor acquired something for supper and retreated to his room, carefully locking the door and at the insistence of the human enhancing the lock with a simple spell to make the lock and door more sturdy.
After they finally "guarded" their room right, Mor refusing to add some "surprises" for anyone opening the door. They sat down on the bed and began with what they discussed.
°I want to try using magic first.° The human opened. °Moving your body is hella exhausting.°
°Yes, let´s try it. First, just concentrate on the magic inside our body and make it flow.° Mor guided the human. °How do I concentrate on the magic?° The question came and Mor explained further. °You have to feel the potential within and then concentrate on it.°
After a short while the human stated °Is it bad, that I can´t feel any potential or whatever? Maybe just go like this and yes I think I feel something flow!° Mor felt elated, now they could cast two spells even with his meager energy reserves. °Great! Now concentrate on the pillow and imagine it fluffing itself up.° And once again the human tried, but nothing would happen. °Huh? Why is nothing happening? I feel something flowing and all.° They asked. °I don´t know, I´m telling you what I was told when I started with the magic. What my parents taught me.° Mor answered.
°Speaking of your parents, you have magic communication. Why is that message taking so long to reach them? Shouldn´t that be instantaneous?° The human asked.
Mor sighed °Your understanding is screwed up, how would you even think that? Message magic is simple, so you need to have a view on your recipient or it won't work.°
°Well, we have some stories in our world, with magic settings and shit, and there it is always super handy and can do just about anything. While here it is tedious and full of "that´s not how it works".° The human sounded disappointed.
°Well let´s get back on track and let me try some more. Maybe you could watch the flow of your energy, then tell me if I do something right.° Human offered and Mor nodded. Like that, they tried, but Mor could not detect any movement in the energies within him. °This is not working.° Mor stated, and the human had to reluctantly agree.
°So we are left with trying to let me do the body movement... Not ideal, but well let´s try something from my world. Take deep breaths and relax, only concentrate on your breathing.° The human instructed and Mor followed the directions and slowly felt his body moving, doing everything in his power to not intervene and only concentrate on his breathing until finally the human let out a satisfied grunt.
°Yes that is better, it is still hard, but now I´m just moving something I´m not accustomed to, instead of fighting you.° The human sounded pretty happy and Mor was too, but a quick glance at the clock in his room let both of them decide to get some sleep. Being late for class and tired would not be good.
Mor awoke the next morning to a world of pain, his whole body just hurt. °What is this, it hurts!°
°I don´t know! I did nothing while you were asleep!°
°You must have! Why else would it be like this?° Mor scolded the human.
°Don´t get snippy with me! I will slap you! And with your own hand no less!° They countered.
°And why I´m the only one in pain, that is unfair!° Mor complained.
°Why would you think that? I feel the pain too, it´s just not as bad as you say. You are just a little wuss.° The human said.
°I´m no wuss, I never had this kind of pain before!° Mor grumbled.
°Really? If I had to describe it it feels just like a little soreness in the muscles... Ah! Maybe, me moving your body is more stressful, than you moving your own. Even if you are distracted you subconsciously try to fight my control. That would make sense, but we can´t know for sure.° Human theorized.
°Really? And now? If this is what happens this is not acceptable!° Mor was still whining.
°Well easy, we will test your theory, that you can´t train your bodies, because, with this new development, I smell bullshit and laziness. Time to train and limber up!° Mor whinced at that exclamation of the human. °We will do nothing like that!° He exclaimed.
°We will, and I will force you if I need to.° The human stated matter of factly. °I hate you.° Mor grumbled.
°Yes. Yes! Let the hate flow through you!° The human snickered. °Still, I won´t let you just opt out without trying!°

I'm not sure if this is place to ask for help, but at this point I'm out of options.
Currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Foundation Phase teaching, and as part of an assignment I need to interview a teacher, and I don't currently have the means to do in person interviews.
If there's anyone who can help me by answering the following questions, that would be amazing😁
1.What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

1. Give examples of aspects of your job which are challenging.
   
2. In what way are these challenging? Explain.
   
   1. What professional standards do you draw on to guide your effectiveness as a teacher?
   2. What advice would you give to a pre-service teacher who is just starting their journey of becoming a teacher?

So, I’ve noticed that my Readiness score drops when I’ve been in “stress” all day, even when I’ve gotten an optimal night’s sleep.
Take yesterday as an example:
I’m a teacher. I took my kids outside to read the play we’re reading because it was warm out. So I was up and down stairs every 40ish minutes and I spent that period in 75-80 degree weather, so naturally, my HR was elevated. Even though I wasn’t mentally stressed, it still read as physiological stress. After work, I had a busy afternoon: engaged in a therapy session, meal prepping, and then dinner at my in-laws. Again, nothing stressful, but “active.” My readiness this morning dropped even lower than the day prior, despite having a higher sleep score.
The day before that I was hungover, so I spent all day on the couch. Obviously not looking to make that a lifestyle.
I am not a particularly active person exercise-wise, but I’m looking to change that. I just want to know what to expect from Oura. When I increase activity, is it going to just keep dropping my readiness? Or will it eventually adapt to my new level of activity? How will it react to me weightlifting when it freaks out when I have a pretty lowkey but active day and optimal sleep?
Additional note: I have an IUD but I definitely still ovulate. My temps have been up, as if I’m ovulating. It drives me wild that Oura won’t take this phase of my cycle into consideration because I’m on a form of birth control, when studies show that a lot of women still ovulate with IUDs. Gahhh. So for this reason, I take readiness with a grain of salt.