Hi. New to Reddit, so here goes. Looking for recommendations on a so-called "entry-level" turntable/record player. I am not an aficionado, so I am not looking for the best, just "that's great and it doesn't suck."
tl/DR; I've collected vinyl since I was in high school in the late 90s, which was just a hobby to decorate the walls of my room. In college, someone gave me a record player with built in speakers, and I started to actually listen to the vinyl I collected. It was from Walmart or Kmart; it looked great and the quality was fine for casual listening. It eventually needed the needle replaced, which I never got around to. Last summer, I found part of my collection and started visiting records stores in the area, so I bought a cheap Victrola suitcase record player just to start listening to what I collected. I didn't expect much and it doesn't deliver much, but it was cute and did the job for a while. All this to say, I'm not looking for perfection.
As my collection grows with used and new vinyl, I want something a little more sophisticated that sounds better. I see the Audio-Technica LP60X-BK in several of the record stores, but I would need to figure out which speakers to buy. Angels Horns offers a turntable with built in speakers and is recommended by the NYT, but I prefer the slender standalone turntable.
I read in some places don't buy record players with built in speakers; in other places its fine. Some people say Audio Technica and Angels Horns are great, in other reviews, they're a waste of money. I prefer a black standalone player with cloth stereo mesh covers.

I’m not a teacher, but at one point I desperately wanted to be. I got to the paraprofessional level and then Covid happened and my life took a different direction and now I work in a massive, awesome used bookstore.
I specialize in the kids section, including the early and general education department.
I am reorganizing stuff and still don’t know a) what exactly to label the shelves of these leveled readers, b) how much I should price them (we typically do 1/2 off cover price, but there are exceptions for odd things- like these extremely skinny booklets) or c) how relevant they still are in classrooms today, given our advancements in technology (but considering the low budget so many schools are struggling with.) Any advice would be so appreciated, and thank you for your tireless service to our children. 😊

Does anyone else have a HUGE problem with keyboard clacking? Whenever I am sharing a room with someone and they are clacking on their keyboards really loudly (whether it's a shared office space or a lecture hall), it outrages me to no end. It has gotten to the point where this past semester, I had to walk out of the lecture hall and sit in the bathroom or hallway and just kill time outside because I cannot even stand being inside the classroom. I start feeling really panicky and I feel so out of control and just overall angry and frustrated with myself in these situations. Alternatively, I have also put Airpods in during class and covered it with my hair because I don't want to appear rude, but at the same time I genuinely cannot focus or even stand being in the classroom otherwise.
I'm going to law school in the Fall and I genuinely don't know how I'm going to survive. I'm lucky in that the program I was enrolled in this past semester was pretty chill and I could afford to leave the classroom for long periods of time and not worry about missing vital information, but that is absolutely not going to be the case in law school, where I need to be extremely tuned in during each class.
I don't know what to do -- I feel so stuck. I already see this coming up as an issue later on too, after I graduate law school and I likely will need to share an office space with some very important people who I can't afford to piss off or offend.
Any and all advice is appreciated. Or honestly, I just need to know that I'm not alone in this situation lol

TW: childhood neglect and verbal abuse - me remembering so many things after last night's session. I just need to tell someone! I repressed this childhood since I moved out of my parents. It's like I died that day and moved on like a robot.
It is as though the illusion I've kept up for the past 24 years of me being always 'happy' and living a happy childhood just shattered entirely.
I have this diary I wrote in a lot in 2014, which is from exactly 10 years ago when I was 14. I cherished it a lot and sometimes would look into it to remember the old days. However, just last week I looked into it again after several months of being more focussed on my mental health (and especially on my childhood & parents.). This time, I saw something entirely different in this cute colorful happy diary.
All I see now, is how I was suffering. Suffering alone and always walking on eggshells. Nothing was ever good enough. Almost every page I refer to 'future me', the one who will understand me. I didn't get that from my parents. Old me, who will listen to how I am feeling and give me the comfort and soothing I so desperately needed.
I write about how I was completely exhausted from highschool, and then constantly bash myself with extremly self critical words. I have pictures of me in there with apologies for being ugly, and stories of 'how I didn't work hard enough'. Several pages describe forms of catastrophizing over the smallest mundane things.
In some pages, I casually mention a family member I dearly loved dying but then downplay it with something else. It's ups and downs by the sentence "It was my birthday yesterday, I had a great time! I am exhausted and drained and school is horrible. I did get a nice gift. I hope grandma stays alive" etc.
All this time I was happily keeping up this story of how happy I was. How I had such loving parents who where always there for me. They would shower me with gifts they could barely afford.
In my house, there were no rules. There was no bedtime. There was no structure - no breakfast together or chores I had to do. Everyone was jealous of me, because I was so free, but child and teenage me were constantly longing for someone to care.
I would be gone from home as much as I could. The atmosphere was so hectic. One day you'd come home to a happy loving mom who has all the patience and curiousity to hear about my day and my struggles. The other I would walk in and get scolded about how I was nothing. One day she was willing to help me with my feelings and emotions, but in other days she'd scold me for having them! I should be strong because according to mom, she's cyinic, and the world is 'angry and cruel. The world is unfair.' Now get up and don't wallow in your sadness and self-pity.
It's like they would give a gift sometimes, just to then call me ungrateful every day after. According to them I was unthankful, selfish, and my mom said I'd act as if the world revolved only around me. If I'd say "huh, I never said that?! I would never say such a thing?" she said "that is just what you think you are doing. But in reality, you're ruining it for everyone".
Eitherway, after going through the entire diary without skipping a page, I remembered I once made a video of my mom attacking me. I looked it up, and for the first time in 8 years I had the mental energy to watch it. My jaw dropped to the floor. I never even saw someone act so horrible before but it's me going through it....
t's like my world shattered. My mom was treating me absollutely horribly in this video. I don't even remember! You can see her face, and she is so scary! Here eyes look like pure hurt, as if she was throwing her own traumatic upbringing onto me and blaming me for it. She looks at me as if she's completely disgusted by me! The entire rant of hers is a complete mind trip where she downplays everything I say and spins it around as if I was just a burden who tried to make life for my parents worse.
I would never help with chores. Because, if I asked if she needed help, she didn't. I didn't have to do anything in the house but also did not know how to do anything. Then on other days she'd get angry I wasn't doing enough in the house and mention how our life should be about "giving and taking" and I should participate in that.
Now having read all of this, and watching some more video's of these attacks, I remember many things. How my parents would lock me up in the dark cold hallway because I had a "tantrum". They say it 'wasn't that long' but overstimulated and panicked todler me would bawl her eyes out. I felt so abandoned. In my life, alltogether, my strongest feeling is guilt. I feel guilty for everything. I feel shame. I feel ugly when I cry.
I only managed to teach myself how to release emotions in january this year. I never knew. I couldn't cry since years. When I finally managed this year, I'd notice I'd feel so ugly. My cries sound like my mom crying. She'd cry in our house regularly at some point. Really messy, really loud.
Because of constantly being told I wasn't doing enough, or that I didn't care, I wanted to please. I would muster up the courage and shun myself for how difficult and bad it felt to do so. I would ask her "mom, are you okay? Do you need a hug?"
She'd turn around on her desk chair and YELL. Loud. Screaming at me to get out of her face. Just get out of our life. This happened several times. I'd just walk away from the house. I felt so alone and unwanted. I never could do it right. My dad would just avoid my gaze.
Some days I would be begging my mom for a hug. Just for some attention. But she was so overstimulated that she couldn't even give me a touch. I would feel so lost and alone and just go outside and distract myself with imaginary games. I remember because of this, the moments where I would overheat my parents show off to parents of friends of mine how "I was such an easy kid" and how I could entertain myself and be happy for hours. The other parents would be jealous. I wouldn't know why this would make me cry
My life first going to school was just sheer terror. I felt so abandoned. Every time mom dropped me off I'd kling around her leg crying and screaming. Then afterwards, I wouldn't want to go home either. I remember how later in my childhood I still felt guilty for this behavior, because mom must have been so ashamed. I'd hang around teachers and daycare adults all the time. I wanted to hug everyone, because that was what I so desperately wanted.
My dad could never give hugs. Sometimes he'd allow it, but it would feel so distant. If my mom was starting to freak out about me, he'd sometimes intervere and call me to 'it's done now!' and 'go to bed'! No matter the time. I'd lay in my bed, just trying to curl up and feel somewhat comfortable.
In primary school, I would constantly visit friends. It continued in highschool too. I had two music classes and sports, so for four days a week I was settled after school - not having to go home immediately. Home didn't feel safe. It wasn't a constant. Some days there would be dinner at a nicely put dinner table and we'd eat together, some days I'd just eat some bread myself.
Some days mom would just be lying in bed. I found a video, that's why I remember. She would'nt get out until the beginning of the evening. This was in the time she would normally make me some lunch, or ya-know, take care of me. Suddenly I'd have to do everything alone.
I was constantly entertaining myself with imaginary friends at home. I'd play outside until I was 17 or so, alone. My cat was pure innocence and love but when I told my parents he was 'coughing' they didn't want to believe me. They only took him to the vet when it was too late and never apologized or were able to own up for this.
When I was 14 I wrote in my diary I was looking forwards to visit grandma. She's my mom's mom, and I would sometimes spend up to a week there just to be able to relax and be loved unconditionally. My mom would terroize me with her stress and anger and accusations to a point I couldn't focus on school. I wrote how she'd come into my room calling me names and how I couldn't read my homework papers through the tears.
My dad was never really there. He'd choose himself to be out of the house in the morning before mom and I'd be out and then when he was back he wouldn't make it further into the house than his TV chair. My parents would watch TV for hours when I was a kid. If I asked "what are you watching" they'd both go "Shhhh!". If I'd push it futher, the'd send me upstairs.
I feel like I spend so much time just hiding from my parents. Wheter it was upstairs in my bedroom all day, and night, or if it was outside. I now also remember just biking for hours crying hoping someone would stop and console me. I'd make the wrong friends and smoke weed at 16 just to stop the thoughts.
I would visit friends just because their house was calm and safe. I'd get a nice dinner there, and it would be a whole new experience. My parents would always be easily agitated. I am hyper senstive, hyper aware. I get uncomfortable just seeing them being uncomfortable. I remember I could already feel the energy from streets away. Sometimes I knew it would be wrong and I'd just bike somewhere else and go home later.
In one diary entry, I describe how my parents told me to write a letter to my dad's mom for her birthday. I finish the letter, and only then I allowed myself to take a shower and take care of myself. I would rot in bed, and rot in my dirty hair for days, just like mom. On other days she'd be so happy, she'd be re-decorating the entire house, invite me to go rollerskating.
But I also remember how many times my parents threatened to throw me out of the car. I remember how my 'reaction' to whatever they 'gave me' would never suffice. Then I would be the bad guy, for not being thankful.
My parents, they did everything for me. They paid for everythingg. Ya-da Ya-da, but I never had a proper hug from my dad. I don't know why he's even with my mom. I think he's a fun dude, but he's in mental pain. My mom told me way too young how her trauma's affected her. My dad's childhood would always be an excuse that I had to empathize with when I asked mom as a kid "if dad really loved me".
Other memories involve me running upstairs and then one parent following me. I don't remember getting hurt physically, but I remember all my life the pain I can see in their eyes.
If I look at pictures from my teenage years now, I can finally see the depression in my eyes. It took me up until this year to finally understand that having a clean kitchen and bathroom is something you do because you think you are worthy of a clean space. I had to get out of a depressionhole again over the years many times. I now realize the constant self critisism should have been self love. So that I would feel worthy of taking a shower and brushing my teeth.
I now see how what I saw as 'good experiences' are mostly just my parents taking me somewhere to do some activity and it just fits the perfect family picture. I was their only child but we'd celebrate christmas with many, many presents for me. But once my grandparents didn't live anymore, the birthday parties and tradition celebrations weren't hosted anymore by my parents. I wonder for who they truly did it. I was a golden child, but later in life I was just a burden.
I moved out the first chance I got. They didn't stop me. I was barely 17. I got into partying and drug abuse. I would sleep for weeks in bed. Barely ate. Then I would drag myself out of it again and have missed my mom's birthday. I was the one ruining the relationship to them.
I realized last year my parents had not called me for over 7 months. That was the first time I cried since the last time I did as teen. It's always coming from me.
My depression, my axieties and the treatment my parents gave me were never seen. It was never validated until I could finally read my diary with new eyes and watch those videos. I never got professional help but I will look for this now. I am really longing for someone to tell me what I was going through wasn't normal.
I did not remember this until yesterday, BUT, I am so used to being called weak, sensitive, a cry-baby, a bitch, for telling my mom how her verbal abuse made me feel. I feel so weird, how I repressed all of this for so long and the past years I tried so hard to still visit them and give them hugs and they felt good and now it all just feels fake and weird again.
Well yeah, so this is about everything that's been on my mind today. I feel totally weird. It's a tuesday and I couldnd't even work today. I am lost.

There’s a cool event going on in Ford City this Sunday. There’s going to be lots of vintage sellers in lots throughout the 1000 block. The event runs 10-4! Clothes, home decor, furniture!

I’ll preface by saying, I love our school and our community so much. I live in a very involved area that honestly is so great for supporting our children. For example, typically there are too many parent volunteers for any field trip or school function because so many parents want to be supportive and have the time to do so.
But I’m just curious to see what level of gift giving is normal at other schools because I feel like we are constantly being asked to contribute. Of course we have a lot of school fundraisers through out the year but our teachers also seem to receive gifts multiple times a year. I don’t remember giving this much when I was in school so it just seems a little excessive to me.
Our classroom organized a teacher gift for Christmas (in which $800 was raised). Then it was teacher appreciation week two weeks ago in which we raised money again (I don’t know all the info but several hundred) and now it is the last week of school and we are asked to contribute to an end of year gift. Multiple gift giving throughout the year plus school fundraisers (which understandably do not go directly to the teachers), plus all through out the year they have signups to purchase snacks, lunches for the staff.
I absolutely think teachers have such an important job and are underpaid, so I have a ton of respect for their position but wow- I didn’t realize that at the end of the day we were paying hundreds of dollars towards gifts and perks for our school. My daughter didn’t even really like her teacher because she was strict but I obviously contribute each time I am asked because I do value their jobs so much.
I just sort of feel like these gift giving things should just be done because families want to purchase something not necessarily an organized thing in which if you do not contribute your name doesn’t get put on the card with the gift.
What is normal at your (public) school?

Hi everyone! I’m in the US. My daughter is 5 and is gearing up for the kindergarten transition. She’s been in the early intervention preschool for a little over a year and has done well there. Theyre recommending putting her in a separate SPED classroom for kindergarten with a mixture of introducing her to a mainstream class as well. I have faith she will settle into this change okay, but I’m feeling anxious. I’m nervous about the length of day, her adjusting to a new room with new teachers, going to the cafeteria and just overall change in general. I’m thinking this is just my mama bear fears and she will probably surprise me with how well she takes it…
What things did you speak with the special Ed department about/requested that helped your little one transition better?
I’m absolutely going to call and request a walkthrough of the classroom and meet the teacher ahead of time. This will probably be the most successful step.. but I’m just not sure what else I could do to help her. I feel like the school leaves me a little blind to figure out what to do.

My husband and I were absolutely crammed with 2 kids, 2 dogs, and 2 work-from-home setups in an 1,000 square foot home during the pandemic. When the kids got sent home from school, it just was not working. We could afford a larger home, but we were content with our small one while everyone went to their respective school/work during the day.
As such, we bought a bigger home. We actually took the opportunity to greatly reduce our possessions during the move. We also didn't really buy anything new, save for one couch. Our home is now more minimal, which is how we've always wanted it. We have a lot of open space, bare walls and corners, and empty drawers.
We get constant questions from both of our parents and older family members about when we are going to "decorate", what are we putting here, why is it so "cold" and "sparse." They've even questioned why we needed such a big home to have it be "empty." It's not even THAT minimal, compared to some spaces I've seen online with nothing on the kitchen counters. I still have 2 young children!
No matter how much I try, I can't seem to explain it to them so that they get it. Have you had this experience too?

Hey yall!
In the last two years, my chapter & alum have raised close to 40k for renovations for our house (small chapter and small house). Our school is being a pain in helping us get renovations actually organized, so we are hoping to spruce up the house before fall semester.
Things to note: We live in a 16-room house. There are four rooms each in what we call a cube, and there are 2 cubes per level. So 8 on the top, 8 on the bottom. They are equal shapes and the cubes are pretty much set up identical. The cubes are painted different colors, such as teal, yellow, pink/purple, and light blue.
If we cannot get our big reno done, I was hoping to be able to put up some nice new decor in each of the cubes, like maybe a LED sign and wall prints and new throw pillows for the loveseats. Does anyone else have recommendations? I am having trouble thinking of stuff that will coordinate but not make the rooms totally identical but make them look nice still for recruitment when we have PNMs in our house.
Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance yall.
Edit: I think it is also important to note we can only make changes to our cube areas. We have two large common areas but the decopaint there is determined by our Nationals and we recieve new based on a rotation. Really hoping we will be able to get stuff painted this summer!

SOCA just announced their new Dean of Academics and his name is Benjamin Phillips from Athens, Ohio.
From his bio online, “My secondary field is Early Modern British History with a special focus on English Puritanism. As a practicing Christian I am also very interested in Reformed Theology and Biblical Studies.”
He is an avid reader with an extensive public Good Reads account. The books he’s read include;
“Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters” by Abigail Shrier
“Conservatism: An Invitation to the Great Tradition” by Roger Scruton
“When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment” by Ryan Anderson
“How to be a Conservative” by Roger Scruton
“Same Sex Attraction and the Church: The Surprising Plausibility of the Celibate Life” by Ed Shaw
“The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men” by Richard Phillips
“Shepherding a Child’s Heart” by Tedd Tripp (a popular Christians guide to parenting with emphasis on spanking)
“Walking with God in the Classroom: Christian Approaches to Learning and Teaching” by Harro Brummelen
And a reminder that most of their school board (if not all) attend Brookfield Church.
But don’t worry. The school “has no religious affiliation” and will gladly take tax dollars. Their brand new gymnasium looks great.

I’ve moved out of my mams 3 times in total since being in my teens. After the first and second time, I moved back home until I met my now Fiancé and we moved in together once we’d been in the relationship a year.
It’s been 9 years since I moved out for good and I now have 4yr old twin girls of my own, pets, a career, social life, house to run etc. My mam still works full time too and so we’re both busy and although we live down the road from one another, we now often go a couple of weeks without seeing one another. This is usually because I get sick of having to work around her weekend schedule and drag the kids round to see her (when they don’t want to) and she never makes the effort to come here.
Having the proper time apart and not seeing her at least 2-3 times a week has really made me re-evaluate growing up.
I am the eldest of 4 siblings (32M, 28F, 26M) and I’m called “the second mam”. One of my brothers even lives with me due to MH and addiction issues (he’s clean - kids come first). They often recall how much I did for them growing up and how close they all are to me. They trust me with everything, more than my mam and know I’ll always have their back.
Mam went back to college and then university to be a nurse when I was just starting secondary school age 11. She had long study periods and also picked up shift work as a student to help with money, either overnight or on a weekend. Hats off to her for bettering herself for her and her family - I absolutely cannot slate her for that.
What really really gets me, is, when my siblings talk about how much I was there for them, helping raise them (dad worked away all week and was only home Friday & Saturday night♥️), cooking for them, bathing them, putting them to bed, getting them ready for school, helping with homework, helping them when sick during the night, cleaning their wounds, talking to them when they felt sad or alone……all the things a parent should do, mam tells us all I didn’t do any of it 😳 I also (no exaggeration here) did ALL ironing on Sunday afternoon (so 6 people’s worth), almost all of the housework and look after the dog. If I didn’t, I was brandished a lazy bitch. My entire close family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, close friends) all remember how I literally didn’t stop even when mam was at home! The kids on the street used to make fun of me and say “can’t stay and play? Got to watch the kids?” My best friend (friends 33yrs) despises my mam for taking away my teenage years as I wasn’t allowed to stay out anywhere - if I did, I got “well, you need to be back early in the morning as you’ve housework to do”. Even though she was off!
The issue I have, is how she literally says to me and my siblings, “I did it all myself when I was your ages. Worked, went to uni, looked after the 4 of you and kept this house immaculate all myself with no help”. WHAT?! If one of us dares to suggest that I did a lot to help, she hits the roof and denies it so maliciously “HA YOOUUU must have hit your head then SWEETHEART because your memories are very wrong aren’t they?!” And stuff like that. All of this because my sister asked for help during half term with my niece 😳😂. Mam bleated and barked on about how she was soooo busy and always flat out with everything because she had no help during the week (she even took my weekends!!!).
Anyway, honestly I just needed to get this written down somewhere as it’s been driving me mad and I don’t want to cause real life arguments. Apologies for the formatting, I am on my phone 😊 Thank you x

My son is in 2nd (entering 3rd) grade and joined a local recreational summer soccer league. It’s regional so no kids from his school are on his team, and it draws kids from all over. The league that hosts has a great reputation and parents, myself included, love it. They have competitive soccer beginning at 3rd and 4th grade level, which requires try out.
I signed my son up and the league coordinator asked if I was interested in volunteer coaching. I volunteer in my son’s classroom once or twice a week for an hour each, I do parent activities at school, and I’d generally consider myself pretty involved with his grade. I use attention getters his teacher uses (“shhhh! Waterfall.. eyes on me”) when I have a big group and I always try to check in with kids and find something to remember about them.
The recreational handbook for coaches states, literally: “1st and 2nd grade boys: the point is to get them moving and engaged. Practice is held for 30 minutes with volunteer trainers, then 30 minutes by coach. Coach leads full 1 hour game.” There are no instructions for how scrimmage should be conducted and when I asked the coordinator he said “just have them play and make sure to sub out.”
I have never played soccer as an adult, and I didn’t as a kid. I figured I’d watch some videos online and read some guides. When the ball goes out, it gets thrown in. I told the coordinator I had no experience coaching and he said it wasn’t an issue.
The kids on our team are probably all in 1st grade with a couple exceptions (my son included). They’re all much more rambunctious than I expected but nothing I can’t handle; that said they don’t have a lot of focus and I didn’t expect them to. There are a few parents who are REALLY eager to step on the field and did so during the game, and even asked why I had specific kids do certain things (eg: why didn’t he kick the ball in instead of throw?). I tried to be cordial and kind and say “It’s recreational! I just want them to move and get familiar, first game is always tough!” But that seemed to frustrate one parent even more. None of the parents seem super interested in chatting with me post game, and I feel like I may be doing something wrong. A few of the kids lamented my lame post-game snack and asked where the Gatorade was.
Have you coached recreational sports for kids? Do you have tips on how I could make this season good for them and handle the parents? Again, I know I don’t have the /skill/ in terms of the sport, but they’re in 1st and 2nd grade. In my mind it’s a win they want to play, listen, and engage with their teammates in sportsmanship.

I (21M) have been single for a couple months now after an abusive 5yr LDR. I really dislike being alone and desperately want to be in a relationship, but I also know better than to just jump straight into random relationships. That notwithstanding, I recently started speaking with a girl I knew in highschool that I had always had a crush on but for various reasons never got to act on it in any way. Things were awkward initially because neither of us knew much about each other's interests, but we got over it and were texting every day.
I didn't want to assume that anything romantic would come of it, primarily because I wanted to try to build a friendship at first. I'm not much of a flirt anyway, I have lots of self-esteem issues. As I talk to her I start to get the impression that she's like me, and if she felt anything she would either not mention it or do so in a very subtle way. Either way, I wasn't expecting anything like that to happen this early in our friendship so I just kept talking with her. It was mostly small talk, and I would always try to wait a bit to respond as with previous relationships I would text the other person obsessively and start laying in bed just waiting for them to text, which obviously isn't healthy.
Anyway, a week or so after we started texting, she asked me out of nowhere if I knew that she had a crush on me in High School. This really caught me off guard, and both excited me and scared me. We weren't reminiscing or anything just before then and I interpreted it as a subtle confession. I told her that I had felt the same. I'm away from my home town doing research at a university, but I live close enough that I can visit on the weekends. She told me that the next time I was in [hometown] that I should let her know. So that Sunday I went there and we ended up hanging out for like three hours, talking in a parking lot all the way until dark. She told me all about her hobbies, her aspirations, we reminisced about High School, etc.
Anyone who really knows me knows that I only have one big aspiration in my life, which is to have a partner. Due to my upbringing I am really used to companionship, and that is why I always want a relationship. I had not told this to her at all because it hadn't come up, but randomly in the middle of our conversation she said, "some people might think it's stupid, but I've always just wanted to have a wife or a husband," and I said that I related. After that we had the following exchange:
She said, "So when are we going to get married?"
"Tomorrow? How's 5?"
"I don't get off until then. How about 5:30?"
"Sure."
"I like black diamonds"
... etc.
I'm not writing out the rest (and I'm slightly paraphrasing) because the exchange lasted a bit longer. Either way, to me this really seemed like we were hitting it off, especially since it was her idea to hang out and everything. She also stared at me for a long time after this with a half-smile on her face so I thought I was in the bag, so to speak. That was two days ago. Yesterday we texted all day, and we had agreed to hang out again soon. I even teased her about missing our "wedding." After a while yesterday she didn't respond and I couldn't figure out why, and so I just went to sleep. I woke up this morning and texted her asking if she was alright (my hometown is a dangerous place at times and I was genuinely starting to worry something bad had happened). She responded saying that she was fine, she had just been busy last night because she had been asked out on a date. I was bewildered, because I was under the impression something had been building between us. I apologized and explained to her what I thought was happening between us and she simply responded with "OH... I'm sorry."
That was this morning. I'm honestly a little distraught and I don't know what to do with my emotions so I decided I would just write this here as a way to get my thoughts out. I've been really down and insecure since my last relationship failed, and having this happen so soon on top of things has really got me down. I was finally starting to be happy again at the prospect of not being alone, but I think I'm gonna have to be for a while. I also have major self-esteem issues in the sense that I don't think that people can find me attractive due to bullying in middle school. So this has kind of set me back in that department too.

The interview started exactly at the time given. I was greeted by two PhD students who conducted my interview. We exchanged greetings and I confirmed that I could see and hear me properly. They introduced themselves and briefed me about how the interview would be conducted and when I would get the result.
Questions they asked:

1. Tell us about yourself (A good tip is to mention some of your personality traits, why and what you did in the past, why and what you do now, and why and what you want to do in the future)
2. What did you learn from traveling?
3. What are the cultural similarities between India and Spain (This was a throw off, they had asked me this because I mentioned that I had talked to people of different cultures such as people from Spain and Greece to understand their cultures)
4. Why not business schools in London, and why France? (They asked me this because I have spent a large amount of time in London)
5. After a business degree you could have chosen any field, why marketing?
6. Where do you envision yourself in 10 years and in which country?
7. Isn't it inefficient to do so many activities during college? (They are going to be asking questions from your Resume so be prepared for that)
8. Is there any current topic you're interested in and want to talk about? (It's really important that you are aware of the major events happening across the world especially Europe around the time of your interview)
9. What did you do in Placement cell?
10. What did other members of Placement cell like and dislike about you?

Finally they asked me whether I had any questions for them. This part of the interview was a little awkward because they couldn't understand my question properly. However, it turned into a discussion about what's the environment of the classroom like and what's the relation between the professors and students like.
My Advice:

1. Know your resume thoroughly. You should know clearly why and what you did and what did you learn from each experience.
   
2. Know yourself clearly i.e. What are you good at? What do you lack? What is the logic behind your decisions?
   
3. Practice your interview skills: Have clarity in your speech, appear confident even if you're not and be honest in your answers, do a mock interview with a friend and record yourself, acknowledge the interviewer, for example if you find a question interesting tell them that it's a good question.
   
4. There are going to be questions of which you might not know the answer, for instance when they asked me about the cultural similarities between Spain and India, I was caught off-guard. I did something important. I took a few seconds and proceeded to build my answer, that extra time helped me form connections with the facts I knew, and I could give a satisfactory answer. And in case, you can't come up with anything, let them know that you don't have adequate information at the moment and that you are willing to learn more about it.
   
5. Ultimately it's not about how much you know, but how much you're willing to learn to add to your cuttent knowledge and skills. Therefore, they will focus more on the way you think.
   

TL;DR I (14F) don't know what to do about my friend/classmate (15M) who has love-hate (this is kind of an exaggeration) feelings for me.
We're in the same class and graduating 8th grade in less than a month and I'm asking for help because I don't want to be the villain in his life. I'm always stressed about hurting people and I only ever tried to be kind and honest, but I was stupid and I messed up this time. I don't want him to remember me as the exact thing I am not. I hate conflict and being mean. I would rather compromise than hurt somebody's feelings, but now I am just at loss.
We started talking more in October and then got pretty close in November and December. We'll call him D. We went out mid December at the mall to buy a book for school and I ended up buying Christmas presents. He helped me pick stuff for all of my friends and then we ate. It was very much a date-like hangout and we even walked arm in arm to the bus stop at the mall. He also walked me from the bus stop to my front door.
Fast forward to a day before our school's Christmas event. I told my friends that I kind of liked him and they convinced me to tell him. I told him and we texted some more at home then we agreed to talk the next day after the event. That evening I thought about it all and I realized that I wasn't ready for a relationship. I am 14 after all and I have the most important exam of my life so far at the end of the school year (this is just the schooling system in my country). The next day I avoided him and then at home I explained everything through text because I was too anxious to do it face-to-face. I was a wimp and I wish I had the guts to actually talk to him. I apologized countless times. I felt horrible and I can't even imagine how it was for him. I still kinda hate myself for it, but at the time I believed it was for the best.
I thought about the whole ordeal and it made me realize I might have attachment issues. I'm so obsessed with being loved (I grew up very lonely) that I feel a certain level of romantic attraction towards anyone who gives me a little more attention (especially men which I know is terrible). I also don't mean this as an excuse, but rather as an explanation to why I acted the way I did. I liked how D made me feel about myself, not actually him (this is horrible, I know). After I explained everything I felt he was cool about it and I actually thought that maybe things were okay. I told him i wasn't going out until after New Year's because I was very busy with family (I wasn't avoiding him purposely I was actually busy) yet for about a week straight he asked me 2 times every day where I was which was kinda weird and made me not want to go out at all even after New Year's.
Fast forward to this March when a common acquaintance of ours (not in our class) talked to D because he'd heard from a friend of his that D still liked me. D told this acquaintance that he does indeed still like me, that I look good and that he likes my big breasts (he said this in a much less respectful way). I was shocked because I couldn't fathom D still liking me after I'd been a total witch to him. We'd been ignoring each other mostly ever since December and even though we agreed to stay friends and I was very confused.
A few days later I was talking to a good friend of mine, D's deskmate, and mentioned the acquaintance who told me D still liked me. I just repeated something funny he said. I didn't say anything about D because he was right there, but D got mad (he probably found out I knew stuff) and broke a pencil. I'd seen that he had problems with anger and jealousy (he used to read my texts to my online friend on the other side of the world who is also a guy and got upset when I'd say they're personal and we weren't even together), but I didn't think it was that bad.
My friend (we'll call her R) told me she found out from another friend in our group that I was driving D crazy with telling his deskmate (a very close friend of mine) about stuff like weird fanfiction about my favourite singer (Gerard Way) and my variety of dirty jokes. From what R understood, he didn't like me speaking about sexual stuff (I haven't done anything like that, it's just an interesting topic to me) around him. I didn't understand why it would bother him, but apparently it did. Maybe jealousy? I don't know.
Nothing much happened until this Saturday when our whole class was taking album photos. The basic and typically "popular" girl in our class invited my group (the 7 emo girls basically) alongside her group (her another 3 people) to the new Japanese restaurant in town. We get along fine with them, though they kinda gossip about us sometimes, so we gladly agreed to eat with them. A girl in our group (whom D liked last year; she was much harsher in rejecting him - she blocked him on all platforms) is a tad bit closer to the popular girl, so the two of them made the reservation for 11 people at the restaurant.
During the shoot, D and another classmate that we're not very close friends with (they're chill, we just don't talk all that much) overheard our sushi plans and asked me if we were going. I said yes and tried to kindly say that we have a reservation already for 11 people and that they can tag along, but sit at another table. I felt bad because I've been excluded countless times in social situations in my life and I didn't want them to feel that. Their parents who were also there questioned me and I was too ashamed to lie, so I said that yes, we had a reservation. D and the other person didn't come in the end.
That evening I texted D apologizing and explaining that I was just invited and that I wasn't the one making the reservation. He said that it's okay and not my fault and he said that the other person was also not mad at me. He asked me why i was so obsessed with apologizing and I made a sharp remark I didn't think through about being annoyed at my friends' insensitivity about excluding them. He asked me why I was telling him all that and I told him to forget it. He encouraged me to continue and just speak my mind. I said no and told him I only had a question. I asked "do you still like me?" and I proceeded to explain why that would be impossible. He said I was changing the subject and I didn't realize that he was the one doing it in reality. He told me again to just speak and that nobody else will know whatever I tell him. I refused, but he somehow convinced me and I made a small confession about being lonely and feeling like only 3 people truly like me. It wasn't as personal as it may seem because I have much deeper feelings I have never told anyone, but I was still shocked that he somehow made me spit out things it takes a lot of hard work to get me to say as I am a very introverted and closed off person. For some context I was literally shaking and hyperventilating from anxiety throughout the whole conversation. I asked him again if he still liked me and he responded in the morning, completely ignoring the question and asking about a math test we recently took.
Yesterday evening, on Sunday, I talked to another classmate and friend (again not very close, but he's nice) whom I'll call L. L told me D had sent the group chat with the other person who I apologized to for the sushi thing, L and another classmate (I presume) screenshots of our whole conversation (even though he promised he'd keep his mouth shut). L sent me a screenshot of D saying I played him before and after I rejected him and said I manipulated him and only pretended to be interested in the things he liked just to get close to him (for the record, I'm a big listener, I love hearing my friends talk about their passions and interests). He also said he hated me. I was shocked and very upset because while telling me everything is alright and that the mess in my mind will get better, he was talking nonsense about me to others and sharing private information.
I told my friends about all of this. R said it's all my fault and that I did give him false hopes even after I rejected him and that I give him too much importance. She basically said I'm a bad person because I told D I wasn't ready to date anybody after saying I liked him. She probably believes I did it for kicks, just like D thinks, but I swear on everything I have that I'm just very dumb and I have no idea how to navigate human relations. I'm a massive people pleaser and it shows. Two friends said that it is what it is and another four said that it is totally not my fault and that I did not give him false hopes after I rejected him and that I barely even acknowledged him during that time (I also think so, but R said I kept flirting with him - I ignored him completely and he ignored me just the same so I am very confused as to what she deems "flirting"). They said I communicated clearly that it's not him, but rather a personal issue and that I am very sorry and I will respect his decision if he doesn't want us to talk or be friends at all anymore. I am in a dilemma.
I feel like a bad bad bad person for what I did and how I acted and I have no idea if R is right and that I did keep giving him false hopes or if all of my other friends are right and it's not my fault. I never thought that my behavior (existing in his perimeter) would be considered as flirting, but apparently R thinks otherwise. In R's opinion sending him two TikToks in 3 months and talking to him 3 maybe 4 times through text and another two face-to-face from December to now was too much attention.
So, am I a horrible person who deserves unhappiness or is D just overreacting and being manipulative and toxic? Please help this is really messing with my mind.

Hi all I graduate this week with a Bachelor of Science in Psych. I am enrolled in a masters program for education starting in Fall of 2024. However I am not that happy in a classroom setting. I been a TA for two years and the pay and treatment teachers get is not worth it. I also do not want to get in a huge amount of debt (already at 21k)
I was thinking about going to LPN school. Nursing was my second option anyway. At least I can pay off my debt with that job and work my way up in the healthcare field.
Im also open to other job suggestions.