The deviating weather conditions and striking disparities in fashion sense collectively symbolize lack of certainty of this semester. Freshmen flirt with life choices, sophomores declare majors, juniors narrow down summer opportunities, and seniors come to terms with entering the real world. Nevertheless, with the help of my sage words, you can overcome this uncertainty and enjoy the semester despite the hurdles that might come your way.
Dear Doolino,
I’m a freshman and I really like my roommate. She’s super cool and we get along but I would prefer her as a close friend rather than a living companion. I want to convey that I don’t want to live with her next semester, but I have no idea how to do so without potentially driving us apart. Do I suck it up and room with her anyway or do I force myself to bring up the conversation?
From Bad Roomance
Dear Bad Roomance,
This is a common problem that many people in your year are going through. Let me be clear that the solution should not be to room with them in spite of your concerns; giving yourself a less than satisfactory living experience just to avoid an awkward conversation is an irresponsible avoidance. It’s not “just being nice,” as you might think.
Even though you’re friends with someone that does not necessarily mean you’re suited to live with them (a notion I’m certain your roommate is aware of). For example, one rainy night as I was driving, I made a pitstop at this dark mansion and shared a meal with the owner of the house. Don’t get me wrong, Count Orlock and I had a great time together, but some of his weird night habits like infecting the whole of central Germany with the plague kind of irked me. I told him firmly that I did not want to live with him any longer but in no way did this affect our relationship. He kindly accepted my apologies and even offered me a pet rat as a gift of peace.
In the same way, as long as you clarify that your friendship is in no way compromised, I’m sure that your roommate will accept your decision to live apart.
From Doolino
Dear Doolino,
I am a junior in the business school and I applied for 32 summer banking internships. I got rejected by every single one of them, even though I have a 4.0 GPA and am really involved in extracurriculars. I can’t stop thinking about it; I even have trouble going to sleep. I don’t understand how I can get a job after college at this rate; my desperation has even lead me to ask for help from a fictitious writing skeleton. Please give me some advice.
From Putting the BS in BSchool
Dear BSchool,
Although life in college is structured and sensical, the real world is not. Smart people can fail, whereas those who are not as academically inclined can rise to the top. Your only real mistake is (I assume) measuring your intelligence by a quantitative GPA. While this number is important, most companies search for adaptability and other soft skills as indicative of your success at their company
My primary piece advice for you is this: don’t spread yourself too thin. Applying for 32 internships wastes a lot of time you could use to polish a handful of applications. Even if your applications don’t significantly improve, at least the opportunity cost of mental health decline would not be as apparent in your life.
Stay calm. Some of the greatest success stories have humble beginnings. Use your resources, from LinkedIn contacts to Handshake and the Career Center to maximize your chances of getting an internship. While none of these things guarantee a job, at the very least you are maximizing your chance of landing that dream job. As long as you maintain your perseverance, determination and rationality, you will eventually find yourself with the job that is right for you.
From Doolino
Dear Doolino,
The person who sits next to me in my music class has awful breath. It’s preventing me from composing quality country music. Any advice would be much appreciated.
From Billy Spray Cyrus
Dear Billy Spray Cyrus,
You deserve it. As potent as they might smell, nothing is worse than sitting though an entire class of country music.
From Doolino
For your day-to-day qualms and minor life crises, send anonymous questions to doolino.emory@gmail.com.
