Dear Doolina: Dress Drama

Dear Doolina, I went shopping the other day and while I was wandering the expansive aisles of Bloomingdale's, a sparkle suddenly caught the corner of my eye. I gasped. I needed it. I had never felt so in love before – but then I tried it on, and it was a whole different level of love and lust than I've ever experienced before. I never wanted to take it off. The way the dress slipped over each and every curve of my body perfectly made me know it was fate. The problem is the dress was way out of my price range. I also don't know what kinds of occasions I could wear it to, since it's a wedding dress and I'm not even in a relationship right now. I ended up maxing out my credit card to pay for it, and now I can't afford food this week. I'm starting to wonder if buying the dress was worth it. What should I do? 

Sincerely, I Said Yes to the Dress

Dear I Said Yes, People like you are the reason there should be a show called "Say No to the Dress." Return the dress. Immediately. Then run from Bloomingdale's before another sparkle catches your eye.

Delightfully, Doolina

 

Dear Doolina, My boyfriend and I decided to break up while we were both abroad. My problem is that I never stopped liking him, and now that I'm abroad, I really miss him. I want to tell him how I feel and talk about getting back together, but I'm terrible at expressing myself. What should I do?

Sincerely, Broken Up About Breaking Up

Dear Broken up, We both know what you have to do: you need to talk to your ex. What you're really asking is how you gain the courage to do so, and that's a harder question to answer. Ultimately, you need to be willing to get hurt if you want the possibility of getting what you truly want. You need to put yourself out there and see what happens. Best of luck!

Delightfully, Doolina

 

Dear Doolina, I just got back from studying abroad, and I think my friends forgot about me. How can I make them remember how awesome I am?

Sincerely, Bringing Awesome Back

Dear Bringing Awesome Back, If you have to actively remind people how awesome you are, I'm not sure how great you are to begin with. That being said, I think you're overdoing it. When you're spending time with your friends, just act like you normally would and don't try to overcompensate. Before long, they'll remember how awesome (or not) you really are.

Delightfully, Doolina

 

Dear Doolina, I'm really excited that classes are starting up now, but I'm also terrified – I looked up the prices of my textbooks online and at the bookstore, and there's no way I can afford them. What should I do?

Sincerely, Textbook$

Dear Textbook$, There are a few ways to buy textbooks on the cheap. First, never buy from the bookstore unless you absolutely have to (as in, it's not sold anywhere else). If you need the book right away and can't wait to get it from another source, buy it from the bookstore and then return it once you find a cheaper option.

Your best bet is to buy directly from older students who have taken the class in the past. Older editions of textbooks are also often much cheaper than the current editions and are usually similar enough to suffice. I also recommend buying international editions of textbooks, which look a little different but contain the exact same information along with a much cheaper price tag. Additionally, you may be able to find online editions of textbooks that are cheaper. You can also sometimes find entire PDFs of textbooks online that you can print out. Finally, if it's just one book for an English class, it might be easiest just to rent the book from the library for a week or two.

Delightfully, Doolina