Hi lovely! No, I don’t think it’s too late at all for you - I know plenty of people who didn’t like Facebook back when I was younger and only recently made one in the last few years, it’s not much of a big deal at all. If you want to make one, then go for it! There’s no time limit on that sort of thing. xx

If you have sent me a message at any point over the last month or so, I promise you, they have not gone unnoticed. I always like to try to make sure I’m in a space where I have both the time and energy to dedicate to giving all of you solid, coherent responses, and that simply hasn’t been the case, and for that I apologize. Thank you so much for your patience, I really do appreciate it! That being said, the inbox is always open for you and whatever you may need, so please feel free to drop something there should you feel inclined. Holidays are right around the corner, which I know can be a hard time for some of you - know that you are loved, cared about, and that you can make it through to the other side. Brighter days are coming. I love you all. xx

You’re absolutely right, babe, missing people is inevitable. I’m the type who’s quick to jump the gun and misses a memory more than I miss the actual person, and I think before you do anything you need to figure out a few things: are you missing a memory more than you are the person? Is the person in question you’re looking to reconcile with someone that you really want in your life? It’s up to you to gauge how to more forward, ultimately. You can absolutely try to fix things or at least talk to them, but you have to be aware that you were the one who ended the friendship and that however they chose to react/handle that is something that they’re entitled to. It’s a real possibility that you’re going to have to work to get things back to where they were, and that there might be some hesitations or hard feelings on the other person’s end. If you choose to reach out, you’re putting the ball in their court, and whatever decision they make is one you’ll need to respect. I’d definitely let them know that you do feel remorse towards what you did and how you feel about it now - you’ve got nothing to lose at this point, so why not be honest with them you know? There’s nothing wrong with reaching out to people from your past that you’ve had to let go, for whatever reason. I’ve done it plenty of times myself, solely for my own peace of mind, and in a lot of situations, I’ve ended up on better terms with the person than I was when things fell off the deep end. Only thing I’d say is to not go into it with any expectations. Chances are, it won’t be like it was, but it’s easier to make amends or get the closure than it is to plague yourself with the endless what ifs. It takes a big swallow of pride to own up to what you’ve done and try to remedy things, though, so if anything, the fact that you’re admitting to what you’ve done is something to be proud of. I love ya, and I’m wishing you the best of luck, sweetheart!

Hi, sweetheart! First of all, I’m so sorry to hear you’re stressed out and you feel as though you’re spread too thin across the board. Do me a favor and take a few deep breaths, physically relax your body, unclench your jaw, go get a drink of water or something. Take a little time out. I was in your shoes not too long ago - eleventh grade was a year of a lot of unsure footing. Academically, things were complicated, friendships started crumbling, the looming storm cloud of the C-word was growing closer on the horizon, add into account a few odd love life escapades and taking on a pageant...I felt like I didn’t have enough time to breathe, let alone do anything else that was for leisure. The best advice that I can give you is to learn to prioritize accordingly - there has to be a balance, because if you always tend to prioritize one subject over another, for example, that’s going to show. If you spend more time working on math, logically, you aren’t going to have enough time to spend on history. If you’re like me and you do well with a schedule, set aside certain subjects for certain days - work on two subjects every other day or something. Carve out the time to study or work on projects, but the key is to space it out. That includes breaks in between. You’re going to feel drained if you go back-to-back-to-back. Even a five minute break to watch a music video on YouTube or something will revitalize you a little bit. Get a planner if you don’t have one already, and not one in your phone. Handwritten planners help you visualize things much easier, in my opinion, and they’re incredibly beneficial. Friendship was hard for me in eleventh grade, because that was when interests began to shift and I lost a few people. Your friends don’t have to physically be there, though, while that is a nice bonus. Most of my closest friends in eleventh grade lived on the other end of the country. I’d FaceTime them while we did homework, or on the weekends, stuff like that. Just because they’re out of sight doesn’t mean the friendship has to be over! You just have to put in a little more effort in communicating. And I’ll say this - I was the kid who wasn’t really “involved” in high school when it came to extracurriculars, and I had no trouble getting accepted into college. It’s so easy to hit the panic button when you’re already ripping your hair out, but please remember to just take a deep breath, honey. Your mental health, now especially, is super important and neglecting it to get into college or whatever is not important. If you need to have a fuck it all day where you put everything off and just lay in bed, then do it. You gotta recharge at some point. I’ve had friends who like you, felt spread thin, and they didn’t do anything about it, just kept going full speed ahead and it lead to some pretty nasty consequences. Find a balance that works for you, and this is easier said than done, but try not to freak yourself out or stress too much, okay? We’re really good at doing that to ourselves. Some of the things you’re panicked about now won’t even matter in two years. I promise. You’re gonna make it to the end just fine, and on the bright side, we’re approaching holiday season. Come back anytime at all, even if it’s just to vent. I love you. Hang in there.

I’ve been in your shoes before, sweetheart, and I could tell you all about how I drove myself into the ground in high school stressing over schoolwork and friendships and had several depressive episodes and swore that the light at the end of the tunnel was never going to show up, but that’s not important. What is important is that I made it to the other side, and I am in a physically, emotionally, and mentally better place than I ever was when I was in high school. It is possible. We all have to do our time there, unfortunately, and while it’s different for everyone, it’s for the most part rather unenjoyable and a pit of despair. Was for me, anyways. I lived the weeks looking forward to Friday and lived the weekends dreading Sunday night, and that’s not a good way to live. You waste a lot of your life doing that, and it brings in a lot of negativity you can absolutely do without. Find something that gets you through the days and at the same time, motivates and excites you for the next day regardless of what you’ve got going on. For me, that was stuff like fandom, writing, reading, coming on Tumblr, etc. I also started gratitude journaling and mediation in really low spots in high school, and they definitely were part of the reason I got back up on my feet and was able to keep going back up. If you can find a reason to enjoy each day, then you stop trudging through the weeks. Time will go by faster. The other thing I’d tell you is that high school is its own brand of tunnel vision - it’s hard to see outside of it because the way it’s designed, it holds you captive until you’re on the other side. High school is not forever, but it teaches you a lot about the person you’ll want to become, the person you don’t want to become, people who you want in your life and don't, and how to take care of yourself. You learn very quickly in high school the importance of mental health and how crucial it is to take care of yourself. I learned that my senior year and I can say wholeheartedly that my time in college has never dipped into any sort of depression on the same level I experienced in high school. I know my limits, and I know what matters and what doesn’t. High school is not forever. It is not the rest of your life. Whether it’s friends, grades, significant others, whatever, I can promise you that it is not going to haunt you forever. It doesn’t determine anything about you or the rest of your life. So, best advice: take a deep breath, take a nap, and watch your favorite movie or TV show and just decompress. You are going to survive this, and it will be over before you know it. You will come out on the other side. I’m always here if you need to talk, darling! xx

Tell her. Your girlfriend isn’t a mindreader; even if she isn’t joking and is saying it to spite you, there’s no way of knowing that it is indeed hurting you until you explicitly tell her so. Communication is important in any relationship, and you can’t make a change unless you utilize it. In all honesty though, I don’t think you deserve to waste your time around this girl, whether you care for her or not - continually demeaning your partner, joke or not, isn’t cool. It’s emotionally abusive behavior, and you shouldn’t put up with that. Ever. There are plenty of fish in the sea, after all, fish that are going to treat you with much more consideration and respect.

Hi my angel; first things first, I’m so sorry this took forever to reply to! School and life in general have held me captive for a bit, but you haven’t gone unnoticed and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t give you a half-assed answer when I replied to ya. I’ll be honest with you - high school is a time where you’ll inevitably go through friends. You’ll lose a few, gain a few, and that’s simply the cycle of the machine. It has nothing to do with who you are or what you’re doing right or wrong (when I went through it, I was almost certain that I was doing something wrong) but sometimes, people’s interests change and that determines who they keep in their circle and who they unfortunately freeze out. A lot of times, it doesn’t have anything to do with social cues or a lack thereof, because I too thought that was a problem I had. It’s just got to do with the person in question and what decisions they’re making for themselves. With your situation in particular, I feel as though one of two things may have happened; either she outgrew the banter and it was no longer fun for her anymore, or she conscientiously made a change in her life and you were unfortunately just collateral damage. In all honesty, based on what you’ve told me I’m not one-hundred percent sure there’s much you could do to get back to get at the best friends status you two were once at, because it really sounds to me like she made a change somewhere in the line and it cost her you; you two aren’t on bad terms or anything, and it never hurts to apologize if you feel as though you weren’t always the nicest to her and that may have played a role in her decision to not want to hang out with you anymore. Otherwise, I’d just take things slow! Respect her wishes and allow her her space. There’s nothing wrong with asking her every now and again if she’d like to go do something, just take things slow and make sure you’re respecting whatever she wants. You aren’t on bad terms and you’d hate for it to get that way, yeah? It may work back out, and it may not, so regardless, make sure you remember that you’ll find people in high school that you enjoy the company of and they enjoy yours. Just might be the people you last expect, too. Hang in there, lovely!

Nine times out of ten, no lovely, it’s not normal. Personally, the only time my family ever refers to me as girl is if they’re doing so in either a joking context (”girl, you’re talking out of your head”) or lighthearted manner (”way to go girl!”). I know some families may use it as a nickname but I really don’t think that in this context, it’s a nickname of endearment. Doesn’t sound like they’re using it in that type of way to me. Come back if you ever want to talk about anything at all, honey. xx

Hi there! Well, I guess it all depends on what the nature of the situation is - is this guy somebody you’re friends with? Is he someone that you just pass in the hall every now and again and you’re admiring from afar? The first step is always to put yourself out there if you’re not already on their radar to start, even if you’ve got to break down the super stubborn barrier from stranger to acquaintance. Find a common ground, whether it’s a similar interest, a class/activity you share together, or just something that you know about him that you can talk to him about. Chances are, you’ve got a little bit more of a chance of breaking through if you have something in common with him, or you’re able to hold up a conversation even when things get awkward. After that, you just have to take that initiative to strike up the conversation when the opportunities present themselves. Guys aren’t mind readers, no one is. Get him to talk about himself, ask him questions: everyone, no matter who you are, loves to talk about themselves, and even if you’re sinking, that’s almost a foolproof lifeline right there. After that, it’s all a matter of every little thing aligning right, but if you’re willing to be bold and take the first step, the worst thing that can possibly happen is for it not to work out, and even then, I’d still say you were a winner for putting yourself out there to begin with. I’d love to talk more about you with this if you wanna, feel free to come back any time, my love! Best of luck to you 

Absolutely, gorgeous! Long distance relationships are all about communication, in my opinion; most of the most important friendships in my life are all long distance, and the only reason they work is communication. We make sure we take time out of our day to talk to the other, whether it’s through text messages or we actually pick up the phone and hear the other’s voice. Especially when you get to missing the other person, I’ve always found that FaceTime/Skype dates make things a little better, because you get to see the person in real time even if it is through a screen, and personally, it alleviates some of the pain of missing them? Time doesn’t go any faster when you’re waiting for something, that much is for sure - I’ve had countdowns that lasted over a year for when I got to see one of my LD friends, and it certainly felt that long, but knowing that I only had x amount of days until I got to see them really did help through the hard times. You just have to remind yourself why you’re in this relationship in the first place. Having her in your life and whatever else she brings is usually much greater than the distance, and if it isn’t, then perhaps it isn’t meant to be. Most things are always usually worth the wait though, so I wouldn’t worry too much. As long as the lines of communication are open, and you’re making an effort, you’ll be able to make it. I made it over four years before meeting my best friend for the first time in person, and we’re still going as strong as ever. Did we have a lot of conversations about how much we hated the distance? So much that we know exactly how many miles are between us and what the average round trip flight from here to there is. But did we also have a lot of conversations talking about the things we’d do whenever we met up for the first time and the future, when we’d be together all the time? Sure did, and those conversations made holding out a little easier. As hard as LDRs seem and are, they can be absolutely worth it, babe. Some people are worth that distance, just gotta work for it - then again, no matter if it’s an LDR or a relationship with the person down the street, you’ve always got to put in work. It’s not any different. I hope this helped you out a little bit, dear, and I’m wishing you the absolute best moving forward. Always here if you need me again xx