You do not have to show up at unsafe parties even if it makes other people sad, this year or any year.
Author: JenniferP
Chicago filmmaker, teacher, and blogger.
#1349: “I asked out a shy guy, he told me his (non-existent) girlfriend would be jealous. What now?”
An invented girlfriend as an excuse to say "no" is in no way LESS of an impediment than an actual jealous girlfriend?
#1348: “How to tell an ex you’re pregnant when it’s not theirs and not your ex”
Your partner's ex, your partner's friend group, your partner's life choices are your partner's job to manage.
#1347: “My friend asked me if we could add ‘benefits,’ I still feel weird about it, am I justified in ending the friendship?”
"Good news, I finally persuaded my fiancée to let me sleep with other people, now we can finally act out all my fantasies about you over Zoom!" Whoa, seems sexy!
Links & Reading Material
A few of the things I've read recently that are getting me through it.
#1346: “My new ‘friend’ has alt-right skeletons in her closet. How do I nope out?”
"Inside this lady are two bigots, one is capable of acting nice sometimes and the other is not, don't feed either of them with your time, sympathy, or attention."
#1345: Newborns, vaccines, and visiting relatives.
Wear a seatbelt! Where's your helmet? Will there be parents there? Parenthood requires willingness to say no to lots of fun stuff in the name of safety, there's no time like the present to get started.
#1344: “How do I end a marriage less than two years in?”
All those guides for how to say "I do", you'd think there'd be way more advice on how to undo it.
#1343: “How do I make myself stand the person in the friend group I can’t really stand?”
It's okay if someone you strongly dislike gets an inkling that the feeling is mutual.
#1342: “Please help me stop people from assuming that my best friend and I are a couple.”
Like the creative writing workshop advice goes, if one person tells you a piece of feedback about your story, that's just their opinion, but if ten people give you the same note, there's probably something worth paying attention to on the input side.
