This painting highlighting USAFA and the beautiful mountains surrounding it was just released. Fitting, with the class of 2023 pinning on its gold bars last week! As a 2002 grad, veteran, now military spouse, I love capturing that beautiful place in oil paints. Congratulations to the graduates joining the Long Blue Line!
"Time and Tradition," oil on gallery wrap canvas by Glory Paulson, 12" x 12" x 1.5", 2023
[This is my first post -- please forgive any faux pas!]

(I am just venting about a unique situation I suppose. I was wondering if anyone else feels the way I do. FOR CONTEXT: I grew up in a low socioeconomic and rural town that primarily specialized in deep fried southern food and cotton fields. This meant that, in typical manner of small town America, no one ever really leaves. My mom, dad, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents all attended the same high school as me. One of my childhood friend’s grandmother was the person who signed off on my parents’ marriage license. (I did not know that fact until my mom showed me their old marriage certificate several years later and I saw the familiar looking last name of said friend.) Most townsfolk married someone from their high school class, my parents being no exception. Some even had the same teachers or principals as me. The demographics of my version of small town America was composed mostly of what my teenage self would refer to as “hick rednecks'' and “military jackasses.” (I was mostly referring to the two sides of my family: dad’s side being hick rednecks and mom’s side being military jackasses.) Overall, my hometown was an interesting mix of people ranging from God-fearing Baptists and self-proclaimed “country bumpkins”. There were lots of speeches about hell and brimstone during my childhood.
I’m not sure how to sum up my experience growing up Chinese American. Up until I was an adult, I rarely bothered to share the truth about my adoption. Mostly due to feeling exhausted from having to repeat the same stories to people again and again:
“China had an overpopulation problem in the 1900s. As a knee jerk reaction, the deeply conventional and patriarchal government implemented the One Child Policy. Basically, if parents had more than one kid, they would be heavily taxed and ostracized. Now, if said second child was a girl, they’d be in some hot shit. In Chinese culture, usually it is the son that takes care of their elderly parents while the daughter is married off and becomes part of her new family of in-laws. Being born a girl was seen as an inconvenience as their culture historically coveted males. This often led to Chinese baby girls to be left for dead in trash cans, taken by the government, or even killed. Having a second daughter was seen as a betrayal to the Chinese regime and for some reason warranted infanticide. Well, I’m obviously a girl who survived what essentially was a mass slaughter. Probably the second born daughter which was extra hot shit for my biological parents. They wanted better for me (maybe), so I was put up for adoption. I hung out in a Chinese orphanage for about half a year until two random white people decided to adopt me. They brought me back to America, and the rest is history. No, I have no memories as I was a literal baby. No, I do not know who my birth parents are since adoption was conducted anonymously since putting a child up for adoption was also considered treason. And personally, just my opinion, it’s a little fucked that the government is slightly more approving of murdering babies for something completely out of their control instead of putting them up for adoption.” Or something along those lines…
I was adopted by my mom and dad, but primarily raised by a single mom for most of my childhood. I guess my peers just assumed when they saw my mom, that my dad happened to be Asian which is where I must have gotten my “exotic” genes. My childhood was also very abusive (from all sides of my family). Although I do have love for my family somewhere buried under the deep-seeded resentment, I no longer have a relationship with any of them besides of few of my distant cousins. This is mostly for my own safety/peace of mind because my relatives tend to influence me very negatively.
My earliest childhood memories involved a lot of weird and invasive questions I would hear from adults and peers alike regarding my ethnicity. Well that, and a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach that I would later identify as “survivor’s guilt” as an adult. Logically speaking, I have no reason to feel guilty for being alive, but I do. It would occur any time some adult friend of my parents would gush about how “lucky” I was to be adopted. I suppose luck had some part in my survival, but I didn’t expect people to be tone deaf enough to tell that to a little kid already struggling to come to grips with her cultural identity.
The snarky part of my brain would parody their comments:
“Oh, how these two altruistic white saviors decided to welcome a child as their own despite having no blood ties whatsoever.” Which, in part, is true. My parents did a very selfless thing. They were not able to conceive a baby of their own and they chose me out of the millions of parentless babies in the world. I think the damaging part is the underlying implications about how these nice people could have had any child and yet they settled for a baby no one wanted. My family would refer to my miracle of survival as “God’s plan.” They would talk about how God perfectly orchestrated my early life tragedies so I could be rescued from an awful life with those “evil communists.” I have nothing personal against religion nor people who truly believe in the G man upstairs. My beef comes from how this perspective is very centered on the adopters instead of the adoptees. Yes, it is BOTH our stories, but I often feel like adoptees' voices and feelings of uncertainty are often drowned out by a chorus of “you’re so lucky” and “why do you feel like that? You’re so ungrateful.” Also, I was a healthy baby girl born with no neurological or physical deficiencies. I definitely had much better odds than other babies at being adopted during the One Child Reign. Hearing these implications from people who do not understand nor want to understand the complexity of the adoptee’s experience fed into my survivor guilt and feelings of inadequacy. The adoption progress does involve a loss for the adoptee: a loss of culture, identity, and familial ties. I feel like adoption, specifically international adoption, is highly idealized and romanticized. Although I never told my mom, there was a part of me deep down that felt like a second-rate baby. Mostly because I knew how it would make her sad to know that somewhere in my little kid brain, I didn’t think that I would truly be wanted if my mom’s fertility situation went differently.
I would often describe the state of Texas as “that really annoying, overly-friendly hick cousin that comes to every holiday and gets completely sloshed out of their mind and drunkenly brags about their mediocre accomplishments” to people who would ask me to describe Texas. But for all the Texan pride and arrogance about our current Lone Star State, I suppose I could see its appeal. Living in rural Texas is a familiar, humble, and stable experience. My hometown was relatively safe. I could walk to my childhood friends’ houses after school just a few blocks away from my own house without much fear. Most people waved and smiled at each other in passing. (Looking back through adult lenses, I’m not sure how much of it was genuine.) Most townsfolk could fill their relatively uneventful lives with the downtown gossip of families going through some type of soap opera behind closed doors. And despite living in a small town, the schools were large enough to where we could participate in varsity sports seasonally. The rare minority of people who actually did have the courage to leave eventually moved back to start a family because “there’s no place like good ole home!”
The monotony is what partially induced my pubescent angst and desire to someday escape the only place I’ve ever known. That, and the fact that the things you could do for entertainment in small town USA was close to none. The drawback of only living in one town your entire life is limited world experiences. The safety net of someone’s childhood confinements has the potential to induce complacency confused with comfort. How could you ever expand your worldview when you’re hanging out with the same people with the same ideals again and again?
The Asian population in my hometown was close to nonexistent as well. In my high school graduating class, there was one other Asian kid that attended school as me. When my school’s standardized testing scores would be released, the performance metrics were broken down by how well each ethnic group of students did. Since there were only two Asian kids in my grade level, it would be pretty obvious if one of us failed. (Luckily, neither one of us did.) And of course, my peers encouraged both of us to date since “we’d be, like, SO perfect for each other! We’d get married and have little genius Asian babies!”
The feeling of being “othered” or “different” had always been present throughout my childhood. As a kid, the complexity of prejudices eluded me in my naivety, but the uncomfortable feeling of my peers hyperfocusing on my almond-shaped eyes, my flat nose, my stick straight black hair, and any other features felt like they were screaming, “ASIAN!” very loudly. A part of me felt some sort of unspoken alliance between me and my Hispanic friends. It was as if to some degree, they understood what it was like to have your whole personhood categorized by the color of your skin. Sadly, a large portion of my family was uncomfortable with the presence of anyone of Hispanic descent, and I'd often be forced to come up with excuses for my friends of color to not come over in fear of my traditionally southern family making an off-the-cuff comment about how "Mexicans are dirty, poor, and thuggy criminals." Their political diatribes, usually involving immigration, were the popular conversation starters during family get-togethers. My family was very much the type of people that would preach out being a good, godly man/woman while snickering about non-White people's "oddities." Talking about how Jesus loves all and then whispers sanctimoniously about a low-income Hispanic family on the opposite side of the room.
"Oh, GOD BLESS their hearts!"
I doubt those families needed my family's pity.
My mom's sister once texted me after I returned a stray dog to their rightful owner,
"I need to know their race so I can determine their education levels. If they're Mexican, it makes sense why they didn't pay you for rescuing their dog. Mexicans are always looking for the cheap way out."
They were Hispanic, and they were very thankful for the return of their dog. I didn't understand why a decent deed automatically required me to be compensated nor how their racial background tied into their obligation to compensate me.
I snarky replied, "What does their ethnic background have anything to do with how they should act?"
To which she responded, "Calm down. I can practically hear you getting huffy with me from your text. Don't get mad at me! I told you that those Mexicans are always coming to our country and expecting us to learn THEIR language while they refuse to learn English! Plus, when you're my age and all your tax dollars go into keeping lazy illegals afloat, you'll understand why I'm not willing to let some freeloading Mexicans take advantage of my niece."
I no longer talk to that aunt.
My dad's (now current) wife also got very sloshed at the last Christmas event I attended and ranted very loudly about how "the Bible said that evil yellow people like (me) would bring the end of the world and second coming of Jesus to end our sinful tyranny" in front of my entire family with my dad awkwardly ignoring her xenophobic remarks.
It also did not help that in elementary school, some of my classmates would see me and bow to me while one boy would pretend to bang a gong as soon as I entered the classroom and snicker while singing, “CHING, CHONG, CHINKY!” Or how during snack breaks, my peers would pop up to ask me questions like, “do you know karate,” or, “can you speak Chinese to me, " or “ew, don’t tell me you’re gonna eat my dog. He’s a really cute puppy!”
As evasive and uncomfortable these comments could get, I felt like they were fairly innocuous and were asked out of a mix of childhood ignorance and genuine curiosity. I think the part that bothered me the most was having some of my classmates point out how “weird” my eyes looked while placing their fingers at the corners of their eyes and stretching them outwards and loudly proclaiming, “LOOK, NOW I’M CHINESE TOO!!! I LOOK JUST LIKE YOU!” But the absolute worst feeling would be when someone would mention how I look nothing like my very obviously white mom or dad.
“How could they be your parents when you don’t even look like them?”
To which I had a carefully crafted answer my mom would help me rehearse beforehand: “Oh, yeah, I’m adopted from China. Not all families look the same.”
And the retort back would usually be, “Do you miss your real parents?”
Do I?
I ponder that question to this day.
It feels uncomfortable to have people refer to my sperm and egg donors as my “real parents.” My adoptive parents felt very real to me because they were all I knew.
I don’t think I fit the concept of the model minority. I did not come out of the womb as one of those “wiz kids” playing the piano like Mozart, doing linear algebra before I was verbal, and eating dogs for breakfast. My experience as being an Asian American and labeled as the “good minority” has been a weird space to be in. As much as I partially appreciated being known as the “successful, smart, culturally assimilated” race of people, a part of me felt bitter at the notion that all my successes in life might be attributed to my ethnicity. When I would express my discontent with these labels, I would often get reprimanded as ungrateful.
“Don’t you want to be smart?”
“What’s so bad about being Asian? It’s a compliment!”
“Are you embarrassed to be Asian?”
“And you’re basically guaranteed a spot in medical school to become a doctor.”
“The guys are obsessed with you because of your exotic genes!”
(Pro tip for anyone, but especially for my fellow marginalized members: if someone calls you “exotic,” run.)
The answers to these questions usually go, “yes, nothing, no, what, and ew.”
Yes, I do want to be smart. I hope that my cognitive abilities will help me contribute something positive to society one day.
Nothing is wrong with being Asian or whatever you are. It just feels very uncomfortable to hear about an entire group of people as if they’re all the same.
No. I have never and will never be embarrassed of what I am.
What? Why do you assume I automatically want to become a doctor?
Ew, exotic? I don’t even want to reply to that comment.
I wish that I had the vocabulary at the time to respond like that. Instead, I would awkwardly laugh at their comment and say something along the lines of, “haaaa, I don’t know any other Asians. If you run into them, you’ll have to ask them.”
When you would hear about brilliant minds in history such as Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking, most wouldn't say, “Oh well, it’s because they’re white. All those white genetics are what keep them so hard-working and successful.” Instead, as a demographic that is adequately represented in society, Einstein and Hawking and so many other white men had their accomplishments acknowledged as their own individualistic brilliance. An experience I so desperately wanted. So what if I was good or bad at math? I want to be called smart because I am smart. Not because I have some God-given wiz genes that have prophesied my successes from my first primordial cell. Or what if I was terrible at math? I don’t want to be labeled as a “bad” or “fake” Asian. I don’t want to be categorized as one of those “innocent, submissive Asian girls that would make a proper wife one day.” I just want to exist in my own space as my own person. Whoever I ended up becoming.
(Does anyone have negative experiences from adoption? I would love to know because the rare fellow adoptees I have met have very different (positive) experiences than myself.)

Probably the most unpopular opinion on here, but I love the scout rifle. I have been playing this game almost daily since December of 2019, and it is still my favorite. I think it is highly underrated, and I totally understand. This game has so many awesome weapons which all feel unique. In fact, I bet that if you kept putting random weapons in a blindfolded veteran or even semi-experienced player's hands, they would know when they were given the weapon they love to use the most. (thumbs up to you devs) That being said, I just love the way the scout rifle "feels". I love everything about it.
I remember when I first unlocked the prestige "Wolfpack" version of the weapon when I was a noob that played fixer almost exclusively. Granted, if no one else is carrying a scout, the perk it gave was pretty useless, but I loved the way it looked, too. Cartoon-ish, like the other prestige weapons, but it was purple and had a fierce looking wolf on it. I thought I was so badass and showed it off to my friends, who each rushed to prestige their fav class's weapon and show it off, too.
Half the reason I fell in love with drone master class when it came out was because I got to keep the scout rifle. (the other half is because I don't like being shot by griefers when I play in public lobbies) Every other class I played, and still play when I run solo made me have to search for the scout. But with drone master, it's the starting weapon.
Every weapon in the game can beat any level on extreme in the right hands, and so in that regard, they are all great. Also, there are so many weapons that make it far easier to win on extreme consistently. I could make an argument about why just about every other weapon in the game is better and it would be a valid argument.
All that being said, if I could only ever have one primary weapon in the game, it would be the scout rifle. I have no logical argument for why I love it so much. All I know is I have killed a few million zeke with it and it never fails to feel awesome while I do it. I would love to hear what other players' favorites are, and what their favorite skin for the weapon is and anything else they want to share.
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TLDR: What is your fav weapon and skin for it and why?

i did orange theory last summer but had to quit when going back to college because there were no studios in my little college town. i was about to start back up but was wondering if i can still get the free first class since i was a member prior or not.

Names changed for obvious reasons.
To preface this story, I (19f) am adopted by my biological mother’s brother and his ex-wife. They had already had two daughters Stephanie (13f) and Nova (11f) when I came along. They were quickly out of the house by the time I was 8. My father was gone out of state for months at a time, and my mom was getting her masters while I was growing up. I spent a lot of time either grounded for being a hyper kid or talking back. I quickly became a book nerd, and just an overall nerd.
My biological mother had five boys and one girl. I love my brothers to the moon and back, they were also adopted out so I ended up growing up without them.
Growing up I was pretty much alone, with the 10 1/2 year and 13 year age gap between me and my sisters. I spent a lot of time either head first in a book or writing. My biological family had told my adoptive mom that they would help her because she had adopted me into her family. Spoiler alert that didn’t happen. We’ll call them the Smiths, so the smith family consists of 4 kids not accounting my adoptive father and my biological mother.
The smith family treated me like I was one of them, until I was about 10. Due to some family issues I wasn’t able to keep in contact with them, and I lost the connection with them. The thing about the Smith family is that they will remove anyone who is different than their idolized person. As they did with my mom who suffered some brain damage at a young age causing her mental ability to be limited.
Anyway on to why I might be the asshole here. I recently graduated high school after failing all my classes and doing all of them my last year of high school while dealing with health issues. My youngest brother (28m) went to visit grandpa smith and his wife, just before I was to walk. He had asked them if they were coming to the event and they pretended I didn’t exist.
I choose to call them a few weeks after graduation, and ask them about this and grandpa smith said something along the lines of “Your just like your mother, except your mental and gay as well” Which resulted in me defending his daughter for half an hour before finally deciding to tell him to remove me from anything in his life. I don’t care anymore. Later I found out my aunts and uncles on the Smith side has decided I don’t exsist. So I went on Facebook like every one does and publicly told them to shove their family only matters if it fits into this cookie cutter mentality.
So AITA?

Hi everyone,
I'm currently in MSK 2 right now, and we just took our first exam & I didn't do so well. I did decent in MSK 1 and used the same study strategies (pre-studying/reviewing content after class/quizzing myself) for MSK 2.
Does anyone have any tips on how they did well in MSK?

I've been out of school for two years, and I've worked at two places since. I've applied at many more, and despite knowing how strapped these places were for staff, I didn't hear back from most. I'm wondering how much of this is getting blackballed from my school references.
My class did not have a great time in rad tech school. We were mostly adults in our 30s-40s, and found most of our rotation sites extremely abusive... We ended up losing at three students to the toxicity during school. Not all of us responded well to some of it. I personally didn't always eat their shit, and I think having those sites listed on my resume has been holding me back, because there's no way they're giving me a good reference, and I HAVE had issues finding work since then.
It wasn't all the sites- my first job out of school was at one of my rotations. I only left because I moved out of state. But I really don't think that stuff should follow me around for the rest of my career, especially as I've performed very well in the working world after school.
So when is a good time to start leaving school rotations off a resume? I've considered putting them up "on request", but frankly I'd rather never list them at all if I thought it would improve my chances at desired employment.

Disclaimer: This is light hearted and fun, so hopefully it helps cheer someone up on a bad day. This happened almost 20 years ago but another post reminded me of it, feel free to point and laugh at mistakes.
Just to start off, I got along great with this teacher in question Mr O. He was awesome but also a smartass, unfortunately so am I. One day after handing in a book report, the grade I got back was less than I thought it should be as I put a lot of work into it. When I asked Mr O about it, he replied something along the lines of "it wasn't up to your usual standards", so he knocked some points off. I still passed it, but it bugged me. I get now he was trying to push me to do my best, but it irked me.
Then SACE time came, and for our English exam we had one hour to submit a 250 word exam on the teacher's choice of subject. Mr O was and always had been a huge superhero comics fan, so he tasked us to write an exam on what would happen if we suddenly developed superpowers. He then looked at me and said something to the effect of "I expect great things from you all, get going".
Most of the other people in the class wrote the standard sort of fare, but I decided to cheat Mr O out of the story he wanted. I knew he was looking forward to my story as he had come to enjoy the extra creative flair I always used to put in for an epic story. Instead, I wrote a story about being a balding, 40 year old mechanic who one day accidentally kept starting fires. I made this the most compelling and funny story I had ever written and was the first to hand it in. When the results came back, he conceded it was one of the funniest things he had read and had even shown the other teachers, who pressured him into giving me extra credit for it.
(For those not in South Australia, SACE is basically the culmination of high schooling here. It's basically two weeks of exams before graduation.)
TLDR: Teacher knocked points off of one assignment but gave them back on a better one I did later.

I just went out as a wingman for this young guy who is 19.
By all means, this guy is above average height 1.80m, athletic and he approached me so i decided to go as wingman for free to see where he fails. His facial features are good but nothing remarkable about it. Dresses okay for slightly above middle class, skin color fair. If you saw his photos you'd say this guy is killing it but lack of experience, stupid beliefs abouts what women want, render him paralyzed by analysis.
Mistakes I saw him make, resulting in his first 30 approach failing.

1. Approaching like a sheep, voice shivering, no control over speech, talking too fast like some train is leaving station. Poor socialization by his parents resulted him being like this. Men talk slowly, emphasize each word, exchange gaze, be at ease, spread your body to look bigger don't crumble in a corner.
   
2. Approaching women who clearly look below his looks standard and thinking he will easily get it. Look, whatever league you put yourself in, approach the best looking women in that league.
   

Why? Because all men approach at bottom. While you can get someone at bottom, it's uphill battle to keep their attention, they'll always feel like they don't have your loyalty and life will be hell.

1. Look at how confidently she talks, is she secure in her body? Look at her body language. Do you feel something is off? Is she not comfortable? Does her eyes wander around searching for someone or she's too much sheepishly looking at things close to her body. Approach women who look farrr. If you approach insecure women, while you'll get quick response, the problem is going to be that "she just likes attention and keeps you for that".
   
2. Get the conversation going, talk about something you like in her outfit. Unless you are super attractive, resist making comments about her appearance (no compliment for any body part)
   

I like your boobs and ass is gonna work but when she already likes you and is invested in you. So resist the urge to talk about it, keep it in your head and forget till she considers you her lover then compliment her chest as much as you want

1. Make atleast 20 approach a day. But not daily. Go out on the day when you feel confident, attend college parties, coworker parties, parties of your friends. Make cold approach and forget about getting results.

Life will reject you left and right but as you make cold approach, you'll see some women will be like "ew go away" but some will be very kind to you. It's just random! There's no secret. That's why all of us look different, women like different things. Maybe they've their best friend or dad or anyone close to them, who match one of the feature you carry, they'll treat you kindly and overlook your flaws and give you a chance.
But make tons of cold approach and guess what? You'll never feel like "ohh i just want any woman, you'll be of mindset - I want a woman who likes me for who I am and what I do"
About the guy he's still making 20 approach a day and sending me update and he found a woman who already has boyfriend but she offered him friendship and he's going out with her friends group. That's a good achievement for someone who was not a social person!

I'm rewatching Gintama and just watched episode 95 where Hasegawa is on trial for molestation, and Gin tells the court the story of Hasegawa and his wife Hatsu and how she wore a dirty kimono and begged Hasegawa's boss to forgive him. Considering that she went to this extent for him, and still worries about him, why did she even leave him in the first place? It seems awfully out of character for someone who abandoned her high class family to marry Hasegawa to leave him just because he got fired.

Our rough collie female who is 5 years old (we have had her since she was a puppy), has always had some level of anxiety when encountering new things/"scary" things - think flags/awnings, high pitched barks from schnauzers etc. She is our first rough collie and when people said how "sensitive" the breed was I did not totally understood what that meant. However, I do think she is unusually so even for the breed. That said she did go to classes with us for the first 2 years of her life. Additionally, I do quite a bit with her to mentally stimulate her with puzzles/hide & seek games with treats/toys and as a bonus we work from home.
Exercise wise my partner takes her in the mornings for a 1.5 mile off leash walk in a nearby park which is dog friendly, but not a dog park. Then, in the evenings I take her around our (not so urban, think actual small town/village with mostly quiet streets) neighborhood or again to another place where she can be off leash or at least on a longer lead on a hike. I would say she gets 4-5 on leash walks a week the others may be off leash or on a longer lead.
This leads me to now - in the evenings when I do take her out, I have her on an easy walker harness as her neck is so long & skinny. The harness helps with her pulling, and I do redirect her when she does pull by doing the old trick of stopping and turning around and then walking forward again. It helps for a little bit, then right back to pulling. Since we had a time change, and it is lighter for longer on our evening walks she is spooked by any little thing she sees/hears in the neighborhood. For instance someone taking a something out of their trunk spooks her. A kid talking up the street scares her (head up, ears perked and pulling begins). If she realizes we are turning towards home she will start pulling. Additionally any sound that remotely sounds like a "pop" terrifies her and gets her teeth chattering. In which case we sit (if it was just a one or two time thing) and wait, usually this calms her down if it doesn't - home we go.
To be honest, this has made walking her terrible. I don't look forward to it, and I have begun again with high value treats on walks & when she notices something scary I "yes" her, and give a treat. It does seem to help, but I am wondering what our options are. She is a very very good dog otherwise, super sweet/funny and well behaved inside. Offleash, she responds very well to commands and is a reliable dog.
I would like to take her to rally, which we have not done but I don't know how she would do with the unusual space/newness (she very much dislikes going into any "box" stores like Petsmart/etc - hence we don't now). Otherwise I am thinking of re-enrolling her in classes or working with a trainer who offers board & train with several weeks of classes afterwards working with us & her. Bottom line, we love our dog - we want her to be happy and are willing to work through it & spend a bit of money if that helps too.
The other thought is, is my partner taking her off leash elsewhere too often? Are the neighborhood walks too infrequent for her to be used to the noises?
Thanks all!

Hey y’all! So story time me and this boy met this year and started talking as friends we sit next to each other in English class now lunch and before school too. All my friends and his friends say he likes me by the way he acts around me. He’s never actually said that though they just claim they can tell. People always ask if we’re dating we already kinda act like we do. Neither one of us have told each we like each other and I just today finally admitted to myself I like him. I’ve never dated anyone. HELP! First of all my summer is super busy so should I wait and tell him after (but what if I don’t have classes with him!) do I tell him now with only a 2 weeks left of school (and risk a rocky summer) Second question: so how do I tell him lol. He’s pretty shy I don’t think he would tell me. Still don’t know for sure he likes me ahh! I’ve never done this before I’m not the most pretty girl so I’m not used to this ahhhh so stressed. Lol well thanks for the help!

Hello night owls!
I just accepted my first night shift job, 12 hour shifts - 2 days on, 2 days off, 3 days on, 3 days off.
The money is way too hard to turn down since I've worked in retail for the last 7 years. I'm currently saving up to take my registration exams to become a massage therapist and the last two years of school have left me in a lot of debt and honestly just drained.
I'm fairly used to working 6-8 hour shifts at the moment as that was all my school schedule would allow for, so going to 12 hours is going to be an adjustment to say the least. Some school days were 12-14 hours long as I commuted about an hour to class when I had to be on campus.
I start in 2 weeks once college is finished and I've given myself the weekend before I start to sort of try to adjust to the new sleep schedule.
It's a great company from what I can tell as well, the pay is great, especially with the night premium $2 bonus, benefits and the people are awesome that I've met. It doesn't hurt that my mom works nights where she is so I'm hoping this means I can spend more time with her without ruining her sleep schedule / visiting at 7 am when she gets off work.
Also.. NO CUSTOMERS. God. I am a huge introvert and working in customer service has made me even more of an introvert so I'm really looking forward to just doing my job and not dealing with customers constantly.
I'm a super sleepy girl though, I love my sleep and I definitely think it's going to be hard to adjust to the long hours, even though the days are spaced out so I'm never working more than 3 shifts in a row, plus it's consistent nights so no swinging back to days every other week :)
Any tips are super appreciated, and of course suggestions for your favorite black out curtains as the ones I have now are roller shades that my landlord had installed, they're basically transparent but I'm not exactly allowed to put up a standard curtain rod.
Looking forward to lurking the sub a bit more and reading some of your success stories if you're new to the night shift!
TIA!

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Ch. 1085 p2
Hello once again! I'll start with page 2 so I can spare you from the atrocious Franky scribble in the cover.
Last chapter was an absolute rehash of past moments and though not to the same length, this chapter starts like that as well. There's nothing going on in this page other than we being told, just like 5 years ago, that no one should be sitting on the empty throne, but since we already knew Imu does, this time it's not a shock for us.
By the way, WTF happened to Cobra in the big panel? I know he's supposed to be bending a bit forward and coughing, but last time I checked he didn't have that hump on his back. We've seen fodder victim to Law's shambles be more anatomically correct than Cobra here.
I also didn't want to talk much about this becaue it's a recurring theme, sadly, and I think everyone is well aware by now, but I just had an epiphany looking at something I thought I'd never see: The Gorōsei drawn as a doodle in a big panel. And I just wanted to share it with you:
Right-most gorōsei totally looks here like an old version of the gentleman with the amazing horse.
Look at my horse
And... if you don't mind scrolling back up a bit, you're surely used to the huge margins of empty whitespace around characters where backgrounds disappear because of pure laziness and lack of actual teamwork between Oda and his assistants (The scribbled gorōsei are drawn by Oda, the a bit more detailed background is drawn by the assistant(s)).
But, why are there random spots of empty whitespace at the wall behind the swords?? O_o What's the meaning of that?
Ch. 1085 p3
Cobra asks Imu for his/her identity and says he remembers that name from history class. However, Imu doesn't want to answer.
Why not? Imu and the gorōsei are determined to kill Cobra before he gets out of the room. Why answer some questions and not others? This doesn't make sense in the story. This is just Oda controlling which bits of information we get and which we don't.
He wants to put something on the chapter, so the chapter exists but at the same time not let us know things that we should naturally learn from the chapter. This will get worse in a moment.
So, the question: Is Imu one of the 20 kings who founded the World Government? Might be. Personally, if I were to get a throne for me and me alone throughout 800 years, I would not have it made many times bigger than how I need it to be.
Also, if Cobra can learn of "Imu" by reading history, "world government seal of approval" history, then everyone can and there's even less of a reason not to tell him. But whatever. Let's see what Imu answers:
"D. is the name of our ancient enemy". Nice. Really, thank you very much Imu, we had never heard that one before. You certainly solved Cobra's and our every doubts about the meaning of "D." Previously I said Oda wanted to put some info in the chapter but not all, didn't I? Well, scratch that. There's nothing actually new.
Didn't he say "from here on out I'm going to write all the answers to the mysteries of the world"? If he doesn't want to reveal the meaning of "D." yet, it's okay, but if he just teases us like this, like always, then that's not "answers to the mysteries" and it feels like he's just trolling us again and again.
Imu talks about Lili's "blunder". Is that really the appropriate word? Or a mistranslation? It'll be relevant later.
Look at Imu sitting on the throne for a moment. Why is Imu completely 2-dimensional? I mean, everything is 2-dimensional in a paper sheet, but why is Imu 2-dimensional even when accounting for the perspective? Imu is completely flat on the throne. Like a towel left over it. Is Imu really meant to be flat? Or is this just Oda's next level of "I couldn't care less about drawing well anymore"?
Ch. 1085 p4
Okay, there's a little bit of drama going on in this page and I'll get to that in a moment, but first and foremost: How can I take any of this seriously when the one telling me about this drama is nothing else than the spillover of Oda's inkwell??
Everyone has been talking about the extreme overuse of silhouette piece this chapter because of the gorōsei showing not showing their powers, but the truth is that Imu has already had more than enough screentime, so that she's no longer a stain of ink in the paper.
It's perfectly okay if you want to not properly show a character in order to create some mystery and tension around it. We're even more than okay with having a black spot placeholder rather than an actual character even though there is no reason, story-wise, why the character shouldn't be seen. We accepted that long ago.
But that's always under the circumstance that the character is being introduced. And this is no longer the case with Imu. She's been doing things, creating consequences and more importantly, she's now holding conversations with other characters and with ourselves directly. This is way past being a teaser for the character, and this is completely unacceptable.
Oda should make up his mind, does he want Imu to take the spotlight or does he want her appearance to be a mystery? But it's not possible to put the character on the spotlight and pretend it's fine to never actually draw it.
In fact, there's a pretty easy way for Oda to reasonably get away with it. He's used it plenty of times as well. The chocolate character. He just needs to put a mask on Imu's face and that's it. Mystery continues and we get our manga with actual images.
Whenever he feels like, he can unwrap the chocolate and never wrap it again. King, Duval... the list is long. No one would have cared for one more.
So, the drama... Imu claims the poneglyphs were scattered around the world, that they were "released". Implying that the poneglyphs once were all together and under the custody of the World Government. She blames Nefertari Lili for that and wonders whether it was an accident or treason on her behalf. Imu says that was the worst possible outcome for them.
Call me an optimist if you want, but keeping control of most of the world for at least 800 years doesn't sound to me like "the worst possible outcome" nor a bad outcome in any way.
Also ¿WAT? The poneglyphs were under W.G's custody? How come?? The faction opposed to the 20 kingdoms that would late found the W.G. created the poneglyphs in coalition with the Kōzuki clan as a way to prevent history from being erased by the W.G. but then all the poneglyphs are somehow under W.G control??
Ch. 1085 p5
Is Cobra really begging for his life here? Did he not know how likely it was to die here when he came to raise all these topics? And more importantly, why did he do it? Is there any reason at all why Cobra would come here to risk his life (and endanger her daughter's) just to be pain in the ass to the gorōsei?
Does any of this have any explanation? Or is this the only way Oda came up to give us some exposition to what Imu says?
How disastrous it is to have characters act in unreasonable and unbelievable ways just to create a specific situation to provide info to the reader and then hide as much information as possible in that scene at the same time?? What's the point?? Does Oda want to explain a story here or does he not??
Ch. 1085 p6_7
Sabo is there in the same room, Cobra reveals Queen Lili had the "D." middle name, a gorōsei attacks him and Sabo intervenes attacking the gorōsei and Imu back. Let's go about it one thing at a time:

• Nefertari D. Lili.
  • Last page Imu seemed to be aware of that and simply wanting Cobra to confirm it, but now she seems surprised, like she actually needed an answer from Cobra to know.
  • Wasn't Lili one of the 20 founders of the W.G? How come is she a "D." too?
  • Wouldn't that fact be quite notorious back then, so that the Nefertari lineage was known for it to this day? At least by the gorōsei and Imu??
  • Between this and last chapter this part has been very obscure but, Queen Lili never made it back to Arabasta after founding the W.G. and the gorōsei said she might have "suffered an accident" *wink wink* if you know what I mean...
  • And Oda made it look like Lili's "accident" was a punishment for "scattering the poneglyphs".
  • Without going too deep in how did she manage to do that, to give poneglyphs back to the close-bordered Wano or to Laugh Tale, really, how did she put a poneglyph on the family's mausoleum if she never returned there???
• Sabo is there, huh?
  • No one noticed.
  • The gorōsei don't have the most basic observation haki to know there's someone else in the room. Neither does Imu. Nice.
  • Is the "smothered mate" move actually Sabo's? It's kind of difficult to be sure who's saying what. Just as it's hard to know what's exactly happening. The gorōsei are met with a huge burst of fire but Sabo sends to Imu a small flame that crawls over the wall and stairs like a snail?? WTF?
• Cobra attacked.
  • According to the position from which Cobra is attacked, it looks like our friend Garcia is the one doing it.
  • The question though is: WHY?
  • Why would they attack Cobra like that so suddenly? Like they just lost their patience when he answered the question. Imu could want to know more. Why attack him like that? The gorōsei never looked to me like the impulsive type of guys.
  • Can Garcia risk killing Cobra while Imu still wanted to get more information from him? What would happen to him if that were the case?
  • By the way, didn't they all prepare their guns a page ago? What was that? You show the gun just to attack with an arrow-shaped tail? O_o

Ch. 1085 p8_9
A Den Den Mushi takes a picture of Sabo next to the injured king Cobra. Cobra recognizes Sabo as Luffy's brother. Sabo tries to leave with Cobra, but the king asks him to let him go and deliver a message to Luffy and Vivi instead.

I was hoping to take you all out in one move. - Sabo

Is this a joke or what?

There's no way I could've known people here would be strong. - Sabo

What are we supopsed to do with this text? It is no more and no less than the principal speech bubbles in this double page. Did Oda forget to fill in these bubbles and then just before publishing someone realized and had to write the first thing that came to mind? As a joke, I would have laughed way more if the bubbles read "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet..."
Can someone remind me since when does Cobra know Sabo and Luffy are brothers??
Okay, okay, let's talk about the important stuff. The gorōsei and Imu transformed / summoned a stand / were tag teamed by some substitutes... how could we know, right? When everything is just a big stain of ink.
There are hundreds of ways of teasing about someone's powers or any feature in general and this must be the worst one or one of them. I'm not going to extend on this. Is unacceptable no matter how you look at it.
Some of you who know of the book might find a connection between the ink stains and these guys
Where the wild things are by Maurice Sendak
However, I want to share with you the actual model used for one specific silhouette:
One punch-Man (manga) Ch. 100 (originally 97) p12
I find it astonishing how close to this looks the shadow second from the right.
Ch. 1085 p10
Nefertari D. Cobra, Nefertari D. Vivi... Cobra wants Luffy to know they share the "D."
First, new hidden "D."s, just like Trafalgar Law. They were not special enough and now Oda makes them more special because...
https://preview.redd.it/ev112fgoqa4b1.jpg?width=620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ed59c05829caa5563b5da1357d6bdfe395d256a4
I don't know... I find this very boring. We started the chapter with the prospect of finally getting some answers about the meaning of "D." but we just got this instead.
And I wonder, why does Cobra want Luffy to know? Cobra doesn't know its meaning, Luffy doesn't know either... this information is totally useless for anyone. Why not tell someone, Luffy or not, about Imu existing? That would make more sense. That is actual information that might be relevant to someone.
I think this message thing was just an excuse for Cobra to confirm on screen that he and Vivi are Ds. Which, again, couldn't not matter any less.
The page ends with the anticipation of the inky tail. Or not. You can't build any anticipation for something we already know you're not going to show us. Least of all when you've got a track record by which we know by the time this is actually revealed, this arrow-shaped tail can perfectly be an octopus' tentacle or something even further from this silhouette.
Ch. 1085 p11
Ink strikes back. Multiple depictions of black shapes that add nothing to the reader. And Cobra stands to let himself be killed as Sabo escapes.
Congratulations! You just made Cobra a D in time so that he could die NOT smiling, and now the only thing we knew about D people isn't true anymore.
We came to the chapter to take something from it, and the chapter took it from us instead. Awesome. Can this get any better?
Ch. 1085 p12
YES it gets even better: Wapol was watching everything through a glory hole in the throne's room. Can you believe that??
The most luxurious place in the whole world and it has a hole in the wall. Why would they not repair that hole? Why would Imu make such a blunder? And she was the one speaking of "blunders" before. The irony...
The gorōsei realize someone's watching through the hole. They, who could hurt Sabo's logia body a second ago, won't be able to get to Wapol now. He'll manage to escape too. The gorōsei and Imu won't take further action to stop Wapol.
Seeing this, I wonder whether Cobra could have actually escaped as well. Maybe he did and will make an appearance later. Fake death's are a classic after all.
HA! I wrote that for a manga where so few characters die and, when they do, it's done in a very epic or emotional scene, Cobra's death was very shallow. Then I remembered Ashura Dōji and Izō so I had to fix this paragraph.
Ch. 1085 p13
Now Oda wants us to remember than in this new reality, the Ryūgū royal family didn't left Mariejoise yet and that the Reverie is still going on.
So... the kings were waiting for Cobra. No one said he wasn't going to attend. Personally, I think Cobra would have attended every meeting and only then, with his responsibilities taken care of, he would meet the gorōsei, but I get this is very nitpicky when the plot is moving forward through glory holes in the middle of the royal palace.
On the other hand, "they just received word" that Cobra and Wapol wouldn't attend. Why? Why would Wapol not attend? What was he doing? I mean, we just saw what he was doing, but what's the excuse? He didn't know what was going to happen there and I bet he didn't knew about the glory hole beforehand, so... what was he doing?
Who knows... the important thing is the kings just received word those two weren't attending the meeting. They didn't receive word, though, about a major terrorist attack two blocks from there, admirals fighting and even calling for a meteor strike.
Why is this meeting going on under this circumstances?? There are actual world nobles hurt over there and even Charloss hurt right there. The idea that these meetings went on like they were completely detached from the world is delusional.
Ch. 1085 p14
Hm... First Vivi was being escorted by Rob Lucci and went all the way to the port (not saying good bye to Shirahoshi, where's her diplomacy??) and now the other CP90 have her kidnapped.
Jabura looking like a maniac is out of character. Kalifa being cruel for no reason is out of character as well. What happened to the cool, fun and easygoing CP9??
No, really, what happened to them? It's been a long while since they've been slowly returning to the story as CP0 agents and... well, so far we've got no explanation why this is the situation.
It's not like they were promoted from CP9 to no CP0. Remember that after losing at Enies Lobby the World Government itself tried to kill them. They escaped and swore revenge against the government. So, I think an explanation is not only in order but long overdue if we're to accept that they work for the government again with such passion.
And why is it so hard to have the characters retain their personality? This is so sad. They were the funniest villains in One Piece (and badass at the same time) and not they're not one thing nor the other.
Ch. 1085 p15
And just like this we go from CP9 bullying Vivi to them having a casual conversation with her. Great. Totally reasonable.
I wonder how relevant Sai and Leo saying they're part of the Mugiwara fleet can be, but I'm way more concerned about why Jabura is speaking in past tense of things that should be happening right this instant. I'm talking about the admirals fighting each other.
Anyway, admiral Broccoli was complaining that they couldn't fight properly against the revolutionaries because of the place they were, but he had no problems in fighting properly against Fujitora at the same exact place. Nice.
And Fujitora let (or helped) the slaves to escape. Sure. He was already threatened by the world nobles that they would have his head if he did anything against them (or just failing) and now we must believe that he openly helped the slaves and later he was sent on another mission like nothing happened.
Ch. 957 p4
That after freeing the slaves of the world nobles, Akainu would be having a casual conversation about how Fujitora got what he wanted regarding the abolition of the Shichibukai and about the SSG and Big Mom and Kaidō. Absolutely.
Akainu practically banished Fujitora just for making the Marines look bad in Dressrosa but he has nothing to say regarding Fujitora helping the revolutionary army against the world nobles and even getting into a fight with a fellow admiral.
Even the surreal glory hole in the throne's room makes much more sense than this.
Ch. 1085 p16_17
Having this final double page is quite nice because here we have a perfect example of reasonable plot convenience. Of all places Wapol could run across, Vivi is exactly on his way. Coincidences need to happen in order for most stories to have surprising elements and, though, an accumulation of them can be jarring, things like this here and there are completely fine.
At the same time we have an example of plot convenience that's not fine (precisely because it's not even a coincidence), the CP0 realize Vivi is gone, but do nothing.
Truth be told, the chapter ends with a fun joke. I don't remember the last time One Piece was funny, but at least with this one I laughed.
https://preview.redd.it/95vear4j2b4b1.png?width=540&format=png&auto=webp&s=bb30f78eb73760a23ecb38de4865f2913f276fef

As always, feel free to discuss any headlines that went down in kpop this week — including, but not limited to: comeback announcements, touring news, controversies, achievements, business moves, the latest social media outrage, you name it.

COMEBACK NEWS & RUMORS

• SHINee’s Key Drops Cool Retro Teaser + Sneak Peek Of Game-Inspired Album Packaging For “Killer”
• TNX Is Pretty In The Sun In New “Love Never Dies” Comeback Teasers
• TXT Embarks On A “Sugar Rush Ride” In Mystical Comeback MV
• THE BOYZ Moves Their Comeback To An Earlier Date
• NCT 127 Sings “Ay-Yo” In MV For Repackaged Album
• STAYC Unveils 1st MV Teaser For “Teddy Bear” Comeback
• PURPLE KISS Bewitches In Alluring Comeback Teasers For “Sweet Juice”
• TWICE Announces Comeback Date With 1st Teaser For “READY TO BE”
• Hwang Minhyun Announces Solo Debut Date With Intriguing 1st Teaser For “Truth Or Lie”
• NMIXX Kicks Off A New Era With Magical Teaser Video
• ATEEZ Gears Up For Next Chapter With Cinematic Epilogue Film For “SPIN OFF: FROM THE WITNESS”
• ONF’s Hyojin Announces Special Valentine’s Day Single + Drops 1st Teaser

AWARD SEASON 2023

• NCT’s Doyoung And (G)I-DLE’s Miyeon To Host Circle (Gaon) Chart Music Awards
• TWICE To Receive Breakthrough Award At 2023 Billboard Women In Music Ceremony
• Hanteo Music Awards 2022 Announces 3rd Lineup Of Artists
• BTS And BLACKPINK Score Nominations For 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards

CONCERTS & TOURING

• Stray Kids To Headline Lollapalooza Paris 2023
• KCON 2023 Thailand Announces 3rd Performer Lineup
• 2PM Confirmed To Be Preparing For Full-Group Concert
• Inaugural We Bridge Music Festival In Las Vegas Announces Lineup
• ASTRO’s Moonbin&Sanha Announces Dates And Cities For First Unit Fan-Con World Tour “DIFFUSION”
• BLACKPINK Announces Additional Dates And Venues For “BORN PINK” Concerts In Mexico And Australia

CHARTING, SALES & STREAMING

• NewJeans’ “OMG” Debuts On Billboard’s Hot 100, Making Them Fastest K-Pop Artist In History To Chart Multiple Entries
• Red Velvet Officially Becomes Million Sellers With “The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday”
• NewJeans Becomes Fastest K-Pop Group To Achieve Million-Selling Album With “OMG”
• TXT Becomes 1st Group In Melon Top 100 History To Chart All Songs From A Mini Album In Top 10 Simultaneously
• TXT Becomes 1st Foreign Act To Top Oricon’s Weekly Album Chart With 7 Consecutive Albums
• NewJeans Becomes 1st Idol Group In History To Rank In Top 3 Spots On Melon’s Monthly Chart

HEALTH

• DRIPPIN’s Alex To Temporarily Halt Activities For Health Reasons
• ITZY’s Yuna Sits Out Schedule + Postpones Event Due To Health

GENERAL NEWS

• Red Velvet’s Wendy And MeloMance Sing Of A “Miracle” In Breathtaking Live Video
• YG’s New Girl Group BABYMONSTER Introduces Japanese Member Asa With Live Performance Video
• Billlie’s Moon Sua And Tsuki + woo!ah!’s Nana Confirmed As New MCs For “Show Champion”
• SEVENTEEN Launches New UNESCO Donation Campaign To Support Education Of Underprivileged Youth
• NCT’s Haechan To Resume Activities Starting With NCT 127’s Comeback
• J-Hope Releases Teaser For Documentary “j-hope IN THE BOX”
• Meta Idol Group MAVE: Debuts With “PANDORA” + To Showcase First Performance On “Music Core”
• All 6 MOMOLAND Members Part Ways With MLD Entertainment
• YOUNITE’s Woono To Sit Out Schedule After His Grandfather Passes Away
• YG’s New Girl Group BABYMONSTER Puts Spotlight On Member Rora In Live Performance Video
• DAWN Signs With New Label
• Girl’s Day’s Hyeri, (G)-IDLE’s Miyeon, LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon, Choi Ye Na, Leejung, And Patricia To Star In New Variety Show
• Weeekly Announces Official Colors AS Orchid Bloom, Banana Cream, and Beach Glass
• VICTON’s Seungsik Personally Announces Military Enlistment Date
• BlockBerryCreative Confirmed To Have Submitted Petition To Suspend Chuu’s Activities
• YG’s New Girl Group BABYMONSTER Showcases Thai Member Pharita In Live Performance Video
• Chuu Personally Addresses The Slanderous Reports And BlockBerryCreative’s Claims Against Her And LOONA Members
• N.Flying’s Cha Hun Announces Military Enlistment Date
• “Boys Planet” Contestant And Woollim Trainee Jang Min Seo Drops Out Of Show
• LE SSERAFIM’s Hong Eunchae Confirmed As New “Music Bank” MC
• LOONA’s ViVi And HyunJin Confirmed To Have Filed Injunctions To Suspend Contracts With BlockBerryCreative
• THE BOYZ’s Agency Apologizes For Featuring Hat With Rising Sun Flag In Group’s Latest Vlog
• C9 Shares Detailed Response Debunking Rumors Of Bullying Within CIX + To Potentially Take Legal Action
• SM And HYBE Warn Fans About Fraudulent Event Using NCT, SEVENTEEN, And ENHYPEN’s Names
• EXO’s Baekhyun Is DIscharged From The Military + Shares Messages With Fans
• YG’s New Girl Group BABYMONSTER Introduces Final Member Ruka With Live Performance Video

UPCOMING RELEASES

ARTIST	TITLE	RELEASE DATE	RELEASE TIME (KST)
BSS (BooSeokSoon)	Second Wind	February 6	6 p.m
NCT DREAM	Best Friend Ever (JP)	February 8	TBD
tripleS	ASSEMBLE	February 13	TBD
Key	Killer	February 13	6 p.m
STAYC	Teddy Bear	February 14	6 p.m
TRI.BE	W.A.Y	February 14	6 p.m
LIMELIGHT	Honestly	February 14	TBD
Hyojin (ONF)	Love Things	February 14	6 p.m
PURPLE KISS	Sweet Juice	February 15	6 p.m
JAY B (GOT7)	Seasonal Hiatus	February 15	TBD
TNX	I Need U	February 15	6 p.m
OnlyOneOf	chrOme arts (Jp)	February 15	TBD
THE BOYZ	BE AWAKE	February 20	12 p.m
Stray Kids	THE SOUND (Jp)	February 22	TBD
CLASS:y	TARGET (Jp)	February 22	TBD
Hwang Minhyun	Truth Or Lie	February 27	6 p.m

Hi! I wanted to come on here and ask about my chances of transferring into UT Austin or Texas A&M. I’m transferring from the University of Alabama.
Overall GPA: 3.484 Institution GPA (GPA based on the classes i just took at bama) : 3.790
(University of Texas) i applied for Speech Pathology in the Moody Comm school as my first choice major & Art and Entertainment Technology as my second choice.
(Texas A&M) i applied for communications as my first choice major and university studies as my second major.
these are the classes i’ve taken at Alabama…
(i was an interior design major first semester then switched to communications)
FIRST SEMESTER:
ARH- Intro to visual arts A- CTD- Intro to Interior design B HD- Life Span Development B+ HES- Freshman Compass Human Env Science B
ended first semester with a 3.25 gpa
SECOND SEMESTER (made deans and presidents list) : COM- Principals Human Communication A+ COM- Small Group Communication A+ COM- Nonverbal Communication A+ MUS- Intro to Listening A+
my second semester gpa was a 4.33
I have very strong essays, an amazing letter of recommendation for UT, and have 33 hours completed. I’m part of a sorority and played varsity level golf all of high school. I also started this golf team. I’ve worked over 6 jobs.
I am a white female from Texas! So i’m a in state resident. I also went to private school from 1st grade- 12th grade.
What are my chances of getting in to either schools? Are they little to none? I’m so nervous and need some advice!

Draven’s eyes squinted, and he sank deep within himself. Pulling on [Mind Supremacy], Draven blocked out the pain and focused on his inner flame. He pulled on his essence, charging up as much fire as he could. Flames licked the surface of his armor as he built up more flames with [Draconic Pyromancy].
New Mind Supremacy Technique! Pain suppressant
Draven opened his eyes, flames burning deep within them. He cried out as he unleashed the tightly packed fire he contained within himself. Flames exploded out of him, pushing the El’Dresi away from him.
The El’Dresi crossed his arms, blocking his face from the brunt of the flames. The explosion pushed him back, causing his exosuit to leave rough groves along the metal flooring.
“The little disciple has some bite to his bark,” the El’Dresi smiled. He disappeared in a flash of lightning again, using the Flash Step Technique of air dragonborn. The El’Dresi appeared before Draven again, blade zipping towards Draven's heart.
Draven’s heart skipped a beat as he channeled Essence to his Supremacy Talents and entered Ascendancy mode. The Sygaldry along his armor glowed a furry red, empowered by Draven’s Essence. He parried the El’Dresi’s blade and punched the air dragonborn with a fist of concussive fire.
The El’Dresi went sailing into the air, crashing into the ground with a bang.
“Draven, Sync up with me,” Sygvar said. He too had entered Ascendancy mode.
Draven pushed his mind into the Weave. He found the Sympathetic Thread connecting him and his Master. It was thick, a sign of their strong connection. He bound himself to it, allowing himself to become one with his master’s mind, body, and soul.
New Mind, Body, Soul Supremacy Technique! Sync
Draven quickly entered the settings of his status and disabled notifications. He thought to leave them on before because he believed they could be helpful. But they were distracting him from the battle.
A wurl wind of air manifested around the El’Dresi as he floated to his feet in Acendecy Mode. The Sygaldry, runes of power, decorating his armor, were a blaze, a green glow emanating from the words of power.
“Now the real fun begins,” the El’Dresi crackled. He Flashed Stepped, disappearing again.
Draven sensed the El’Dresi through the Weave. He lashed out behind him, kicking the El’Dresi in the chest and pushing him towards Sygvar.
Sygvar kicked the legs from under the El’Dresi, causing him to fall.
Draven created a flame missile and fired it point-blank at the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi conjured a blast of Air, causing the missile to bend off course and detonate into the ground.
He hopped to his feet, sending a chain of lightning at Sygvar.
Sygvar blocked it with his sword. He then heated his blade and cut into the armor of the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi pulled back in pain.
Draven came from behind, delivering a cut to the El’Dresi’s leg. Causing the air dragon born to fall to his knee.
“You guys are good, too good. I guess I need a little help,” the El’Dresi said as he pressed a button.
“You talk too much,” Draven said, smacking the El’Dresi.
Gates squeaked open, and the ground began to rumble. Hollows came pouring into the room. Marrows ran on all four, with Spikes trailing just behind them. Bone Devils mixed in with the horde, pushing aside the weaker hollows to get to Draven and Sygvar.
The El’Dresi jumped to his feet and sprinted toward the incoming horde of hollows. Draven and his master raced after him before he could get to safety.
Draven unleashes a cone of fire. Superheating the air as it impacted the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi conjured a shield of air, deflecting the blast of flames. And letting the momentum push him up and over the horde of hollows. He disappeared in the wave of bodies, crackling like a madman.
“Damn it,” Sygvar hissed. “Draven, stay close to me.”
Draven drew near his master. Only a few feet away from him.
“We’re going to clear a path towards the computer terminal. I want you to have Ari download the files off of it.” Sygvar yelled over the horde of hollows. His sword was ablaze with fire as he sliced throw a Marrow.
“The base will self-destruct in five minutes,” a voice boomed from speakers in the room.
“That bastard! Draven, don’t hold back! When need to get to that console!” Sygvar’s voice warped and deepened as his body transformed. His exosuit became more organic, melding to his body like a second skin. Wings and a tail sprouted from his back. His fingers and toes sharped into claws, and flames manifested on his arms and as a crown of fire above his head. Sygvar flew into the mob of feral mutants, becoming a living storm of fire and death.
Draven underwent a less impressive transformation. The red glow from the Sygaldry and flames manifested as jets along his arms and legs. The Hollows before him slowed as he sped up his perception time.
Plums of fire rocketed Draven into the horde of Hollows, following his master. His sword glowed as he sliced throw the feral mutants. The Marrows and Spikes were cut down like butter, but the Bone Devils were still challenging. But they were cut down in a few strikes while Draven was in his enhanced state.
The duo gradually cut their way toward the terminal. That’s when Draven got a spike of danger from the Weave. He was too slow and was slapped across the face by a giant claw. Draven backflipped, distancing himself from the new foe.
This creature was different than the others. This was a Wargoth, a mutant with the power of bone and muscle. Four muscular tentacles protruded from the creature's back. Segmented bone covered the spasming muscles as its tentacles wiped around. It roared, spitting saliva all over the ground. Then charged Draven, its four claws shaving the metal flooring.
Draven kicked the creature in the face, sending out a current of fire.
The Wargoth went sailing towards Sygvar. It lashed out its tentacles at the Master Al’Manti.
Sygvar’s blade ignited in flames, and it blurred, severing the Wargoth’s tentacles.
Draven came up from behind, stepping on telekinetic steps. He then rocketed downwards onto the Wargoth with a jet of flames. He concentrated, his flames burning hotter and hotter. Eventually ultimately shifting from their reddish yellow hue to a bright blue. His blade cracked the bone exoskeleton around the Wargoth’s skull, bathing the creature’s brain in blue flames.
The creature thrashed about in pain, then went still.
“Draven, go get the data!”
“On it,” Draven said as he sprinted to the console. He took out a cable from the back of the neck of his exosuit and plugged it into the console. “Ari download all the data from the storage.”
File after file zipped past Draven’s hud for his exosuit. The download only took a second to finish.
“I’m done, but the data must be decrypted,” Ari said.
“That’s fine,” Draven then unplug the cable leading from his suit to the console. He then ran over to his master, “All done.”
“Good,” Sygvar picked Draven up and then took to the sky with his wings. Above the increasing number of Hollows, Sygvar sped towards the exit. The hollows raged as they chased after the air-born duo. Quickly they exited the base, landing on Tywen’s back.
“Take to the sky, quickly!” Sygvar yelled as he set Draven down.
Tywen beat his wings, and they rapidly ascended. Soon after they left the ground, hollows poured out of the El’Dresi base. They swarmed the area they had just been. Then an explosion destroyed the hill the base was built into and the flora around it.
Draven opened his status and instantly dumped nine path points into his path.
You have completed the Way Al’Manti of the Al’Manti Path!
+9 Attribute Points
New Feat: The Way of the Al’Manti New Class: Al’Manti Disciple
Draven click on his new feat and class. They both popped up as screens in his mind.
The Way of the Al’Manti (Tier 1) Grants: +1 INT** +1 FIN +1 WIS
+1 STR +1 DEX +1 CON
+1 SPR +1 AFF +1 FOR
Al’Manti Disciple **You have graduated from your training as a adept and are now ready to become a disciple. As a disciple you have mastered the basics of controlling you mind, body, and soul. You have learned a martial art of the Al’Manti and your skill at it has been deemed satisfactory. But there is still more work to be done. Grants: +1 Mind Attribute per level +1 Body Attribute per level +1 Soul Attribute per level +1 Attribute point every 3rd level
Core Talents: Mind Supremacy Body Supremacy Soul Supremacy Al’Manti 5th Blade Kata
Draven then opened his new status.
Name: Draven Althorne Age: 18
Ancestory: Fire Dragon Born (Tier 1 - LV 3)
Class: Al’Manti Disciple (Tier 1 - LV 0)
Sub Class 1: Locked Sub Class 2: Locked Sub Class 3: Locked
Feats: None
- Mind Attributes - INT: 17 / 18 FIN: 14 / 15 WIS: 11 / 12
- Body Attributes - STR: 19 / 20 DEX: 17 / 18 CON: 16 / 17
- Soul Attributes - SPR: 12 / 13 AFF: 14 / 15 FOR: 19 / 20
Attribute Points: 9
- Essences - Stamina: 129 / 129 Vitality: 150 / 150 Mana: 135 / 135
- Talents: 5 / 9 - Draconic Pyromancy LV 6 Mind Supremacy LV 7 Body Supremacy LV 8 Soul Supremacy LV 6 Al’Manti 5th Blade Kata LV 7
Path: None Path Points: 26 Paths Available: 8
Release Schedule: M-W-F at 5 am PDT/PST.
[First] [Prev] [Next]
Thanks for reading.

I'm planning a trip to Asia later this year, namely Japan, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Nepal.
In one of these countries (one of the first 5 most likely), I want to set up a base for a month, perhaps taking salsa classes or going to socials. I've already spent time in South America learning salsa on1, and want to keep up with my skulls whilst travelling. Just seeing if anyone had recommendations for any cities that had a good salsa scene in any of these countries?

Draven’s eyes squinted, and he sank deep within himself. Pulling on [Mind Supremacy], Draven blocked out the pain and focused on his inner flame. He pulled on his essence, charging up as much fire as he could. Flames licked the surface of his armor as he built up more flames with [Draconic Pyromancy].
New Mind Supremacy Technique! Pain suppressant
Draven opened his eyes, flames burning deep within them. He cried out as he unleashed the tightly packed fire he contained within himself. Flames exploded out of him, pushing the El’Dresi away from him.
The El’Dresi crossed his arms, blocking his face from the brunt of the flames. The explosion pushed him back, causing his exosuit to leave rough groves along the metal flooring.
“The little disciple has some bite to his bark,” the El’Dresi smiled. He disappeared in a flash of lightning again, using the Flash Step Technique of air dragonborn. The El’Dresi appeared before Draven again, blade zipping towards Draven's heart.
Draven’s heart skipped a beat as he channeled Essence to his Supremacy Talents and entered Ascendancy mode. The Sygaldry along his armor glowed a furry red, empowered by Draven’s Essence. He parried the El’Dresi’s blade and punched the air dragonborn with a fist of concussive fire.
The El’Dresi went sailing into the air, crashing into the ground with a bang.
“Draven, Sync up with me,” Sygvar said. He too had entered Ascendancy mode.
Draven pushed his mind into the Weave. He found the Sympathetic Thread connecting him and his Master. It was thick, a sign of their strong connection. He bound himself to it, allowing himself to become one with his master’s mind, body, and soul.
New Mind, Body, Soul Supremacy Technique! Sync
Draven quickly entered the settings of his status and disabled notifications. He thought to leave them on before because he believed they could be helpful. But they were distracting him from the battle.
A wurl wind of air manifested around the El’Dresi as he floated to his feet in Acendecy Mode. The Sygaldry, runes of power, decorating his armor, were a blaze, a green glow emanating from the words of power.
“Now the real fun begins,” the El’Dresi crackled. He Flashed Stepped, disappearing again.
Draven sensed the El’Dresi through the Weave. He lashed out behind him, kicking the El’Dresi in the chest and pushing him towards Sygvar.
Sygvar kicked the legs from under the El’Dresi, causing him to fall.
Draven created a flame missile and fired it point-blank at the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi conjured a blast of Air, causing the missile to bend off course and detonate into the ground.
He hopped to his feet, sending a chain of lightning at Sygvar.
Sygvar blocked it with his sword. He then heated his blade and cut into the armor of the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi pulled back in pain.
Draven came from behind, delivering a cut to the El’Dresi’s leg. Causing the air dragon born to fall to his knee.
“You guys are good, too good. I guess I need a little help,” the El’Dresi said as he pressed a button.
“You talk too much,” Draven said, smacking the El’Dresi.
Gates squeaked open, and the ground began to rumble. Hollows came pouring into the room. Marrows ran on all four, with Spikes trailing just behind them. Bone Devils mixed in with the horde, pushing aside the weaker hollows to get to Draven and Sygvar.
The El’Dresi jumped to his feet and sprinted toward the incoming horde of hollows. Draven and his master raced after him before he could get to safety.
Draven unleashes a cone of fire. Superheating the air as it impacted the El’Dresi.
The El’Dresi conjured a shield of air, deflecting the blast of flames. And letting the momentum push him up and over the horde of hollows. He disappeared in the wave of bodies, crackling like a madman.
“Damn it,” Sygvar hissed. “Draven, stay close to me.”
Draven drew near his master. Only a few feet away from him.
“We’re going to clear a path towards the computer terminal. I want you to have Ari download the files off of it.” Sygvar yelled over the horde of hollows. His sword was ablaze with fire as he sliced throw a Marrow.
“The base will self-destruct in five minutes,” a voice boomed from speakers in the room.
“That bastard! Draven, don’t hold back! When need to get to that console!” Sygvar’s voice warped and deepened as his body transformed. His exosuit became more organic, melding to his body like a second skin. Wings and a tail sprouted from his back. His fingers and toes sharped into claws, and flames manifested on his arms and as a crown of fire above his head. Sygvar flew into the mob of feral mutants, becoming a living storm of fire and death.
Draven underwent a less impressive transformation. The red glow from the Sygaldry and flames manifested as jets along his arms and legs. The Hollows before him slowed as he sped up his perception time.
Plums of fire rocketed Draven into the horde of Hollows, following his master. His sword glowed as he sliced throw the feral mutants. The Marrows and Spikes were cut down like butter, but the Bone Devils were still challenging. But they were cut down in a few strikes while Draven was in his enhanced state.
The duo gradually cut their way toward the terminal. That’s when Draven got a spike of danger from the Weave. He was too slow and was slapped across the face by a giant claw. Draven backflipped, distancing himself from the new foe.
This creature was different than the others. This was a Wargoth, a mutant with the power of bone and muscle. Four muscular tentacles protruded from the creature's back. Segmented bone covered the spasming muscles as its tentacles wiped around. It roared, spitting saliva all over the ground. Then charged Draven, its four claws shaving the metal flooring.
Draven kicked the creature in the face, sending out a current of fire.
The Wargoth went sailing towards Sygvar. It lashed out its tentacles at the Master Al’Manti.
Sygvar’s blade ignited in flames, and it blurred, severing the Wargoth’s tentacles.
Draven came up from behind, stepping on telekinetic steps. He then rocketed downwards onto the Wargoth with a jet of flames. He concentrated, his flames burning hotter and hotter. Eventually ultimately shifting from their reddish yellow hue to a bright blue. His blade cracked the bone exoskeleton around the Wargoth’s skull, bathing the creature’s brain in blue flames.
The creature thrashed about in pain, then went still.
“Draven, go get the data!”
“On it,” Draven said as he sprinted to the console. He took out a cable from the back of the neck of his exosuit and plugged it into the console. “Ari download all the data from the storage.”
File after file zipped past Draven’s hud for his exosuit. The download only took a second to finish.
“I’m done, but the data must be decrypted,” Ari said.
“That’s fine,” Draven then unplug the cable leading from his suit to the console. He then ran over to his master, “All done.”
“Good,” Sygvar picked Draven up and then took to the sky with his wings. Above the increasing number of Hollows, Sygvar sped towards the exit. The hollows raged as they chased after the air-born duo. Quickly they exited the base, landing on Tywen’s back.
“Take to the sky, quickly!” Sygvar yelled as he set Draven down.
Tywen beat his wings, and they rapidly ascended. Soon after they left the ground, hollows poured out of the El’Dresi base. They swarmed the area they had just been. Then an explosion destroyed the hill the base was built into and the flora around it.
Draven opened his status and instantly dumped nine path points into his path.
You have completed the Way Al’Manti of the Al’Manti Path!
+9 Attribute Points
New Feat: The Way of the Al’Manti New Class: Al’Manti Disciple
Draven click on his new feat and class. They both popped up as screens in his mind.
The Way of the Al’Manti (Tier 1) Grants: +1 INT** +1 FIN +1 WIS
+1 STR +1 DEX +1 CON
+1 SPR +1 AFF +1 FOR
Al’Manti Disciple **You have graduated from your training as a adept and are now ready to become a disciple. As a disciple you have mastered the basics of controlling you mind, body, and soul. You have learned a martial art of the Al’Manti and your skill at it has been deemed satisfactory. But there is still more work to be done. Grants: +1 Mind Attribute per level +1 Body Attribute per level +1 Soul Attribute per level +1 Attribute point every 3rd level
Core Talents: Mind Supremacy Body Supremacy Soul Supremacy Al’Manti 5th Blade Kata
Draven then opened his new status.
Name: Draven Althorne Age: 18
Ancestory: Fire Dragon Born (Tier 1 - LV 3)
Class: Al’Manti Disciple (Tier 1 - LV 0)
Sub Class 1: Locked Sub Class 2: Locked Sub Class 3: Locked
Feats: None
- Mind Attributes - INT: 17 / 18 FIN: 14 / 15 WIS: 11 / 12
- Body Attributes - STR: 19 / 20 DEX: 17 / 18 CON: 16 / 17
- Soul Attributes - SPR: 12 / 13 AFF: 14 / 15 FOR: 19 / 20
Attribute Points: 9
- Essences - Stamina: 129 / 129 Vitality: 150 / 150 Mana: 135 / 135
- Talents: 5 / 9 - Draconic Pyromancy LV 6 Mind Supremacy LV 7 Body Supremacy LV 8 Soul Supremacy LV 6 Al’Manti 5th Blade Kata LV 7
Path: None Path Points: 26 Paths Available: 8
Release Schedule: M-W-F at 5 am PDT/PST.
[First] [Prev] [Next]
Thanks for reading.

I know this probably doesn't seem like a big deal to most people so feel free to ignore. But I'm going to be moving out at the end of the summer into my own apartment for the first time. I really wanted to move out so that I can have more freedom and not have to check with my parents before I do anything, but now I'm kind of regretting it since I feel like the cons outweigh the pros. I'm going to be all alone (aside from 3 roommates who are complete strangers), I'll have to pay rent, utilities, food all on my own for the first time. I feel like I'm going to mess something up and I'll miss being near my parents and sister. Everything is just going to be harder living alone.
On top of that, I'm beginning a pre-med program in the fall, which means I'll be taking classes in the evening on top of a full-time job. The classes are all going to be hardcore sciences, which I've never been good at or had particular interest in. So on top of working full-time and studying like mad for these classes, I'll also have to manage everything around the apartment myself, buy groceries and cook, clean, figure out how to transport myself since I don't have a car and public transportation is so shit where I live (my parents give me rides but they can't once I move out). I feel like I won't have any time to take a breather or just relax and actually live. I feel like I'm just making life harder for myself.
I can already tell this is going to get downvoted and get a lot of hate. I don't really expect anything to come of this. I'll probably just delete this soon tbh

Namely, 99% of the time when I introduce a new player to dnd, they want to play the type of character they already enjoy in things like video games, and a LOT of the time that is a caster. I tell them they will have an easier time with a marital, but if they like wizard style characters, by gygax they are going to play a wizard. And invariably the players who start with martials (just because they like warrior guys) have an easier time at first.
I think it is a mistake to assume new players are going to be okay with just one type of character. We need complex and simple options for every type of fantasy. (either with simple and complex options inside each class, or having different options: like a simple sorcerer and complex wizard, and then a simple fighter and a complex warlord/battlemastewarblade,whatever class, etc.)
​
what do y'all think?