#askjennie

[loominggaia]

Message from @randomhedgie , on the subject of Jennie. It contains potential Looming Gaia spoilers, so I will place it under a cut:

randomhedgie asked:

I have so many questions about Jennie!! But first things first, I'm so glad to see that the surgery went well!! I hope your doing ok! Onto Jennie, she's so cute!! I was wondering, how old is she in relation to Cinnamon? I feel like they could be little mischievous friends. Secondly, what happened to her birth mom? I don't think said birth mom would be OK with Zov having custody considering the circumstances around Jennie's conception. What age do Zov and Lily adopt her at? Did Zov know she's his biological daughter before adopting her, or after?

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Thank you so much! I'm told that full recovery takes a few months, but I'm doing well so far. My thyroid had basically died and turned into a giant tumor, it was literally sucking the life out of me. I'm hoping I'll feel better going forward.

Jennie's exact entry into the series hasn't been finalized, so I can't say how old she will be in relation to Cinnamon or the other characters yet. But yes, if they were around the same age, I could totally see them hanging out! Cinnamon would be such a bad influence on Jennie, lol. Jennie at least tries to be a good girl, but Cinnamon doesn't even try. She's a little shit and she knows it.

Jennie's birth mom (Fay) died from her GSV infection, unfortunately. Her Evangelite enslaver forced her to breed with Zov, intending to sell their valuable offspring. Fay did not want to give up her baby, despite the circumstances of its conception, so she planned her escape during the early stages of her pregnancy. Little did she know, a baby wasn't the only "gift" Zov gave her...she had also contracted GSV from him, a virus that can lie dormant for years before suddenly becoming deadly.

Fay fled to Taybiya, where she gave birth to Jennie and lived a relatively normal life. But after a few years, the GSV activated and she did not have access to suppressant medication (nor did she even realize she had GSV). She realized she was getting sicker and sicker for unknown reasons and would die soon, so she finally took Jennie to a local orphanage run by Karenzans. The Order of Love and Light tried to save her, but her illness was too advanced. All they could do at that point was make sure her daughter was taken care of. She died just days after giving up Jennie.

I imagine Jennie was around 5-8 years old when her mother died and she ended up at the orphanage. Lily happened to be volunteering at this orphanage at the time, and she noticed that Jennie had a "Zov" in her name (Jen Fay Zov). Names are a genetic feature for goblins, so this set off alarms for her.

Curious, she mined her fellow volunteers for information and they revealed all that Fay told them before she died. She mentioned that Jennie's father was a pit fighting slave she was forced to breed with. Jennie was also starting to get ill like her mother, and the Karenzans diagnosed her with GSV (luckily they caught it early, so it could be suppressed with medication). Lily was able to put all the pieces together and realize Jennie was, in fact, one of Zov's children.

Lily and Zov weren't sure about having children initially, but meeting this girl sealed the deal, and they decided it would be criminal of them not to adopt her. Fay certainly would not approve of Zov having custody of her daughter, but the Zov she knew was a very different person than the one he grows into later. By this time he has matured into the best man he can be, and he has learned the value of kindness, empathy, and love from his time with the Karenzans. He is far from perfect, but he's come a long way and is still moving forward.

As Zov learns things like empathy, the countless murders and rapes of his past really start to haunt him. He has to work through all that trauma and it is not easy, to the say the least. Though it was not his choice to do those things (Dorzlaf forced him), his previously cold attitude towards it sickens him. He decides to step up and raise Jennie, to give her the nice life that he was denied, and he will do it to honor every woman and child he ever harmed during his long career as a pit fighter. He is quite religious (was a Modern Lindist, later became a Traditional Lindist) and determined to save his soul. He believes Jennie was delivered to him by the gods as a way to do just that, so he takes his role as her father very seriously.

He and Lily would not be able to raise her on their own, but they have a lot of friends at the temple who are more than willing to help. Between two loving parents, her guardian Buddy, and a lot of wise Karenzan priestesses, I think Jennie is on track to have a great (and rather interesting...) life!

*

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[askjennie]

What do you think is the most important thing in a relationship? Best piece of relationship advice? Tips for maintaining a healthy and long lasting relationships (platonic and romantic)? Thanks!

Here are the qualities that I think are important in a healthy relationship (this is about romantic relationships, but everything but sexual compatibility can be relevant to platonic relationships as well):

Respect. Probably the most essential factor in a healthy relationship is that you respect each other as human beings and as equals, that you care about each other’s thoughts and feelings and opinions, and you don’t want to harm each other.

Trust. You need to be able to trust what your partner says, and not be constantly worried that they’re lying to you. You need to be able to trust that your partner will do what they say they’re going to do, and will be where they say they’re going to be when they say they’re going to be there. And you need to be able to trust that your partner isn’t going to cheat on you - even if they’re out with friends without you, even if you’re long distance, even if they spend time with other people who are a gender they’re attracted to.

Honesty. Obviously, without this, it’s going to be difficult to have trust in your relationship. In order to trust what each other says, you need to be honest with each other, and not lie to each other.

Communication. If things are bothering you, talk about it. If things are good, talk about it (e.g. if your partner did something that you appreciated, tell them, so they know to keep doing that thing). If there’s an issue in your relationship, it’s not going to be solved by being passive-aggressive, or avoiding each other, or not saying anything because you’re scared the other person will get mad. You should both feel safe and secure enough to express when something has upset you, without feeling like the other person is going to immediately dump you (or become aggressive towards you) for trying to talk about it.

Physical/sexual compatibility. This is something that some people will say doesn’t matter, but if you’re in a relationship that is or may become a sexual relationship, I think it’s important to make sure you’re both on the same page. If one of you wants to have sex, make sure the other person does as well before anything happens. If one of you isn’t ready to have sex, make sure the other person is happy to wait. If one of you doesn’t want to have sex at all, make sure the other person is happy staying in a relationship without having sex. Make sure you both understand what kinds of sex you each enjoy and don’t enjoy, and that you’re both happy with that. Make sure you feel able to communicate openly with each other about sex, and that you respect each other’s boundaries.

Actually enjoying each other’s company. Make sure you actually like spending time together! It’s weird how many people seem to complain about their significant other, like it’s a chore to see them (like stereotypical groups of men talking about how glad they are to escape from their wives in the pub or on a golf course). The whole point of a relationship is that you like hanging out together.

Actually wanting to be in a relationship. Sometimes you get along great with someone, and care about each other a lot, but there’s just no romantic chemistry, or there is and then it fades, and that’s okay. Sometimes you’re in a great relationship, but you feel like you want to be single for whatever reason, and that’s okay. Even if it seems like you’re doing all the right things, a relationship isn’t going to last unless both people actually want to be in a relationship with each other, and it’s okay to admit it if you don’t.

[loominggaia]

Lilian's "mini" pig

Just a random little idea I had. SPOILERS for future LG stories under the cut:

Pigs are a recurring theme in Lily's story. I won't get into them or what they represent in this post (if you've read her saga then you already know) I will just mention that Dario kept domestic pigs to help him dispose of his victim's corpses. Lily was often in charge of caring for the pigs, she made friends with them and especially loved the baby ones.

One day Lily tells Zov about the baby pigs, speaking about them with such fondness that it gives him an idea. He goes to the market in Taybiya, where ranchers sell their livestock, and sure enough he finds a man selling piglets.

He asks the man how big these babies will get. The man boasts that they will surely grow to a thousand pounds at least, and provide lots of meat! Zov is disappointed, mentioning that he was hoping to find something smaller to give his girlfriend as a pet.

As Zov leaves, the man suddenly stops him. He picks up a random piglet from his stock and tells Zov that this particular one is a "mini pig". It will stay small and cute forever, he promises! Zov buys the animal, puts a bow on it, and gives it to Lily.

Of course Lily falls in love with the adorable little piglet and names it Pinky.

1 year later, Pinky is a 1500lb behemoth. Zov was ready to drag her back to that conman and demand a refund 1300 pounds ago, but Lily had grown too attached by then, so now he's stuck with a giant farm animal sleeping at the foot of his bed every night like a dog.

Pinky is a sweet and intelligent beast...as long as she gets her daily PB&J sandwich. If she does not get that sandwich, Gaia help everyone in the temple...she goes berserk, breaking down doors, tearing up floorboards, and flipping people like pancakes until she gets what she wants.

Lily trains her to guard the temple from Crescent Cultists. Pinky can identify their wretched stink and she will gore them to death in seconds when she does.

Zov comes to begrudgingly accept the beast. She becomes Jennie's childhood pet and companion, and she's so big that Jennie can even ride her like a horse. The Karenzans use Pinky's cultist-detecting ability to find local hideouts and destroy them. This pig seems to have the unique ability to sense evil.

With Pinky's help, the Karenzans are able to weed out all the hidden cult hives in Taybiya. This becomes crucial later when they turn Taybiya into Azizaland, the kingdom of Etherea's second territory (the first is the Ethereal City).

They erect a big pig statue in Azizaland's plaza to honor Pinky for centuries to come. ���� Some of Pinky's offspring inherit her ability, and Karenzan beastmasters breed them to create a new breed of cultist-detecting war mounts.

These beasts become known as Azizan Crescent-Crunchers, or just "Crunchers" for short. They look like a burly-ass cross between a domestic pig, a wild boar, and a rhinoceros. They are highly motivated by peanut butter.

[loominggaia]

Does Zov ever try to find/help any of his other kids? The majority of them would still be in Evangeline, right?

Good question!

The following text contains SPOILERS for future LG stories, so I will place it under a cut:

I hate to say this, but realistically, I think most of Zov's other kids are dead.

Jennie only scraped by because Karenzan priestesses got her medicated just in time, but most of his other children would have inherited his GSV from their infected mothers and died somewhere between infancy to early childhood. Since they were all Evangelite slaves, they did not have access to the suppressant medication to keep their GSV in check. Fay (Jennie's mother) happened to escape Evangeline Kingdom during her pregnancy, making sure to give birth to Jennie in a free land. This was certainly not easy to do, and the fact that she succeeded was nothing short of a miracle.

Jennie got incredibly lucky. The stars really aligned for her, and this is not lost on Zov. He understands how slim the chances were, not only for her survival but also that he would meet up with her, and he believes this whole situation was an intentional act of Gaia to test the quality of his soul. He is motivated to take responsibility, be a good father to Jennie, and hopefully claw his way out of the bad afterlife he thinks he's going to suffer for all the murders he's committed in the arena.

Ultimately he just wants to give Jennie all the opportunities and fulfillment he missed out on as a slave.

He probably does have some older kids out there who he fathered before he got GSV. However, his children were specifically bred to become arena fighters like himself, and the lifespan of these fighters is really abysmal. It's not likely that these kids made it far before getting pummeled to death.

*

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[loominggaia]

Jennie's Boyfriend

Just some silly memes

SPOILERS for future Looming Gaia stories under the cut!

Lily and Zov when teenage Jennie announces she has her first boyfriend:

When they realize she has spent her entire life in a women-only temple and has zero experience with boys:

They realize she's growing up and they want to give her the independence she deserves. At the same time, nobody knows the depravity of men like these two do, so they just can't bring themselves to detach completely...

Buddy when Jennie's parents ask them to secretly spy on her during her date:

Buddy always gets stuck doing crap like this and it never ends well for them lol.

Every new boy Jennie brings back to the temple:

Lily: I can't wait for the day Jennie tells us she's getting married. ❤️

Zov: I can't wait for the day Jennie tells us she's a lesbian...😑

The pivotal moment Zov went from Lindist homophobe to flag-waving ally was when he met all the scrungly-ass dirtbag boys his daughter kept dragging home, and he was so fucking disappointed lmao

Zov: You sure you don't like girls?

Jennie: I don't think so...

Zov: Not even a little bit? C'moooon...!

Jennie: Papa, I thought you said that was wrong?

Zov: I was wrong, okay? Boys are stupid, disgusting animals! Now go find a nice girl instead, I'm begging you! 😭

*

Questions/Comments?

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[askjennie]

I recently left a toxic friendship and now I don't have any friends. I'm in my last year of high school and so everyone already has a group that they hang out with. I don't really want to intrude on other people's groups but I also don't want to be alone until I leave school. Could you give me any advice on making friends?

I’ve answered a lot of questions about making friends in the past - here are some posts you might find useful: 

“How to meet new people?”

“How to move from acquaintances to friends?”

“How to get closer to friends who are already in a tight-knit group?”

“How to make friends when you have social anxiety?”

The Journals Out Loud “how to make friends!” episode

@collegecoward‘s advice for making friends at school

[askjennie]

Hello, I grew up in a highly homophobic catholic area. I thought I had grown out of their mindset toward homosexuals. However recently I have made a friend that is a lesbian when I found out I was uneasy with it. Now she continuously mentions she likes girls and explicitly talks about stuff to me. Unfortunately I can’t help but feel disgusted and uncomfortable with it and her. I feel I am still homophobic and I can’t change, what can I do? She is nice and I don’t want to her her feelings.

It does sound like you’re still homophobic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change. It’s easy to say “oh, I’m not prejudiced like that any more” until you’re actually confronted with the thing you thought you weren’t prejudiced about. This is a real challenge to your previous beliefs and thoughts surrounding homosexuality, and it’s okay to find it challenging - as long as you don’t just give up and say “guess I’ll have to be disgusted by gay people forever, then”. Use this as an opportunity to do some self-reflection, and to start reframing your thoughts to something less prejudiced and more realistic.

First bit of reframing: just because something makes you personally feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean that it inherently disgusting and shameful and wrong. I think it can be pretty instinctive to think “ew, I’m feeling grossed out at the thought of that, so anyone who likes it must be gross”, but in reality, someone can do something that you personally wouldn’t like to do without becoming a disgusting person. I feel grossed out by fake nails, but that doesn’t mean every person who wears fake nails should be ashamed and disgusted with themselves! Sometimes it’s important to remember that your own instinctive “gross!” response isn’t always an accurate way to tell right from wrong. So, next time you find yourself feeling disgusted, it’s okay to say to yourself “I’m experiencing feeling disgusted, but that doesn’t mean that this has to be disgusting to everyone”. I’m not sure what you mean by ‘explicitly’, but if there’s some stuff that you feel is too personal to talk about generally, it is okay to say so. If she’s telling you graphic details about her sex life, and you’d feel uncomfortable with that even if she was talking about a male partner, it’s okay to say “TMI! I don’t want to hear those details, let’s talk about something else”. But if she’s just telling you stuff like “I went on a date last night” or “I kissed Sally for the first time!” or “I don’t know how Jane feels about me, do you have any advice?”… That’s not 'explicit’, that’s just normal stuff that you might mention to your friends. There’s another thought that you might need to reframe: the belief that some people have that gay relationships are inherently more sexual and explicit than straight relationships. If you would be okay with her telling you a certain detail about her relationship with a man, but you’re not okay with her telling you because it’s about a woman, it’s probably not an inappropriate comment, and it’s not appropriate to ask her to stop talking about it.It might feel like she’s mentioning that she likes girls all the time, but is it actually an unusual amount, or is it just that you’re not used to hearing a girl talk about liking girls? We tend to take it for granted that women spend a lot of time talking about their relationships with men, but then if someone talks about a kind of relationship you’re not used to, it can seem like a lot because you notice it more. Dating talk can get to a point where it becomes annoying and you can’t talk about anything else, so it is possible that she talks about relationships too much for your taste. If so, it’s okay to say “we’ve talked a lot about dating, what else is going on with you?” or “so, moving on from dating talk, here’s what’s happening in my life...”. But again, if you would be okay with a straight friend talking about men a lot, and you’re only concerned about it because she’s talking about women, it’s not appropriate to ask her to stop.

Ultimately, you probably won’t be able to change overnight, and if you don’t feel able to treat this friend and her relationships with respect, maybe you need to give her some space. You don’t want to hurt her feelings, but if you feel like you’re going to say something that is going to hurt her feelings, maybe now isn’t the right time to be close to this person. Whether you decide to stay friends or not, it sounds like you need to make time for some self-reflection, some analysis of your beliefs, and some relearning how to think about and treat people. It sounds like you rationally know that there’s nothing wrong with your friend dating girls, so, try to figure out where those feelings of disgust and uneasiness are coming from, so that you can figure out how to reduce them.

[askjennie]

Hey, how come I always have my dreams at school? They seem normal but they seem like nightmares to me. Like nothing scary happens, it's just I hate being at school bc I always feel like I'm making things awkward. But I've been CONSTANTLY getting dreams at school and I don't know how to stop them and how can I in real life prevent these thoughts from becoming my nightmares?

Dreams are made up of the experiences and thoughts you have during the day, so if you spend a lot of time at school (as most people who go to school do), and you spend a lot of time thinking about the fears you have about being at school, it makes sense that most of your dreams are going to be vaguely scary school dreams. It’s not that your school is magically following you into your subconscious to scare you, it’s just that it’s on your mind a lot, and your dreams are made of whatever is on your mind!

There are a few suggestions I can make that may or may not help:

Get into the habit of writing in a journal before bed, to sort out your thoughts about the day before your subconscious has a chance to do it for you. 

Do things unrelated to school in the couple of hours before you go to bed. If you normally spend the time before you sleep doing schoolwork or worrying about school, try to make your bedtime routine more relaxing. Read a book, watch your favourite tv show, meditate, listen to music or an audiobook, write something, whatever takes your mind off of school stress and allows you to focus your mind somewhere else. 

If you feel like all you do is go to school, plan more activities for evenings and weekends so your brain has more material to turn into dreams.

Consider learning about lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is the ability to be aware that you’re dreaming while you’re in a dream, and potentially control what happens in your dreams. This video contains some advice on how to get started:

Finally, if you’re struggling with stress or anxiety about school, you might find some of these self-help resources useful. Learning to manage your thoughts and feelings about school might help you to learn to manage your dreams about school as well.

[askjennie]

(F/21) How do I let my toxic, overbearing mother know I'm moving out with my boyfriend? I'm set to move out in January of next year, and as I'm legally an adult, she cannot stop me. Still, there will be repercussions, backlash, and negativity. How do I tackle this?

If there will be repercussions, backlash and negativity, don’t try to prevent it. Accept that it will happen, and let it happen. Part of managing a relationship with a toxic family member is to learn to stop taking responsibility for their behaviour, and focus on your own. You can’t control how your mother responds; all you can control is how you respond and take care of yourself, knowing that she is going to be aggressive and negative towards you.

There’s no easy way to tell her that will avoid backlash, so the best thing to do is just to say “I have something I need to tell you: I’m moving in with Boyfriend on this date”. If you can have someone with you, like your boyfriend, or a friend, witnesses might help avoid a little drama initially. It might also be a good idea to have somewhere to go soon afterwards; not immediately afterwards (so you have time to talk about the details), but soon afterwards, so if you’re trapped in a “how could you do this to me??” cycle, you have an excuse to leave the situation. And remember to try to present this as a positive thing! If you go into the conversation with a “I’m so sorry you’re going to be so angry but I just have to tell you this thing even though it’s going to break your heart”, your mother has an immediate excuse to pick negative holes in everything. If you start with “hey, exciting news, me and Boyfriend are moving in together! I know it might be a bit of a shock, but I really think this is the right decision for me”, your attitude shows that you are sure of your decision, and less likely to be persuaded to stay. 

If she’s upset, or angry, or guilt-tripping, let her be. It’s not your job to manage her emotions or behaviour. If you need to avoid spending much time with her, then avoid spending much time with her. Spend time out of the house, with friends, with other less toxic family, with your boyfriend, at work, at school, at hobbies, in libraries, in cafes, at the gym, going for long walks, as much as you can, and keep yourself busy planning for your move. Difficult relationships with family tend to become easier to manage when you’re no longer living together, so although this part might be really hard, you might feel more confident in handling your relationship with your mother once you don’t have to live with her.

[askjennie]

Hi! my friend has been acting very distant lately and she seems upset with me. This isn't the first time she's gotten randomly mad at me without explaining or confronting me about it. It makes me feel so bad because I always feel like this friend who always makes mistakes and hurts her but I don't even know what I'm doing to upset her because when I review my behaviour nothing seems wrong to me and when I ask her she doesn't say anything. I don't know if I'm being blind to my bad behaviour P1

Continued: or what. Eventually these problems regularly get swept under the rug with her just “getting over it” causing unneeded tension in our friendship. I just don’t know what to do… P2

Jennie: Maybe you are doing something that upsets her, but if it’s not something that you can obviously think of (like, you punched her in the face recently), it’s really her responsibility to communicate with you about whatever is upsetting her. If she’d rather act mad at you and distant than actually talk to you about what’s wrong, she’s the one being a bad friend, not you. You’re not a mind reader, so if you don’t know why she’s upset, that’s not your fault. You could try talking to her honestly, and saying something like “if you’re upset with me, please tell me what you’re upset about, so that I can do something about it. It’s stressful for me when you act mad at me and I don’t know why, and I think we’ll both feel better if we can be honest with each other”. But if she doesn’t get the message, you may want to consider distancing yourself from her - not because you’re mad at her, but because it’s difficult to be friends with someone whose behaviour constantly makes you feel tense and guilty. Maybe it’s time to stop focusing on how your behaviour is affecting her, and start focusing on how her behaviour is affecting you. Take steps to take care of yourself.

[askjennie]

So I recently started using dating apps because I want to meet somebody and have had absolutely no luck meeting someone in person. My main problem is that I feel like I have no idea how to start conversations that will actually lead to something. I constantly hear about how my friends went on dates with guys they talked to and I feel bad about myself. I usually just say hi but a lot of the time idk what else to say because they don’t really have as much info about themselves. What do I do?

I think we can agree that ‘hi’ isn’t usually the best way to start a text conversation, especially with someone you’ve never spoken to before. It doesn’t stand out, it doesn’t give the recipient anything to respond to, and it doesn’t really give the impression that you’re actually interested in talking. Sometimes it can go well, but more often than not, conversations that start with ‘hi’ go like this:

Person A: hi

Person B: hi

A: how are you?

B: I’m good, u?

A: I’m good

It’s a lot more difficult to go anywhere if you’re only making very basic small talk. Personally, I would probably skip the small talk at first and start with a more interesting question. Look up some lists of conversation starters online, pick a few that seem interesting to talk about to you, and next time you want to start talking to someone, lead with a fun question. For example:

Person A: Hey, if you could be any animal for a day, what would you be?

Person B: Haha, probably an owl

A: Good answer, why an owl? 

B: Well, I’d love to be able to fly and I like being out at night when no one’s around. What about you?

A: Nice, I like being out at night as well, it’s super peaceful. I’d like to be an elephant, because…

Obviously that example is just me talking to myself, and real people aren’t all going to react in the same way, but do you see how asking a real question can lead to a) having more to say and b) learning more about a person just in the first few messages? People are also more likely to respond if they’re being asked a genuine question about themselves, because a) people like to talk about themselves, and b) it takes less effort to reply if you have an obvious question to reply to! 

And remember, if you’ve been talking to someone for a bit and you feel like you want to meet them in person, there’s nothing wrong with being direct and saying “hey, do you want to go for a drink this weekend?” (or whatever you feel comfortable doing on a first date). In order to get something to lead somewhere, you have to actually take steps forward. If they say yes, great. If they say no, you haven’t lost anything, because you were only casually chatting on a dating app. It’s okay to be honest about what you want.

[askjennie]

ASK GUIDELINES

A few people have been asking for my ask guidelines in an easier-to-access location, so here they are:

I answer questions in order from earliest received, so please allow 2-3 weeks for a response (possibly more at busy times). If it’s been a while and you haven’t seen your question answered, feel free to check in to make sure I’ve received it.

I don’t answer questions in private messages. If you need advice, please send an ask by clicking Ask Jennie a Question. 

If you need your question answered privately, please send a non-anonymous ask and tell me that you want it answered privately. However, there may be a longer wait for private questions.

Please avoid sending questions that are over 3-4 asks long.

For the benefit of my readers, please avoid sending me graphic descriptions of self harm or sexual assault. It’s okay to ask questions about these issues, but you don’t need to describe every detail.

Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss my response!

[askjennie]

I just graduated highschool and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I honestly didn't think I would make to this age. How do you suppose I go about this?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

What subjects do you enjoy the most at school?

What are your hobbies? For example, do you play a sport? Do you play an instrument? Do you act? Do you garden? Do you read books?

What are your interests? For example, do you like to keep up with politics? Do you watch a lot of movies? Do you know a lot about different types of rocks?

What causes/issues are important to you? For example, LGBT rights? Animal welfare? Mental health care?

What kind of environment do you like to be in? For example, do you like to be with lots of people, or do you prefer to be alone? Do you prefer to be outdoors or indoors? Do you like to be a leader, or a follower, or work independently of any hierarchy? Do you work better or worse under pressure?

Make a list, and put anything on it that you enjoy or that feels important to you, even if it sounds silly. Then do some google research for potential careers related to each thing on the list, or potential educational courses you could take, or potential voluntary work you could get involved in, or potential hobbies you could try out, even if they seem like unlikely or unrealistic choices. Write down anything you might be slightly interested in doing! 

This isn’t something you can figure out overnight, but doing some brainstorming and self-reflection regarding what you enjoy, what you’re good at, and what you actually want is a good start.

[askjennie]

I’m diagnosed with severe depression, and trying to fight through it without bringing down others. But when there’s times I have outbreaks, people tell me that I’m being selfish for wanting to end my life and leaving them alone. And that brings me down more. Is that a solid reason? Or is what they’re saying bad?

I don’t think it’s ever helpful to say “you’re being selfish” to someone who is depressed or suicidal. It’s understandable why someone might say it; they might be scared, and desperately trying to convince someone to stay alive by making them think of the impact it will have on others. But most of the time, it’s likely to just make the depressed person feel guilty for being depressed, which isn’t exactly a positive outcome. Most people who are having thoughts of suicide already know that it would hurt their loved ones if they died, or already think they’re a selfish person. Telling someone they’re being selfish isn’t going to make them feel better about themselves! 

Next time someone says that to you, I hope you can say to them “hey, when you say things like that it makes me worse about myself, which is really unhelpful for my recovery. Can you stop telling me I’m being selfish?”. You could also make a suggestion of something they could say instead that would be more helpful for you. If they care about you, hopefully they will listen to what you need from them.

[askjennie]

how do i communicate to my friends that i need their attention- not as a demand, just an “i could really use some affection right now”

To make sure it’s not a demand, make sure you give them the option to say no. For example:

“Hey, I’m having a tough day, do you have some time to talk?”

“Hey, I could use some company, do you have time to hang out later?”

“I’m feeling kinda lonely right now, are you up for some social interaction?”

“I need to vent to someone, do you have the energy for that right now?”

You can communicate what you need without demanding that one specific person has to give you what you need right now. If they say “actually I’m too busy/tired/stressed right now”, you can say “no problem” and try contacting another friend instead. As long as you’re not expecting your friends to drop everything and give all their attention to you instantly whenever you ask for it, there’s nothing wrong with letting them know what’s going on for you.

[askjennie]

I’m trying to decide if I should break up with my boyfriend. Pros -doesn’t make consistent effort to see me -conversations can be dull -don’t feel romantic attraction or butterflies anymore -not affectionate enough -video games sometimes seem more important to him Cons -cuddling and laughing together -reliable and kind -sometimes fun -friendship. Just started new school. Kinda lonely What should I do? Suggestions of what to do or think about first?

I think the main question you need to ask yourself is: does your relationship make you feel happy, loved, supported and fulfilled most of the time, or does it make you feel unhappy, stressed, upset or bored most of the time? You’ve got a good set of pros and cons, but it might be useful to think about how often those pros and cons are true. If your relationship is only sometimes fun, or you only sometimes cuddle and laugh together, but not feeling romantically attracted to him or not feeling like you get enough affection are issues that affect you all the time, then maybe some points should be weighted more heavily than others. “I’m not attracted to him at all” vs. “occasionally we do something fun together” isn’t really an equal pros/cons comparison, if one of those statements has more of an impact on your life than the other.