#university of cambridge acceptance rate

[aaravsharmaabroad]

University of Cambridge has proudly welcomed and nurtured students for hundreds of years. It is one of the oldest and most distinguished universities in the world and attracts talented students worldwide. More than 20,000 students from about 140 nationalities are studying at the University.

The University of Cambridge has numerous opportunities for international students to challenge and deepen their knowledge. Also, it promotes the interface between education and business and has a global reputation for innovation.

[pinksturniolo]

Cinnamon

Matt Sturniolo x Fem Reader (AU) Series

Part One: Small Moments

Intro:

Spring 1981

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard University. The only ivy league school in the state.

Acceptance rate: 14%

Graduation rate: 97%

Tolerability of your mostly fake, pretentious peers: 0%

But your best friend Matt?

He makes it worth sticking around.

content warnings for this chapter: angst, mentions of depression and mental health issues

a/n: this is gonna be a long friends to lovers/slow burn series cause i have so much planned for this story so buckle up :) <3

word count: 2,098

April 1981

The clack of your heels on the wooden floor echoes through the conference hall as you make your way to class, the last one of the day. You speed up a little once you glance at the clock on the wall, realizing you were now late. For the third time this week.

It was unlike you to be late at all, but the looming pressure of final exams and the recent concerning phone calls you’ve been receiving from your mother has you more than a little stressed. You were sleeping later than you normally do and waking up with headaches and worry filling your mind.

The weeks seemed to have blurred together since the spring semester started and now with summer rapidly approaching, it was beginning to feel like too much.

The ding of the last bell rings the moment you reach the door of your English class, and you quietly slip inside, Ms. Ellmore’s voice sounding as she begins her opening lesson of the day. No one really notices you’ve even walked in as you take your usual seat in the back corner.

You can’t help but notice the empty seat next to you that’s usually occupied by your best friend. You feel the slight sting of disappointment in your chest that you’ve felt each time you come into class and he’s not here. Which is more often than you would like to admit.

English Literary Forms was the only class you had with him this year and being that it was the last class of the day, you patiently waited and endured the whole day until you could see him, savoring the small moments you two could share together. You occasionally saw him during lunch, or during assembly once a week that was held by the student body president. But lately he has been absent more than usual and when he was here, you saw him even less than last year.

Last year, you had two classes together. Both of which were back-to-back periods. He would walk with you once Chemistry was finished, taking the long way just so you both could talk more before being confined into the stuffy room of the next period, English Lit class, and the strict disposition of Mr. Lawrence preventing you two from any ongoing form of verbal communication.

It was these moments you held onto that kept you sane.

Fighting to contain your laughter while he makes funny faces at you from across the assembly hall, mocking Amanda’s uptight mannerisms as she rattles on about the recent incident of plagiarism and student policies.

Swapping your apple with his orange at lunch while he sits next to you, your textbooks open on the table since you insisted you help each other study on your short break. He always rolled his eyes at your persistent need to use every bit of free time dedicated to your studies but he never turned down the opportunity to help you.

Strolling through the hallways of school, often being passed up by students who were practically running to get to the next class, but you two paid no mind, lost in conversation about anything and everything. Sometimes, he would walk so close to you that his shoulder would brush yours, and you would find yourself wishing you weren’t wearing a sweater so you could feel the contact against your bare skin, even if he was also wrapped up in the standard crimson of the school letterman.

These moments with your best friend are something you cherished, memories to hold onto when you felt yourself slipping into the darkness again. Ever since you met him at the beginning of freshman year, you felt comfortable with him, happy even, an emotion you didn’t find yourself experiencing too often.

Sure, you had other “friends.” A handful of other students you were cordial with, that you could occasionally engage in meaningless conversation. But it just wasn’t the same. Aside from your roommate, he was the only person at this school you actually enjoyed spending time with. You had always been a shy person, introverted and uninterested in most kids your age. You were basically isolated in high school, hyper focused on your studies so you could earn a scholarship to an ivy league university.

But he kept you on your toes, bringing out a side of you that was a little more relaxed. It was easy to talk to him about personal issues or familial problems. He was easy to trust.

You hear the teacher call your name, breaking you out of your thoughts. You hadn’t realized it was discussion time, and she had asked a question regarding the chapter of Wuthering Heights the class was currently reading.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” you ask her, and a few students snicker under their breath, some even giving you looks. Ms. Ellmore smiles, her cheerful demeanor unwavering even despite your clear lack of attention.

She repeats her question, and you answer with perfect accuracy and thoughtfulness, focusing your attention back to the literature instead of the person you can’t seem to stop thinking about.

❧🝮✿🝮✿❧

The hazy pink of the setting sun fills the sky as you walk towards your dorm, your book bag bouncing on your hip from the lazy way it’s slung over your shoulder. You had spent a couple hours in the library after last period, reading until your eyes grew heavy. It’s usually how you spent your evenings, especially when you felt sad or alone. But even then, the things that bring you joy can be uninteresting at times.

The thing about depression is that it always comes in waves. For you, at least. One week you could be a little more excited to go to your classes, to read your favorite book at the wicker desk in the library, to go for morning walks with Celine your roommate, making fun of the jocks that practice on the lacrosse field, their misogynism practically vibrating off their sweaty bodies.

It goes away for a while. That dark feeling.

And then the next week, you find it harder to get out of bed, to will your limbs awake and carry you to start the day. Your purpose feels lost, swept away by the incessant feeling of wanting to crawl out of your own skin, to leave a world that you don’t even feel is worth being in. And it can feel that way for the whole month.

Students stare at you in the hallways sometime or in class, and you’re sure you’ve heard them whisper a time or two behind your back. They wonder why you’re so quiet, why you’re always alone, what could have possibly happened in your life for you to be so… weird.

But you could care less. You were at this school for the sole purpose of achieving the one goal you haven’t lost sight of since you decided to pursue it. And your mother didn’t work two jobs while raising three kids to help pay for the remainder of the costs after your scholarship, just for you to quit over some mediocre, trust fund dickheads.

So, you do your best to manage your mental health. Even when your favorite person might not be around to make it easier.

You open the door to your room, Celine already in her bed, hair secured away in her bonnet and her current flavor of the week talking in her ear, the pink rotary phone you both share pressed against her face.

You both exchange a warm smile as you remove your shoes and set them in the rack by the door, walking to your bed across from her.

You sit on the mattress in your checkered skirt and tucked in collared school shirt, watching in amusement as she laughs at what the guy’s saying, twirling the telephone cord around her finger. You're sure she would tell you all about it later.

Before you know it, you’re dozing off, too tired to remember to get up and change your clothes or even brush your teeth and wash your face.

It’s a few hours later when a sharp tapping on your window pulls you from your sleep, and you rub the grogginess from your eyes to see a boy with long brunette hair behind it, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Matt?” you whisper, and slide the bottom of the window up, allowing him to climb through. Luckily, your dorm was on the first floor, and this made it easier for him to sneak in on nights like this.

Before you can say anything else, he’s in your bed next to you in seconds, climbing under your duvet. Every dorm has twin beds, but you and Matt seem to fit on it together perfectly, with a sliver of amount of space still between you.

“Hey kid. How was your day?” He whispers his eyes crinkling from the smile still on his face as he places his hands under his head, facing you on your pillow.

“Bearable.” You reply, taking in his features for a moment before letting your eyes slip close, too tired to keep them open. “Where you been?” You mumble back.

“I was at my parent’s house today… my mom needed me.” He tells you, and you pick up on the somber tone in his voice, your eyes opening slightly to catch the matching expression on his face.

“And how is she doing?” You ask. He looks away from you now, his eyes traveling to the sheets of your bed. “She’s a little better. At least I think she is.” He says.

His parents’ house was in Boston, very close to Harvard, so it was no problem for him to drive over there when needed.

One of the many things about Matt that you had come to know was that he was very family oriented and would see them every chance he got. But he was also anti social, and often used visiting them as an excuse to escape from school. Lately however, his mother had just suffered the loss of her sister and his dad was away for work so much that she needed him more than usual.

“It will take time.” You whisper, and he nods, his next response straying from the subject. “Guess who I saw on the way over here?”

You raise an eyebrow, curious as to what he’s going to say. “Who could be up at this time of night?” You ask.

His face lights up in amusement as he watches you closely for your reaction. “Amanda Ridgefield. She was leaving her dorm room with one of those bonehead lacrosse players.”

You burst into giggles, covering your mouth before you’re any louder and look over at Celine, making sure you didn’t wake her. Matt laughs, tugging on your shoulder so you face him again. “Don’t worry, she can sleep through a car crash.” He chuckles. You know it’s true, remembering the many nights you two had ended up in fits of laughter while she slept soundly.

“What was she doing?” You question. “Come on, don't be naive. I think you know what they're up to.” He responds, a smirk on his face. You roll your eyes. “You know what I mean.”

It was hard to imagine Amanda Ridgefield, student body president and notorious judgmental tyrant, sneaking around to have sex with a lacrosse player. She constantly preached that students should practice abstinence and publicly voiced her opinions that girls who sleep around are nothing but whores.

Literally her words.

“Yeah, she’s no better than the rest of us… it was hilarious to see though.” Matt says, and his eyes skim over your school uniform that sticks out from the top of your blanket. “Fell asleep early again?”

You nod, your eyelids once again slipping shut. “I can’t wait for summer break.”

Your voice is laced with fatigue, your lips parted and calm settling in the soft features of your face as Matt watches you fall asleep.

You barely hear him when he whispers, “Get some rest, kid. I’ll see you soon.”

You forget to ask him if he’s even coming to school tomorrow, if he plans on missing even more days now. If he knows how much it hurts when you don’t see him in the desk next to you in English.

Still, it was nice to see him, even if it was for a moment.

But you let yourself fall back into a deep sleep next to him, and you certainly don’t feel his hand brushing lightly over your face, feathering a stroke over your left cheek before quietly leaving the way he came through your bedroom window.

It's always small moments like this that Matt realizes he appreciates the most.

taglist: <3

@sturniolopepsi @tillies33ssss @whicked-hazlatwhore @riasturns @christhopersturniolo @junnniiieee07 @sturnsjtop @seahorsie11 @inveigledvex @mattslolita @certifiednatelover @glassesmattsbae @eryismum @sturncakez @wh0resstuff @ribread03 @sturniololoco @75sturn @mattscoquette @h3arts4harry @chrizznmetswife @bambi-slxt

[if you would like to be added/taken off pls reply to this post or comment on my masterlist. and if u weren’t tagged, it wouldn’t let me add you :/ ]

[autistpride]

Autism Acceptance

For @wolfstarmicrofic April prompts

April 12 prompt: College AU

Wordcount: 4650

Part 1

Dedicated to @mia-675 who sent the ask with the prompt idea

The university experience was overrated. Oh don't misunderstand! Remus was grateful to his parents for fighting for him, for advocating that he got all the tools he had needed to get him to this point.

For at one point taking the local primary school and local council to court and winning! His mum taking it upon herself to home educate him through to college. Then for Lyall, driving him two hours there and back everyday to the college that had helped ensure Remus got the education he not only craved but deserved. For staying up late and helping him study for entrance exams, for editing mock papers, and for pushing for accommodations when it came time for Remus to sit them. His mum was a fierce advocate when they tried to insist that Remus shouldn’t bother.

They were optimistic and hopeful, telling Remus that his scores were delayed because he did great and then cheering him on when he not only passed, but got offers for his choice in university. He had his pick, something unheard of for an autistic individual, especially one that was non speaking like he was. So many saw that information and immediately rejected applicants due to “lack of appropriate accommodations to meet the needs of SEN students.” It was just a polite way of saying they were ableist and elitist. But no one wanted to turn down a non speaking autistic individual with his marks. They all scrambled to have him enrolled through them, hoping to use his story as inspiration porn.

So when Remus picked University of Cambridge, his parents were surprised. They at first asked over and over if he was sure he didn’t want to pick something closer to them. That the University of Norwich was a great choice and only an hour away. Then they asked if he didn’t want to pick something better. That if he was going to go further away and go to university, if he didn’t want to go to go to a better choice. But Remus had thought about it and felt like this was the best place for him. He wanted to study psychology and it was rated second!

The other top choices were in London and Oxford and Remus really didn’t want to go to either of those places. Not that there was anything wrong with them, the cost of living in London was so much higher and the bigger city with the crowds and noise worried Remus. That and he was comfortable navigating Cambridge for the most part. They had gone weekly when he was growing up for therapies and then eventually quarterly for appointments. So he at least knew his way around the hospital, train station, and shopping area. He had also calculated that this was a good middle ground in regards to the cost of his schooling and living expenses. His parents finally gave their approval in the wake of his hour-long powerpoint presentation about it.

All that to say, now that Remus was here, he felt like it was overrated. All the extracurricular things, volunteering, clubs and fraternities, parties. Remus didn’t care for any of it. He was just there to get his education and leave. But some of his professors made that so challenging, stating that they needed these hands on life experiences to become informed and well rounded people. A lot of his professors at least attempted to work with Remus, many exchanging emails to ensure Remus was understanding and keeping up well enough. But there were a fair few who honestly seemed like their only purpose was to misunderstand. Then add in the long lectures and late nights studying and Remus was just exhausted. The line between doing okay and a burnout being used like a jump rope.

One such professor is what led to Remus spending all his freetime in the Haddon Library. Remus preferred it over the main library because it was quieter and more out of the way. There were many libraries in Cambridge and he could have chosen any of them, but something about this one called to him. Sure it didn’t have all of the books he needed, but he would just check them out and bring them with when necessary and it just so happened to also be down the street from the psychology building. It also was near to the museums of zoology, archaeology, history of science, and earth sciences which allowed Remus the ability time to binge a little on his other interests.

Remus had procured a table in a corner that was fairly secluded, two stacks of books making it feel enclosed. The massive window that overlooked the courtyard below and a radiator kept the area well lit and toasty in the drizzling chilly autumn which allowed Remus to actually remove his beanie, scarf, and fingerless gloves. When he was there all day, he even went so far as to take off his sweater, revealing his well worn graphic tees underneath, as he furiously took notes from the mountains of books piled around.

—--

Sirius was starting over with his degree, previously studying law at his parents' demand. But after months of lectures that Sirius hated every second of, his room mate and best friend James had convinced him to speak with someone about switching. His change of majors without their consent or approval, especially to one that wasn’t on their approved list of majors, was the final straw with his parents. They disinherited Sirius. After a week of anger at them, Sirius spiralled and if it hadn’t been for James and Lily he would have crawled back to them begging for their forgiveness. The university had been understanding and with some help, set Sirius up on the path he was now on.

Sirius studied archaeology and volunteered part time at the Archeology and Anthropology Museum next to his department. Although sometimes he would work at the Museum of Classical Archaeology. His volunteer work helped cover some of his education costs, free labour in exchange for a discount. He also worked at the Cafe Au Chocolat all day on the weekends to help pay for his expenses. Sirius pretended like he didn’t notice the fact that every so often, a donation would be made to pay down his education expenses, but he knew that it came from the Potter family. James’ parents had practically become his own when they were in secondary school and when his parents finally cut him off and kicked him out of the family, they welcomed him with open arms.

Sirius had studied in many places, mostly cafes, but his midterm was coming up and he was absolutely stressed over it. So when his best mate James' girlfriend Lily had suggested a library near her department, psychology, one Sirius was aware of but honestly had never stepped foot in, he finally caved. Sirius packed everything he would need for the day and trekked there. He wandered the library for a bit, running his fingers over the spines of texts before searching for a table to work at. He found the perfect one within moments and it was empty, which came as a surprise to Sirius. It seemed despite there being many students in there working, some even sitting on the floor leaned against the shelves, this table was left alone. Not one to question a gift from the universe, Sirius unloaded his bag and began to work.

Sirius was deep in a sketch for his project when the light from the window dimmed. Sirius looked up in confusion only to be face to face with a sandy haired student who would tower over him even if he rose to his feet. Sirius’ eyes trailed over the other man, bundled in layers and layers of clothing and staring down at Sirius as if he couldn’t believe the audacity. This must have been why the table was empty before. Sirius sighed and slowly began to pack up. He wasn’t in the mood to pick a fight with someone who was possessive over the other half of a table in a library. He just wanted to study and then go to work.

The student seemed to realise what was occurring when he waved his hands at Sirius and offered him a tentative smile, sitting his stuff down and motioning for Sirius to sit. Sirius bit his lip, uncertain but nodded, pulling back out his notebook and textbook as the other boy sat across from him, unpacking his own things.

They never spoke, not once the entire time they worked. Both content to have a table mate that seemed just as keen to focus on their studies as the other was. When the library began to close up for the night the other boy gave Sirius a soft nod of approval as he left.

Sirius was busy the next two days, between lectures and his volunteer work, he hardly had time to sleep and eat let alone study. Sirius was so behind he was overwhelmed and so grateful that he had the Friday to spend all day in the library working. He filled up at breakfast with James and Lily, eating until his stomach hurt so he wouldn’t need to leave the library for any reason until evening. Lily had expressed concern at that, but James had whispered it was better than him going on an empty stomach into a hyperfixation. James had been witness to many of those incidents over the years. The longest being the entire week he dived into studying the Queer History in Britain after realising and coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t straight.

Sirius almost sighed in relief when he sat down at the table across from the other young man that was there before. He looked up at Sirius and gave Sirius a small smile and nod before returning to his own work. He had two papers and five drawings to do and Sirius felt like he was going to explode if a single person interrupted him while he was working today.

—--

To say Remus hadn’t been surprised and upset when the dark haired boy was at his table for the first time would be a lie. Remus had in fact been prepared to storm off or demand the other person leave. That was his workspace. He had claimed that table on the first day of lessons and everyone else saw fit to leave him alone, his annoyed expressions and tiny scoffs of annoyance at the jokes and small talk when he was trying to work left an unspoken rule for the others to just not bother him.

Apparently that didn’t endear him to his peers since he could hear them frequently explaining to new people not to talk to him because he was a bit of a dick. But Remus didn’t care. He wasn’t there to make friends, he was there to study. And furthermore, none of them seemed to notice his acc device nor his many signs of signalling that he was autistic. For fucks sake, he wore a lanyard with his student ID that said Autistic AF. His beanie had a rainbow infinity symbol on the brim. He hated that he had to flag himself like this, but he refused to explain himself to people. Those who understood would get it, and those ignorant well they could just assume he was an arse and fuck off.

His parents and therapist over the years had said this was not conducive for making friends or having a relationship with people, but Remus was frankly tired of trying. He had put so much time and effort into masking and trying to befriend people in school only for them to like him until he became too much for them. Remus was sick of people ghosting him, dropping him the moment he couldn't mask anymore, and in one situation outright trying to sexually assault him because he had been naive and easy.

Someone hadn’t informed this bloke though, he sat intently sketching a copy of an artefact from the textbook at his side, occasionally referencing another book. Remus stood watching him for a bit when it seemed the boy finally realised he was there and looked up confused before sighing and scrambling to pack up. Remus was taken aback by the annoyed expression on the other person's face, apparently upset to have to find someplace else to work, and Remus had to admit that the other man was quite attractive. So he waved his hands and motioned for him to sit, to stay, before sitting in his own chair and beginning to work. Remus could share his table just this once.

Only it hadn’t been once. The other person came back two days later practically melting into the chair across the table from him as if he was relieved to be there before taking a deep breath as if to prepare himself and began to work. Remus wouldn’t admit to anyone that he didn’t spend as much time as he should have working. Using this time to silently observe his table mate in curiosity. He worked with a ferocity Remus had never seen in another person, outside himself that was. He wrote quickly in scratchy but tiny looped cursive and referenced almost as many books as Remus did when working. At one point he soundlessly groaned and rubbed his temples before putting whatever he was working on away and taking out a sketch pad to work on another drawing of some ancient item. He never tried to whisper to Remus, to interrupt him. He just worked diligently all through the day, straight through lunch, until the library was closing up for the evening. Remus determined then that he could stay. He would share his table with the other young man.

The other person was missing over the weekend but was already sitting at the table when Remus arrived anytime he made it to the library that week. The following week he was absent everyday. There seemed to be no rhyme or rhythm to the other man's schedule and that was honestly bothering Remus. He never knew when the other man would be there or when he wouldn’t and Remus not only hated unpredictability but he dreaded surprises.

As if the other boy could read Remus’ mind, the following weeks were in fact predictable. He was there before Remus on Monday and Wednesday. He was there a few hours after Remus on Tuesday and Thursday. They were both there not long after opening on Fridays and he was never there on the weekends. It continued this way straight through midterms. Remus was looking forward to the ability to focus on something else for a while after. He had heard there was a new exhibit at the Fitzwilliam Museum and he really wanted to go see it.

—-

As midterms approached Sirius turned in his project, his sketchpad filled with detailed drawings of various artefacts. Sirius was grateful to see that one assignment finished and took the following week to pick up extra shifts at the chocolat. He used the extra money that week to pay in advance his cell phone bill for the next several months and left money with Lily for his part of the water and electric bills. After that he buckled down and spent every spare moment not in lectures or working in the library.

He was determined to pass his midterms and prove everyone wrong. So many of the people in his courses thought he wasn’t cut out for it, a few of his professors hinted as much even. The information and art portions didn’t come naturally. He had a poor memory for just memorising facts, preferring more to understand the hows and whys then to just spout off random dates and locations. But he was always fascinated and determined to succeed, so he studied.

Midterms finally came and Sirius nailed them. He had literally screamed, “in your face!” when he aced the one from his hardest professor. Luckily, he did it when only James and Lily were present. He would have hated to anger that professor any more than he already was. The Potters had celebrated for all three of them, praising them and having a nice luncheon before everyone was passed around for hugs. Monty slipped fifty quid into Sirius’ hand and told him to use it for something nice. That he had worked hard and deserved it. Sirius had no idea what to use it on and honestly wanted to give it back, but Monty had insisted that he would know if Sirius spent it on bills or groceries because he had enlisted James to dob on him. So Sirius placed it in his wallet and figured he'd just use it for an emergency or something.

Sirius’ study schedule changed again following the midterm, his hours at the museum changing some. He had to drop two of his study times and now was there Monday, Thursday, and Friday. That worked for him though, because he really enjoyed getting to talk to the children that came in about the displays. Answering their questions that adults rolled their eyes at. Sirius never did though. Children always had the most intriguing questions and thoughts because they hadn’t been beaten down by society yet to not say what they were thinking. Sirius loved that!

Sirius continued on at the chocolat like usual and the weekend following midterms was a bit hectic with orders, one woman came in and practically bought out the shop. Sirius had asked why she had needed so many, if the order was for an event, and she just laughed and said it was a gift for her son for passing his midterms and she hoped they would last longer than a week but she seriously doubted it. Sirius had laughed and sent her off with congratulations for her son and a wink at the register when he added a few extras for herself.

Anytime he was in the library, the golden haired boy was there too. Either sitting and working already when he arrived or joining him not long after he had started working. Sirius had taken to watching him sometimes, when the other was working and he was less likely to be caught. He glanced at him through his lashes when he was drawing or made it look like he was referencing another text but would watch the other for a few moments.

He was actually really pretty. His hair was a soft brown with curls that looked golden when the sun's rays hit it through the window. His eyes were dark brown, sharp and quick. Sirius could tell he was wicked smart. His handwriting was neat and tidy, unlike Sirius’, and he always kept a tablet near him that he never touched. He always seemed to be dressed in layers, but after weeks of working near each other, Sirius noticed that the beanie had a rainbow infinity symbol.

He didn’t know what that meant and spent one Friday evening after the library looking it up. Leading him down an all nighter about the term neurodiverse and the neurodivergent movement and the many things that fell under that. Sirius learned that ADHD was considered under that umbrella and immediately ran to James to express his excitement that he wasn’t broken like he had been led to believe. That the way they talked about ADHD and others were with a more positive and prideful tone.

After that he tried to notice everything he could about the other boy. Without knowing it, he had helped Sirius and Sirius was determined to find a way to thank him. But the other young man never ate or drank anything when in the library and Sirius didn’t know what he liked. He guessed his major by only seeing the enormous pile of psychology texts.

Apparently he talked about this other boy a lot, because one day when Sirius brought it up to Lily, she just smiled at him and said, “you know most people just ask the people they are interested in out on a date. But maybe you should start by finding out his name first.”

That led Sirius to a crisis. He panicked and avoided the library for two weeks.

—-

Remus passed his midterms with no problem. His parents came down for a weekend and they celebrated. Remus showed them around and took them to two of his favourite museums. They wandered the arcade and Lyall insisted on buying Remus new docs while there. Remus rolled his eyes but thanked him while his mum went into the chocolat while Remus and his dad went to get his docs and bought Remus a small supply of sweets.

Remus occasionally noticed the other boy staring at him but Remus never called him out on it, because then he would have to admit that he was also watching the other just as much. He had soft blue eyes that seemed to jump between a blue so light they looked like glass and as dark as the storm clouds that currently gathered outside the library window while they worked.

The sky got darker faster and faster as they neared Yule and soon Remus was walking to and from the library in the inky blackness. The cold seemed to seep into Remus’ bones and he never removed his layers and Remus debated moving the table closer to the radiator some days just to feel a little warmer.

Remus noticed when the dark haired boy wasn’t there the first time. He thought nothing of it. The second time, he glanced around often during his stay wondering if he had chosen someplace else to sit. The third time, Remus got up and subtly wandered the library curious if he was even in the library at all. The fourth, Remus struggled to focus. Somehow he had gotten used to the other boys' quiet noises. The house of his pen scratching on the paper or his pencil sketching out antiques. He had gotten used to looking up and seeing him sitting there, trying unsuccessfully to not be looking right back at Remus. The fifth day Remus couldn’t work at all. He spent the entire time staring out the window worried that something bad had happened to him but didn’t know how to check. The sixth, he resigned himself that somehow without even speaking this time, he had lost another friend. 

When the other boy was sitting at the table just like he always was on that following Monday, Remus gasped in surprise. The sound apparently louder than he had ever made before alerting the other to his presence because blue eyes quickly met his own. The dark haired boy quickly looked down at his lap and then up at Remus again offering a nervous smile and a tentative wave. Remus slowly took his seat and started to pull out his books. And without any words, just like that, they were back to their usual routine. 

Remus had never been so grateful to see someone okay in his life, other than his own family that was. Somehow without him ever noticing this other person had become part of his routine and he felt off kilter without him. That confused Remus. So he did the only thing he could think of, he video called his mum. She read through his long rambled sentences that strung together, often repeating themselves as he typed quickly. The sound of his messages incoming on her end became a string of small bings until he had written himself in circles and she bid him to pause and take a breath and give her a few moments to catch up. 

Remus had not been expecting her to tell him that he should introduce himself. That this other person seemed like they could be a friend. That Remus should take that step once more, try again. Remus was adamant that it was a bad idea. That it would end badly when he didn’t show up again. Hope combated his arguments with logic. “If you’re friends then he could just tell you when he won't make it. Then you wouldn’t worry.” Damn her for knowing just what to say. 

So Remus decided that he would try, one more time, to make a friend. But he swore if this didn’t work that he would become a hermit. His mum laughed and rolled her eyes at his dramatics but told him she loved him, blew him kisses through the video, and told him to go.

Remus walked into the library that Friday with a folded piece of paper in his pocket. He worried it, turning it over and over with his hand in an attempt to stay calm. When he got to their table, he was there. He hadn't unpacked yet and stood awkwardly shuffling his feet. 

He looked up at Remus as Remus approached and Remus could tell he was nervous. His bottom lip trapped between his teeth and his hands clenching and unclenching the sides of his trousers. 

Remus stood up straight and walked over, displaying a look of what he hoped was indifference to whatever was about to happen.

“Hi. I know we haven't talked before. But I'm Sirius. I mean I'm not serious, well sometimes I am. My name. I mean my name is Sirius, like the star.” He said in a rushed out whisper, “and well I was well I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me. Like as well as a date.” 

—-

He stared at Sirius, his bag slowly sinking to the ground. He didn’t say anything, just stared at him. Sirius waited a moment, two, three, and then nodded. “Oh well um thats okay. Just pretend like I hadn’t said anything please.” 

Sirius turned back to the table to pack up, before freezing, confused for a moment before he remembered he hadn’t unpacked in the first place. He wanted to bang his head on the table now. He looked like an idiot. 

The golden haired boy tapped his shoulder and Sirius turned, expecting to see pity on his face, when a piece of paper was held out for him. The boy smiled at Sirius and raised an eyebrow. Sirius took the paper and bit his lip as he unfolded it. 

“Hi. My name is Remus. I'm nonspeaking and autistic.”

Sirius read it and looked up at the boy, Remus, who was quickly typing away on his tablet and then held it out for Sirius. Sirius took it and the screen said, “yes. I’d really like to go on a date with you Sirius, the star who is only sometimes serious.”

Sirius chuckled and looked up at Remus, “really?”

Remus nodded and motioned with his head to the door with his eyebrows furrowed. 

Sirius quickly nodded and gathered his stuff, handing the tablet back to Remus. “Ya. We can go now.”

The date went really well, at least Sirius thought so. He would talk to Remus and Remus would type back. It wasn’t until near the end of the date when Remus let the robotic voice speak the sentences instead of having Sirius just read them, obviously becoming more comfortable using it with him. 

Sirius asked if Remus had a cell phone and could text. Remus snorted and nodded, holding out his hand for Sirius’ phone. Sirius handed it to him and Remus added himself to Sirius’ contacts. When they parted ways, Sirius asked Remus if he would be at the library Monday. And despite Remus not saying anything, Sirius could see him roll his eyes and Sirius knew he was laughing at him before nodding his head and waving bye. 

Sirius called into work that weekend, choosing instead to hole up learning everything he could about autism and nonspeaking communication.

[dhr-ao3]

In Between The Silence

In Between The Silence https://ift.tt/12qYQB8 by ohthedrarry Hermione Granger, in an effort to escape her parents' divorce and earn an acceptance to Cambridge, is the proud recipient of a scholarship to Hogwarts Boarding School, one of the top-ranked schools in the UK. While there, she meets a group of students her friends call the Fae -- and they live up to their name, practically floating down the halls with their pitch-black or honey-colored eyes. Soon enough, however, she learns that they aren't humans or fae at all but something much more sinister. And their presence has awoken another animal so ancient the world had laughed their existence away. Words: 3842, Chapters: 1/6, Language: English Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/M Characters: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, Luna Lovegood, Theodore Nott, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Ron Weasley, Minerva McGonagall, Cuthbert Binns Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson/Blaise Zabini, Luna Lovegood/Theodore Nott, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley Additional Tags: Inspired by the Twilight Series, Dramione Month 2024, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Human/Vampire Relationship, Vampire Draco Malfoy, Vampire Luna Lovegood, Vampire Theodore Nott, Vampire Pansy Parkinson, Vampire Blaise Zabini, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - Muggle, Angsty Vampire MMC, Sceptical Human FMC, He Hates Himself With Every Fiber Of His Being, She's Over His Nonsense, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added via AO3 works tagged 'Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy' https://ift.tt/aRuLWJx September 20, 2024 at 01:30PM

[learningsanctum]

October 04, 2024

Studying constitucional law.

Back in February I had started this blog with the intentions of sharing my progress on the new and variated faculty subjects I was going to undertake in this new year. After all, I was finally at the higher education and things had to be different now, right? I wouldn't be barely passing subjects just like I did back in high school, would I?

Well, yes. The first semester was a fiasco of me barely passing and I had to retake most of my exams so I could score just enough not to have to take the subject again. It was disappointing but I didn't think much of it because in my heart and mind I had this hope and idea of doing things differently at the higher education system. I was going to make it right.

Then the new semester started and I was still not studying and sleeping on my free time, tired from working from 07am to 02pm and then going to classes from 07pm to 10pm. Still, I have a gap between 02pm and 07pm I could have been using and had planned various time to use it... only to end up sleeping the whole afternoon.

Please, do understand, I'm not the most health person in the world, much on the contrary, going to the GYM is a habit I have been postponing with the same excuse I had to studying "I have so little time and I am so exhausted", but I realized I had to start creating new habits if I wanted to become a healthy person.

A word to the wise I'd like to share before anyone thinks I suddenly came up with strength and studied all my subjects at once, I didn't. I started therapy about three months ago and you wouldn't believe how the mere fact of knowing I have one hour at week just to talk about myself to someone is relieving. Specially since I'm a very introverted person on general and really dislike bothering my friends with my problems. Therapy helped me to rescue myself from the dangerous trap I was setting up around myself; I was able to identify and actually think about me be going about life and days in a survival mode. I was so deep into surviving and not thinking that somewhere amongst the trenches I lost the sense of what I really wanted in life.

What do I want? That's what I had to stop to ponder about. Did I even remember? It was surprising to see that yes, I definitely remembered what I wanted.

My biggest dream was to go to study abroad. I wanted Cambridge and Oxford. Books, libraries, coffees and burying myself in study for hours a day.

Then came the next, most terrifying question: how could I achieve it? I used to be a golden child, know-it-all, teacher's pet and a goddamn academic weapon! And I had long fallen from grace. I started slacking at seventh grade when I swapped the private hard and thriven education system for the basic public one. I was a star in the public system because everything they were learning I had learnt already in primary. it, of course, came to bite my ass in high school since I assumed I didn't need to study anymore. And I know damn well that if I want a Russell Group university I will have to gain an scholarship. My country's money is worth nothing near the big European pounds.

All things considered I started searching about going to Oxford. Months of research and weeks trying and asking even AI about scholarships available for me to pass to university. Turns out only "Reach Oxford" is available in my country. And tons of people made sure to throw it at my face and say Brazilian acceptance rates in this scholarship were almost inexistent. I didn't give up. I have become set on my goals already.

Then I did what all girls wanting to bounce back into academic life do: I made a mood board, applied to a higher position then the one that I was (I passed!) and started to change my mindset. Day by day. Month by month. A long and torturous process that took a tool on me but was necessary. I had lots of setbacks and just this week I discovered the process to enter Nottingham university through foundation year is easy (if I get the desired grades) since it's an automatic progression pathway, but I have to pay a money that I don't have and believe in my current situation I won't be able to make anytime soon. Still I haven't given up.

Today, at my lunch at work - and it's important to me to talk about my work because while some people have the privilege to sit and study eight hours per day, here in my country, most low class people have to work to study and this ends up in a destructive exhaustion since classes are at night and work usually takes up all the morning and afternoon leaving almost no time to study - I had time to research more and I decided to prepare myself to study once I got home.

I though that since today I didn't have any classes because it's an election day and my faculty will serve as voting spot I would study the much I could for the subject I supposedly should be having today. I decided that even if I can't take IGCSEs and A-levels now because I'm very short on money then I would start studying for what I have in hands, which is my law faculty at my hometown. it's all I have so I might as well be my hometown's good before I become Oxford good.

All of this to say that I am happy to inform that today I studied one whole hour the subject of constitutional law and am able to answer few - even though more simple - questions about the subject. It means my therapy is paying off and it means that my hard work in changing my mindset is giving me the expected result, not only accepting that I might not have what I want now but also motivating myself to use the resources I have to make the best out of my situation. This might as well prepare me for when I finally am able to sit through hours at a library at Oxford to write a paper, no? ;)

And from this, if you have read this far, I would like to say that yeah... maybe you can't study like that one girl from the internet who doesn't do anything but studying... but sometimes half an hour is all you need to keep yourself motivated and to... honestly? Change your whole damn mindset.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: John Barry

Published: Sep 6, 2023

Do you ever hear a new concept, and suddenly realise that it has tapped into an important truth that had already been floating around on the hinterlands of your consciousness for some time? Well, 2019 saw the birth of one such idea: the concept of luxury beliefs (explained below), which was launched in the New York Post by Dr Rob Henderson, a former student of Yale and recent PhD graduate of Cambridge. The concept struck a chord with many people, and academia suddenly became very interested in this wunderkind Henderson. Unexpectedly, this interest hasn’t been reciprocated, leaving the academic world somewhat perplexed.

As an interviewer, it’s hard for me to say which is more interesting - the story of why Rob Henderson turned his back on contemporary academia, what he is doing next, or indeed what it is about his background that helped him recognise the phenomenon of luxury beliefs before anyone else did. Read on and decide for yourself.

--

John Barry (JB): You are interested in a range of topics in psychology, sociology, and anthropology. What drew you to studying psychology? 

Rob Henderson (RH): I suppose I’ve always been curious about human nature and social behaviour. What got me started on the academic track was when I was enlisted in the military – over 10 years ago now – I found a copy of How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker at an airport on my way to a deployment in Al Udeid. I picked up this book because I thought the cover and title were interesting. Hmmm… how does the mind work? So I picked it up on a whim, read the book, found it fascinating, and that just got me started in reading more psychology books, watching psychology lectures on YouTube, and that led me to decide to study psychology more formally. I applied to Yale and studied Psychology as an undergrad there. And while I was studying psychology, I was also experiencing a shift in the social environment, in the social class backgrounds of the people who were around me, and so naturally I connected what I was studying and these anecdotal observations. This contributed to my decision to keep studying psychology and get as much education as I could, and that led me to apply for a PhD in Cambridge which I finished in December of 2022.

JB: Was there any particular thing in Pinker’s book that hooked you?

RH: He talks about the desire for social esteem, recognition, respect. How well regarded we are by others is not a material reward, it lives in the minds of other people. Pinker links this to evolutionary psychology and how important social belonging and acceptance were in the human ancestral environment, and that was something I had never thought about at that point in my life in a conscious explicit way.

JB: Is this topic related to your PhD?

RH: I was a research assistant in Paul Bloom’s lab. He’s a developmental psychologist who studies the origins of morality in babies and young children, and that became interesting to me. I read Jonathan Haidt’s book The Righteous Mind and read about moral foundations theory, so those interests led me to study this for my PhD. It’s unrelated to my public writing, but I do still study status. One of the studies we published a couple of years ago found that social anxiety, which is a proxy for preoccupation with status, is heavily correlated with how morally objectionable people rate various transgressions. One interpretation of this is the more concerned people are with their status, the more harshly they condemn moral wrongdoers.

JB: So this is something you published from your PhD?

RH: Yes, in the journal Scientific Reports. During my doctoral program, I led another set of studies as well, and co-authored a commentary and a chapter, but otherwise I don’t really have a strong interest to publish academic texts. It was an interesting experience just to see how peer review works and how academic publishing works, but I find writing for a broader audience more interesting and fulfilling. But it’s not that I don’t appreciate it – I spend a lot of time reading these papers and trying to pull out interesting tidbits or writing about them or sharing them online, but as far as formal academic papers go, there are probably not that many left in me.

JB: Sure. When you are writing for a wider audience it doesn’t mean that academics can’t read those articles too. Going back to your experiences in Yale and Cambridge, did they teach anything about male psychology?

RH: There is some teaching on sex differences, and there isn’t that much controversy about it there, but there isn’t that much specifically about men. My impression is that if you were to highlight challenges that men face, and controversies around male behaviour, well then it does have to be framed in one specific way. If you were to cast men as victims of anything in any way I think that would be treated very unseriously. That’s just my general impression. Sex differences are probably still ok to talk about, at least in academic environments among peers, but male psychology I don’t think is taken particularly seriously.

JB: It’s sad to see that even in the most prestigious universities. If they were to teach male psychology, what do you think would be the most important topics to cover?

RH: It’s interesting that a lot of this stuff is discussed in academic research. I wrote a piece a couple of years ago, for Bari Weiss’ outlet Common Sense (now The Free Press), and for that piece I did quite a bit of research on developmental psychology which found that boys appear to be more sensitive to environmental and parental inputs than girls - not that girls are unresponsive to these inputs – but boys who are raised in single parent homes, or particularly unstable or harsh environments, are much more likely to have detrimental health consequences, so later are more likely to experience poverty and unemployment, addiction, criminality and so on, and I think these things might be worth focusing on, especially as we continue to see more and more boys and young men lose interest in education and attaining gainful employment and rates of incarceration per capita appear to be rising too, especially among men across all ethnic groups in the lower socioeconomic strata. Men with low levels of education and income are more likely to be incarcerated than they were in decades past which to me indicates that this isn’t entirely about income. Poor people existed 50 years ago, but a poor man today is much more likely to be arrested than a poor man 50 years ago.

JB: Poor families are less likely to have the stability of a father in the home. Warren Farrell described prisons as ‘institutes of dad deprivation’, or something like that. It’s interesting that you say boys are more sensitive to environmental inputs, whereas the impression we get is that boys are tougher than girls. I wonder if boys are raised to be more tough because we know that if we don’t raise them to be tough they will be more sensitive than girls.

RH: I’ve never heard that hypothesis before, that’s really interesting. So we have this social pressure for men to be tough to counteract their intrinsic sensitivity… that seems plausible. Joyce Benenson has research showing that boys are immunologically more compromised than girls, more likely to be sick and to die from illness. This was a big surprise during the peak of the covid pandemic, that boys and men were more likely to contract and fall seriously ill and die from this illness. I’ve talked to some women about this and they were shocked to hear these statistics. In the popular imagination, men are sturdier, and though we may be physically stronger, in other ways perhaps men aren’t quite as naturally resilient as we thought.

JB: And men tend to fall in love more quickly than-

RH: They are more likely to say ‘l love you’, and say it first, which surprises a lot of people-

JB: Putting themselves in a vulnerable position, demonstrating vulnerability… and suicide? Maybe there is something to this idea of the vulnerability of men…

RH: Something that just came to mind John is that it may be that the most disagreeable, hostile, aggressive and resilient people are men, but that’s just the fatter tail in the right side of the distribution, but these men become the mental model with which we compare everyone else, so we think that men in general behave that way, whereas in fact we are thinking of only the top 5% or 1% of men who act in that way, whereas most men aren’t like that.

JB: From a psychological point of view, sometimes the most aggressive men are fending off people who might hurt them, because they may have experienced severe hurt or abuse in their past. I think sometimes the idea of ‘fragile masculinity’ is just used to sneer at men, but there is something to the idea that sometimes men who are broken have to put themselves back together in a way that is harder to break again in the future. But it might be a very abrasive persona that they adopt.

RH: There was a great memoir a while back by Nora Vincent called Self Made Man. This was about a woman successfully impersonating a man for a year, and one of the things that surprised her was, she describes men as carrying this armour around them that signals strength and toughness to the world because they know that if they appear weak or vulnerable, other men will sense that and take advantage. So this was something that she had to learn to cultivate herself, because if she dressed as a man but expressed vulnerability and tenderness then other men would immediately sniff this out and sense how exploitable she – or in this sense he – was. And I found that insightful, something that only a woman who is impersonating a man would pick up on. I don’t think a man would necessarily understand in an explicit, verbalized way what they are doing when they project toughness.

JB: The armour is ok but dropping the armour is necessary sometimes too. My colleague Martin Seager described how in group therapy with men the dynamic is different that in mixed sex groups because male groups will have a lot of joking around, or banter as we call it here. But quite quicky the dynamic will go from banter to sharing serious experiences and comforting each other, and just as quickly again the dynamic can shift back again to banter. Getting back to universities teaching male psychology, this is the kind of thing that might be interesting, or on clinical training courses at least. But I don’t think that happens. Do you think there is enough diversity of thought on campus?

RH: No. There isn’t enough diversity of thought, and it seems to be shrinking. One of the reasons I decided to come to Cambridge was because of what was happening in America, with political correctness, and professors being targeted, with students and faculty uniting to try to fire academics. I saw it first hand at Yale, and at Cambridge I’ve seen it as well. Famously there was the case of Jordan Peterson having his invitation revoked. I’ve also seen behind the scenes to examples of people who were less well known academics who have been fired or had offers rescinded for basically disagreeing, for their ideas. Not for anything they had done or any behaviour they directed at any individual, but just ideas that they have expressed, either in writing or in podcasts etc. and people took issue with it. Generally my heuristic is that for every example we hear of where someone gets fired, there are probably 10 others that we don’t hear about, of people who aren’t famous or well known, who are just quietly let go. One reason I decided to relinquish continuing a traditional academic career path, and why I decided to get involved with the University of Austin, which is this new university – UATX – which is launching in Texas, because they made explicit their commitment to freedom of expression and academic inquiry, which is what I hoped that all universities would be like when I first matriculated to Yale. But instead, the place that people feel least free to speak their minds are oftentimes university, which I found absolutely stunning.

JB: Tell me more about the University of Austin. Is it a physical university?

RH: It’s in the process of being built. At the moment we are running summer programmes. I believe the inaugural date for the first official cohort of undergraduates is in the fall of 2024 and it will be a physical university. The aim is to be a traditional liberal arts education where students can feel free to explore novel ideas. There are a lot of high profile people involved, for example Pano Kanelos the former president of St John’s College in Annapolis, he’s now the president of UATX, Bari Weiss, Dorian Abbot from the University of Chicago, Glenn Loury from Brown, Peter Boghossian and many other notable academics. It’s still the early stages but I’m hoping we are building what a university should be.

JB: Is this the beginning of a trend?

RH: I hope so. Not that UATX should be cloned, but I hope more universities attempt to reform higher ed.

JB: I hope so too. There are some really questionable ideas doing the rounds in Social Sciences departments these days, such as negative views of masculinity, and ideas about male privilege and patriarchy theory. You came up with the idea of ‘luxury beliefs’ a few years ago. Would you say that ideas like patriarchy theory are examples of ‘luxury beliefs’?

RH: So luxury beliefs I’ve defined as ideas and opinions that confer status on the upper classes while often inflicting costs on the lower classes. The idea of patriarchy might be a luxury belief. A lot of things fall under the umbrella of patriarchy, for example a lot of people think marriage and monogamy are an outgrowth of patriarchy. A lot of highly educated and affluent people will publicly denigrate marriage, patriarchy, masculinity… all these things in their mind falls into the same broad category. And yet these people are the most likely to get married, the least likely to get divorced, they would be the last people to consider raising their kids without a father or strong male role model in their lives. And yet by broadcasting this belief and spreading it they have inadvertently created a situation where lower income people are less likely to get married – there’s more single mothers, single parents, more kids growing up fatherless. What’s interesting is that if you publicly discuss the challenges of kids who grow up fatherless, a lot of the anti-patriarchy people will cast an eye of suspicion upon you, like ‘Why would this be a problem?’, ‘What’s so special about fathers?’, ‘Maybe it’s a good thing’, ‘The real problem is that single mothers don’t have enough financial support, and if they just had enough money… a stack of cash can replace a father’, and all of this I think is associated with an anti-patriarchy ideology, and yes it could be considered a luxury belief. It’s interesting to think about it: if you asked on a scale of one to ten ‘Are men a problem?’ higher educated people and more affluent people would probably score on the higher end of that scale.

JB: We are both fans of The Sopranos (I co-authored an article about the relevance to men in therapy). Almost none of the characters are likable in the Sopranos, so why is it so popular?

RH: It’s like with any good story, when they take you into someone’s world, into their inner life, then someone who you wouldn’t ordinally sympathise with, you suddenly adopt their perspective and understand where they are coming from. The therapy sessions between Tony Soprano and Dr Melphi was an amazing device, so you could get a glimpse into his psyche. There were flashbacks to his severely unstable and dysfunctional childhood, with his father who was a gangster and a murderer and his mother who was clearly mentally unwell. So he was immersed in chaos and criminality from a very young age. And the show does a great job of depicting Tony outside of his criminal enterprise. You see him as a husband, a father, a regular guy going about his day wrestling with a lot of the same questions that everyone else wrestles with. So they are showing the humanity inside these characters.

JB: In a way you are saying that by walking in their shoes we are able to empathise with these characters. In male psychology we use the term ‘empathy gap’ and in The Sopranos there are a couple of times where Tony Soprano is the victim of domestic violence-

RH: I saw that in your piece. It’s so funny I’m so blind to it, that when you wrote that… I remember when I watched it about two years ago during the lockdown and it didn’t even occur to me that it was domestic violence when women are slapping him or throwing things at him. I just thought ‘Oh it’s Tony, it’s fine. He’s a man.’

JB: Exactly!

RH: David Chase [screenwriter of The Sopranos] was walking a fine line. I think for the first three or four seasons at least he was sort of on Tony’s side, so it was easy for the audience to forget who this guy really is, and what he is capable of and what he’s done. But especially when you get to the final couple of seasons, like when Tony murders his nephew, and he orders the death of Adrianna, he’s just getting more and more morally compromised. Finally towards the end you start to understand. There’s a great book on evil by Roy Baumeister called Evil: Inside Human Cruelty and Violence where he points out that if you want to understand evil, you have to suspend your judgement. You have to be willing to see things from the eyes of the perpetrator. But it’s even more important to remember that these people are evil and the rest of society needs to be protected from them. So it’s a tricky balance. They are still responsible for their acts even if you understand where they are coming from.

JB: I’ve sometimes said that one of the biggest challenges to forensic psychology is to be able to empathise with people who might have committed horrible crimes. I suspect some people are reluctant to because of the fear that if they empathise, they will then start to  sympathise-

RH: And they don’t want to justify what the criminal has done. Yes. I think if someone made a mini-series about Hitler or Stalin or Mao, that might be very uncomfortable for a lot of people! Any villain, if you make them the main character, they just become an anti-hero.

JB: An interesting phenomenon. Maybe in a related way, military history is full of heroes, but we usually think of the military is being a cause of psychological damage to men, through combat stress or bullying etc. One of the surprising things I found when writing Perspectives in Male Psychology was finding out that the military could be good for mental health. How much was this your experience of the US Air Force?

RH: One thing is a selection effect. The military in the past century has perfected their screening method – standardised tests of physical health – and maybe mental health to a degree – and proxies for intelligence, and then multiple appointments, and then basic military training which selects for people who are fairly mentally adjusted. There are lots of hoops - it’s a long and extremely intense experience especially for 17 or 18 year olds. Lots of people don’t make it – they don’t make it through all of the hoops. So up front a lot of people are screened out. And then the experience of the military is unique. They are very good at creating communities out of strangers. They have learned, maybe through trial and error over the course of centuries, how to take a bunch of random men from all parts of the world or country, and make them feel like family members, getting them to feel connected. Even things like the uniform – immediately your identity is stripped. In basic training they shave your head, you are put in uniform, everyone is called by their last name, so immediately you feel like you are part of this group. So there is community, comradery, structure, predictability. When you are deployed and in the midst of severe conflict, there can be unpredictability introduced but day to day you know what the rules are, what’s expected of you, how to advance in the rank structure, who you are responsible for, who your superiors are, how to behave. All of these explicit guidelines make life easier, especially for young men. In the outside world there are all of these questions like ‘Who am I? What am I doing?’  All of these anxieties around identity. But in the military your identity is very clear. Success is clearly defined. You get regular feedback, performance reports. For a lot of guys it’s like a video game – success and failure are very clearly defined.

JB: Could it work as therapy? Could you take Christopher Moltisanti (The Sopranos) into the military and help him?

RH: He has a severe temper problem. I just don’t know if he could handle subjugating himself to the military. I had a cousin who tried to join the marines. At basic training he punched one of the recruits and then he tried to fight a drill instructor. They kicked him out. I think that might happen to Chris too. But maybe AJ (the son of Tony Soprano) could have been ok? Or maybe the young Tony Soprano. He was a high school athlete, with a high IQ, it could have worked for him, before he got too caught up in a life of crime.

JB: You joined the Air Force at age 17. What motivated you to join, and did it prepare you for the life you have led since?

RH: I joined because I grew up in foster homes and I wanted to flee as soon as I could to escape the complete chaos and disorder around me. My friends had similar upbringings. I barely passed high school, just getting into a lot of trouble, and I knew that I wasn’t on a good track, and I wasn’t really ready for college. I wouldn’t have been a good student anyway at that age, I was just so undisciplined and unfocused. So the military was a very appealing option because I knew that it would immediately get me out of the environment I was in, at that time in Red Bluff, California. I knew it would immediately get me out of there, put me on a completely different track, put me around new people, give me a different kind of structure. There were also older adults too. So one of my teachers was in the Air Force – he suggested it. My best friend’s dad also recommended I join. So these two older men that I respected, both of them could see there was some latent potential, and once I got there, all of the things I mentioned before – the discipline, respect, comradery, setting goals, building good habits – all of those things really helped me.

The other thing that I think people focus less on with the benefits of the military is… well you are well aware of the ‘young male syndrome’? 18, 19, 20 are the most volatile years of a young man’s life, most likely to commit crimes, acts of aggression, impulse, drugs, speeding, but because the military has such an overpowering structure where every aspect of your life is controlled, you can’t make mistakes. I mean you can, but they make it very clear that if you fail a drug test for example, you go to military prison. You can’t get away with anything. So it presses fast forward on the most volatile phase of your life, and then by the time you finish your enlistment in your early 20s, you have cooled off, you’ve matured, you are a bit less impulsive and full of anger and hormones. So even if you didn’t learn any lessons at all, it was a period of your life that you couldn’t screw up too badly.

JB: That’s a very good point. You mentioned ‘young male syndrome’, I read recently that young people are less likely to take risks now than youngsters in the past.

RH: They are still likely to be their most volatile years. I recently wrote an essay in The Free Press about why teenagers aren’t driving any more, and there are so many factors. As Jean Twenge says “The party’s on Instagram and Snapchat now”.  I think social media is more appealing to girls, but video games are appealing to boys, as outlets for aggression and accomplishment. You can get your 5 buddies from class and go on a raid on World of Warcraft. Well, men used to go on raids, actual physical raids, which aren’t a good thing to do, but boys get excited about it still, online. And that’s how they spend their Friday nights instead of going out and getting drunk and speeding on the highway. Maybe that’s ok, but taking some risks, testing your limits, in some ways is actually a good thing. I’m curious as to where this is going to go, when you have this generation who are afraid or unwilling to take risks.

JB: I wonder how this generation would fare if a war broke out, not on Xbox, but in reality.

RH: The Pentagon said that 78% of adults wouldn’t qualify for enlisting in the military. That’s 8 out of 10 men aged 17 to 24, primarily due to issues of obesity, lack of education, and criminal records, tattoos, mental health issues - if you have repeated episodes of depression and anxiety. Jonathan Haidt has shown how anxiety and depression are increasing in teenagers and young adults in the last 15 years or so, which is alarming. Maybe some of these issues are intertwined: if you are never leaving your house, if you are always living your life online, this is contributing to issues of depression and anxiety to some extent.

JB: If you were to give advice to a guy aged 17 coming from a similar background as yourself who was considering options for their future…?

RH: My advice would be different to someone from a straight-A’s background, but a background similar to me… Look at your friends and say ask yourself if this is the kind of person you want to be like in five years time, or 10 years. Or look at people around you who are a little bit older. I worked at a restaurant when I was a teenager and I saw guys in their early 20s, or mid 20s, still working there, not making very much money. The highlight of their week was getting paid on Friday and drinking away the weekend, smoking, doing drugs, partying, it just didn’t seem like the kind of person I wanted to be when I was 25 years old. So consider getting a different peer group, whether that’s joining the military, getting involved in sports, volunteering… find a different crew to hang out with.

JB: Good advice. I know you have started Substack this year, and are with the University of Austin. Are there any other new projects coming up?

RH: I’m putting the final touches to my book. I recently did a book cover reveal on my newsletter and on Twitter/X and will say more about the publication date soon. The book elaborates on some of the things we have talked about, using my life and the lives of my childhood friends as a framework for understand what is going on with young men today, the ‘lost boys’ phenomenon that’s going on in the US and western countries in general. So most of my time is invested in my book and my Substack.

--

Final thoughts There is no doubt that academia needs more people like Dr Rob Henderson who can bring a fresh perspective to a culture that in recent years has started going stale. Some people say it’s a shame that he has left academia, but they are missing the point: he is helping rediscover – or reinvent - academia, and all of us left frozen on the deck need to take notice. A bit like the boy in the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, Rob Henderson has seen right through the facade of highbrow elitism and the ivory-tower illusion of today’s academic world. His story is without doubt an interesting one, and definitely one to follow in the coming years.

[loser-female]

In January, the World Economic Forum released a report showing that fourteen hundred and ninety international experts rated “misinformation and disinformation” the leading global risk of the next two years, surpassing war, migration, and climatic catastrophe. A stack of new books echoes their concerns. In “Falsehoods Fly: Why Misinformation Spreads and How to Stop It” (Columbia), Paul Thagard, a philosopher at the University of Waterloo, writes that “misinformation is threatening medicine, science, politics, social justice, and international relations, affecting problems such as vaccine hesitancy, climate change denial, conspiracy theories, claims of racial inferiority, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” In “Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity” (Norton), Sander van der Linden, a social-psychology professor at Cambridge, warns that “viruses of the mind” disseminated by false tweets and misleading headlines pose “serious threats to the integrity of elections and democracies worldwide.” Or, as the M.I.T. political scientist Adam J. Berinsky puts it in “Political Rumors: Why We Accept Misinformation and How to Fight It” (Princeton), “a democracy where falsehoods run rampant can only result in dysfunction.”

[...]

Their behavior demonstrates a paradox of belief. Action is supposed to follow belief, and yet beliefs, even fervently espoused ones, sometimes exist in their own cognitive cage, with little influence over behavior.

[...]

Staying with the Dorze people in southern Ethiopia, he noticed that they made assertions that they seemed both to believe and not to believe. People told him, for example, that “the leopard is a Christian animal who observes the fasts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.” Nevertheless, the average Dorze man guarded his livestock on fast days just as much as on other days. “Not because he suspects some leopards of being bad Christians,” Sperber wrote, “but because he takes it as true both that leopards fast and that they are always dangerous.”

Sperber concluded that there are two kinds of beliefs. The first he has called “factual” beliefs. Factual beliefs—such as the belief that chairs exist and that leopards are dangerous—guide behavior and tolerate little inconsistency; you can’t believe that leopards do and do not eat livestock. The second category he has called “symbolic” beliefs. These beliefs might feel genuine, but they’re cordoned off from action and expectation. We are, in turn, much more accepting of inconsistency when it comes to symbolic beliefs; we can believe, say, that God is all-powerful and good while allowing for the existence of evil and suffering.

[...]

In a masterly new book, “Religion as Make-Believe” (Harvard), Neil Van Leeuwen, a philosopher at Georgia State University, returns to Sperber’s ideas with notable rigor. He analyzes beliefs with a taxonomist’s care, classifying different types and identifying the properties that distinguish them. He proposes that humans represent and use factual beliefs differently from symbolic beliefs, which he terms “credences.” Factual beliefs are for modelling reality and behaving optimally within it. Because of their function in guiding action, they exhibit features like “involuntariness” (you can’t decide to adopt them) and “evidential vulnerability” (they respond to evidence). Symbolic beliefs, meanwhile, largely serve social ends, not epistemic ones, so we can hold them even in the face of contradictory evidence.

One of Van Leeuwen’s insights is that people distinguish between different categories of belief in everyday speech. We say we “believe” symbolic ones but that we “think” factual ones are true.

[...]

Van Leeuwen and Mercier agree that many beliefs are not best interpreted as factual ones, although they lay out different reasons for why this might be. For Van Leeuwen, a major driver is group identity. Beliefs often function as badges: the stranger and more unsubstantiated the better. Religions, he notes, define membership on the basis of unverifiable or even unintelligible beliefs: that there is one God; that there is reincarnation; that this or that person was a prophet; that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are separate yet one. Mercier, in his work, has focussed more on justification. He says that we have intuitions—that vaccination is bad, for example, or that certain politicians can’t be trusted—and then collect stories that defend our positions. Still, both authors treat symbolic beliefs as socially strategic expressions.

(read the whole thing, I extracted the juice here)

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb: When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late, in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore who just wrote the world’s first comprehensive encyclopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Ones on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival Wendell Bambleby. 

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother and in search of a door back to his realm. And despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage: Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and dangers. 

She also has a new project to focus on: a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by his mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambleby’s realm and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors and of her own heart.

Book Two of the Emily Wilde Series

Review:

Emily Wilde and Wendell (with Shadow) are all back for another adventure filled with fae adventure, new friends, and romance! After the previous adventure, Emily now has tenure and has published her encyclopedia of faeries, she has also not given Wendell an answer to his proposal because becoming the queen of a fae kingdom is not something Emily is sure she is ready for. She is however, ready to help Wendell find the nexus door to his kingdom... the only problem? His Stepmother (and current ruler of his kingdom) has sent assassins after them and she knows about Emily. Emily's search for Wendell's door as well as her new project, mapping the realm of the faerie is definitely going to keep her occupied. Along for the way is her niece, Ariadne who is her new assistant, and an opposing academic, Rose, a grumpy older man who wants to come along with Emily despite his strong dislike of faeries. Emily, Wendell, Ariadne, Rose, and Shadow (of course) are now going to the Austrian Alps to find Wendell's door... but can they evade all the dark forces Wendell's stepmother is sending after them and will Emily finally give Wendell an answer? This one is a FANTASTIC sequel to the first book, in fact I love it even more. I adore Wendell and Emily's relationship so much. The romance definitely ramped up in this one and the fun adventure in this story was so enjoyable. Emily is hilarious and I love how brave and strong she is. She's an academic and not afraid to get after what she wants. You get to see her grow more in this one and open herself up to more people, particularly her niece and even getting a rival academic to become her friend. We get some familiar faces and cameos from the first book too. The story is such a fantastic cozy fantasy romance, and it's got me smiling and giggling while reading it. I adore this series so much and can't wait to see what Emily and Wendell get up to next!

*SPOILER:

Wendell's stepmother poisons him and he's pretty out of it most of the book however Emily does find the door and visit's Wendell's kingdom and poisons his stepmother. She gets his cat, Orga, and takes her back as she is the only way to cure Wendell ( who was poisoned and Orga killed the poison that was seeping into his skin). Emily does say yes to Wendell's proposal. At the end of the book they lose access to the door and Wendell still needs to reclaim his throne. Emily ends the book getting ready to publish her mapbook. She does make friends with Rose and Poe (our fav little bread baking faerie appears again).

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[mildew-dread-mold]

college math is me thinking i can get into cambridge university (ranked second in the world) for their most competitive grad program (acceptance rate of 5.9%) with no publications and a mediocre gpa

[ustedu01]

Become a Doctor || Medicineand Dentistry

Studying Bachelor of Dental Surgery: The Top-Rated Career with the Highest Salary

كلية الطب والعلوم الصحية

Dental surgery is a field of study that prepares students to diagnose and treat diseases and problems related to the mouth and teeth. The degree is typically offered as a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) degree, and it can be completed in five to seven years.

The curriculum for a BDS degree typically includes courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. Students also learn about dental materials, dental instruments, and dental procedures. In addition to classroom instruction, students also receive hands-on training in a dental clinic.

After graduating with a BDS degree, students can practice dentistry in a variety of settings, including private practices, hospitals, and dental schools. They can also specialize in a particular area of dentistry, such as orthodontics, periodontics, or oral and maxillofacial surgery.

Duration: The BDS program in the Middle East typically takes 5 to 6 years to complete.

Prerequisites: Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent, and must have completed prerequisite coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

Admissions: The admissions process for BDS programs in the Middle East can be competitive. Applicants may be required to take the DAT (Dental Admissions Test) or another standardized test.

Cost: The cost of studying BDS in the Middle East varies depending on the university. However, it is generally less expensive than studying BDS in the United States or Europe.

Curriculum: The BDS curriculum in the Middle East typically covers a wide range of topics, including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, and clinical dentistry.

Outcomes: Graduates of BDS programs in the Middle East are eligible to practice dentistry in the Middle East and in many other countries around the world.

Requirements for Studying a Bachelor of Dental Surgeryكلية طب الاسنان

The requirements for studying a BDS degree vary from country to country. However, some common requirements include:

A high school diploma or equivalent

A strong academic record in science and math

Acceptance into a dental school

Passing the Dental Admission Test (DAT)

Benefits of Studying a Bachelor of Dental Surgery

There are many benefits to studying a BDS degree. These include:

High salary potential: Dentists earn a high salary, with the median annual salary in the United States being \$164,010.

Job security: The demand for dentists is expected to grow in the coming years, so there will be plenty of job opportunities for graduates.

Personal satisfaction: Dentists have the opportunity to help people improve their oral health and appearance, which can be very rewarding.

Studying Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS)

Duration: The MBBS program typically takes 5 to 6 years to complete.

Prerequisites: Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent, and must have completed prerequisite coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

Admissions: The admissions process for MBBS programs can be competitive. Applicants may be required to take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) or another standardized test.

Cost: The cost of studying MBBS varies depending on the university. However, it is generally less expensive than studying MBBS in the United States or Europe.

Curriculum: The MBBS curriculum typically covers a wide range of topics, including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, and clinical medicine.

Outcomes: Graduates of MBBS programs are eligible to practice medicine in most countries around the world.

Some of the top universities in the world that offer MBBS programs include:

King's College London, UK

University of Oxford, UK

University of Cambridge, UK

Imperial College London, UK

Harvard University, USA

Stanford University, USA

Johns Hopkins University, USA

University of Pennsylvania, USA

Leading Universities in the Middle East and Yemen in Dental Surgery, Medicine and BDS programs include:

King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

University of Science and Technology, Yemen. جامعة العلوم والتكنولوجيا

Cairo University, Egypt

American University of Beirut, Lebanon

University of Jordan, Jordan

Aga Khan University, Pakistan

If you are interested in studying dentistry and medicine in the Middle East, these universities offer a variety of programs in dental surgery, including undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate programs. They also have state-of-the-art facilities and experienced faculty members. If you are concerning about the financial situations and the more practical experience, I recommend the Faculty of Medicine, University of Science and Technology Yemen, Main Campus Aden.

Bachelor of Oral and Dental Surgery || University of Science and Technology Main Campus Aden Yemen

Studying Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS)كليه الطب

University of Science and Technology, Main Campus Aden Yemen (UST Yemen)

Location: Aden, Yemen

Founded: 1994

Website: https://ust.edu/en/

The University of Science and Technology UST Yemen, Main Campus Aden is the top university that offers a variety of programs under the Faculty of Medicine, and Faculty of Dentistryincluding a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) program, and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). The both programmes BDS, MBBS are the most popular majors of the University of Science and Technology Main Campus Aden Yemen are accredited by the Yemeni Ministry of Higher Education and is recognized by the World Health Organization.

The BDS program at the University of Science and Technology Main Campus Aden Yemen takes 5 years to complete, and Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) takes 6 years. The curriculum includes courses in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, and clinical dentistry. Students also have the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations in a variety of settings, including hospitals and clinics. Most of the courses offered on campus, and few offered in a distance learning mode, (التعليم عن بعد) through the International Programs(برامج التعاون الدولي) with Malaysian Universities, such as UKM, and USM.

The Graduates of the BDS and MBBS programs at the University of Science and Technology Main Campus Aden Yemen are eligible to practice dentistry in Yemen and in many other countries around the world.UST Yemen has a proved record of graduates who are currently working in a popular universities and hospitals in Middle East particularly Saudia Arabia and Qatar, USA, Great Britain, and Europe countries. Other programme that are popular under facultyofmedicineandhealthsciences is Bachelor of Pharmacy (بكالوريوس صيدلة), which can be discussed with more details in another blog.

[postgraduateguru]

What are the best universities outside India for postgraduate programs in materials science and engineering? 

When you want to advance your knowledge and career in subjects such as material sciences and engineering, you should ideally look for options both national and international. Fields like material sciences and engineering are foundational for most industries from technology to aerospace to medical devices almost all industries have a foundation in them and getting into a post-graduate program in globally known universities, students not only gain specialized knowledge but they get great industry connections along with high paying and stable career opportunities.  

Well, post-graduate programs in India are great but studying internationally can give you an edge in the global job market. In this text we will look at some of the best options abroad for graduates who are considering post graduate programs and also how a unique program in India at the Global Risk Management Institute can broaden your career paths beyond traditional material science and engineering fields.  

Why an International Program? 

Material sciences and Engineering demand research, lab work, and practical expertise more than theoretical expertise, and these resources are not readily available everywhere. The top material sciences and engineering programs abroad offer access to these cutting-edge labs, renowned professors, and industry partnerships. In a job market that is getting globalized an international degree would be better than getting a degree that is only accepted in India so that you can aim for a career beyond borders. 

Available options 

MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT USA: This is the dream university of every engineering graduate across the world. It is known for being one of the best tech schools globally; the Masters and PHD programs in Material Sciences and Engineering emphasize research and interdisciplinary study where the students can work on everything from nanotechnology to sustainable materials. 

Stanford University USA: The program of Master's and PhD in Material Sciences and Engineering offered at Stanford is research-intensive and offers specialization in electronic materials, biomaterials, and energy. The best part of the program offered at Stanford is that it's located in Silicon Valley and students have a proximity to industry leaders in technology and innovation. 

University of Cambridge UK: The M.Phil. in micro and nanotechnology Enterprise and PhD in Material Sciences offered at Cambridge University is with the focus on innovation. Cambridge is one of the world's oldest universities and the legacy it holds in research in materials related to health, environment, and energy sources is the factor that draws students from all over the globe. 

Expanding Horizons: Global Risk Management Institute Gurgaon: Securing a seat at the world’s top universities is no easy feat; with extremely low acceptance rates, the competition is fierce. and while traditional material sciences and engineering programs offer a path to technical expertise, adopting another unique approach can provide additional advantages. The 1-year Postgraduate Diploma in Risk Management offered at GRMI Gurgaon, is an innovative alternative that combines management skills with technical skills in the risk domain. It has modules on all domains of risk management including cyber security management and IT risk management that make it an integrated Tech and management post-graduate course. The course prepares you to handle leadership roles that go beyond traditional research to actual decision-making. For more information on intake and eligibility criteria call 09910939240. 

While studying at Global Risk Management Institute Gurgaon you don't have to worry about the international expertise: the course has been accredited by UK body OTHM, the curriculum is designed with inputs from industry-experts and leaders of global firms, lastly the institute has a 97% Placement Track record and Average CTC of IN 9.5 LPA making it a highly-sought after course.  

Conclusion 

When it comes to choosing between post graduate programs in India and abroad, top universities outside India might offer unparalleled resources and opportunities but why go abroad when you can have the same expertise within your country? If you are looking to make your expertise even more diverse and valuable, GRMI offers a program in India that is also internationally accepted, offers a unique blend that is tailored to present-day industry demands.  By taking a combined approach with risk management training at GRMI you are prepared to make an impact. So if you are ready to cast your net wide and have a competitive edge it's time to consider post-graduate programs like PGDRM offered by GRMI, call 09910939240 for more details.  

[aaravsharmaabroad]

Cambridge University -----

University of Cambridge has proudly welcomed and nurtured students for hundreds of years. It is one of the oldest and most distinguished universities in the world and attracts talented students worldwide. More than 20,000 students from about 140 nationalities are studying at the University.

[pinksturniolo]

Cinnamon

Matt Sturniolo x Fem Reader (AU) Series

Part Two: Iced Vanilla Lattes

Intro:

Spring 1981

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard University. The only ivy league school in the state.

Acceptance rate: 14%

Graduation rate: 97%

Tolerability of your mostly fake, pretentious peers: 0%

But your best friend Matt?

He makes it worth sticking around.

content warnings for this chapter: none really, some swearing and suggestive situations. mentions of depression.

read part one here <3

Two days after Matt climbed through your window, he decided it was time to go back to school, to try to get into his regular routine again. He had received a warning letter last week, with mentions of his scholarship being revoked if he was going to continue being frequently absent.

He had gotten up extra early this morning, putting on his usual pair of khakis and collared school shirt. He walks through the courtyard to the library, intending on getting some studying in before his first class of the day.

He has your journal in his hand, the green felt cover with matching ribbon wrapped around, securing it shut. It was about 150 pages or so, and halfway filled with writing between you two. He’s had it for well over two to three weeks now. Longer than he did last time.

At the end of freshman year, he came up with the brilliant idea of sharing it, the color and material of it catching his eye as it sat upon your dresser.

“What is this, your diary?” Matt snickers, snatching the journal. You two are sitting on your small bed, the mid day sunlight filling the room.

He holds it in the air as if he’s inspecting it before pulling the ribbon between his fingers and opening the cover, seeing a short paragraph of words, and flips through the rest of the empty pages.

You rip it from his hands, a disapproving look on your face. “Excuse me!” Your eyebrows furrow in anger as he laughs. “There’s not much in it anyway.” He responds.

“That’s because I just bought it.” You tell him and open the book to skim over your first entry.

It wasn’t anything too revealing, just a recipe for your mom’s cinnamon rolls.

A faint memory of when you were a little kid crosses your mind. Laughter and the smell of them baking. Sticky frosting on your fingers, your legs wobbling on the wooden stool as she helps you knead the dough.

“Did I see a recipe in there?” Matt asks, a grin plastered across his face. “Yeah. Do you like cinnamon rolls?” You respond. His smile only grows wider, the way he squints his eyes annoyingly adorable. “I love cinnamon rolls. Its my favorite desert.”

“Maybe I’ll make it sometime…” You tell him, a soft smile on your face as your eyes drift back down to the pages.

“Plan on writing more in there soon?” He says and you smooth your hand over the felt on the cover, the velvety feeling soft under your palm. You nod, and look back up at him, his eyes on your face as he waits for you to elaborate.

“I bought it at that little bookstore, you know the one across from Flagstaff Park?” He nods.

 “There was a stack of them by the register. But there was only a few with this color left… and I loved how it looked so I had to get it. My mom kept a journal when she was younger… she said it helps to write down all the thoughts in your head.”

Matt’s face has a focused expression, looking at the way you run your hands over the book as you tell him why you got it.

“But I don’t know… It feels weird to write to no one. To just jot down every thought or feeling I have. Like I’m talking to myself.”

“I have a suggestion.” He says, his eyes lighting up. “Why don’t we share it? You can write down whatever you’re feeling in the moment or when I’m not around to talk to you. And then you can pass it to me. I’ll write my thoughts too and then give it back.”

“You want to share custody of my journal?” You say, a laugh escaping mid-sentence. The idea is amusing to you, but you’re interested.

“Sure. Like writing letters to each other but instead it’s in a book.” He responds, and you can’t help the heart warming feeling it gives you to see the playful smile on his face.

You smile back at him and decide it would be a fun thing to do. “Okay, why not.”

You sit in your desk, the third class of the day, pencil drawing mindless circles on your notebook. European history was your second to last favorite subject and your professor was extremely monotone, his certain style of teaching being one that writes out each and every lesson on the blackboard. His voice drones on as you continue to doodle, your attention now peeked by the conversation between two classmates in front of you.

“Did you see Matt Sturniolo this morning? He was walking to class with Vanessa Henderson. She’s so fucking lucky.”

“I know right? And he’s been looking especially good lately.”

You almost scoff out loud at their blatant gossip. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve heard girls in your school fawn over him. You’ve even heard rumors of you two, students giving you dirty looks whenever the two of you first started hanging out. But they soon died down after they realized you were just friends and Matt had no intention of anything romantic with you.

But what did irk you was the fact that he was walking with Vanessa. She was one of the prettiest girls in your grade and practically every guy wanted to hook up with her. From what you knew, she was vapid and uninteresting, her personality made up of one sole purpose. Being the most popular girl in school and head of the cheerleading team.

Still, you weren’t the type to judge someone and if Matt, your best friend, was taking the time out of his day to talk to her, then there must be some redeeming quality about her.

You tune out their conversation as they continue, eager to get to your next class.

By the time lunch comes around, you’re starving, grabbing one of the ready-made meals from the cafeteria and sitting at your usual spot at the table under the oak tree in the courtyard. It’s peak weather for springtime, the sun warm outside but the cool of the breeze in the air making it enjoyable. Students chatter around you, some lounging on the lawn, others sitting under the shade of the brick awnings.

Just as you’re pulling out your history textbook from your bag and placing it on the table, a figure stands over you, creating a shadow over your view. You look up to see Matt, that signature smile on his face and two iced vanilla lattes in his hands. “Brought you your favorite.”

Matt used to make fun of you every time you would get the overly sweet, caffeinated drink, calling your coffee addiction “a serious problem.” But once you convinced him to try it, he was instantly hooked.

He sits next to you on the bench, setting the drink down by your book. You smile and grab it immediately, taking a sip. “Thanks Matt. Glad you decided to show up today.”

“Right well, apparently I have to start being present more if I want to actually keep my scholarship. Who would’ve thought?” He says, taking a sip of his coffee as well.

You chuckle, setting the drink down and pulling your pen and notebook out of your bag. You make notes from the chapter of the history textbook you’re currently studying. Matt picks the apple from your lunch tray, taking a bite out of it.

You told yourself you wouldn’t bring it up, but you just couldn't help yourself. The few moments of comfortable silence between you two are broken as your curiosity takes over. “You know I’m not one for gossip, right?” You say, keeping your eyes on your notes. But you don’t miss the smirk on his face from the corner of your vision.

“Vanessa is… nice. I was only walking with her because we’re partners in Biology. And she happens to know a lot more than I do. I needed a recap on the past few lessons I missed.” He responds, knowing exactly what you were going to say. He’s undoubtedly heard the rumors already swirling around campus.

You look at him and put your hands up in defense, a sheepish smile on your face. “Hey, I was only wondering. I could’ve sworn you said she was spoiled and boring last semester.”

“Like I said, I needed some help.” He shrugged, laughing lightly and took another bite of the apple, his eye contact with you playful.

You ignore the subtle green of jealousy that worms its way inside you, the thought of Vanessa tutoring him for Biology. That was usually something you two did together, and you’re a little upset he didn’t just ask you for help. Sure, you might’ve had a different professor than his for that class, but you’re certain the coursework wasn’t much different, and you would’ve gladly caught him up to speed. If he would’ve asked.

“Don’t sweat it, kid. I was just wondering. Apparently, every girl in our sophomore class thinks you’re screwing her so… just thought I would get the inside scoop. Get ahead of the curve.” You tell him, unable to restrain the teasing tone in your voice. You focus your attention on your studies again, taking another sip from your latte.

Matt simply laughs, rummaging through his backpack for something. “If I had I a dollar for every bullshit rumor made up by our class, I’d be rich.”

And then he’s sliding your green journal across the table, his hand reaching out for you to take it. “I’ve been meaning to give this back to you.”

You take it from him, shoving it into your bag. “Does this mean I get it for however long I want? Since you kept it hostage and all.”

Another warm smile from him, as bright as the sunshine in the spring air. “As long as you write something good for me.” He says, winking at you and then standing up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “See you in English.”

The end of the day couldn’t come any faster, and it made your heart stutter slightly in your chest when you saw Matt in his spot beside you as you walked into your last class.

Students chatter loudly as you make your way to the back of the room, settling into your desk. Ms. Ellmore’s voice rings out shortly, silencing the noise as she instructs everyone to open their books to today’s chapter.

It’s silent reading time, the room quiet except for the buzz of the AC. You’re focused on the words until you feel Matt’s presence closer to you, and turn your head a little to see him leaning towards you.

“Wanna help me study for Biology tomorrow morning?” He whispers, his voice low and deep in your ear.

Your desks were close enough to where only you could hear him. You can almost feel his breath on your neck. You keep your eyes on your book, and his are still on your face as he waits for your response.

“You know I’m not a morning person, Matt.” You say and can hear the smirk in his voice.

“Great, so my dorm? An hour before first period.” He tells you and you can’t fight the matching smirk on your mouth as you look at him now, his tongue poking into his cheek, coy expression on his face.

“Don’t look at me like that. I haven’t even said yes yet. And what about your other study buddy, hm?” One of your eyebrows are raised at him, jaw set in defiance.

"What other study buddy?" He rasps. He lets his eyes trail over your face briefly before resting on the collar of your shirt, noticing the way your pulse picks up, the thrum of your vein underneath the skin of your neck all too enticing suddenly.

Was he really that close to you? He now realizes his arm is fully on your desk, his whole upper body leaned towards you. He catches the blush on your face from the sudden tension before pulling back, Ms. Ellmore’s voice cutting the silence.

“Is there the something the both of you would like the share with the rest of the class, Mr. Sturniolo?” She says, a smile on her face as she looks at the two of you, making you shrink back in your seat, propping your fist up on your head so your arm can act as a barrier between you and Matt.

You fight to hold in your laughter as you hear Matt’s response. “No mam. It’s a private matter actually.” Ms. Ellmore narrows her eyes in fake assertiveness at him, smile never leaving her face. “Let’s save those for after class, thank you.”

Ms. Ellmore was your stereotypical "cool" English teacher. She was usually easy going and as long as you weren’t disrespectful and got your work done, she wasn’t very strict.

You don’t look at Matt again until you get up to leave once class is over, telling him you’ll be at his dorm tomorrow morning, practically rushing out of the door as he watches you, confusion all over his face.

You’re not sure what caused his borderline flirty nature earlier, but you hated the way it made you so flustered.

Once you get to your dorm room, you relax as you sit on your bed, slipping off your doc martens and book bag. The cover of your journal peeks out of the top as you grab it, untying the ribbon and opening the front. You hadn’t read it since Matt gave it to you at lunch and you were curious to see what he had written.

When you’re done going through it though, your heart is racing, your breath a little shaky. You let his words soak in, turning them over and over in your head.

What he wrote was about ten pages long, some writing in long paragraphs and others in fragmented sentences, like he took his thoughts straight from his head and displayed them on the old pages.

It started off as usual, he wrote about his family and how his Mother was doing each time he visited her over the past few weeks. He wrote how hard it was to see her grieve, and to in turn deal with his grief, unsure how to manage both. With his father out of town so often, he did the best he could.

He wrote about how he was losing interest in school, in people, in life in general. He was struggling with motivation, feeling like he was lost.

Matt was the smartest and most talented person you knew, always pushing you to do your best in school. You knew he had issues with mental health, something you could relate to, but the way he goes in detail of his emotions in his writing this time has you worried. He’s never been this upset before.

No wonder he missed so much school.

And then, he wrote about you. Or rather, to you. He mentioned how much he missed you, hearing your voice, or even eating lunch with you. His thoughts matched everything you were thinking or feeling while not seeing him these past few weeks.

I was thinking about that one time we went to Plymouth beach with Celine for the weekend. Remember? It was last summer, I can’t believe its already been a year. I just think about the way the ocean smelled, the blue shell you found under the sand the gelato we got on the way back. You told me you hadn’t felt that happy in a long time. I realized I haven’t felt happiness since that day. Its funny how I’ve felt so much sadness since the funeral, everytime I go to visit my mom, yet every time im with you… I know you can’t depend on another person to determine your happiness in life. But I feel like its always been better when you’re around.

His words are raw with honesty, tears threatening to spill from your eyes as you wrap the book closed, setting it inside the drawer of your nightstand.

Matt’s always been emotionally intuitive, not afraid to say what he’s feeling in the moment. And he’s always made it clear to you how much he enjoys being your friend, the relationship between you two pleasant. But there’s something different about this entry, like the way he looked at you in English class earlier, something that’s shifted that you don’t quite grasp the understanding of.

You let his words fill your thoughts for the rest of the night, until you’re willed to write some of your own in return to him, pulling the journal back out of the drawer.

taglist: <3

@sturniolopepsi @tillies33ssss @whicked-hazlatwhore @riasturns @christhopersturniolo @junnniiieee07 @sturnsjtop @seahorsie11 @inveigledvex @mattslolita @certifiednatelover @glassesmattsbae @eryismum @sturncakez @wh0resstuff @ribread03 @sturniololoco @75sturn @mattscoquette @h3arts4harry @chrizznmetswife @bambi-slxt @streamermattsgf

[if you would like to be added/taken off pls reply to this post or comment on my masterlist. and if u weren’t tagged, it wouldn’t let me add you :/ ]

[360-college-review]

Are You Dreaming of Studying Abroad? Why Not the UK?

The United Kingdom is a dream destination for many international students, thanks to its world-renowned universities, diverse study programs, and rich cultural heritage. However, navigating the process of studying abroad, particularly in the UK, can feel overwhelming—especially when it comes to choosing a university, course, and handling visa applications. That’s where a UK study abroad consultant in Chandigarh can make all the difference.

With expert guidance, you can seamlessly transition from course selection to boarding your flight. Here’s what to expect when engaging a consultant to make your UK study journey smoother.

Why Choose the UK for Study?

The UK is far more than the Big Ben, historic castles, or fish and chips. It’s an educational powerhouse and a gateway to numerous career opportunities. Here’s why it’s such a popular choice among international students:

1. Prestigious Universities

The UK is home to globally recognized institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College London. It boasts numerous universities ranked in the global top 100, offering a high-quality education that’s respected worldwide.

2. Diverse Courses

From engineering to arts, medicine to business, UK universities offer an extensive range of programs tailored to various career paths. Many courses are also flexible, allowing students to combine subjects and create a unique educational experience.

3. Post-Study Work Opportunities

The UK’s Graduate Route Visa lets international students stay for up to two years after graduation to work and gain global experience—a valuable stepping stone for their careers.

4. Cultural Diversity

Studying in the UK immerses you in a multicultural society. With students from across the globe, you’ll experience diverse cultures and build a global network.

For more reasons why the UK could be your ideal study destination, check out our Study in the UK Guide.

Why a UK Study Abroad Consultant in Chandigarh Matters

Navigating the study abroad process can be complex. A UK study consultant in Chandigarh provides essential guidance to help you achieve your academic dreams with ease:

1. Tailored Advice

Consultants evaluate your academic background and career aspirations to recommend courses and universities that align with your goals.

2. University Selection Assistance

With insights into university rankings, acceptance rates, and program details, they ensure you apply to institutions where you have the best chances of success.

3. Visa Application Support

The UK student visa process involves meeting several requirements. Consultants simplify this by guiding you through the documentation and application process.

4. Test Preparation Assistance

Need help acing IELTS? Consultants provide resources, materials, and strategies to help you achieve the required scores.

5. Pre-Departure Orientation

From understanding UK culture to managing finances, consultants prepare you for life as an international student in the UK.

For more information on visa assistance, visit our Visa Services section.

Choosing the Right Study Consultant

Here are factors to consider when hiring a study consultant for the UK:

1. Experience and Track Record

Choose a consultant with proven success in helping Chandigarh students study in the UK.

2. Accreditation

Ensure they are certified and have partnerships with UK universities.

3. Transparent Fees

Look for consultants with clear fee structures to avoid hidden charges.

4. Post-Landing Services

Some consultants offer additional support, such as help with accommodation and airport transfers, ensuring a smooth transition.

5. Reviews and Feedback

Student testimonials can provide valuable insights into the consultant’s reliability and quality of service.

Why Choose Consultants in Chandigarh?

Opting for a local consultant offers unique benefits:

Personalized Service: Face-to-face meetings provide better communication and understanding.

Local Expertise: Chandigarh-based consultants understand the specific needs of students in the region.

Established Connections: Many have direct ties to UK universities, making the application process smoother.

Step-by-Step Guide to Studying in the UK with a Consultant

1. Initial Consultation

Discuss your academic background, career goals, and financial resources to identify suitable options.

2. Course and University Selection

Receive a curated list of programs and universities that match your aspirations.

3. Entrance Exam Preparation

Get guidance on preparing for IELTS or other required exams.

4. Application Submission

Work with your consultant to complete and submit your university applications.

5. Visa Process

Receive expert assistance to meet UK student visa requirements.

6. Pre-Departure Preparation

Learn about UK culture, what to pack, and financial management tips.

For more on exam preparation services, visit our IELTS Coaching section.

Common Challenges Faced by UK-Bound Students

Here’s how consultants can help overcome typical hurdles:

Course Confusion: They narrow down options based on your career interests.

Visa Requirements: Consultants demystify the visa application process.

Financial Planning: They guide you on managing tuition, accommodation, and living expenses.

Cultural Adjustment: Pre-departure sessions ease your transition to UK culture.

FAQs

Q: How much do study abroad consultants charge? Rates vary, but some consultants offer free initial consultations.

Q: How long does the UK student visa process take? Typically 3-4 weeks, but it may vary depending on individual circumstances.

Q: Can a consultant guarantee admission? No, but they significantly improve your chances with well-prepared applications.

Q: Can I defer my admission? Most UK universities allow deferrals, but policies vary by institution.

Conclusion

A UK study abroad consultant in Chandigarh can turn your dream of studying in the UK into reality. From selecting the right university to securing a visa, their expertise ensures a stress-free process. Take the first step toward an enriching academic journey today by reaching out to your trusted consultant in Chandigarh.

For more details on our services, visit 360 College Review’s Study Abroad Programs and embark on your path to academic excellence in the UK.

Business Website:

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360 College Review Pvt. Ltd.

SCO 358-359, level 4, adjoining Orbit Hotel, Sector 34A, Sector 34, Chandigarh, 160022

091157 72360

info@360collegereview.com

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[lorien1208]

Prodigy Finance: The Innovative Solution for Financing Education Without Borders

In today's globalized world, pursuing higher education abroad has become an increasingly popular option for students seeking to expand their academic and professional horizons. However, for many international students, the financial barriers to studying overseas can be daunting. Traditional student loans often require a co-signer or a stable credit history in the host country, leaving many students from countries without such infrastructure in a difficult position. This is where Prodigy Finance steps in, offering a groundbreaking solution for students looking to finance their education abroad.

What is Prodigy Finance?

Prodigy Finance is a global student loan provider that focuses on offering financing solutions to international students attending top universities across the world. Unlike traditional banks or financial institutions, Prodigy Finance does not require a co-signer or a credit history in the host country. Instead, it uses a unique, data-driven model that evaluates the future earning potential of students based on their program of study, the university they attend, and their individual profile.

Founded in 2007, Prodigy Finance was created by a group of MBA students at the University of Cambridge who faced the same financial challenges. Their mission was simple: to democratize access to education by providing a sustainable and scalable way to fund international students. Over time, Prodigy Finance expanded its offerings to cover a wide range of postgraduate programs, including MBA, master's, and PhD degrees, in over 750 universities across the globe.

How Does Prodigy Finance Work?

Prodigy Finance's model is based on the principle of community-funded loans. It connects international students with investors who are willing to fund their education. The loan repayment structure is also unique: it’s based on the student's future income, making it more flexible than traditional loans. This approach aims to ease the financial burden on students and ensure that they are not paying off hefty loans during the early stages of their career.

The process for applying for a loan through Prodigy Finance is relatively simple:

Eligibility Check: Students must meet specific criteria, such as attending a qualifying university and being enrolled in a postgraduate program. Prodigy Finance offers loans to students from over 150 countries, and the universities they work with are some of the most prestigious institutions around the world.

Loan Application: After confirming eligibility, students can apply online by submitting necessary documents such as proof of admission, identification, and financial details. Prodigy Finance’s application process is straightforward and transparent.

Loan Offer: Once the application is reviewed, students receive a loan offer detailing the interest rates, repayment terms, and the total amount they can borrow. The interest rates are determined based on the student’s academic program and future earning potential, ensuring that the loans are affordable and reflective of the student’s career prospects.

Loan Disbursement: If the student accepts the loan offer, the funds are disbursed directly to the educational institution. The student can then use these funds to cover tuition fees, living expenses, and other costs associated with studying abroad.

Repayment: After graduation, students begin repaying their loans based on their income level. The repayment terms are designed to adjust to their financial circumstances, and the model is tailored to be flexible, with lower payments during the initial phase of their career and higher payments once they reach their desired income level.

Why Choose Prodigy Finance?

There are several compelling reasons why students might opt for Prodigy Finance over traditional student loan providers:

No Cosigner or Credit History Required: One of the biggest challenges for international students seeking loans is the need for a co-signer or a credit history in the host country. Prodigy Finance eliminates this requirement, making it easier for students from countries without access to traditional credit systems to secure funding for their education.

Flexible Repayment Plans: Traditional student loans often require repayments to begin shortly after graduation, regardless of the student’s employment situation. With Prodigy Finance, repayments are based on the student's income, and the plan is tailored to their career trajectory. This flexibility ensures that students are not overwhelmed by debt during the early stages of their professional life.

Data-Driven Loan Offers: Prodigy Finance takes a holistic approach to evaluating loan applications. Instead of relying on traditional credit scores, the company uses machine learning and predictive analytics to assess a student's future earning potential. This results in more accurate loan offers that reflect the student's ability to repay the loan over time.

Global Reach: Prodigy Finance serves students from more than 150 countries, and the loans are available for postgraduate programs at over 750 top universities worldwide. This makes it an ideal option for international students who wish to study in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Invest in the Future: Prodigy Finance’s community-funded model allows investors to support the education of future leaders. By investing in students, Prodigy Finance creates a mutually beneficial ecosystem where investors are rewarded with competitive returns, and students receive the funding they need to pursue their educational goals.

Prodigy Finance’s Impact on the Global Education Landscape

Since its inception, Prodigy Finance has helped thousands of students from diverse backgrounds finance their education and pursue their dreams. The company has successfully closed millions of dollars in loans, demonstrating the scalability and effectiveness of its model. Prodigy Finance has also partnered with several prestigious universities, offering scholarships, loan discounts, and other incentives to further support students in need of financial assistance.

In a broader context, Prodigy Finance’s innovative approach is helping to democratize education, making it more accessible to students from different financial backgrounds. By providing a pathway for students to study abroad without the burden of traditional loans, Prodigy Finance is playing a significant role in fostering a more inclusive global education system.

Conclusion

As the demand for international education continues to rise, Prodigy Finance is positioning itself as a leader in the student loan market. Through its innovative financing solutions, it has successfully removed many of the barriers that once made studying abroad an unattainable goal for countless students. By focusing on future earning potential rather than traditional credit metrics, Prodigy Finance is making higher education more accessible, flexible, and affordable for students around the world. Whether you're looking to pursue an MBA, a master's degree, or a PhD, Prodigy Finance offers a compelling financing solution that can help make your educational aspirations a reality.

[jobsthe24]

Candidates selected for admission to prestigious universities.

Here’s how you can organize a discussion or document on Candidates Selected for Admission to Prestigious Universities:

1. Introduction

Overview of the admission process at prestigious universities.

Criteria for selection (academic excellence, extracurricular achievements, diversity, etc.).

Significance of being admitted to such institutions.

2. General Statistics

Total applications vs. candidates admitted.

Acceptance rates for top universities (e.g., Harvard, MIT, Oxford).

Breakdown by country, gender, or field of study.

3. Profiles of Selected Candidates

Highlight exceptional individuals:

Academic achievements (e.g., perfect scores, awards).

Extracurriculars (e.g., sports, music, debate).

Community service or unique projects.

Regional representation: candidates from different parts of the world.

4. Notable Trends

Rise in diversity among admitted students (gender, socioeconomic background).

Growth in STEM, arts, or humanities admissions.

Impact of standardized test policies (test-optional admissions).

5. Personal Stories

Inspiring stories of candidates overcoming adversity to achieve admission.

Examples of innovative projects or unique skills that stood out.

6. University-Specific Highlights

Insights into admissions at specific universities:

Ivy League (Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc.).

Top UK institutions (Oxford, Cambridge).

Renowned global universities (Stanford, ETH Zurich, Tsinghua).

7. Future Aspirations of Selected Candidates

Fields of study they plan to pursue.

Career goals or contributions they hope to make in their fields.

8. Challenges in the Selection Process

Debate over fairness in admissions (legacy preferences, standardized tests).

Impact of increasing applications on acceptance rates.

Ethical concerns around admissions scandals.

9. Impact on Society

The influence of these candidates on their communities or fields.

Discussion on how prestigious university alumni often shape global leadership.

10. Conclusion

Celebrate the achievements of the selected candidates.

Reflect on the evolving nature of university admissions.

Would you like details on specific candidates, universities, or trends to include?