Dear Anita

Thank you for your insightful responses! Today I spoke to some advisors and I may be able to graduate after completing my physics 2 course in Summer 2019 and apply for Rutgers School of Engineering in the Fall 2019. Along with the physics 2 course, I may have to take 2 Systems and Physiology classes at Rutgers over the summer as well so I can be prepared for my classes at Rutgers in the Fall 2019, but otherwise my credits transfer okay. My advisors are still checking to see about my computer course and my college experience seminar course and whether going over the credits for graduation at Ocean County College will be a problem transferring. One advisor did say, it should be okay because my extra credits could be electives at the four year university and as long as I don’t go above the 90-100 credits range at my community college I should be fine. I will have 71 credits total from my community college when I graduate. I am excited to graduate sooner than expected. The only thing is that my state scholarship doesn’t cover tuition for summer so I will have to find ways to finance the courses which will mean more arguing with my parents because they think college puts a financial strain on them. They want me to have a good education, but they always question the things I do and they say that I incur more financial strife on them than my brother which can be emotionally draining at times. I like your idea of using the scientific method to question if I am staying true to myself, your wisdom and creative ideas are very inspirational and help me see myself in a better light. Thank you for helping me see where I can use what I know as strengths to move me forward. I ran into the guy today in the same building after I decided to find a quiet place to organize my schedule and process what my advisors told me. He could tell I was busy, so he didn’t say much. While, I was busy planning my schedule I heard him tell a friend that he wishes I wasn’t so busy so we could hang out because he regrets what he has done and wonders if I can forgive him. I did tell him before Monday’s meeting with Ocean Pride that I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet. Now I feel like he is following me around pressuring me to forgive him. He left awhile before a Bible Study Group came in and invited me to join their discussion. I feel like I am being pressured to forgive when I’m not ready and I am also being pressured to consider a religion that I’m not really interested in. Christian clubs at my college have asked me to join them and some Christian missionaries keep coming to my house telling me to embrace Christianity. but I am a firm believer in Buddhist Wicca and even though I accept their religion I’m not interested in embracing a new religion that I feel doesn’t really fit me. I have told them that I rarely read the Bible an disagree with some of its teachings and don’t think Christianity is right for me, but they seem to keep pressuring me to give it a chance. It can be a bit annoying when I am busy doing school work (and I find myself annoyed because if I’m in the middle of a science calculation and my concentration is broken, it takes a while to get back to what I was doing) and they tell me to spend time with the Bible. I wish they would stop pressuring me to adopt a religion and stop interrupting me when I have important things that need to be done. So the questions are: How do I tell people politely that I need time for myself and not to disturb me when I am working with other information? How do I stop my inner critic from raging at me when the schedule I outline in my mind doesn’t go according to plan and my inner critic said I wasted a day being unproductive? What are good ways to practice time management skills? What are good ways to develop better communication skills and increase my confidence when interacting with others? What are good ways to deal with pressure that I can control? I think you are correct in saying that i might not be able to get my parents to understand me and as the things go on and college courses go there will be more financial strain and pressure. I wish there was a way to avoid it, but since I can’t I am working on meditation to shield and calm myself from negativity. Thank you Anita for everything! Talking with you helps put my thoughts in order and helps me better understand who I am as a person. Thank you for your compassion and for helping me become a better person each day!

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Janus.