After graduating from college, my boyfriend at the time wanted to get an apartment together. I was hesitant: a friend of mine had also asked to be roommates, and I wanted to focus on finding a post-grad job. He continued to ask about it, even saying things like “you always choose your friends over me”, which made me feel selfish for even considering my options. Alas, I decided to go for it, and I moved in with him.

As you have likely guessed, this did not end up well. We had plenty of fights and near-breakups, but since we had signed the lease for a year, I didn’t want to leave. We stayed together, yet once the lease was up, I decided to move out to live with a friend. …

Imagine you are the main character in a fantasy novel who is on a grand quest (to rescue a kingdom, to find long-lost treasure-the end goal is up to you). You’ve been traveling for days and days when suddenly, a large wall scaling miles and miles appears, blocking your path. There was no record of this mysterious wall on the maps you had scrutinized so carefully beforehand, and you did not anticipate this obstacle on your journey. Are you going to simply call off your quest and turn back around?

Probably not. That wouldn’t make for an interesting story, after all. You might need to hear a few inspiring speeches from your sidekick or spend a minute throwing rocks at the wall in frustration, but you eventually find a way around the wall to reach your destination. Maybe you climb over it, and your newfound climbing skill becomes essential during your final mission to ascend a tower to slay a dragon. Or after surveying the wall, you find a secret tunnel that becomes your method of escape later on. …

Bringing your new dog home for the first time can be intimidating-how do you know if you’re prepared? Will your dog be able to adjust to your lifestyle…will you? Many questions will cross your mind, but as long as you’ve done your research and made the proper preparations, there’s a good chance that your dog will love his/her new home.

Many factors can affect how long it takes for your dog to adapt, including their personalities and previous life experiences. Sometimes it can take months, sometimes it only takes a few weeks. …

If you browse through LinkedIn and other job sites, you will find many success stories and motivational posts intended for job seekers. Perhaps you have stumbled across one of the typical comparisons: one job seeker who never stops, another who “doesn’t try hard enough.” The first relentlessly applies to over three-hundred positions, and after all their hard work, they secure their dream job. The latter will apply to a few jobs, but then, discouraged at the lack of responses, they take a break to watch Netflix. …

Some people claim to be a dog-person, others claim to be a cat-person. I grew up with a dog and had limited exposure to cats, so prior to college, I would have said I was a dog person one-hundred percent.

During the summer between my junior and senior year, however, that changed.

I moved in with a friend while I took summer classes, and she was fostering two kittens when I moved in. They were curious and would come up to me while I was eating or working on something in the family room. They were adorable. …

Last Friday was World Environment Day, but you likely saw the Black Lives Matter movement all over the news. Still, the day was not wasted. Racism is an issue that stems into other problems-even environmental issues. If we cannot respect individuals of our own species, how can we aspire to save others? Part of environmental activism is aimed at giving a voice to habitats and wildlife that do not have one…and black people certainly need to have their voices heard right now. If we think one race is superior to another, we will never come to respect wildlife and plants.

Power and money seem to be the recurring sources in both environmental and racism issues. Leaders want as much of it as possible, no matter how much it costs people or the environment. …

When I first saw my dog, he was peering out at me from a cage outside of Petco. He didn’t hold eye contact for long (there were other pets and treats that claimed his attention), but it was enough for me to fall in love with his adorable brown eyes. His torn ear helped him gain a little sympathy too-if his previous life was rough, surely he needed a good home to be adopted into. As I paused in front of him, one of the volunteers from the adoption organization came up to me and asked if I wanted to walk him (accompanied by her of course) down the sidewalk. I said yes, and after giving him a treat to win him over, we started the walk. He was very strong and pulled, excited to be released from his cage. …

Prior to the pandemic, what did your day-to-day routine consist of? Did you begrudgingly go to work every day even though you hated it? Did you miss out on family and friends because you were ‘too busy’? Did you rush from meeting to meeting, not taking in a moment to breathe and appreciate what you had in front of you?

People from all over the globe have had to alter their lifestyles due to the coronavirus. With weeks of self-isolation, people are likely missing the habits that were familiar to them-even if they weren’t always enjoyable. Some people have lost their jobs, and some have had to stay away from their loved ones to keep them safe. Instead of focusing on nostalgia and regret, however, take time to reflect on the things that really matter to you-whether person or thing-and discover a new appreciation for life that you missed out on before. …