Emma Chamberlain (21:36)
Started Next Somebody said I have a weird 60 year old math teacher that calls me baby. What do I do? Let's go ahead and talk to the school counselor about that one instead of asking a podcaster that didn't even finish high school and definitely didn't go to college. Like, this is something to talk about with the school counselor. This is something to talk about with your therapist. This is not something to discuss with me. However, I'll still give you advice on what I would do if I was in this situation. I guess I'm not going to give you advice because I think my only, the only advice that I can give in good faith is go talk to the administration at your school, go talk to the school therapist, go talk to the principal, go talk to somebody and say, this is a little bit weird. I don't think it's professional. It's making me a little bit uncomfortable. This teacher's a little bit eccentric, just wanted to put it on your radar and, and let you know that is obviously the right thing to do. However, if I was in this situation, this is what I would do. And I'm not saying that this is right. I'm just saying that this is exactly what I would do. I, I like and I'm not. Again, I'm not saying it's right, okay? Because I think going to the principal or going to the school counselor or going to, you know, administration, that's obviously the right thing to do. However, I know knowing myself in high school would have handled things differently. I feel like what I would have done is because I was kind of, I wasn't like a troublemaker or anything. But I, I did sometimes have a little bit of an attitude for some reason. But I also like, I also don't Want to demonize somebody or like, if they genuinely are not meaning any harm, right? I don't want to get someone in trouble just because they're weird or like, whatever. And I'm not saying it's not okay to be calling you baby. Okay? That's weird, right? However, if this is some sort of like 60 year old Italian man that's like, come on, baby, you know this. Like, if that's how he's saying baby, it's like it's very clearly not in a sexual. Like it's not sexual, it's not inappropriate necessarily. Like, it's. I mean, it's still, you know, it's not ideal, right? You know, he probably shouldn't be calling you baby, but if it's in that way, like, to me it's not dangerous. It's not as dangerous, right? It's just maybe a bad practice. And so how I might have handled it when I was in high school is I'd be like, after class or something, or like when he called me baby, I'd be like, you know, you're gonna get in trouble one of these days. You can't be calling people that. I would just check him on his shit in person. Is that the right way to handle it? No, you should go to administration. But that's probably what I would have done. I would have given him a chance in a way and been like, you can't say that. And he would have been like, what do you mean? I've been saying this for generations. I'm Italian, by the way. I don't know, I just think of like, like a really like, warm Italian, like grandfather vibe. When I think of somebody like calling you baby in a way that's like not sexual and harmless. Like, that's what I think of in ho. And if that's the case, great, because that's not truly harmful. It's still not, you know, maybe okay, but it's not dangerous. Do you know what I'm saying? And so I would check him in person just because I think too, like, if that's the case and if, you know, if you can be of help and be like, hey, we don't say that, right? Let's not say that. And here's why, you know, if we can do that great again at school, I still, I do think it's best to run it by the administration, but that's how I would have handled it. And then if he continued doing it and it was making me uncomfortable still, I would say, you know what, Enough's enough. And I'd go and I would have told administration, but I probably would have done the confronting myself first. But I don't think that works for everybody. And I don't think it has to. The. The. In a school environment like it is supposed to be one of the safest environments. So, you know, if someone's doing some weird shit, you gotta report it. You got to report it. Okay, moving on. How to tell your roommate that you're moving in with your boyfriend next year. I don't want to put her in a bad spot, but I need to move forward with my life. I feel bad. Well, to start, there's absolutely nothing to feel bad about. You are doing nothing wrong. There is nothing wrong about what you're doing. So stop feeling bad, okay? There's nothing more useless than feeling bad about something that we don't need to feel bad about. There are moments in life when we should feel bad. We did something wrong. We hurt somebody's feelings. This is not something to feel bad about. That doesn't mean it's not uncomfortable, though. This is a very uncomfortable situation. And it is, you know, a situation that will cause unfavorable feelings. Your roommate is gonna be sad. You might be sad. You probably less so. Cause you are excited about moving in with your boyfriend. You know, you get to have cuddle time every night. How fun is that? No one's home, just you guys. So much fun. It's like playing house. So much fun. You're not that sad. They are going, your roommate's gonna be sad. You know, your roommate is going to be sad. And so, you know, to an extent, you can feel a level of like, oh, you know, I don't like making anyone feel sad, but at the same time, like, you're not doing anything wrong. So don't feel bad. Don't feel guilty. You be aware of the fact that, yes, you know, it may cause some. Some sadness in your. In your roommate. And yes, it may cause some sadness for you, but ultimately it's for the better. And it's a normal part of growing and moving through life. And I think the best thing that you can do is have the conversation as soon as possible. Don't put it off till the last minute, because then you actually have something to feel bad about. If you screw your roommate over because you don't tell them until the last minute that you're not going to live together next year, then that's when you need to start feeling bad, because that's not fair to them, right? So tell them immediately and Be like, I'm so sorry. You know, like, I've been talking to my boyfriend. We made this decision. I'm gonna miss you so much. Like, it's been such a joy. Like, and then if you're still feeling bad and you really want to help out even more, offer to ask the leasing person in your building that you're moving into with your boyfriend if they have any open units. Offer to help your friend find a new roommate. Like, offer to help make a plan on how you both can stay connected. Whether it's like, why don't we live in the same building? That would be fun. Or if that's not an option, maybe we live in the same neighborhood on the same block. You know, there's ways that you can lessen the blow and make it less of, like, a depressing thing that you're no longer roommates. Like, I think helping them in their process, moving forward, making a plan on how to maintain the friendship, you know, potentially planning to even live kind of close together, like, all of these things can lessen the blow for both of you and make it less sort of traumatic for both of you. I think there's something to be said for presenting bad news with good news. You know, a lot of us don't think to find a silver lining or to find a way to lessen the blow. We're like, oh, God, we have bad news. We just have to present the bad news and that's it. You can get creative and find good news to pair with the bad news. And I try to do that whenever I can. If I'm going to somebody and telling them something that they're not gonna wanna hear, I'll pair it with something that actually they would wanna hear. You know, like, you know, I don't think we can be roommates next year, but there's an open unit in my building, and maybe you could check it out this weekend. Like, do you see what I'm saying? There's different ways that you can put a positive spin on it. And I think by doing that, you'll lessen the blow and it won't be so bad. Next, somebody said, and I'm sorry, that now I'm like, you can hear the allergy attack in my nose and in my throat, but let's just ignore that. Somebody said, I'm in college studying something that I'm good at, but I don't love it. How do I tell my parents I'm scared that they'll be disappointed in me. Well, to start, you're the one who has to live this life, okay? You're the one who has to go to school every day, study this topic, do the homework, take the test and ultimately get the job that you're going to work for the rest of your life in. Perhaps potentially, if you know, that's what you, it's kind of what you're working towards right now. So that's, you know, you're the one who has to live this life, not your fucking parents. You have to live this life for the rest of your life. And it's important to, you know, respect our parents opinions and hear them out and. But at the end of the day, it's your fucking life and you're an adult. And obviously we want to impress our parents, we want to please our parents, we want to make them proud, but it's not actually right of them to try to control our future. Like they should be open minded. And if they're not, they're in the wrong, in my opinion. Okay, so in my opinion, your parents are in the wrong if they judge you for shifting directions, you know, changing your path in life. Like, I think that that's wrong. I think that just because they're your parents doesn't mean that everything that they do is right. And them being disappointed in you because you want to take your life in a different direction to me is wrong. As long as you're not doing something that's self destructive, I don't think that they can ultimately be disappointed in you. Like, I mean, I guess they can, but I don't know that it's fair to inflict that upon you. You know, they just, they have to get over it. They have to either get over it or they have to put a strain on the relationship between you and them, which is so harmful and unnecessary. You know, unless you're doing something that's destructive to their lives or to your life, it is not good parenting for them to like cut you off. You know what I'm saying? So like find confidence in the fact that you're doing the right thing by maintaining control of your own life, living life for you and making this decision because it's what's going to be the most fulfilling for you because you're the one who has to live this goddamn life. You gotta do it, okay? Not them. We love your parents, but you can be firm with your parents. You can tell your parents that they're wrong. You can tell your parents that they're overstepping. You can tell your parents that what they want for your life is not what you want for your life. That is all. Okay? They are. They were your authority for many years, but they're not anymore. You are now your own authority. And part of that is taking responsibility for your decisions and also making decisions yourself. That is a part of being a functioning adult. Making decisions based on your own thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Breaking away from your parents. That is a part of being an adult. When you're a kid and you're living under their roof and they're paying your bills, you do kind of have to do what they say now. You don't. And to truly mature is to truly break free from your parents and their beliefs and their ideas about your life. And this is a great sign that you're questioning some of their beliefs. And you're like, okay, this isn't right for me. And so this is a conversation that you need to have with your parents. Embrace yourself for disappointment. They might be disappointed, but find confidence and comfort in the fact that you are doing the right thing. Okay? I also think, you know, like I mentioned earlier, it can be really helpful and it can really soften the blow to your parents to present a bit of good news with the bad news. Okay? So if you know that this is gonna be bad news for your parents because they really wanted you to study this topic, they really wanted you to go into this. Into this field for your career, find a way to present them with good news. Instead of just saying, like, I'm dropping out. I'm not doing this major anymore. I'm going to do a different major. I'm going to major in something else. I want to go on a different career path. And that's it. Instead of just saying that, say, I'm switching my major. I'm going on a different career path now. But you know what? I'm really excited because I'm going to major in this now. And I'm really excited because this is what I want my career path to be. And I actually just started talking to this company about an internship. Like, before you present it to them, take some action in the step of, you know, where you want to go in your life so that you have something promising to present to them. You don't necessarily owe that to them, but I think it could lessen the blow and be very positive. It could potentially reframe it for them. And just remember that whatever comes of that conversation is necessary for the sake of your quality of life and your wellbeing, because this is your life. Okay?