Hey besties! Welcome to this week’s edition of Paige’s Page! When you are reading this, Paige’s Page Live is happening TONIGHT (Nov. 10) at 10 p.m. in the Red Door! I hope you can all be there, I am really excited to get to hear your questions in person, and hopefully give some really fun and helpful advice. This week I want to prepare you for the chaos that will ensue this evening, so there will be no theme! Let’s get into these questions!
Hi Paige, my friend and I have different political beliefs, and it is putting a strain on our relationship. How can we work through this?
Hey bestie, this is really difficult. With election day happening earlier this week, I’m sure you and your politically-active friends have been very anxious about the midterm elections this year. I know I have been, especially here. As a political science major, this is something I have thought about a lot. In my classes, I have talked to a lot of people I disagree with in an ideological sense; however, I enjoy the conversations we are willing to have with each other. Not everyone wants to talk about politics or the problems going on in our country, and that is okay. Don’t force these kinds of conversations. Ultimately, your friend probably isn’t going to change your mind and you won’t change theirs either. You are definitely not friends because of the way you think about politics, you are friends because you like each other as people. You do other things together. If this is the thing that you think will end your friendship, which obviously you don’t want to happen, set a boundary with them. Maybe tell them you don’t want to talk about politics with them anymore because it isn’t productive and helpful for your personal relationship. There are ways to have deep and meaningful relationships with your friends that don’t involve conversations of fundamental disagreement. There is an exception to this though—if the way your friend views the world is harmful to you or other people, it is okay to not want to be close with this person.
Hey Paige, how do I wean off my coffee addiction?
Hi bestie, fantastic question! The way I had been doing that for a while was by changing the times I would drink coffee. I would stop by 5 p.m., get it earlier in the day because I am one of those people that enjoys coffee as an accessory and will drink it over the course of several hours. I also would try to have it only a couple of days a week—like if I have a 9:30 class, I’ll go before to wake me up, but on days I start later I would go without. I also really don’t drink coffee on the weekends unless I’m going to get it off-campus because Java is closed. I have not been very good this semester about keeping caffeine a less regular part of my day-to-day life. As I am writing this I am trying to avoid going back to sleep because I didn’t have coffee today, and I am tired. But when I was trying to hold off on coffee everyday, those things were working super well for me. It does take your body a lot of time to adjust to this though, so be kind to yourself and listen to your body telling you what it needs.
Hi Paige. I joined a club and I really love the concept of it, but I don’t seem to fit in with the people. Should I continue being a part of the club or should I look elsewhere for a group I’ll fit into more?
Hey bestie! This is actually really great, I know it can probably feel really isolating right now because you aren’t vibing with the people, but you have a lot of options for things you can do to improve this situation. Obviously I don’t know what club this is, but if it is an activity-based club where you are just going to be around other people while doing a task, then you can take these skills and do the activity either on your own or with your friends without having to be in a group of people you don’t vibe with (I did this and I do recommend). Another thing you can do is drag your friends. Cliques are so high school, but bring people you enjoy to activities you like and maybe you can all make friends and all you needed was a buffer. You could push yourself a little bit and try to make friends so you can do the thing you enjoy. Weigh the pros and cons. If you really love what the club does and you can’t find a way to do the activities the club does on your own, ask yourself what matters more to you. All of that being said, I still think it is worth your time to explore other things that Muhlenberg can offer to you! There are not a lot of people here, but there is so much potential to meet new people and try new things. I know this doesn’t fully answer your question, but it doesn’t really matter what I think because I can’t tell you how you feel. If you decide to stop going for now and want to come back to it later, there may be people you enjoy being around so that is always an option too. You got this!
Paige’s Page Live is officially happening! TONIGHT Nov. 10 at 10 p.m. in the Red Door! Can’t wait to see you all there! We will also be going live on the @bergweekly instagram if you can’t make it in person!
You can submit questions to https://tinyurl.com/paigespagequestion. It will also be linked in my Instagram bio— @paigeweisburg and in The Muhlenberg Weekly Instagram Linktree
