Ask Blair is an advice column run by a GPHS student under the alias of Blair. Its purpose is to provide advice to students in search of it. Keep in mind that your responses will most likely be in the next issue of The Scroll. Scroll below to see the answers for last issue's questions.
Within the last two years, we launched the advice column Ask Blair! Everything is 100% anonymous, including my own identity. Though I go by Blair for the purpose of the column, I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you know me outside of The Scroll. I’m a student at GPHS, just like all of you. My goal for the column is to reach out to you guys and do what I can to help you during your times of trouble. Don’t be afraid to send in questions for next month’s issue, and I look forward to writing for you guys in the months to come. Scroll down to enter your own questions for me, Blair!
*A Note from Blair: Since I reach such a wide audience and cater to people of so many different lifestyles and beliefs, it is my goal to remain as unbiased as possible when giving advice. It is for that reason that I ask you refrain from asking for my personal opinions on politics and the like, as I don't want that to get in the way of being able to help as many people as possible. Thank you for helping me keep Ask Blair! a safe space for everyone!
*Editor's Note: The Scroll's Ask Blair! Column is to solely provide advice, care, and support to students in need. We want to hear from you, and we understand that some of the topics that will be discussed will be emotional and sometimes distressing, but this advice column is not meant to be used as an alternative to any sort of professional therapy or counseling.
Thank you 💜
This message has been haunting me for weeks, so I figured I might as well answer it. To be brutally honest, that’s hardly a relationship. You only speak once a week and it’s through a language barrier; how do you even meet, let alone fall in love, under those conditions? Also, I’m not one to discourage Internet friends or interactions, but how do you know for sure this guy is even real? The whole thing sounds a little sketchy to me. How long have you known each other? How much do you know about each other? If he respects you so much, why would he hope to convert you to his religion? I think I have too many questions to give you a comprehensive answer, so the best I can offer you is a “no.” Obviously, I’m not in your shoes and I don’t know how the two of you feel, but I’m seeing a few too many red flags to even consider this a real relationship. Don’t limit your love life to something this wishy-washy. As kindly as possible, he is not the guy for you.
Best of luck to you,
Blair <3
P.S. for all of my readers:
Please be careful with online relationships! Trust me, I’m the last person to discourage using the Internet to make connections with people, but you do still need to be safe, especially with relationships across seas. Never meet Internet friends alone; as beautiful as that kind of relationship could be, trafficking is still a very real thing. Also, as a high schooler, you need to be careful. It’s great that you want to use the Internet to its fullest, but you’re still a kid, and you can be fooled. In general, just exercise as much caution as possible with online relationships. Keep an eye out for red flags and stay safe, Scrollians!
I’m going to assume you’re asking about life in general (?) so I’m going to answer as though this is referring to the human lifespan. An eventual end to life is one hundred percent better than living forever. Eternal life means you never get to forget your past mistakes and regrets and, no matter how much character development you make, you’ll always have to live with that. You also have to watch every person you love, have loved, or ever will love pass away, which means you’ll never be able to settle down in a relationship or truly fall in love, because everything is temporary. Immortals will never be able to love at the level mortals can because survival requires love: love from a parent, love from friends, love from a partner, etc. With everyone you love going away, you’ll never be able to trust that someone will always have your back. Eventually, they will leave you, and if you’re immortal, survival isn’t a concern anyway, so love will never be as strong or passionate as it could be if death were a possibility. Life is beautiful because of what we make with the short time we have; there’s so much to do and see and experience in our life, and what makes it worthwhile is the limited amount of time we have to do it. Live your life to the fullest with the time you’re fortunate enough to have. Someone with a fear of death might think living forever is ideal, but being unable to die will eventually, inevitably, become a prison. In conclusion, live your best life because it’s short, but extending it into infinity won’t make it any better.
