Ask The Mask, Vol. 2, Issue 12

Alas, the trimester is ending, and thus so is Ask The Mask... for now. Thank you to everyone who submitted one of the more than 150 letters we received in our digital mailbag, plus all the wonderful (and questionable!) responses to the periodic teacher dilemmas we posted. You can re-read old issues using the Blog Archive to the right. One day, this website will become active again with a new generation of student problems. Until that day, please enjoy our final issue of Ask The Mask:

Dear Mask,

I am an eighth grade boy, and I have a crush on a sixth grader. I really like her and we always strike up a big conversation, normally one to two minutes long. My friends know I like her but make fun of me for it. I genuinely want to be with her and ask her out, but I’m afraid I will get teased. What do I do?

Sincerely,

Too Old

Dear Too Old,

If you genuinely want to be with her, I think you should go for it. If your friends are kind and supportive and see that you are serious, they should stop. But I hate to break it to you: one to two minutes is a very short conversation. Try building up to about five minutes before you ask her out, to increase your chances. As for your fear that you’ll get teased, if you really want to pursue love, you will persevere through any teasing. I believe in you.

Lovingly,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

Every Sunday night, I start freaking out because it always feels like the weekend is too short. Most weekends I have a lot to do, and when I have free time it’s only on Saturday. On Sunday I usually have an hour at a time at most before I do something. How can I fix this?

Sincerely,

Weekend Enjoyer

San Jose, CA

Dear Weekend Enjoyer,

I used to have this problem too. The weekend should be so much longer than just two days! Something that might help you is trying to carve out time for yourself during the week. It could be after school, between homework and other activities like sports, and it could just be half an hour. If you leave more free time for yourself, it can help make the week not feel as long.

With time,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I have been best friends with two girls for a long time, but they have been excluding me recently. I feel like they are making me feel left out on purpose. They have made me cry a couple times, and I don’t know what to do! How do I fix this problem? 

Sincerely,

A Friend

San Jose, CA

Dear A Friend,

It can be really frustrating to feel like the third wheel. Before you jump to conclusions, though, I recommend making sure your friends know that you feel excluded. They can’t really know how you feel unless you tell them. If it turns out you’re right and they’re trying to exclude you, try asking them about it. They might be upset with you for some reason, and it’s a lot easier to work things out when you are on the same page. I hope everything works out.

Inclusively,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I like creative writing. People always say to “write what you know,” but I don’t know anything! How am I supposed to write a good story if I don’t know how to describe subways or hospitals or public schools, and if I don’t know how dumbwaiters and corrupt government systems work, or the protein content of pancakes or fruit salad? How do I make compelling stories if I don’t know how to describe things and add details?

Sincerely,

Explorer of Fiction

San Jose, CA

Dear Explorer of Fiction,

This is a really hard situation. One suggestion is, yes, to write what you know. Write about your hobbies or interests, and build from that. One thing I love to do is ask one of my friends for a random word or prompt and challenge myself to put that in a story. Another thing you could do is research about topics you want to include in your writing. Google photos of hospitals or subways so you can figure out how to describe them. It can be hard when you find yourself stuck in writer's block, but just remember, it’s okay if your descriptions are not perfect. It’s your story, and you can describe things however you like. Don’t let this ruin your love for creative writing!

Descriptively,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

So my parents get emails through Google Classroom of my homework and what I need to do. This makes my school life extra hard. What can I do? How do I stop the emails from coming?

Sincerely,

Sans the Skeleton

Ohio

Dear Sans the Skeleton,

It depends why these emails make your life hard. Is it that you are not doing your homework? If so, then I have some advice for you. If you were to do all of your homework, you would have a lot of free time and your parents would gain trust in you and they wouldn’t feel a need to follow up with you about your work. If instead you have been doing your homework, and you just want your parents off your back, then you can tell them about some of your cool assignments each day. They won’t feel the need to check after that!

Covertly,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I am like every other normal person: I have a bedtime. However, my bedtime is so early! Whenever my mom says, "Sweetie! It’s time to get ready for bed!", it makes me so frustrated! I'm not a kid anymore! I have feelings too! Please help!

Sincerely,

Not So Sleepy Person

San Jose, CA

Dear Not So Sleepy Person, 

Before you get all mad, I just want to say I am jealous. I wish I could go to bed earlier, but I am always so busy! Despite my personal opinion, I can understand how it feels to be treated like a kid. Have you tried sitting your mom down and coming up with an agreement? The trick is to suggest something ridiculous, like a 12 a.m. bedtime, so that your next suggestions seem less extreme. Hopefully if she sees how sincere you are, she will make a compromise with you. Best of luck!

Sleepily,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I play water polo. A bunch of kids in my class who play basketball, some of them my friends, keep saying that water polo isn't a sport. I practice water polo for eight hours a week (not including games and tournaments), and I get really annoyed when people say what I do is a just hobby. Also, according to every source online, water polo is a sport: it meets all the criteria of a sport (competitive, physically exerting, etc.); it was voted the hardest Olympic sport by sports medicine professionals; and it is even the national sport of Montenegro. Besides, I consider basketball a sport and have watched it and played it before, but the worst part is that these other kids haven't even played or tried water polo, let alone watched it, and one of the kids who says it isn't a sport can't even swim! Can you please find a way for me to convince them that water polo is as much a sport as basketball?

Sincerely,

Annoyed Athlete

San Jose, CA

Dear Annoyed Athlete,

Wow, that must be really frustrating. But since we are publishing your letter, hopefully these kids will read it and realize that even The Mask knows water polo is a sport!

Convinced,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I have an addiction to eating paper! I love it so much! The taste is just so good! I can't help myself but eat more and more! I've been doing this since preschool! I have tried so many different papers each having a different flavor! I found out that some were made out of elephant poop so now I wanna stop eating what I think is elephant poop! Help me, Mask! How do I stop?!

Sincerely,

Paper Eater

San Jose, CA

Dear Paper Eater,

I also have eaten paper and have felt the yummy mushy feeling in my mouth and the taste that comes afterward, sweet with a hint of umami. But what if it has elephant poop? Don’t worry, any elephant poop in paper is thoroughly sterilized before it reaches your mouth. And usually paper isn’t made from elephant poop, anyway. Paper is mostly made up of cellulose, which is a type of fiber from plants. Cellulose is generally safe to consume, even though humans don’t have the enzymes to properly digest it. But one thing you should in fact consider is that paper is often bleached using chlorine gas, which can be quite harmful if ingested. Side effects of eating paper include stomach pain, infections, disease, and even lead poisoning, to name a few. So next time you grab a piece of paper to start munching on, maybe eat an apple instead.

Keepin’ the doctor away,

The Mask

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Almaden Country Day School. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to replace parental or professional advice. 

Ask The Mask, Vol. 2, Issue 11

Our short Issue 11 is a reunion of sorts: four people whose letters we published in earlier issues who have written us again to follow up. Click on the links to re-read their original dilemmas.

But first: last week, Coach Mac asked us for advice on how to keep students engaged as we get into spring. Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas! Here are our top three:

• "Motivate us with money." ~ anonymous
• "Punish kids with pushups if they mess around. Works for most sports coaches!" ~ anonymous
• "Get a bunch of treadmills and make the kids run on them. For the kids who are not running on them, let them do their homework." ~ anonymous

Okay, now onto our reunion letters:

Dear Mask,

You responded to my problem, and I tried your advice. The problem is, the people my friend hangs out with completely ignore me! They don’t respond when I try to join their conversations, and sometimes, when I’m in the middle of a conversation, they’ll butt in, and my friend will go and talk to them, leaving me abandoned and alone. I can’t make friends with them because they seem like they don’t like me. But it’s not like my friend doesn’t have any other time to talk to them; they’re in all the same classes! And I’m in none of them. I know you’ve already tried, but can you please try to fix my problem?

Sincerely,

Lonely Friend

(from Vol. 2, Issue 1, Letter #3)

Dear Lonely Friend,

I think you should confront your friend one on one. You want to be sure they know you are feeling so excluded. This can be hard and kind of awkward, but sometimes it's the best way to move forward. If you tell them how you feel, it might open their eyes and they can make more of an effort to make you feel less alone. It sounds like you have other friends who talk to them, so maybe one of your other friends can help incorporate you into the conversation. If all is lost, the thing I always do to reconnect with someone is to chat with them online. Start texting them, and then you can continue your text conversations in person. Don't give up!

Inclusively,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

Hi. I’m stuck in the two-crushes situation, but I just learned one of my crushes is moving away. Should this affect who I date? 

Sincerely,

Simp

(from Vol. 2, Issue 4, Letter #2)

Dear Simp,

I am so glad you wrote to us for a second time regarding your situation. The answer to this problem is really hard to simply take sides on, but my recommendation is not to let one of your crushes moving affect who you want to be in a relationship with. Then again, relationships often depend on having close contact, and long distance may not work. My advice to you is to consider if you would be okay with a long distance relationship. Once you do that, you can focus on who you feel you gravitate toward more. Another important thing, though: Be sure both of your crushes are interested in dating you! (Maybe their interest, or lack of interest, will make the decision for you.)

Best of luck,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

I snitched on my friend for doing something she wasn't supposed to. I immediately felt bad, but I also thought that she might've gotten into more trouble if she was caught later. But then she asked me if I was the one who did it, and I felt guilty but also really sad because she asked me. It kind of feels like she asked me because she doesn't trust me, and after that she definitely won't trust me. What do I do?

Sincerely,

Buzz Kill

(from Vol. 2, Issue 5, Letter #2)

Dear Buzz Kill,

Well, first you should be honest with your friend since she asked you if you snitched or not, and make sure you tell her the truth. Second, you should explain to her that you do not approve of her doing things that she isn’t supposed to do and that you think she should stop because you care about her and you don’t want her to get into trouble. If in the future she wants to continue to do these things, make sure she knows that you do not want to be involved in her poor decision-making at all. You do want to keep your friendship, though, so make sure you word this to her kindly and try not to get upset if she doesn’t listen. And if a little bit of her trust in you dissipated because you told on her, it's okay. You don’t want to be getting into trouble because of her. I can tell that your friendship is very important to you, and I admire that. I hope everything works out for you!

Truthfully,

The Mask

Dear Mask,

Thank you for your response about my devastation situation. About the peanuts, in my opinion peanuts are awful, so just don't eat them. But if you decide you want to eat them anyway, don't you dare compare them to the glorious heaven that is peas!

Sincerely,

Annoyed Jalapeño Popper

(from Vol. 2, Issue 5, Letter #8)

Dear Annoyed Jalapeño Popper,

Touché.

Love,

The Mask

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Almaden Country Day School. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion, and are not intended to replace parental or professional advice.