Dear Fox,

It seems that my weirdness may frighten away people. My friends seem to laugh uncomfortably when I make a joke as though it isn’t actually funny. I think that  I’m just a little eccentric but I think that I actually frighten people sometimes. In reality I am not nearly as weird as I seem, I just like making people laugh. What should I do?

-Someone who likes cats

Not to be rude, but if people are forcing laughter, then they generally don’t think whatever just happened is funny. There’s not really a question there. The best thing to do is probably observe yourself: notice what makes other people uncomfortable and/or afraid, and quit it. Based on your message, I’d say you have a specific kind of humor, that won’t really fly with most people. Try to tone it back. Test the waters, or in other words, check if the group your with is okay with that kind of humor by making a less-intense form of it, first. If you just want to make other people laugh: play to the audience.

Dear Fox,

How can I work on confidence and self esteem? As school goes on, I’m finding it harder to accept my flaws and shortcomings.

—from a turtle

Well, turtle, the best way (In my opinion) is to focus on the things you’re good at. You don’t see olympic athletes fret over how badly they lost in Mario Kart the other day. That’s not what they do. They work to be the best in their event, and find ways to improve their skill relating to it. That self-criticism is actually a very rare and valuable trait, so use it to improve yourself. As for confidence and self-esteem: everyone works on a different level, so there’s no one-for-all fix for increasing self-esteem or being more confident. A helpful expression is “fake it ‘til you make it.” Just act confident, even if you’re scared half to death, and you’ll end up becoming more confident. Kind of like smiling when you’re sad can make you happy again. If that doesn’t work: find someone to help you. Usually, having another person to lean on (Without singing “Lean On Me”) can help improve your confidence. Best of luck, turtle.

Dear Fox,

this is somewhat of a deep topic so I’ll try to keep it light. I was wondering if the amount of school violence was on the rise or if it was just becoming more publicised but ultimately this year it has become a growing problem. Soon I will be leaving for college and I will be on my own in a new campus. There are campus police and police in the general area but with so much crime and hostility; I am scared. Also, I am scared for my friends and family back home, I feel it is only a matter of time before things hit there. I more so want your opinion on if you think we are safe and how I should deal with my concerns for college.

-Concerned

Keep in mind: I’m not a political genius, law enforcement, or anyone relatively qualified to talk about this sort of thing. It is still my job to answer questions, and help students. With that in mind: there are ways to minimize risks. Keep in mind MMO dungeon policy: stay in a group in dangerous areas, especially at night. It’s less likely to run into danger if in a group of 4 or more party members (And by that I mean other friends). Keep in mind some cities are more dangerous than others, as well.  At any point if you feel like you’re in immediate danger: call the police. Some campuses have alert buttons to call campus security, so remember where they are (if any), and if you have to travel at night, stick to main roads, and well-lit places, somewhere where a lot of people can see you. Also, it never hurts to have a can of pepper spray handy, and if possible, take a few self-defense courses, as well.

What are some ways to manage time with AP classes and how do you choose what is best for you to take?

-APplicant

These are some good time-management tips. I wonder who wrote these? Probably some really smart fox. Check them out. As for what to take: If you know what job you want, take classes related to it. If you’re going into engineering, take AP Physics, AP Mechanics, and so on. If you’re getting A’s in english: try AP English. Almost every college makes students take Freshman Comp. The AP credit for AP Lang counts for Freshman Comp 1 (Usually). Tl;dr take classes based on what you want to do. (And take an AP english course to get out of a required college course, if your college accepts AP credits).

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