Finnegan Thompson ’26
EE Advice Columnist
Q. What would be your advice for grabbing the attention of more women? I can’t seem to get them to notice me. –Anonymous senior
A. The problem that has plagued man since the beginning of time. My answer might be a bit cliché and silly but it has shown me the most promise and that is to just be yourself. The way I see it, a relationship simply can’t be built on anything that is not authenticity. This is to say, be genuine and stay true to yourself. Don’t try to be something you’re not all for the sake of a date. I would also add to not try to force things. If it’s not meant to be, then you just have to cut your losses and move on. There is no use in trying to control fate. The conversation should feel natural and comfortable to you and you shouldn’t feel like you have to say things just to avoid awkward silence. If you can’t think of a good subject, talk about something that is unique to you. This can be something such as a hobby, sport, favorite activity, television show, movie, really anything that you are passionate about. This, I find, puts your true colors on display and shows what you are like as a person.
Q. How could I juggle my personal wants with what I need to get done? -Anonymous senior
A. A very relevant subject for people who are about to graduate! In my experience, the best thing to balance out your schedule is to write things down. This can be in a notebook, on a whiteboard, in a planner, on the computer, or even on a sticky note. Your timeline should be in a place that you see everyday, and preferably multiple times per day. Taking the time to write down a game plan makes you think about what you are willing to prioritize and how that will fit into your daily schedule. If you see it often, you will also not lose sight of what you set out to do in the first place. My strategy has always been this: work hard, party harder. If you frontload your schedule with all the things that you need to do, this leaves you with genuine, dedicated free time to do the things that you truly enjoy. This also stops you from procrastinating or having to stress about cutting your leisure time short to attempt to crunch and get all of your work done. If you are having trouble penciling out a schedule, ask a friend or even AI to help you.
Q. Can you rank school sports by the amount of athleticism it takes to be good at them? –Anonymous senior
A. To preface this, I am not on a sports team nor am I especially well-versed in the field of semi-professional interscholastic athleticism. All of my rankings are purely based on assumptions and things that I have seen and heard firsthand. They have no basis in fact and are completely my subjective opinion and no offense is intended. I will also be sticking to male sports as those are what I am most acquainted with. The ranking will be laid out in descending order of athleticism required.
- Ice Hockey: Both skating proficiency and stick handling are paramount.
- Wrestling: Matches can be long and it is a full-body workout.
- Rugby: You don’t wear any protective gear and you have to pass backwards.
- Football: Throwing and running are a must.
- Baseball: Insane reaction time and accuracy are required, not to mention running.
- Lacrosse: You need a great amount of finesse to pass the ball from stick to stick.
- Soccer: Kicking and running across a giant field are paramount for success
- Basketball: Accuracy and running are important, but it takes place inside and the court is smaller.
- Outdoor Track and Field: Speed is required for short to mid length runs as well as strength for throwing. There is also pole vault and long jump, increasing difficulty.
- Cross Country: Endurance and pacing are needed, but no throwing.
- Indoor Track: Shorter runs than Cross Country and no throwing either.
- Tennis: Small bursts of running with a fair amount of finesse to get the ball in a strategic location.
- Volleyball: Relatively small court, but there is a good amount of strategy needed to make the ball go where you want it to and to combat spikes from the opposing team.
- Swim and Dive: Proper form, endurance, and speed are necessary.
- Golf: A decent amount of finesse and club handling, but mostly just a lot of walking or cart driving.
- Marching Band: Drums and other stuff.
- Winter Percussion: Just drums.