Welcome to Riley to the Rescue, where the one and only me, Riley Wolfgang, is given the chance to take a peek at your life and season it with whatever I see fit. If you don’t like the seasoning, make the meal yourself. And keep in mind, although clearly intelligent, I am a student just like you, so if anything bad happens as a result of my seasoning, don’t hold me to it.
What is the best thing to know as a freshman?
Dear freshman,
It is cool to be involved! I am a huge advocate for having school spirit and being involved in different clubs and organizations. I know that it’s intimidating to try out for a sports team or join a new club as a freshman, especially when all of the jaded and angry upperclassmen around you are talking about how much they hate Northwood, but if you don’t start now, you won’t be able to grow as much as you could by the time you’re a senior. It is cool to be involved! Go to football games and be in the Nut House. As a Nut House captain, let me tell you how annoying it is to see all of the freshmen hiding behind the bleachers making out or doing whatever you guys do back there. Cheer on the team and get into the Nut House themes! Also, upperclassmen do not hate freshmen. We aren’t mean and we don’t bully people, so if you need advice or help or anything that one of us can help you with, any upperclassman would love to be your friend and help you out. I promise.
I recently got back together with my ex and I’ve noticed him talking a lot to the girl who he cheated on me with. Should I be okay with this? Should I ask him about her? Or should I just ignore it?
Dear He is Probably Still Cheating,
NEVER GET BACK TOGETHER WITH SOMEONE WHO CHEATED ON YOU is the first thing I have to say about this. No, you shouldn’t be okay with it, you shouldn’t ask him about her and you shouldn’t ignore it. You should say, “Listen here, buddy,” and break up with him. If someone cheats on you, they do not value your feelings or your relationship, despite what they might say to try to apologize or get you back. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so why are you letting a flounder swim in place of what could be a mahi-mahi?
Is it a bad friend move to have a crush on your best friend’s ex?
Dear Crushing Bestie,
In most cases, probably yes. Your friend will most likely be angry, but honesty is the best policy. If you have mutual feelings with one of your friend’s exes, you should talk to your friend in a non-confrontational way and ask how they feel about the situation. As a rule of thumb, please don’t try to date one of your bestie’s new exes or anyone they dated for a super long time that they recently broke up with. For example, my friends each kind of have one guy that’s “off limits” to the rest of the friend group, and we have always been able to respect that. If you don’t want to bring up to your friend that you like their ex, maybe you could casually suggest discussing your list of “off limits” exes and see if said ex is on said list. This topic will always be murky water, so tread cautiously.
What if you need to be put on birth control, but don’t know how to ask your parents?
Dear Ms. Responsible,
I’m very glad you asked this! Right off the bat, I want to say that I am always an advocate for honesty being the best policy, but I completely understand that sometimes, it’s just not an option. While many people don’t take this into consideration, birth control can be used for many more things besides preventing pregnancy. I suggest that you research some other positive effects of taking the pill and present to your parents some other health benefits that apply to you. Do you want to regulate and lighten your period? Do you struggle with acne and want to decrease your breakouts? Again, I am always an advocate for being open with your parents, because in the long run, things will be much easier if your parents know the truth. However, since saying is much easier than doing, and if your parents will completely shut down the idea due to religious reasons or concerns for you, it is possible to obtain a birth control prescription without parental permission. There are many health clinics relatively close to Pittsboro, and you can set up an appointment with them so that you can have one of their health care employees coach you more and write your prescription. If you choose not to tell your parents the truth, it will create the possibility for conflict; however, your health and well being are the most important at the end of the day, so take the steps to do what is best for you. And also—seventy percent of US teens have had sex by the time they are 19, so if this is the decision you want to make for yourself, please do it safely. And don’t forget, sex is kind of a big deal, so make sure you’re ready.
Why does Riley Wolfgang have so much power in the school?
Dear Concerned Peasant,
Honestly, I wish I could tell you.
I was dating someone and then she broke up with me and a different guy asked her to prom. She said yes, what should I do now? I have two classes with her, and I really want her back.
Dear Dumped Boyfriend,
I am sorry to say it, but she is just not into you any more. If you broke up, you’re done. If she’s already going to prom with someone else, you’re done. If said girl was still interested in you, she would not be going to prom with someone else already. I know that rejection sucks, but the best thing to do at this point is move on. If you really feel like you can’t move on without talking to her, or you still feel like you need closure, ask her in a mature way if you guys could talk about stuff such as why your relationship didn’t work out. You can also use this as a chance to ask any questions regarding your relationship that you want answered once and for all. And who knows, as a little glimmer of hope, prom is like four months away, so there’s a chance they won’t even end up going together. But don’t do anything stupid to try to break them up. You could always find a smokin’ hot prom date to make her jealous, which is a little immature, but I’m not here to judge. Good luck!
