Welcome back, advice lovers. Spring break is over, and that means the post-vacation stress is coming for us all. But don’t worry, I’m here to ease some of your stress and answer all your questions — this week, you’ve got some big ones. If this week’s column doesn’t solve all your problems, submit whatever’s keeping you up at night to the anonymous form, and I’ll do my best to help you out.

I’m a junior and I’m starting to get freaked out about the fact that I’m graduating in a year and I have to figure out my future before then. I’ve gone on a few dates with someone I like a lot, but I don’t know what my plans are after I graduate, and I’m worried about getting too invested since we might end up going in different directions. Is it worth seeing where this goes or am I setting myself up to get hurt?

It’s totally normal to be anxious about your post-grad future — we all are! But it’s important to remember that you have plenty of time before graduation to figure out what interests you. Even then, you don’t have to decide what the rest of your life will look like immediately. It can be helpful to take a step back and realize that your plans for your life will likely change over time, so it’s completely okay if you don’t know what you should do a few years down the road. And while this concern can be overwhelming when it comes to relationships, you should absolutely go for it if you really like this person. Although it can feel like there’s a time crunch with graduation, you have over a year before either of you go anywhere, and that’s a really long time! Planning can be valuable, but if you’re constantly trying to predict how you’ll feel in the future, you won’t be able to be happy in the present. Give yourself permission to take things week by week with this person instead of looking years down the road. Most importantly, enjoy the time you have left on the Hilltop!

My friends really don’t like my boyfriend and it’s starting to cause problems every time we hang out. I don’t want to break up with my boyfriend, so how can I get them to stop bringing this up?

Have your friends told you why they don’t like your boyfriend? If they don’t like his personality or just haven’t clicked with him, then you are absolutely justified to tell them you aren’t interested in hearing their commentary anymore. Good friends will respect your choices and keep their opinions to themselves. If they don’t, you might want to spend less time with them. However, if they don’t like him because they’re worried about you or your safety, that’s something to listen to. Sometimes friends can pick up on dynamics that are hard to see from inside the relationship, and they may be trying to tell you something that’s difficult to hear. Have a conversation with your friends and see whether or not their reasoning resonates with you. Odds are, they just want you to be happy — if you are, that should be enough for them to drop the issue.

I’ve been at Georgetown for almost two years and I still don’t feel like I belong. Even though my grades aren’t that bad, I constantly feel like everyone in class is smarter than me and is more likely to succeed in the future. I know realistically that this is imposter syndrome, but how do I start to get over this? 

Imposter syndrome can be really tough, especially at Georgetown. It can feel like everyone is perfectly balancing schoolwork, extracurriculars and jobs without any anxiety. It’s important to remind yourself that you’re just as qualified to be here as everyone else in your classes, and even if they don’t seem like they’re struggling, at some point they’ve probably experienced the same worries you have. Taking a moment to remember this can go a long way when you’re feeling overwhelmed and can take some of the pressure off to succeed all the time. If you feel like you don’t belong at Georgetown, it can also help to expand what you’re involved in — new clubs and extracurriculars, even nearly two years into college, can be a great way to find a community focused on something that interests you. Finding a group of people passionate about the same things as you can eliminate a lot of the stress about feeling out of place, and hopefully make you feel more comfortable for your last two years here. Good luck — I’m rooting for you!

Caroline Brown is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. This is the third installment of her column “Calling in With Caroline.”