Welcome back, advice lovers. The leaves are starting to fall on Healy Lawn, so you know what that means — panic, fatigue and constant midterm anxiety. Luckily for you, I’m here to help you through it all. This week, we’ll be talking through school stress and relationship problems. As always, if you’ve got a question I haven’t answered, submit it to this anonymous form and I’ll help you out.

My dad and I have really different political views, and I’m having a hard time when we call and all he wants to talk about is politics. It drives me crazy to sit and listen to him talk about things he knows I disagree with every week, and sometimes I don’t want to pick up his calls because of this. I don’t want to lose my relationship with him but I don’t know how to get him to stop talking about things I can’t stand. 

It can be really hard to have meaningful conversations with your dad when you disagree on something that’s very important to both of you, but trying to reframe the conversation when it starts to get political can be more effective than getting upset or avoiding his calls. I’m assuming your dad knows about your political differences, but if he doesn’t or doesn’t know that you aren’t interested in discussing them, tell him. Be clear about the fact that you don’t want to fight about politics and you’d rather talk about something else when you call. Focus on topics you both enjoy hearing about, like a new hobby or something you thought was interesting in one of your classes. If he keeps bringing the conversation back to political topics you aren’t interested in, it’s okay to tell him that you have to go, and make a quick exit from the conversation. If your dad calls every week, it’s clear he really values the relationship he has with you. Maintaining a connection with you is likely more important to him than a monologue about his latest political fixation. Giving him a strong, direct reminder that you’re focusing on other things when you call can drive this home and work to reframe your conversations for the better.

I’ve been with my boyfriend for almost seven months and things are going well, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my sexuality recently and I’m pretty sure I’m bisexual. I’ve been feeling like I want to explore this a little more outside of a relationship, but I also don’t want to hurt my boyfriend. Where should I go from here?

Having an open and honest conversation with your boyfriend about what you’ve been thinking lately is a good place to start and can help you clarify what you want going forward. It may be that right now isn’t the right time for you to be in a relationship, and that’s totally fine! College is a great time to try new things and figure out who you are and what you want. It seems like the main reason you’re thinking about staying with your boyfriend is because you don’t want to hurt him, and if that’s the case, it probably isn’t the best choice in the long run. While your boyfriend may be hurt by this revelation, it’s more fair to both of you to have a clear conversation about your desires to explore your bisexuality so you can both make an informed decision about whether continuing the relationship is the right choice for each of you.

I hate Georgetown. I don’t hate it enough to transfer, especially since I have such a great community here, but I just hate the school, the grind culture, preprofessional culture, and the elitism and blatant wealth inequities. How do you recommend I get through my next two years?

It can be really hard to feel comfortable in a place that feels like it doesn’t match with your values, but having a community you love is a great place to start. Ask the people whose company you do value to bring you to clubs and activities they enjoy, and see if anything meshes with what you’d want your college experience to look like. Casting a wide net and getting involved with new aspects of Georgetown can really broaden the way you see the school and can integrate you in some new communities that don’t prioritize wealth, constant grind or a focus on careers after graduation. While the negative aspects of a school you’re unhappy with can feel overwhelming, a huge part of college is the people you spend your time with, and it sounds like you’ve already got a great community that supports and interests you. Spending less time with the parts of Georgetown you don’t like and more with the parts of it that you do can do a lot to make your next two years here more worthwhile than the last two.

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