Here our readers, writers, friends, and family ask our papas questions. You can ask some questions for yourself by emailing silverneedle.magazine@gmail.com, (only your question will be shown in the article).
I always set my alarm clock for 7am, but lately I’ve been sleeping through it. I’ve tried multiple alarm clocks now, but I keep sleeping through every one of them. What should I do? –Sleepy
If you are sleeping through your alarm clock, that means you are most likely not getting enough sleep. Try going to sleep at a consistent time every night. If you are already doing that, you may consider trying to go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night for a week, you may notice it’s easier to get up in the morning. Also, some people are affected by ‘artificial’ light given off by computers/ iPads/ phones, the lights from those screens fools your brain into thinking it is still daytime and your body doesn’t begin the natural process of releasing melatonin into your blood to send the message that it’s time to get sleepy. So, try to limit your screen-time for the hour or so before you want to fall asleep. If you fall asleep faster and sleep more soundly, you most likely will wake up easier in the morning… maybe you will not even need your alarm clock!
Someone I really don’t like invited me to their birthday party. I don’t want to go, but my mom said I should go, to be polite. The thing is, once I heard about the invitation I made other plans with friends at the time of the party, and my mom wants me to cancel them. What should I do? –Rude Dude
If your mom said you should go, I’m sure she understands the situation and what should be done in order to be polite in this situation. If there is a real issue between you and the person who invited you to their birthday party, I’d start with discussing the reason you don’t like this person with your parents, then it might be a good idea to discuss any issues with that person directly. Maybe they will become a good friend in the future once you begin to communicate honestly with each other.
I’ve committed myself to multiple extra-curricular and curricular activities this school year, and now a friend wants to go out with me, but I don’t have the time. What should I do? –Busy Bee
You should meet your commitments that you have made. Being busy and learning how to manage your time properly is part of growing up. If you feel like you have over-committed yourself with extra-curricular activities this semester, then you should discuss this with your parents next semester before making commitments so that you can make plans that are more realistic.
My teacher assigned reading for my class, but I forgot about the reading due. Now there is a test due in 2 days on those specific chapters, and I haven’t read them yet! What should I do? –Forgetful Procrastinator
Do your best to speed-read those chapters, pay attention to anything in bold print and important information that is repeated throughout the chapters. In the future seems like you need a better system to keep up with your assignments – maybe keep a list of assignments and when they are due written down where you can see it easily.
I hate science, but my mom is having me take science class. Why do I have to take science class? –Science Hater
All my friends are super busy, I don’t have any extracurricular stuff I can sign up for, and my schoolwork is normally finished by lunch, so I’m normally very bored. What should I do to keep bored-ness away? —Bored
If you are ‘bored’ then let your teacher/parent know about this situation immediately! I’m sure they can fix the problem in 2 seconds flat!
The Silver Needle 