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Ask Ashley: Advice on TikTok, enemies, more

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Gerald Sastra/The Cougar

In The Cougar’s weekly anonymous advice column, I talk about TikTok, how to crush your enemies and skills to know. To submit your questions for future issues, click the “Ask Ashley” button on our home page.

Ashley! What TikToks do you follow? Which ones are fun?!

Hello anon, and thank you for asking a question about one of my favorite things: TikTok. I have years of experience on the matter since it’s a huge time-waster and I love being entertained. The TikTokers I follow are mainly astrology and cooking accounts. If you’re into the same thing, my favorite cooking account is nutrientmatters, while croutonianation and laurenashastro are some of my favorite astrology content accounts. 

However, I don’t think the content I follow is completely accurate to what pops up on my For You page. Much of what shows up revolves around viral TikTok sounds, reality tv, comedy accounts and extremely messy storytimes. If you’re looking for someone really funny, I definitely would consider checking out regularguykofi, artbydemarcusshawn and itskeyonn. Hopefully, you like the accounts I provided for you. If not, there’s no hard feelings…sort of.

There are too many ops in my life. What do I do to minimize their presence?

This question is funny. Unfortunately, digital footprints exist so I won’t say the most obvious answer: beat them up. I don’t endorse violence so do NOT not beat up your enemies. 😉

But hypothetically, let’s say you can’t fight. Unfortunate to think of, but let’s be real, it’s a reality for a lot of y’all. So what now, you may ask. To that, I say that’s a good question. Most people I know with an abundance of ops typically avoid them.

Unfortunately, if all your enemies go to the illustrious UH, that may be hard to do. During my time at this school, I realized that someone will always know your enemy. So consider joining a club and laying low. Have you considered joining The Cougar? I heard it’s a great haven away from your ops. Besides, you have a great way with words, anon. Apply for a position through Get Involved, purr.

Ashley, what are some skills someone going into your field can learn?

Maybe it’s not a skill, but I think resilience is important. As a STEM major, all I’ve learned is pain. What do y’all know about crying at 3 a.m. while studying for an organic chemistry exam?  That probably applies to a lot of y’all, so maybe you get the point. My apologies for the PTSD. 

Anyways, aside from STEM, I think this applies to any field. But don’t get it twisted. Resilience doesn’t mean marinating in situations that make you feel crappy. Over time, I’ve learned to let things go if they don’t make me feel good.

For example, if I get a bad grade on an exam, I take the hit and watch some TV.  Because, at the end of the day, what else can I do? The only thing I can do is try to do better next time. That said, I think resilience includes accepting your failures and trying again. That and also self care.

I think for people like me, those who want everything to go to plan the first time around, that’s a difficult concept to follow. But you live, and you learn I guess. Hope this helps.

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