Budding romance a go? What about abortion?
Dear Trevor:
So, I’m in this econ class with a guy I think really likes me. Every time I look up, he seems to be looking at me. Our eyes meet, we kind of grin, and then immediately look away. It seems we’re both pretty shy. What do you think I could do or say to find out more about how he feels about me…and how can I do it without freaking either of us out?!
P.S.: What’s your take on abortion?
– Maddie, Lakewood
Dear Maddie: Wow, lots to think about in that one! Do you know of any mutual friends you might have with the guy? Maybe you could casually mention his name in front of them and see if anyone has any insights about your shy buddy’s feelings. Or you could always just be bold and see what he’s doing for lunch some time. Sometimes just waiting on the other person means waiting for nothing.
As for abortion, as a professional advice columnist, I don’t like to reveal my perspective on such weighty, divisive issues. The abortion question is an important decision for individuals to make for themselves. But I will say that one of the positions is definitely really wrong! 
Dear Trevor:
My girlfriend is obsessed with unicorns. She always turns the conversation back to unicorns when we’re together, and even my friends are starting to get a little ticked off by all the unicorn talk. I don’t mind the posters and notebooks, but when she tried to find a sitter for her huge model unicorn collection, that was the last straw. I told her it was me or those g#dd%mned unicorns, but she started crying and hung up on me. Now I don’t know what to do!
– “Mark,” Gahanna
Hi, “Mark.”
Tough one there. The only thing I can compare it to would have to be a personal experience I had during my sophomore year with my girlfriend, “Colleen.” However, her fixation wasn’t with unicorns but with the “North American Sasquatch,” as she called it (despite a biology major acquaintance’s insistence that such a name amounted to a redundancy in terms). What started out as a seemingly innocent, though quite public, area of interest rapidly spiraled into endless conversations that centered around the mythical creature until his big foot was wedged squarely between us.
One minute it was, “What do you think you’d do if we actually saw a North American Sasquatch?” or “Isn’t the North American Sasquatch cool?,” and the next it was, “Hey, what do you think the offspring would look like if a North American Sasquatch were to impregnate, say, a reasonably attractive, blonde 20-something from Findlay, Ohio?” At the time, I’d try hopelessly to steer our conversations in another direction, hoping to broaden her interest to include biological sciences generally, or even primates specifically (I’d have even settled, at that point, for an unnatural obsession with great apes or something). Nothing seemed to make a difference.
But, you know what? Now that I’ve had some time to reflect, I realize that the problem wasn’t with Colleen, her grainy pictures of a mysterious “beast,” or even her massive collection of plaster cast “footprints,” but with yours truly. My mistake was in trying to change a person into something she’s not. If Unicorn Girl is not what you want, don’t de-horn her interests. Buck up and find what’s right for “Mark.”
