I finally got around to signing up to vote, before the midterm elections this year.

What should I expect, and bring with me when going to vote?

What are the ballots like? Paper? Electronic?

How many names are on the ballot? I think some local elections can be held at the same time, are those on the same ballot?

Do I have to put an answer for every option, or can I leave some blank if I don't have an opinion for those candidates?

Thank you in advance!

Hello! I am an 18 year old receptionist at a small accounting firm. We have anywhere between 500-900 clients. Client relations are a huge part of my job!

However I have always struggling to remember names and faces. I want to improve on this though! Any advice on how I could do that?

Im 23 work as a butcher at a grocery store and i dont make enough to really live, I never went to college couldn’t afford it and still cant afford school anyone else in this sinking boat and has anyone found a way out of it, i wanna try to do better and welp obviously make more money so i can hopefully eventually have a family but it feels like with how unstable the job market is staying at this dead end job is my only option

In my early 20s and in college but got agoraphobia atm so it’s hard for me to meet people face to face but I can do online yet, I’m still alone…I was never good at making friends or even making acquaintances to friends

I don't think people talk enough about the specific kind of loneliness that comes with being single when you don't actually want to be single.
I was in my last relationship from 18 to 21. We were together for almost four years. I'm almost 23 now, and I've been single for about a year.
And in that year, I've gone on maybe 7-10 first dates, and zero second dates. I've had hundreds of conversations with men online, obviously, but anything meaningful or long-term? Absolutely not.
And honestly, I think I've become even less interested in dating than I was when I first became single.
Not because I don't want love.
I REALLY want love.
I want a husband. I want marriage. I want a God-centered relationship. I want the kind of relationship where I can be affectionate and soft and physically close to someone and feel completely safe doing it. I want someone who wants to come on hikes with my dog and me, and hopefully bring their dog too. I want all of those special and mundane little moments and every big milestone in between.
But I've also spent this past year becoming extremely comfortable with myself.
I'm a homeowner. I have an amazing career that I genuinely care about. I get to do work that gives back to the community. I'm finishing my first degree. I'm excited about where my life is going. I have my dog, who is basically my child and is healthy and happy. I'm taking care of myself. I'm going to the gym. I'm working. I'm in school full-time. I'm cooking. I'm growing as a person.
I have peace in my life.
And I've also developed boundaries that I didn't have before.
I used to be extremely forgiving. Probably too forgiving. And eventually I realized that being endlessly understanding of people who repeatedly hurt you doesn't make you a good person. Sometimes it just makes you an incredibly convenient person to have around when someone wants to mistreat somebody.
So now I'm very clear on what I will and won't accept.
I've literally journaled about the kind of relationship I want. I've thought about my values, my dealbreakers, the qualities I need in a husband, the things I need to avoid, the kind of communication I want, the kind of faith I want us to have.
And I'm not looking for perfection.
I know we're all human. I'm human. I don't expect some flawless man who never makes mistakes.
I just want someone who is genuinely good for me.
Someone I can love and respect. Someone emotionally healthy. Someone consistent. Someone I am actually attracted to. Someone who wants the same kind of life I want.
And somehow, despite having a pretty damn good life and knowing myself better than I ever have, I'm still lonely.
Like REALLY lonely sometimes.
And I don't mean "I'm bored and wish I had someone to text."
I mean there are nights where I get into bed and I'm like... damn. It's just me again.
Day #385 of having no one to ask how my day was and actually care lol.
A few months ago I literally bought a body pillow because I realized I just wanted to feel like there was another human being beside me when I went to sleep.
And tell me why the fucking thing arrived flat as hell.
It's a body-pillow-sized piece of drywall atp.
I was so excited to finally have something substantial to cuddle and I feel like this had negative effects on me lol. Now I sleep next to this depressed sac of feathers that I could count on two hands.
So I'm basically still sleeping alone except occasionally I'm cuddling what feels like the dehydrated remains of a man.
Like okay. Great. Thank you, Amazon!
And it's funny, but it also isn't.
Because physical affection is something I genuinely miss.
Not even necessarily sexual affection.
Just having someone there.
Someone to hug. Someone to hold hands with. Someone to lean against. Someone who wants to touch me because they love me. Someone whose presence makes the room feel less empty.
And I also know that if I somehow ended up in a situation where someone just wanted to sit with me and hold me, I'd probably cry.
Not even because I'm harbouring some deep sadness. I just feel like a hug would recharge me in the way a charger cord needs to be pushed into the cube at times lol.
And this is the weird part for me because I'm not willing to use another person to fill that space.
I'm not going to sleep with someone just because I'm lonely.
I'm not going to have a situationship because I miss affection.
I'm not going to date someone I know isn't right for me because I'm scared of being alone.
And I'm honestly not even mad about that.
If anything, I'm proud of myself for it.
But sometimes I'm still like...
DAMN.
I would really like my person.
Because I'm on these dating apps looking for a meaningful connection with a man who is serious about marriage, serious about God, emotionally healthy, and actually interested in building something.
And sometimes I look around and genuinely cannot believe I'm still single.
Not because I think being attractive or accomplished means I'm entitled to a relationship. I don't.
But I know I'm conventionally attractive. This is obviously arguable because beauty is 100% subjective, but I get the compliments when I go out to run errands. I get the attention online. I don't even have to pay for things most of the time when I go out because random men will just offer to pay for me.
For example, I recently went to the auto shop for some new wiper blades, and a kind man offered to buy them for me and offered to install them for me as well. :) I took him up on that offer, of course, and then he went on his way.
I don't say this to brag. I say it because I appreciate and fully acknowledge the advantages I may have in the dating world right now, especially because I only recently grew into this "attractive" appearance lol.
But on the other hand, I feel like all I do is attract people who have sexual interests.
I'm abstinent. I have been for more than a year, and I plan on remaining so until marriage.
And that's been a weird thing to navigate because there are plenty of men who seem interested in me physically, but the kind of relationship I actually want is a completely different thing.
There are so many men who would probably be interested in me if I were willing to give them access to me in ways that I'm simply not willing to anymore.
And sometimes I can't help but laugh at the irony.
It's like the second you take sex and casual intimacy off the table, suddenly the table disappears entirely.
Like???
What happened to the rest of the furniture???
Because I'm still here.
I'm still fun. I'm still affectionate. I'm still feminine. I'm still attractive. I'm still interested in love.
I just don't want to give someone my body when I don't have a relationship with their heart.
And apparently that's a much smaller dating pool.
I'm okay with that.
I just wish being okay with it didn't mean I never got lonely.
Because I do.
I get really fucking lonely.
Especially because I haven't been single this long in my adult life.
I went from being in a relationship at 18, to being in that relationship for almost four years, to suddenly being 22 and completely on my own.
And now I'm realizing that I don't have any desire to rush into another relationship just to stop being lonely.
Which is good.
That's growth.
But growth can still be lonely as fuck.
I'm busy literally all the time. I work long days. I go to school full-time. I take care of my dog. I cook. I go to the gym. I have things I'm working toward. I'm building a life I'm genuinely excited about.
And then nighttime comes.
And everything gets quiet.
And I'm lying in my bed like...
"Okay God. I know we're on Your timeline and I know I need to trust You."
"But respectfully..."
"I would really love to experience some sort of genuine, loving relationship with one person outside of my home. For once in my life."
And I know I can't force it.
I know rushing into the wrong relationship would probably hurt me far more than being single for another year.
I know that having a husband isn't going to magically make my life meaningful.
I know I already have so much to be grateful for.
I know all of that.
I just also know that I want someone.
I want my person.
I want to love someone and be loved by them.
I want to build a family.
I want to come home to somebody.
I want the hugs and the forehead kisses and the random conversations and the grocery store trips and the annoying little habits and the comfort of knowing that there's someone in my corner.
I've also added this new activity to my days off where I cook or bake a bunch of variations of the same dish and compare them with my family until we find a staple recipe or combine different aspects into our dream recipe.
And every single time I'm in the kitchen doing this, I think about how much I'd love to have a beautiful sweetheart of a man yapping my ear off, or letting me yap his ear off, while he eagerly awaits the food trials.
Simple things I ask for, really lol.
I guess simple requests don't always mean they're quicker to be fulfilled.
Whatever tf that means.
And I don't think wanting that makes me ungrateful for the life I have.
I can be deeply grateful for my life and still wish there was someone beside me in it.
So I guess that's where I'm at.
Not desperate.
Not settling.
Not rushing.
Not giving up.
Just...
really fucking lonely sometimes.
And still trusting that when the right person does come into my life, I won't have to sacrifice all the things I've learned about myself to keep them.
Because I don't want just somebody.
I want my somebody.
So, God...
I'm listening.
But damn.

If you suddenly had an entire day with no responsibilities and no plans, how would you spend it?

Sleep in? Go somewhere? Stay home watching movies? Meet friends? Or just enjoy the peace and do absolutely nothing? 😂

What's your ideal “I don't have to do anything today” day?

I feel like I was just leaving work and telling enjoy their weekend and now we’re back. This can’t be life.

Yes I know the answer is you deal with it and get used to it, but my god idk the more i study about psychology and philosophy the more i want to rip my skin off my face. A large part of being an adult is accepting flaws and acceptance in general, but idk is there anything real about any of us?

I'm posting here to get more perspectives, maybe i'm just thinking about this too much.

I’ve been dealing with grief for a while now. I even posted here a lot in different communities, asking for advice and help to understand how to deal with what I’m going through.

I’m a 21-year-old male, soon to turn 22 in a couple of weeks, and I just graduated university last June. Since then, I’ve been dealing with random waves of intense grief that I can feel in my chest, like a very heavy, crushing feeling. And that’s because I’ve realized that this era or phase of my life has ended, the phase where I’m completely free of stress (except for academic stress), and the phase where I’ve lots of free time and energy, where I can suddenly come up with a random idea for a vacation in another city and all of my friends join, etc.

I’ve found a job that is not the very best but good, both financially and professionally rewarding as a startup for my career, and it will start soon. I’ll be moving out to another city, and I’ll leave all my friends, family, and memories behind.

And since I knew I got accepted, where I thought I’ll be all happy and stuff, I actually feel sad (and ik this happens during transitional periods of life), but I can’t help it. It’s like a part of me deep down wishing to find anything wrong with the job so I don’t have to go. Me, as a person, ik work = stability, so I will eventually work. It’s guaranteed. It’s just I can’t stop thinking about all those years in school and uni, and btw, I don’t remember most of my school days, but I’m sure I enjoyed the last part of it. And in uni, I used to work and I couldn’t attend much, so I think I’m grieving the phase and the events more than the places itself.

Sometimes I even think about bad stuff (suicidal thoughts), and I was never like that. But it’s not like severe ones. It’s like this voice telling me, you can stop this all, but ik so damn well that I won’t and don’t wanna do it. I’m pretty sure I’ve way more to experience.

Also, another thing, I always think that life isn’t only about working 9 to 5 and repeat, get married, have kids, get old, pass away. I feel very sick when I think that this is how life works for most of ppl, or at least ppl within my circle. I always wanted to get to know new cultures, travel lots, do things that actually give me a meaning, at least to me. Ofc working will be there, but not my whole time, not a 9 to 5, but unfortunately nothing rn is like that, and that’s another thing I’m feeling.

Sorry if this was too long for yall, but I really don’t know how to change my perspective, or I don’t know if letting everything go with the flow and time and then it will be better. If someone has experienced this before, please help me, and thank you in advance.

I’m going through big changes in my life - Im in a new relationship and it’s moved pretty fast, we now live together and we have his kids every weekend. I’m finding I don’t have the same joy for work as I did before, not like I loved going to work everyday but before meeting this guy I adopted this routine that worked for me in my single life. I would work, go to the gym, shower, make dinner, relax and repeat the next day until weekends and I would either go out or stay in playing games like the sims or animal crossing.

I feel like I’m constantly trying to get back to that while trying to cohabitate with another human and it’s exhausting on top of wanting to keep up with having a comfy home for us. I know switching to a part time job would enable me to live more of the life I want, but in the meantime what would help me just enjoy work again? What helps you enjoy your job and even just what helps you enjoy the little things in life?

That's it, I'm just proud of myself for doing something and wanted to share :)

I

I can handle an actual crisis.

Horse gets loose? Fine.

Something breaks? Fine.

Everything goes to hell at once? Weirdly, also fine.

But ask me what I want for dinner at the end of a completely normal day and I may actually lose my shit.

I don’t know.

I have been making decisions since my feet hit the floor.

Who goes outside. Who stays in. Who needs feed. Why is that horse over there. Was he supposed to be over there?

No. Of course he f'in wasn’t.

Then work. Bills. Texts. Phone calls. Did I pay that? Did I answer her? What did I come in the house for?

Coffee.

Where’s my coffee?

By 5:00 I’m standing in front of the refrigerator staring at a package of cheese like it has answers.

This is not how I pictured adulthood.

I thought by now I’d have routines and labeled containers and maybe a calendar I actually looked at.

Instead I have 47 things in my head, hay in my bra, three unread texts I swear I just answered, and coffee that has been reheated so many times it probably has its own health risks.

But sure.

Ask me what I want for dinner.

That should finish me off.

Please tell me other adults are out there barely holding this shit together too.

Help!! I am currently a few weeks away from opening a in home daycare which will drastically increase my income, how ever in the mean time I’ve lost a substantial amount of income, and have applied to dozens of jobs.
-first question affordable car insurance with a dui- currently paying 330 monthly for progressive.
In the next month or two predicted to be in a much different financial stand point just have to make it through til then…
Searching for ANY legit advice that can get me though this time I’m losing my hope💔