I have finished everything but awaiting one letter of recommendation from a dentist that she told me she would submit by the end of the week and my official transcript that I mailed on May 23rd.
Should I submit now, I’ve been hearing it takes a couple weeks for my application to be verified anyways after submitting, but was unsure if this was true.
Additionally, I don’t want any schools to view my application before the final letter is submitted so I wasn’t sure if I should wait a few more days until that is in. Thanks!

Sorry if this is the wrong subreddit for this, but I’ve found the most comfort and advice in the posts here.
I have had pretty severe strabismus and double vision for well over 10 years now. I have prism lenses but the degree in which my eyes cross vary throughout the day, so I never really see one solid image. I’ve been to eye doctor after eye doctor and everyone just pushes it off as “that’s just how it is”. I saw a surgeon and she said she doubts the surgery will help at this point. Because I’ve dealt with this for so long, my brain has learned to “ignore” the vision from one eye. I have little to no depth perception, my peripherals are terrible, I have a very hard time recognizing faces and seeing in low light. I kind of came to terms with it. Until 2 months ago…
I also have very severe migraines and I can get fuzzy spots or auras. But I noticed my vision was getting worse and worse so I visited my neuro. She recommended I see an eye doctor because the pupil in my right eye was reacting to light “strangely”. Visited the eye doctor and the technician seemed VERY concerned. Eye doctor came in and said “that’s just how your eyes are”. He had a very hard time examining my eyes because they kept jumping around and he got a bit rude because he was getting frustrated. He mentioned some inflammation and pale coloration in my right eye but told me he wasn’t worried. At the end of it he changed my prism prescription from a 2.0 out to an 8 and gave me different contact prescription (a 2 point increase). I go home, spend a month adjusting to the new prescriptions and I’m still having increased difficulty with long, near, and double vision. So I call and basically tell the eye doctor I wasn’t convinced “that’s just how my eyes are” and they get me in with someone new. Second eye doctor looks at my eye and becomes HIGHLY concerned. Asks my health history, and tells me he’s sending me to neuro-ophthalmology. He suspects I had a stroke in my eye…the very one my neuro was concerned about and the one the first eye doctor “wasn’t too concerned about”. He tried adjusting my prescription but no level of strength was allowing me to see even the biggest line of letters…and he changed my prism prescription to a whopping 12!!! I have blurry and blind spots and I think it’s causing my migraines to worsen, too, because I’m struggling so bad to see. My daily life has been affected sooo much, too. I thought double vision was ruining my life, but now I feel even more frustrated. I’m honestly just looking for solidarity. I’m young (29) and very active/eat healthy. How can I be losing my eye sight THIS bad?!

Hey everyone! I recently moved to the area and I'd like to know if anyone could make some recommendations for Primary Care Physicians for adults within 15-20ish miles of Schenectady/Niskayuna. Preferably female, pro-choice, and needs to have experience with trans health care.
Also if anyone has recommendations for good pro-choice OBGYNs that would be fantastic!

Currently I'm struggling to find work. I'm professionally trained and skilled in what I got my degree in (Environmental sciences. I can preform lab work, field work, research, ect) but after a string of bad jobs (Nepotism hiring which led to an absolute dumpster fire of a contract job. It was so bad an internal investigation was launched to find out my former boss did thousands in damage, lost company property, wrecked a company rental, ect.) I'm left with no references. I was close to securing a comfortable position at a new department within the contract lab I was working with but my former boss sabotaged me during the last step and revealed to them I was planning on leaving soon in the fall to go to grad school for my Masters. There are no other jobs in my field for me in my hometown, but I cannot afford to move.
I was trying to save $5,000 for my cross country move to begin a fully paid master's program but after being unemployed for 3-4 months my savings of $3.8k is almost gone entirely. I've already had to defer my masters program by one year so I could save my money, but with how things are looking I may need to drop out entirely. Unfortunately this opportunity may never happen again for me. I've had to report a former PhD student I worked under for a summer for severe verbal abuse, sexism, ect. I was hopeful my mentor who was the PI for the PhD student would remain on good terms with me but I think I burned those bridges. I will not be able to secure strong academic letters of recommendation again as previously. I'm not hopeful I could ever receive a prestigious offer again like that for my Masters. I was the first in my family to achieve a Bachelors and I wanted to pursue further education to follow my passion of research ect in my field.
I have tried pivoting to doing "unskilled" labor such as retail and food service for the short term to help me reach my goal but I'm struggling to even find a job doing that. I've redone my resume multiple times with the retail experience I had gained throughout college and even did something as far fetched as creating a fabricated resume to just secure SOMETHING. The sparse interviews I've gotten have led nowhere. I've applied to local bars, Olive garden, walmart, fast food, ect. I'm desperate. I'm running out of options. This is severely impacting my mental health.
I'm so desperate to try and find a way to pursue my Masters program that I'm even considering escorting or prostitution again (something I never went all the way with during 2020, This was before I got into university).
My family is not a resource I can depend on. They are also on the verge of homelessness. My grandparents live in a sinking collapsing mobile home and are working for an abusive man who is their landlord. Two other people within my family are unemployed and struggling. I live at home currently in my hometown with my father and youngest sibling in a horrible apartment complex. We can barely afford basic needs. Our cars are failing us and soon we will not have any working vehicles in the entire family. The radiator of my father's vehicle split sudden yesterday and my car is experiencing chronic overheating/antifreeze issues. Both our cars are a 2006 and a 1990, We've been barely keeping the cars afloat with consistent (monthly) repairs for failing parts. We could wake up any day to both of our cars being entirely useless and each day we get closer to that reality.
Everything feels hopeless. My mental health is suffering severely. I'm on the edge of giving up.

I finally found long term recovery -- I began my change January 21st without the luxury of access to healthcare and it was one of the most difficult journeys of my life, but it was worth it. I will say as a sidenote, doing it alone is not something I'd ever recommend BUT it's possible if you're like me and out of options.
I no longer struggle with relapses. My sobriety gave me the strength to successfully fight my Medicaid based insurance to get coverage and care, as I faced 5 months of red tape before I effectively forced them into approving everything I needed.
It involved me voluntarily hospitalizing myself for a week, but being off the bottle gave me the strength to. If I was still drinking, I would have never separated myself from the bottle willingly for a week, even if it meant having access to healthcare.
See, they wanted to keep blocking me from even seeing a doctor and then required a general physicians referral for me to have ongoing care for my mental health and addiction, yet the wait-list for the only physician they would allow me to see was 3 months long. They cover hospitalizations, though 😊 So I voluntarily had them pay over $10k, got cozy in a mental health facility of my choice for a week, and suddenly was approved for everything I needed for ongoing care without a fight.
Drunk me would have NEVER, but sober me was tired of the bullshit and cares enough about herself to get the care she needs even if she's initially told no.
See, before the hospital and before I had any real care, I struggled with the occasional relapse still. My mentality had shifted, I genuinely did not want to drink, but my bipolar disorder had been left untreated since I couldn't access any care. Self care only goes so far for bipolar, it genuinely needs lifelong medication management and therapy to be fully controlled. During a manic episode, what's wrong is right and vice versa, so while I did everything I could to avoid mania, it would sometimes happen and I'd drink because I wouldn't have control over myself or have any inhibitions. This isn't talked about often, but is really common in people with untreated Bipolar I trying to overcome addiction.
That said, I genuinely want sobriety and love it. I'm back on my bipolar medications and started Antabuse as a back up. I literally take an enzyme inhibitor daily so that my body is incapable of breaking down alcohol and can only vomit it, which makes me VERY sick. I would rather be in the hospital sick than be able to drink, so I'm very serious about staying sober.
When I was actively drinking, I didn't take care of my mental health and allowed myself to get down so badly that I was developing schizophrenia symptoms, but I kept drinking to cope. I don't want that life anymore, because sober me actually got help and is kicking ass.
I'm grateful to be sober. I'm grateful to have access to healthcare. I'm grateful to be me.
IWNDWYT.

I'll start with a TL;DR: I emphatically recommend this private option with the caveat that the consult is not cheap (at least by my definition of "affordable") and so I understand it won't be a solution for everyone.
I TL;DR'd that because I'm going to write something of a life story here, mostly because I'm so thrilled that I'm finally back on medication that I want to outline the journey. If you don't want to read all that, way at the bottom is my experience with Berkeley Psychiatrists.

Here we go...

I was diagnosed in Fall of 2020 after experimenting with Ritalin for a week (after going absolutely manic in lockdown -- I was a studio owner and entrepreneur and I was going ballistic that I had no manner of output available to me; I imagine many here will understand what I mean). I'm not advocating for this behaviour or approach, but it's the truth: a friend's son had extra pills and she gave them to me to see if they'd help.
When the result was overwhelmingly positive but I had bad headaches as a side effect, I scheduled a proper assessment with a psychiatric office.
I was 37 years old. Dropped out of HS, never finished college, tons of jobs, became an solopreneur damn-near out of necessity as I couldn't maintain a job anywhere for longer than a year before I'd go stir crazy for change. Textbook case, but no one ever noticed it.
The diagnosis was, initially, hard to hear. I was mad for a day or two, "my life could have been so much different, maybe better, if only someone had thought to assess me when I was younger" etc etc.
After a couple months of titration I found that Atomoxetine (non-stimulant, generic of Strattera) worked best for me. I was on it through 2021 and into the Fall of 2022.
I have a podcast about Stoicism, it got signed to a network in October of 2022 and I left my career to focus entirely on that endeavor. This meant I lost insurance and it meant my money situations changed. It was, in retrospect, a good decision that I executed poorly.
So by February of 2023 I was off meds entirely as I could no longer afford them.

And this is where I have to say that while I live and work in the UK now, that wasn't the case in the Spring of 2023...

Or at any point before - because I'm an American.
In May of 2023 I came to the UK to more easily collaborate on a book I was writing at the time with my co-author (based Newcastle)... and I stayed here for a couple months.
I met a girl, I fell in love, we got married in September of that same year, and I moved to the UK on a Spousal visa. Our son was born just this past April.
I knew nothing about the UK's NHS, nor about any of the state of mental health treatment / services here. I thought, if anything, it was going to be a lot better than the US's (which is, as I'm sure most of you are aware, somewhat of a flaming trainwreck at the minute).
When things started to slow down after the wedding, and I was going through the emigration/immigration process (from the US, because that's how it must be done) while my pregnant wife was alone a [literal] ocean away, the real dire reality of my condition became clear to me.
Before I was diagnosed, I had no basis for comparison. The brain I had was just the normative brain everyone had, I thought. It was just how I was.
Medication obviously changed that.
But as is often the case with progress, you don't tend to understand how much you've made after you've made it. It's like gaining or losing weight, you don't always see it happening... but when you zoom out and get a before an after photo, it's obvious.
When I went off meds the before and after photo of my brain was obscured by the wild reality I was living.
I was hosting a podcast, traveling across the world, writing a book, planning a wedding in a far off land (we were married in the Philippines, as my wife is originally -- and, of course, still -- Filipino and we wanted he family to be present), and constantly being pulled in a dozen different direction.
I haven't been aware of (or a part of) the "ADHD Community" for very long so I don't know how normative my expression of ADHD is, but if I'm pulled in a bunch of different directions and have the luxury of being able to be distracted by a hyper-dynamic (unstable feeling) life, I'm thriving.
Having a million things to do is GREAT for me, because it means I can do a little here and a little there and I don't have to focus on any one task too intensely for too long.
But when the wedding was over and the immigration was settled and I was now in a house with my new wife preparing for a baby... when it was time to do the boring stuff of life... I realized just how bad I had become in months (nearly a year) I'd been without medication.
Anxiety was there when it wasn't before. Something that felt like malaise and depression. Self-esteem was gone, ability to deliver on deadlines was gone, I couldn't do things anymore. I was overwhelmed by this lethargy that wouldn't allow me to be who I was.
And that's when I made my appointment with my GP to talk about my ADHD.
And that's when I found out about the 2-year waitlist.
And that's when I applied for my appointment to get an assessment appointment.
That was November. I still haven't gotten the NHS letter about the appointment to set an appointment.
From November to May, I struggled to do everything. To keep my mood up, to be there for my wife in a way I felt was enough, to manage what little work I could do so that my middle-of-the-road income didn't fall out from under us (all my income, at the time, came from ads and listener support for my work, it's not a very reliable living being a "content creator", and it's highly dependent on your ability to deliver consistently to your audience).
But I had no choice, we just didn't have enough extra money to pay for an assessment from a private provider and, on top of that, to afford medication (my GP here in Newcastle doesn't support Shared Care referrals for ADHD apparently, though I'm still trying to figure this out). My son was born in early April, and I was having a hard time dealing with him.
No one prepared me for the audio processing issues that can be part of untreated ADHD. The constant fidgeting, the crying, the chaotic noises he would make, it was making me angry at a baby. I just wasn't coping. It was fucking awful and my wife, who I cannot even believe is a real person she's so unrelentingly kind and understanding, had to pick up a lot of the slack in that first month because I "just couldn't"... which made me feel like exactly what any father would feel like if he felt like he was failing at basic father stuff like not getting mad at an infant for being exactly what an infant is supposed to be.
And that negative feedback loop was bad news. I was spiraling.
We got a break in late May when a Stoicism course I launched on Gumroad did unexpectedly well. It was enough extra money to pay for an assessment.

I pulled the trigger on a £825 assessment from Berkeley Psychiatrists, who I chose because their "brand" and reviews made me feel the most comfortable.

In the background of this I had just started a new job, a good paying one that meant if I could find private treatment I could maintain it... but I was struggling to keep my shit together at this new job because it's an attention-to-detail kind of gig and, well, you understand I'm sure.
I scheduled the assessment for a Saturday morning. Two days from the day I scheduled it.
The assessment was 90-minutes long and my doctor (Dr. Anudha Dutta) was pleasant and very sweet during the conversation, though the assessment part of the assessment (you know the questions about childhood and present adulthood) itself did feel a little robotic. Once we got to the more conversational part of the assessment it really was nice and felt genuine.
I had used an ADHD prescription service in the states (Cerebral is the name of it) that felt very "We're in the business of prescribing drugs as fast and as often as we can" and I was worried this would feel that way. It did not. They are CQC "certified" if that's of interest to anyone, it was important to me for this reason.
At the end of the assessment, we went back and forth about how I'd like to approach titration and I was given the opportunity to make some care choices. This lasted for about 20-minutes. At the end of the call I was told I'd get a report in a couple of days and then an email from an online pharmacy, and that might take a week (Pharmazon). That all happened on a Saturday morning.
By Saturday afternoon I had my report.
By Sunday evening I had a confirmation that Pharmazon had received my prescription.
By Monday morning I had a confirmation that the prescription was filled and would be delivered by post to my home pending an online payment via WorldPay. I made this payment, and the cost was £113.66 (which covered a 28-day supply of extended release Lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse) (30mg graduated to 40mg in 3rd and 4th weeks) which is an ongoing monthly cost. With £65 being paid for followup appointments whenever necessary which seems to be once every three months but I'm not there yet.
By Tuesday I had a tracking number and by Wednesday at 11am I had my prescription in my hands (which I started right away).
After more than a year of feeling like a stranger to myself, I feel like me again.
It sucks that it takes £825, then ~£114/mo in prescription costs, then £65 for followups to get the mental health treatment I need, and I don't think it's fair or right that this is so hard for people like me, or that prompt mental health treatment (at least in concerns to ADHD, that's my limited experience) seems to only be for people who can afford it, but I can say without hesitation that if you are able to choose Berkeley Psychiatrists and have been mulling over whether they are the "right choice":
I can't tell you if they're the best, but I can tell you they delivered for me and I highly recommend them.
I know this was long, but I hope you found some kind of value in it.
Good luck to you, and if you want to message me questions, I'm happy to answer them if I can.
Thanks for listening.
Edit: context and additional thoughts

I was intrigued by their fast TAT and curated catalog. I like the idea that I could affordably sample their entire catalog. And I wanted more spring/summer scents in my collection. I ordered it, and less than a week later (4 or 5 days, I think?), it was in my hands.
Drink from the Waves (Notes: crab apple, geranium, sea spray)
I mostly get geranium and sea spray with some faint crabapple. The geranium is powdery, but not heavy. And the sea spray and crabapple add some freshness to it although on me, it’s mostly powdery. I’ve never been to an ocean so I don’t know how accurate this is in terms of that, but it does smell like salty, cool air.
It also kind of smells like a lotion that my mom would have had when I was a kid. This scent feels a little old-fashioned, but not in a cloying or heavy way. I didn’t think I would like this kind of scent, but it surprised me. This doesn’t have the longevity that some of their other scents have, but with these notes, I didn’t expect it to.
Verdict: Don’t know if I’ll full-size it yet, but I can see myself wearing it during hot summer days. I might seek out more geranium scents.
Frith (Notes: blueberry, dandelion greens, sage, witch hazel, vetiver)
I don’t hate this one, but I never want to wear it. The blueberry smells artificial to me like blueberry hard candy. I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying this was too herbal for some people, but I don’t get herbal at all. It has pretty good longevity and throw though. I can smell it all day. This is probably the only one of Stone & Wit’s scents I’ve tried that I wouldn’t recommend. It doesn’t smell bad. It just doesn’t smell like it’s supposed to.
Verdict: Probably won’t wear this one. Curious to see if I change my mind on it.
Lost Temple (Notes: birch leaves, cool air, incense)
This is my most worn Stone & Wit fragrance at the time of writing this. This is woody and sweet. I get more incense on the drydown, and it’s not heavy or overwhelming. It smells fruity, kind of like apples. In the description online, it lists patchouli and smoke. I don’t really get either of those. I do get a hint of mint, which adds to the coolness and outdoorsy vibe. It reminds me of hiking by the beach near all of the birch trees.. It’s very subtle. I have to pretty much sniff my arm to be able to smell it.
Verdict: Smells like birch trees. I really like this one. Very grounding. Don’t know if I’ll full-size it yet. I wish it had more throw.
Neon Noir (Notes: pink limeade, cannabis leaf, plum, vetiver, cetalox)
It opens heavy on somewhat skunky cannabis and artificial pink limeade, which balance each other out well. To me, artificial is good because pink limeade is artificial. As it dries, the plum starts to come out more and adds a little bit of freshness to an overall musky fragrance. I think the vetiver and cetalox add a musky quality that works well with the cannabis (I don’t know much about either of these notes).
It smells like I’ve been smoking weed or at a party with a lot of weed smoke so I wouldn’t wear this to work lol. Neon Noir is a moody and dark atmospheric. It reminds me of the birthday party in the TV show Russian Doll minus cigarette smoke. This smells like coming home from clubbing. Weed, mixed drinks, sweat.
Verdict: A+ scent, but probably won’t full-size because I will only wear this at home or a night out. This scent is too cool for me lol.
Turyin (Notes: pomegranate, plum, sandalwood, gunpowder)
This opens heavy on the pomegranate and plum, but those fade quickly and it dries down to mostly sandalwood and gunpowder with some fruitiness. The gunpowder adds some smokiness. Good longevity. The fruit is very tart and acidic, but the sandalwood and gunpowder add warmth. I’m worried that I have the pickle/sandalwood curse. I can’t tell if it’s the sandalwood or the acidity of the pomegranate that’s causing the pickle smell, and I don’t smell it all of the time, but often enough, that I don’t wear it.
I was most excited for Turyin because of the gunpowder and the inspiration behind it was interesting. However, between the pickle smell and the fact that I don’t think I enjoy strong fruit scents, I just don’t love it like I thought I would.
Verdict: Unique fragrance, but not for me. I won’t full-size.
Overall Thoughts: I’ve worn Lost Temple and Drink from the Waves the most since receiving these, and both of those are full-size contenders if I finish up my samples. And Neon Noir, while I won’t wear it often, is a work of art to me. I think trying this house has taught me that I don’t love strong fruit scents. I like the softer ones, and I also like powdery scents or at least, the one that I’ve tried. I also discovered that I might have the weird pickle/sandalwood smell so I’m hesitant to try sandalwood again.
I really enjoyed trying Stone & Wit, and I’ll probably try more from this house in the future. I’m still interested in trying more from my wishlist now that I have a better idea of the house and my tastes.

Alright connoisseurs of drum & bass and fellow junglists - the last post for recommends had some super solid listings in it and I'm looking to quiz your specialist knowledge with a very specific angle:
Looking for any drum & bass music with Chinese, Japanese and generally southeast asian sounds, don't mind if it's Indonesia, Thailand, Balinese, even India - especially with Kung Fu samples and Japanese instruments. Any drum & bass or jungle with Wu Tang and other hip hop samples, Kung fu movie samples and so on
I know there's a lot of this stuff around by now it's just a matter of finding it. But it's notoriously hard to find a very specific sound on any platform due to search terms hitting so wide - there's lots of Indian and Middle Eastern playlists for RnB, Garage, Jungle etc - endless other stuff - not quite what I'm looking for.
I had a quick look on Spotify though even half the songs on my playlist aren't there - I added a few to this playlists for short reference —— but haven't had much luck finding playlists in general on Spotify as their quality is generally very low and the are often impossibly long (except for Keeno's Orchestral Drum & Bass playlist which is gold)
ANYWAYS for your reference and if you like that sort of thing here's my playlist so far
Of course first and what everyone here will know: Photek - The Seven Samurai (Photek Remix) and Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (TeeBee Remix). Water Margin is a good one too
Aphrodite - Chinois and Calcutta from the same album.
MOST OF Naibu's album Never Released which is available basically free here on Bandcamp
Ink Perpetuum - Hollowhead
Etherwood - Lulerain
Icicle - Arrows
Ma - Japanese Bones (Royalston Remix)
Mitsubishi - No Matter What (Vip) — there are many versions of this tune but it's the VIP in this list
Prestige - The Dragon Hears — epic from RAM
Dushi - Lost In The Waves — already used this on my Orchestral Drum & Bass mixtape so not sure whether to use again
Noisia & Mayhem - Moonway Renegade
Bonus track DJ Krush - The Strong Survive (Two Parts Mix, by Forme) a rare remix from the 90s which I still have on vinyl somewhere
A few other possibles
Somewhat obscure track by Jon Taylor, Keith Gordon - Yanbaru Birdcall that I found on a random Japanese chillout compilation - by a couple guys who met in Okinawa in the late 90s and decided to create a champuru of Okinawan music mixed with elements of ambient, drum'n'bass, hip-hop, jungle, dub, and electronica. For fans of Nujabes the name Samurai Champloo is based on the Okinawan work champuru which means 'mixture' or 'mish-mash'.
Plug - Maker Of All an old favourite from Luke Vibert's experimental D&B alter ego
Ill Truth & Defex - Lucid (Limitless Recordings) — SOLID tune, though more Middle Eastern in flavour
And I quite like Rchetype's Odi Lacerta in fact all of his stuff is superb despite seeming to be quite an obscure indie artist
Lat and by no means least the hilarious Bruce Lee MC (edit) by Quincy from the now classic Ninja Tune Xen Cuts [2001] posted around on Reddit a few times over the years, it's from Germany which I didn't know until today - Rediscovering this track kind of gave me the idea to make the playlist and possibly an epic mixtape if I can find enough tracks. — For music nerds the sample used in this track is from Tang Xingqing Park on the 1993 German new age album 'Tai Chi' a great album which I found out about in the late 90s/early 00s due to my mum and some of her new age friends.
Anything similar to these tracks that you know about or on you guys's playlists I'd love to hear about it!

hi! I’m not sure if anyone knows about what is included in the recommendation letters (like when you put in someone’s email on the portal and Fulbright sends them an email to write a recommendation), but I am looking for advice on what materials to give my recommenders to help them. I was planning on sending them my resume and also some info on why Fulbright and why my country (I don’t have my personal statement and statement of grant purpose yet so I can’t send those), but is that enough information?

Just like the majority of people on this medication, I've tried everything else for the past few years with inconsistent results (AHA, BHA, tretinoin, adapalene, antibiotic, birth control). When I started accutane, I dreaded the initial breakout phase since I've always experienced one from trying other products. I did a ton of research on my own and I'm here to share some of my notes, including peer-reviewed articles
Disclaimer : this post is about my experience with low dose accutane for mild/moderate acne (10mg/day epuris; 50kg F). Absolutely NOT claiming that any of this will prevent purging, reaction to accutane is case by case, there is no way to predict. Studies show that only a minority of people experience initial worsening (e.g., 27% https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9784036/; 10% https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4009746/), meaning that my positive experience may not be a direct result from doing the things listed below. Similarly, I've seen many posts and comments of people saying that they simply did not purge despite not changing anything in their routine
Antihistamines : specifically Desloratadine (e.g., Aerius) and Levocetirizine (e.g., Xyzal). In theory, antihistamines should act in similar ways to reduce our immune reaction in cases of inflammatory acne. However, the first study listed below mentions that desloratadine would be more efficient in binding to H1-receptor (responsible for anti-inflammatory activity) than loratadine (e.g., Claritin). This leads me to believe that some antihistamines may be more effective than others, but please correct me if I'm wrong, as this is way beyond my field of studies. I chose Desloratadine simply because it was available at my local pharmacy. Here are some studies and a summary of their results :

• Desloratadine : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25081735/ Control group: treated with isotretinoin only (20 mg per day, approximately 0.2–0.4 mg/kg per day). Treated group: combination therapy of isotretinoin and desloratadine (5 mg per day). At week 12 : treated group showed more statistically significant decrease in acne lesion counts, in score of global acne grading system and the measured value of sebum and erythema.
• Desloratadine : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6364732/ Control group : isotretinoin only (20mg per day). Treated group: combination therapy of isotretinoin and desloratadine (5 mg per day). At week 16 : treated group had significantly lower amounts of inflammatory lesions and global acne grading system score, but no differences in terms of non-inflammatory lesions and other side effects such as dry skin, cracked lips, flushing.
• Levocetrizine : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31734672/ Control group: isotretinoin only (10 mg and 20 mg, 0.5-0.6 mg/kg/day, after food). Treated group : combination therapy of isotretinoin and antihistamine, levocetrizine (5 mg/day, before sleep). At week 12 : more statistically significant decrease in score of global acne grading system and acne lesion counts.

Red light therapy (low-level light therapy) : this one is mitigated. Some professionals advise against it because accutane increases photosensitivity. My derm gave me the okay (maybe because i was on a lower dose?) and I chose the device from CurrentBody. Warning that those devices are quite expensive, but I saw this as a good investment as I was already looking at them for their potential anti-aging benefits (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38307144/). Now back to accutane, there are preliminary results suggesting that the combination of light-based therapy with accutane could be safe and efficient in reducing acne severity. Of note that these studies combined accutane with specific methods of application for the light-based therapy

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8077247/ : Effect of blue light 440‐460 nm administered with a photoconverter gel (FLE therapy) with isotretinoin 5mg/day or with tetracycline (antibiotic) 300mg/day. Results support the efficacy of combining low‐dose systemic treatment with FLE therapy, although seemingly more efficient when combined with isotretinoin compared with tetracycline.
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35829974/ : Combination of low-level light therapy administered using delicate pulse light (DPL) 500-600nm and isotretinoin (10-20 mg/day) significantly improved global acne grading system score, as well as the number of lesions.
• Other studies supporting the associations between light-based therapy and acne (without accutane) for those who are interested : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18459515/ : blue light (415 nm) in combination with red light (633 nm) self-administered by a handheld unit. Lesion counts progressively reduced throughout the 4-week light therapy period and continued to reduce up to 8 weeks posttherapy. // Reviews : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439741/ ; https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-16799-2_4

Hydrating face masks : irritated moisture barrier may contribute to breakout severity. Many suggest a simple routine and I totally agree, but the thing that I really want to talk about is this extra step that made a big difference for me, which is daily masks using a hydrating toner. It’s common practice in asian skincare to soak thin cotton pads (not sure if I'm allowed to post links to Amazon, but that's where I got them from) with a hydrating toner or essence and to leave it on like a face mask, followed by moisturizer. No scientific support for this one, purely from personal experience:)
Mild actives : it is ill-advised to use any actives while taking accutane since they could lead to excessive irritation. However, since I was doing fairly good with moisturizing (never experienced peeling), my skin tolerated mild actives, namely azelaic acid gel (15%), sulfur ointment mask (10 mins), and hypochlorus acid (0.015%; e.g. E11ement, Tower28). Those were not all used at the same time! I'm just listing some milder actives that my skin tolerated pretty well.

• Azelaic gel was actually prescribed by my derm. There are limited case studies reporting the combined usage of azelaic acid and accutane in female adult patients : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9975535/ This preliminary study introduced azelaic acid at the last month of accutane treatment and examined the effect of azelaic acid usage post-treatment to deal with scarring and relapse : https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(15)00149-8/00149-8/)
• Sulfur : it has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, also known to be effective against fungal acne. I’ve always suspected that some of my acne could be fungal (clusters of closed comedones that sometimes itch) so this one came out while I was researching that. Heres a review : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15303787/ Of note that current guidelines by the American Academy of Dermatology (2024) could not conclude to sufficient evidence to support specific recommendations regarding sulfur : https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(23)03389-3/03389-3/)
• Hypochorus acid (HOCl): this molecule is naturally produced by our immune system and has antimicrobial properties. It is very well tolerated on sensitive skin and even used to treat dermatitis, so probably the mildest one compared to azelaic and sulfur. This review talks about a study that have found comparable benefits for reducing facial acne between HOCl and benzoyl peroxide, and both effects with HOCl and BP were significantly superior to placebo : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6303114/

Finally, I am not a dermatologist, and all studies have their limits (e.g., limited sample size, controlled lab environment). Please communicate with your doctor if your initial break out or side-effects worry you to discuss about potential solutions, especially if you are on a higher dosage. Healthcare professionals have much more clinical experience, so should be valued over the information from this post
I'm only 4 months into my treatment and my dermatologist plan on keeping me at 10mg for another 8 months given that mine was recurrent and stubborn. I'd be more than happy to share my full experience by then:) Wish you all an amazing day and smooth sailing on your journey to clear skin!

Hi All!
New here, clueless, and looking for advice!
Back story on my skin - it is extremely sensitive and acne prone with cystic acne. A few months ago I was given a topical cream (Azelic acid?). It has helped tremendously and when I feel a cystic one comes they surface fast and leave quick unlike before.
Yesterday I ran out of cleanser (kiehls) and moisturizor (Hydrophase la roche-posay. While waiting for a prescription I browsed skincare and saw that there was a promo on La Roche-Posay and Vichy products (Spend $60 get $75 back in deluxe samples. I knew the lady working and she said she had lots of the deluxe kits and gave me two along with a ton of full size and sample products. It cost me $70 CAD for everything and I feel like I hit the jackpot! haha
The products I actually purchased were

• Kids sunscreen, Vichy toner, Toleraine Caring wash and the cicaplast as it was highly recommended.

I panic bought as I didn't have much time and I do not like lotion like washes and I believe the Toleraine Caring wash is like this. I didn't read much on the toner and wonder if it'll be too harsh and too much product change. I am excited for their sunscreen!
I will attach a photo of all of the items she gave me in the comments - if anyone could steer in the right direction for routine and recommendations i'd be forever grateful :)

Hello everyone, I am interested in potentially crossing during my undergrad year but I am running into a problem. I am currently trying to make connections with Deltas that could mentor and possible write a letter of recommendation for me since I don’t have family that are apart of Delta Sigma Theta. I wanted some advice on how I can reach out to members? For example, if I see a member can I just go up to them and express my interest or would I have to know the person for awhile before expressing interest?
Thank you all!

Original post at the Alternate Script Bureau blog
Greek was the first writing system ever devised in human history to indicate vowels. With thousands of years of history behind it, the Greek script conveys a sense of timeless elegance with its round lowercase letterforms, whose letters are widely used in the mathematics, science and engineering fields to represent a wide variety of concepts, including π (pi), the circumference of the circle. Having said that, what would it take to use the Greek alphabet to write English?
In line with the previous Cyrillic, Arabic and Hebrew adaptations, I'll call this 'Yet Another Greek English Alphabet', or YAGEA for short.

Adaptation process

There are only 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. Most notably, it does not have letters for the /v/, /ð/, /ŋ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /w/, and /j/ sounds found in English. But phonetic precision is my middle name, so none of these cannot be allowed to be writtten ambiguously. This can only mean 1 thing: Diacritics!
These days, the letters β /b/ and δ /d/ are mostly pronounced as the 'soft' sounds of /v/ and /ð/ respectively in modern Greek orthography. Let's go with that - since /b/ and /d/ are more common than /v/ and /ð/, the latter sounds can be indicated using a dot below diacritic ◌̣ as follows:

• Β β /b/ (as in born) -> Β̣ β̣ /v/ (as in van)
• Δ δ /d/ (as in done) -> Δ̣ δ̣ /ð/ (as in the)

This leaves γ /g/. Similarly, its pronunciation had softened to /ɣ/~/ŋ/ over the centuries, but since /ɣ/ doesn't exist in English we can safely ignore it. Instead, let's overload it to represent the 'soft G' /dʒ/ sound with the dot below diacritic. For the /ŋ/ sound, Greek does use doubled G γγ but I felt that this would introduce ambiguity when it precedes or follows the /g/ sound since it would be hard to tell which was which, so a simple diagraph of N + G will do.

• Γ γ /g/ (as in get) -> Γ̣ γ̣ /dʒ/ (as in just)
• Νγ νγ = /ŋ/ (as in sing)

The other fricative sounds can then be represented as such:

• Σ σ, ς /s/ (as in soon) -> Σ̣ σ̣, ς̣ /ʃ/ (as in share)
• Ζ ζ /z/ (as in zoo) -> Ζ̣ ζ̣ /ʒ/ (as in closure)
• Κ κ /k/ (as in call) -> Κ̣ κ̣ /tʃ/ (as in change. By analogy with γ /g/ -> γ̣ /dʒ/, since κ is the unvoiced counterpart of γ)

Note: depending on your font, the dot diacritic may not show as intended, especially on older devices.

For the /h/ sound, I'll use χ, which traditionally represented an aspirated /kʰ/ sound but now stands for the fricative /x/ sound, which is close enough to /h/ to be alright.
Vowels were more straightforward. With 7 vowel letters to choose from, almost each letter can easily be assigned to their English counterparts without much effort. While υ traditionally represents the /y/ sound as in Chinese 鱼 *yú*** and French tu**, it etymologically derives from the same letter as Latin U , so I'll treat it as such.

• Α α = /a/ (as in sun)
• Ε ε = /ɛ/ (as in head)
• Ι ι = /ɪ/ (as in bid)
• Ω ω = /ɒ/ (as in pot)
• Υ υ = /ʊ/ (as in pull)

This leaves just 2 more vowels: ο and η.
The historical pronunciation of 'ο' is essentially the first part of English /oʊ/, so let's go with that. As for 'η', it's now pronounced /i/ in modern Greek, but was historically pronounced with an /e/ sound. Rather co-incidentally, the schwa vowel /ə/ still doesn't have a letter - so why not just get η to write it? It's the most common vowel in English after all.

• Ο ο = /oʊ/~/əʊ/ (as in dough)
• Η η = /ə/~/ɜ/ (as in comma)

And for that odd /æ/ vowel, let's just put an oxía accent on top of α.

• Ά ά = /æ/ (as in can)

The diphthongs can then be written as digraphs of these 7 vowel letters:

• Αι αι = /aɪ/ (as in high)
• Αυ αυ = /aʊ/ (as in now)
• Ει ει = /eɪ/ (as in say)
• Ωι ωι = /ɔɪ/ (as in toy)
• Ίυ ιυ = /ju/ (as in use)
• Ωω ωω = /ɔː/ (as in bought)
• Ιε ιε = /iː/~/ij/ (as in bead)
• Ου ου = /uː/~/uw/ (as in pool. This diagraph's primarily used to write the sound in Greek)

Finally, to write the /w/ and /j/ sounds, let's slap an oxía on top of the letters for /ʊ/ and /ɪ/ respectively, similarly to Cyrillic's use of the breve likewise:

• Ύ ύ = /w/ (as in way)
• Ί ί = /j/ (as in yet)

And the alphabet is ready!

Letters

Consonants

/p/ Π π (port)	/b/ Β β (best)	/f/ Φ φ (fun)	/v/ Β̣ β̣ (van)	/m/ Μ μ (moon)
/t/ Τ τ (test)	/d/ Δ δ (done)	/θ/ Θ θ (thank)	/ð/ Δ̣ δ̣ (the)	/n/ Ν ν (new)
/k/ Κ κ (call)	/g/ Γ γ (get)	.	.	/ŋ/ Νγ νγ (sing)
/s/ Σ σ ς (soon)	/z/ Ζ ζ (zoo)	/ʃ/ Σ̣ σ̣ ς̣ (share)	/ʒ/ Ζ̣ ζ̣ (closure)	.
/tʃ/ Κ̣ κ̣ (change)	/dʒ/ Γ̣ γ̣ (just)	.	.	.
/w/ Ύ ύ (way)	/ɹ/ Ρ ρ (run)	/l/ Λ λ (laugh)	/j/ Ί ί (yell)	/h/ Χ χ (house)

Special contractions

Greek also comes with 2 letters that represent consonant clusters, both of which exist in English and can be used as such.

/ks/, /gz/ Ξ ξ (box)	/ps/ Ψ ψ (hipster)

Vowels

/a/~/ʌ/ Α α (sun)	/æ/ Ά ά (can)
/ɛ/ Ε ε (head)	/ə/~/ɜ/ Η η (comma)
/ɪ/ Ι ι (bid)	/iː/ Ιε ιε (bead)
/ɔ/~/ɑ/ Ω ω (pot)	/ɔː/ Ωω ωω (bought)
/ʊ/ Υ υ (pull)	/uː/ Ου ου (cool)

Diphthongs

/aɪ/ Αι αι (high)	/aʊ/ Αυ αυ (now)
/eɪ/ Ει ει (day)	/ɔɪ/ Ωι ωι (toy)
/oʊ/~/əʊ/ Ο ο (dough)	/ju/ Ίυ ίυ (use)

Syllable structure

Greek is a linear alphabet that works just like Latin.
E.g. /stɹakt/ = στρακτ

Letter ordering

There are 2 ways to order the letters of the YAGEA alphabet: the traditional Greek ABG order and my custom linguistically-based PBF order.

Traditional ABG-based order

All letters with diacritics will be treated as separate letters which are placed after the original.
Hence the order shall be: Α Ά Β Β̣ Γ Γ̣ Δ Δ̣ Ε Ζ Ζ̣ Η Θ Ι Ί Κ Κ̣ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Σ̣ Τ Υ Ύ Φ Χ Ψ Ω.

Custom PBF order

I also devised a letter ordering inspired by those in South and Southeast Asian scripts such as Devanagari and Khmer that groups letters based on the linguistic features of their sounds: (1) bilabial consonants, (2) alveolar consonants, (3) velar consonants including /ks/ Ξ, (4) sibilants including /ps/ Ψ, (5) affricates, (6) approximants + glottal consonants, and (7) vowels.
The PBF order, including groups, shall be: Π Β Φ Β̣ Μ, Τ Δ Θ Δ̣ Ν, Κ Γ Ξ, Σ Ζ Σ̣ Ζ̣ Ψ, Κ̣ Γ̣, Ύ Ρ Λ Ί Χ, Α Ά Ε Ι Η Ο Υ.

Sample texts

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Ίυνιβ̣ηρσηλ Δεκληρεισ̣ην ωφ Χiυμην Ραιτς
Ωλ χιυμην βιενγς αρ βωρν φριε άνδ ικυηλ ιν διγνιτι άνδ ραιτς. Δ̣ει αρ ενδαυδ ύιθ ριεζην άνδ κωνσ̣ηνς άνδ σ̣υδ άκτ τούηρδς ύαν ηναδ̣ηρ ιν η σπιριτ ωφ βραδ̣ηρχυδ.
(Αρτικηλ 1 ωφ δ̣η Ίυνιβ̣ηρσηλ Δεκληρεισ̣ην ωφ Χιυμην Ραιτς)

Excerpt from a short story I wrote a while ago

For comparison, you can view the original one here.
Αι χάδ η στρεινγ̣ δριεμ δ̣άτ ναιτ.
Ιν δ̣άτ δριεμ, Αι φαυνδ μαισελφ ηύεικηνινγ, λαιινγ ων σωφτ γριεν γρας, ιν η φάντησι 8-βιτ ύηρλδ σηραυνδηδ βαι κωμπιυτηρς. Δ̣η λυμινηνς ωφ βλινγκινγ μοδεμς άνδ ύωρμ, κ̣ιηρφυλ κ̣ιπτιυν μιυζικ φιλδ δ̣ι ερ. Ωλδ̣ο εβ̣ριθινγ λυκδ βλωκι άνδ σκύερ, ιτ βρωωτ μι βάκ τυ δ̣οζ δεις. Ωφ ωλ δ̣η κωμπιυτηρς Αι σωω, 1 ωφ δ̣εμ ύης πλειινγ μαι φειβ̣ρητ σωνγ! Αι γ̣αμπ άνδ λιεπ ιν γ̣ωι οβ̣ηρ δ̣η σαιτ. Αι δ̣εν σωω μαι χαυς, άνδ Αι σεδ “Χαι” τυ μαι βεστ μειτς, χυ ύηρ ύειτινγ αυτσαιδ. Ύι ύωωκδ τυγεδ̣ηρ, χάβ̣ινγ η κ̣ιηρι κ̣άτ ηβαυτ δ̣η κωμπιυτηρ γειμ Αι ύης ύηρκινγ ων ηρλιηρ.
“Σο ύατς δ̣άτ κυλ γειμ γωνα βι ηβαυτ, ει?” ύαν ωφ δ̣εμ ασκδ. “Ιφ ίυ ληβ̣δ Μαριο, ίυλ ληβ̣ δ̣ις!” Αι σεδ. “Ωωσημ!!! Κάντ ύειτ τυ σι ιτ!” Ινσαιδ μι δ̣η φαιηρ τυ κιεπ μι γοινγ βικειμ στρωνγγηρ.
Ύι ύωωκδ ιντυ η β̣ιβ̣ιδ σανσετ. Αι ρεμινισδ δ̣η μεμηρις ωφ παστ σαμηρς, πλειινγ ρετρο β̣ιδιο γειμς ιν δ̣η κυλ σ̣ειδ, ιβ̣ην δ̣ο δ̣η σαν αυτσαιδ πιεκδ άτ 42 διγριες άνδ μελτηδ εβ̣ριθινγ ελς.

More examples

These are clippings of random quotes from English literature and famous English-speaking politicians, re-rendered in Yet Another Greek English Alphabet.

1. "Χουεβ̣ηρ γαβ̣ηρνς Σινγηπωρ μαστ χάβ̣ δ̣άτ αιην ιν χιμ. Ωρ γιβ̣ ιτ απ. Δ̣ις ις νωτ η γειμ ωφ καρδς! Δ̣ις ις ίωρ λαιφ άνδ μαιν! Αιβ̣ σπεντ η χολ λαιφταιμ βιλδινγ δ̣ις άνδ άς λωνγ άς Αιμ ιν κ̣αργ̣, νοβαδι ις γοινγ τυ νωκ ιτ δαυν." [1]
2. "Φαρ βετηρ ιτ ις τυ δερ μαιτι θινγς, τυ ύιν γλωριης τραιημφς, ιβ̣ην δ̣ο κ̣εκηρδ βαι φειλιηρ, δ̣άν τυ τεικ ράνγκ ύιθ δ̣οζ πυρ σπιριτς χου νιεδ̣ηρ ενγ̣ωι μακ̣ νωρ σαφηρ μακ̣, βικωζ δ̣ει λιβ̣ ιν δ̣η γρει τύαιλαιτ δ̣άτ νος νιεδ̣ηρ β̣ικτηρι νωρ διφιετ." [2]
3. "Αι ύαντηδ ίυ τυ σι ύατ ριελ καριγ̣ ις, ινστεδ ωφ γετινγ δ̣ι αιδιη δ̣άτ καριγ̣ ις η μάν ύιθ η γαν ιν χις χάνδ. Ιτς ύεν ίυ νο ίúρ λικδ βιφωρ ίυ βιγιν βατ ίυ βιγιν ενιύει άνδ ίυ σι ιτ θρου νο μάτηρ ύατ." [3]
4. "Ιτ ύης δ̣η βεστ ωφ ταιμς, ιτ ύης δ̣η ύηρστ ωφ ταιμς, ιτ ύης δ̣ι ειγ̣ ωφ ύιζδημ, ιτ ύης δ̣ι ειγ̣ ωφ φουλισ̣νης, ιτ ύης δ̣ι επηκ ωφ βιλιεφ, ιτ ύης δ̣ι επηκ ωφ ινκριδιυλιτι, ιτ ύης δ̣η σιεζην ωφ λαιτ, ιτ ύης δ̣η σιεζην ωφ δαρκνης, ιτ ύης δ̣η σπρινγ ωφ χοπ, ιτ ύης δ̣η ύιντηρ ωφ δισπερ." [4]
5. "Ύαι διδ ίυ δυ ωλ δ̣ις φωρ μι?" χι ασκδ. "Αι δωντ διζηρβ̣ ιτ. Αιβ̣ νεβ̣ηρ δαν ενιθινγ φωρ ίυ." "Ίυ χάβ̣ βιεν μαι φρενδ," ριπλαιδ Κ̣αρληττ. "Δ̣άτ ιν ιτσελφ ις η τριμενδης θινγ." [5]
6. "Ιφ ίυ κάνωτ ριεδ ωλ ίωρ βυξ... Φωνδηλ δ̣εμ - πιηρ ιντυ δ̣εμ, λετ δ̣εμ φωλ οπην ύερ δ̣ει ύιλ, ριεδ φρωμ δ̣η φηρστ σεντηνς δ̣άτ ηρεστς δ̣ι αι, σετ δ̣εμ βάκ ων δ̣η σ̣ελβ̣ς ύιθ ίωρ ον χάνδς, ηρεινγ̣ δ̣εμ ων ίωρ ον πλάν σο δ̣άτ ίυ άτ λιεστ νο ύερ δ̣ει αρ. Λετ δ̣εμ βι ίωρ φρενδς; λετ δ̣εμ, άτ ενι ρειτ, βι ίωρ ηκύειντηνσης." [6]
7. "Ιτ ύης ων δ̣η φηρστ δει ωφ δ̣η Νιυ Ίιηρ δ̣άτ δ̣ι ηναυνσμηντ ύης μειδ, ωλμοστ σιμηλτεινιησλι φρωμ θριε ωβζηρβ̣ητωρις, δ̣άτ δ̣η μοσ̣ην ωφ δ̣η πλάνητ Νεπτιυν, δ̣ι αυτηρμοστ ωφ ωλ δ̣η πλάνητς δ̣άτ ύιελ ηβαυτ δ̣η σαν, χάδ βικαμ β̣ερι ιράτικ. Ωγιλβ̣ιε χάδ ωλρεδι κωλδ ητενσ̣ην τυ η σησπεκτηδ ριταρδεισ̣ην ιν ιτς β̣ηλωσιτι ιν Δισεμβηρ. Σακ̣ η πιες ωφ νιυς ύης σκερσλι καλκιυλειτηδ τυ ιντρηστ η ύηρλδ δ̣η γρειτηρ πωρσ̣ην ωφ χους ινχάβιτηντς ύερ ανηύερ ωφ δ̣ι ιξιστηνς ωφ δ̣η πλάνητ Νεπτιυν, νωρ αυτσαιδ δ̣ι άστρηνωμικηλ πρηφεσ̣ην διδ δ̣η σαβσικύηντ δισκαβ̣ηρι ωφ η φειντ ριμοτ σπεκ ωφ λαιτ ιν δ̣η ριεγ̣ην ωφ δ̣η πηρτηρβδ πλάνητ κωωζ ενι β̣ερι γρειτ ιξαιτμηντ. Σαιηντιφικ πιεπηλ, χαυεβ̣ηρ, φαυνδ δ̣ι ιντελιγ̣ηνς ριμαρκηβηλ ιναφ, ιβ̣ην βιφωρ ιτ βικειμ νον δ̣άτ δ̣η νιυ βωδι ύης ράπιδλι γροινγ λαργ̣ηρ άνδ βραιτηρ, δ̣άτ ιτς μοσ̣ην ύης κύαιτ διφρηντ φρωμ δ̣ι ωρδηρλι προγρες ωφ δ̣η πλάνητς, άνδ δ̣άτ δ̣η διφλεκσ̣ην ωφ Νεπτιυν άνδ ιτς σάτηλαιτ ύης βικαμινγ ναυ ωφ άν ανπρεσιδηντηδ καινδ." [7]
8. "Δ̣ερ ις η γλωριης ρεινβο δ̣άτ βεκηνς δ̣οζ ύιθ δ̣η σπιριτ ωφ άδβ̣ενκ̣ηρ. Άνδ δ̣ερ αρ ρικ̣ φαινδινγς άτ δ̣ι ενδ ωφ δ̣άτ ρεινβο. Τυ δ̣η ίανγ άνδ δ̣η νωτ του ολδ, Αι σει λυκ άτ δ̣η χηραιζην, φαινδ δ̣άτ ρεινβο, γο ραιδ ιτ. Νωτ ωλ ύιλ βι ρικ̣; κύαιτ η φιυ ύιλ φαινδ η β̣ειν ωφ γολδ; βατ ωλ χου πηρσ̣υ δ̣άτ ρεινβο ύιλ χάβ̣ η γ̣ωιης άνδ εξιλιρειτινγ ραιδ άνδ σαμ πρωφιτ." [8]

Hi Sociology reddit, I'm 21 years old and I have no idea what to do with my life.
In short, I'm looking for advice and wisdom over next steps. I graduated from a top 10 university with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Health&Society with a minor and certificate that I'm sure the job market doesn't care about.
As of late I've been confused as to what I'm to do now. I initially applied for a masters of legal and Forensic Psychology at UCIrvine, and though I was able to get all 3 letters of recommendation I was severely depressed my last semester of college so I never wrote my personal statement or essays.
I've been told that a lot of Sociology graduates go into data but in truth I know that's not something I would enjoy. The thing I enjoyed about Sociology was learning about the broader forces and different systems (especially CJS).
In any case, I've told my parents that I'm taking a gap year to work and figure it all out, and am currently looking for case management jobs.
Are there any jobs that you all applied for straight out of Uni? How do I market my Sociology degree in the job market? Should I do a masters in Sociology or are there other majors that would benefit me more such as Clincial Psych, or even going to Law School? How long did it take yall to be comfortable in your field? How do I maintain contact with professors without bothering them/feeling like a nuisance for future recommendations? Should I be doing research, and if so, am I allowed if I'm not a student?
Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated, love yall sociologists 💗💗💗

I just built a new pedalboard and I'm slowly outlining the things I want in it, but trying to be reasonable. Currently I have a Boss TU-2 Tuner, a Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q Wah, a Boss OD-200 Hyper Drive, a TC Electronics Spark Booster Deluxe, a Keeley Compressor Plus, and a Line 6 HX Effects. I'm also using an amp footswitch, so the OD-200 is for a combination of distortion and drives / boosts like Tube Screamer or Klon clones. The HX Effects covers most of my modulation needs like chorus, flange, reverb, and delay. Head / cab is a Hughes & Kettner Black Spirit 200 into a Mesa Boogie 2x12 Recto Cab with Vintage 30s. Genre-wise I'm doing stuff that could be anywhere between Jimmy Eat World, Bayside, and Rise Against.
Currently, I plan to add an expression pedal for the HX Effects (and anything else that can use it), a Boss SY-200 Synthesizer (for keys-like effects and more subtle things like organ / pads mixed with dry signal), and a Digitech Whammy Ricochet. The only other things would be a Boss RC-5 Loop Station for triggering samples / backing tracks and a Morningstar MC6 Pro for quickly switching patches. The goal for this board is that anything that can be controlled via MIDI will be be controlled by MIDI. I don't want to tap dance and plan on programming multiple on/off states on patch changes.
All that said, I've got one open spot left on this future board about the size of an Eventide H9 (one that's up for consideration). With everything I've listed above, what would you recommend for a wildcard pedal for that slot? Ideally, I'd like something with a MIDI In / Thru, something that can do normal sounds but can also get chaotic, and something that doesn't feel gimmicky to use.
My first thought is a small multi-FX pedal that also has an expression pedal input. Anything that has a hold/sustain/freeze function would probably be good. Some that I was thinking about were the Eventide H9, Source Audio Collider, Alexander Space Force, Dr. Scientist Bitquest, or the Red Panda Context 2.
What do you guys think?

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This is older news, but here is MyPlayers argument:

“The practice of playing players for longer than 12 months without rest is nowhere applied in world rugby, nor supported by conditioning experts we consulted with and or in line with the draft World Rugby player load guidelines,” the letter stated.
“In addition, the South African player load increased significantly since the start of the URC in that players now have shorter annual rest periods, the amount of international provincial games per year increased by almost 38 percent, and national players load was increased by almost 15 percent while international travel increased with 300 percent and now conducted in economy class with limited direct route options.” source

I think there needs to be more evidence as opposed to merely following guidelines and recommendations. What are the injury stats for players who play 36 games in a year. Should the break be for all players, even if they only featured as sub for 5 minutes in 40 matches? Are flankers rest being compared to a wing...etc. Is the break merely a physical thing or are they saying it is for mental health reasons. Footballers play more matches than there are weeks and mentally get on fine despite being under even more pressure. Most of us work 5 days a week and get 3 weeks off total per year, including those who have very physical, menial jobs. Not all players are built the same and have different levels of fitness and resilience, should they all be categorised according to lowest common denominator? If anything, long breaks away from contact can increase injury risk...
Basically, I think that MyPlayers could destroy many clubs and budding careers by enforcing regulations based on a lack of detailed metrics. I am all for 5 months rest per year if they could justify it with clear information.
I think that players could have 2 months off per year, taken as they like and be rested if injured/fatigued during the playing season. Two full months in a block for all players seems incredibly short sighted and not fitting for a professional sport.
Even their travel argument is not strong. I used to work 6 months at a time for 7 days a week (no off days, including Sundays), flying all over the world in economy class, which is far more extreme than a few flights per year with medical professionals in tow. Many professional rugby players live lives of luxury and comfort off the fields they play and train on, do they really need so much time away?
If you have any more details on the MyPlayers stance and their reasons, please let me know.

TW: addiction, emotional abuse
My (32F) and my fiancé (31M) are getting married this August. We have been planning this wedding for a while now. Unfortunately, also this year, my mother (56F) passed away, after over an 10-year battle with her health. Some family context: my “dad” (50M) adopted me when he and my mother got married when I was 7yo and had 2 more kids(25M) and (23F). Mom and dad had a messy divorce back in 2018, after a very tumultuous marriage. Her health issues were in large part due to her struggle with sobriety from alcohol. The first few years it became apparent were especially rough as she was in and out of hospitals and rehabs. My dad was… less than supportive. He refused to give up drinking or keeping alcohol in the house and rarely visited her in hospitals/rehabs. Her care fell on my sister and me. Ultimately, it was a social worker who pulled me and my paternal grandparents aside and HIGHLY recommended a divorce, as it had been years with no progress on her sobriety or health.
In their settlement, they kept ownership of each other’s life insurance policies and stayed as primary beneficiaries. Toward the end of her life, my mother was actively trying to change that part of their divorce agreement last year. Based on some other things she changed and a letter I found on her laptop post-mortem, we think she knew she was passing soon and wanted to change the beneficiaries to myself or her sister, who would distribute the money amongst her children evenly upon her passing. It was a sizable policy but distributed amongst her kids, we knew it was nothing life-changing. We have all known about this policy growing up. They bought it over 15 years ago, just in case, to be able to take care of us (the kids). Whenever she approached my dad, though, he refused to speak to her about it.
A little more context about my “dad”: he’s a raging narcissist. He was a huge factor in her health as he was emotionally and verbally abusive to both her and myself for as long as I can remember. And he’s absolutely terrible with money management.
My dad received his payout from her life insurance. Knowing that she wanted to change the policy and that the money was always intended for us, we expected to receive a portion of the money. My mother’s side of the family wanted him to pass all of the money to us, but I know he paid her alimony for the last 6 years, so I expected that he would keep a portion to pay himself back. He would be able to pay himself back what he paid her (and then some) if he kept just 1/4th of the money.
He offered my siblings and I 5% each. His justification is that he needs to be able to fund his retirement and he’s behind because he had to pay my mom “all these years”. Again, he’s terrible with money so I personally think that his smoking/drinking and multiple vacations a year are to blame for his retirement fund being low.
Advice: Suffice to say, the siblings and I are upset and disappointed, but it pales in comparison to how angry my mother’s side of the family is. He becomes aggressive when confronted and I would not put it past him to become so at my wedding. I considered putting off the wedding because we are all still struggling with the grief of losing my mother (my maternal grandparents especially) but they all insist that they need a happy occasion to gather for this year. My mom’s whole side has agreed to be civil (they are truly kind people) but the whole situation is filling me with so much anxiety. I don't generally have a great relationship with him anyway (we see each other at family functions, so there will be no walking me down the aisle), but I am close to the rest of his family and I don't want to put anyone in an awkward position or make this into a big family feud.
So WIBTA if I uninvited him from my wedding?

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well.
I apologize if this post is out of place here, but I am trying to reach as many people as possible.
First of all, I would like to mention that I have already been to a vet several times, but they were unable to help me, and I cannot afford to go to another vet at the moment.
My little zebra finch has had problems for about 3 months that have not gone away since.
It started with her no longer having the strength to fly steadily. She only spends her time on the ground and seems weak. The little one still eats and drinks. For over a month now, one of her eyes has been blurry and she is very likely blind in that eye. Occasionally, her head twitches like a sprinkler. She is also puffed up most of the time and sometimes trembles, so my heating is turned up even now in summer so that she has enough warmth.
Those were the symptoms, now to how I tried to help her:

• On the vet's recommendation, I put a pinch of glucose in her water and add bird vitamins

-She is not egg-bound either
-I clean her cloaca
-I installed a bird lamp
-I try to give her a nutritious diet
-I use an air purifier
-I ensure good humidity

• I try to give her as much rest as possible

-I add bird charcoal to her food
Someone told me that the eye infection could be bacterial and that she needs antibiotics, but as I said, the vet didn't help me much because he initially suspected mites and gave her something for that. I also sent in a stool sample and have been waiting for the result for over a month. Is there a possibility that I can give her an antibiotic or something anti-inflammatory myself? If so, how high would the dose have to be?
Despite the fact that the little one has remained strong and has been fighting for months, I am very worried about her. I am very grateful for any tips, suggestions and experiences.
Kind regards

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well.
I apologize if this post is out of place here, but I am trying to reach as many people as possible.
First of all, I would like to mention that I have already been to a vet several times, but they were unable to help me, and I cannot afford to go to another vet at the moment.
My little zebra finch has had problems for about 3 months that have not gone away since.
It started with her no longer having the strength to fly steadily. She only spends her time on the ground and seems weak. The little one still eats and drinks. For over a month now, one of her eyes has been blurry and she is very likely blind in that eye. Occasionally, her head twitches like a sprinkler. She is also puffed up most of the time and sometimes trembles, so my heating is turned up even now in summer so that she has enough warmth.
Those were the symptoms, now to how I tried to help her:

• On the vet's recommendation, I put a pinch of glucose in her water and add bird vitamins

-She is not egg-bound either
-I clean her cloaca
-I installed a bird lamp
-I try to give her a nutritious diet
-I use an air purifier
-I ensure good humidity

• I try to give her as much rest as possible

-I add bird charcoal to her food
Someone told me that the eye infection could be bacterial and that she needs antibiotics, but as I said, the vet didn't help me much because he initially suspected mites and gave her something for that. I also sent in a stool sample and have been waiting for the result for over a month. Is there a possibility that I can give her an antibiotic or something anti-inflammatory myself? If so, how high would the dose have to be?
Despite the fact that the little one has remained strong and has been fighting for months, I am very worried about her. I am very grateful for any tips, suggestions and experiences.
Kind regards