Posts by Sarah Rodriguez4

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Drew Morgan said:It would be different if it fell into the hands of someone truly dedicated who just lacked the resources. As it stands, the system mostly writes off the elderly 😢

I'm right there with you. My grandmother used to forget who we were—she wouldn't even recognize us—yet the doctors kept insisting it was just "old age" and that she was being difficult. 😢

One of my incredibly clueless sisters even had the nerve to suggest that since Grandma was 85, it wasn't worth wasting anyone's time on her. 👎

Walter Evans3 said:So, my 83-year-old grandmother—who has always been incredibly sharp and well-read—has recently started acting quite strangely. She lives with her daughter, who works long hours and is rarely home, while the rest of the family only drops by once a week for short visits, so she spends a lot of time alone. Now we’re facing a real crisis because she suddenly announced to everyone that she’s getting married, which came as a massive shock to the whole family. She’s started going out and staying away from the house for an hour or two at a time, and we were all convinced she was out with this supposed fiancé, but then we discovered that he doesn't actually exist!!! She has begun inventing all sorts of things; she wanders off, stays out late, talks to herself on the street or in the house, and at night she'll lie in bed laughing, talking, or crying. She often holds her hand up to her ear and insists that we just can't see the receiver, claiming it’s a "military" earpiece that only she and her "boyfriend" can perceive... if anyone suggests she's just talking to herself, she gets defensive and laughs it off as if it isn't true. I tried a different approach once—when she said this person wanted to meet me, I told her I was ready, but when I actually got dressed, she told me "he" couldn't make it. Essentially, we've all come to the conclusion that this is like an imaginary friend for a child, but nobody knows how to handle it or how to talk to her about it. As her granddaughter, this is especially painful because, I have to emphasize, she was always such an intelligent, educated woman, and I never expected this to happen; plus, she is putting herself in danger by walking around at night, especially since her vision isn't what it used to be. We don't live close by, so unfortunately I can only visit a few times a year, but she always used to look forward to seeing me; now, she can hardly wait to lock herself in her room to talk to this imaginary person... I am deeply worried about her, and if anyone knows what kind of condition this might be, please help me... thank you in advance!

😢 me too, I just remembered my own grandmother... She was also pretty lonely, and suddenly this hit her hard. We took her to doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists—you name it—and nobody could tell us anything; they all insisted she was perfectly fine and healthy for her age. Then she turned aggressive, so they put her on some sedatives, but they still maintained nothing was wrong. Meanwhile, she was seeing her late sisters, brothers, her son, even her old childhood hometown. She lost track of whether it was day or night, stopped sleeping, and would wander aimlessly around town picking flowers, leaving us frantic trying to find her. It was just pure chaos. In the end, after two years of that struggle, she passed away. Ten days before she died, she was admitted to a psychiatric ward for a week, and when she came out, she was basically a shell of herself. She passed shortly after. To this day, we still don't know exactly what happened to her 😢

I honestly don't know what to say to you. I really hope your grandmother gets better and that someone can provide the help she needs. Hang in there—don't give up on her 😘

briskscout12 said:I could use a little help here... I want to set it up so that when I hit a key, one bit of text—or a specific bullet point—shows up, then another one on the next click, and finally, two images pop up at once? Please, if anyone knows how to do this, let me know ASAP because I have to finish this presentation by Monday.

Those are called animations—just "animations"—and here is a picture for reference, along with a quick breakdown:
0. Highlight the word or text box
1. Click on the "Animations" tab
2. Go through the animation menu and pick an effect—basically, how you want that text to fly in.
3. Select "On Mouse Click"—that’s what makes it wait for your command rather than just happening automatically.
4. Adjust the speed so the animation doesn't fly in too fast or drag on too long.

There you go.

stormyskipper22 said:I've never actually used PowerPoint before—and now I have to put together my final thesis presentation in just a few days...??
Any help out there, folks? Help me out here...

Just to get the ball rolling—how do I get my pages in there? Do I scan them first, or just copy and paste?

You'll want to scan your images, diagrams, and whatever else you need—then you basically have two ways to pull them in:

1. Just treat it like an image: Insert > Picture > From File
2. Or right-click the slide > Background Options > then go to the last tab in that little window where you select the picture and hit apply.

As for the text—don't overdo it. Pick out the key terms, the main points, the stuff you really need to emphasize—kind of like how you'd make study notes. The whole point of a slide deck is to visually support what you're saying, not replace it. Once you have those highlights, just copy and paste them straight from Word or wherever you wrote your thesis.

Robert Reyes34 said:Sarah Rodriguez4, you're absolutely right—there is a solution for everything, provided a person finds the inner strength to actually tackle the problem head-on. And honestly, she made a smart move by pivoting; not everyone has their entire life mapped out at eighteen, and there are countless people who pick the wrong major or the wrong profession. Sometimes it takes a few years after high school to gain enough perspective and maturity to truly understand what we want to do with our lives.

The key is to be honest with yourself and make a definitive choice about what you want.

At twenty-three, this young woman can absolutely start over, and frankly, she might even approach it with more drive and determination than she would have had at eighteen.

I just wonder why she hasn't posted anything else lately. 😢

Exactly. That’s easily the hardest part of the whole process.👍

vividtiger50 said:I spent most of yesterday just listening to "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel on repeat, and I have to say, it really hit me deep; there’s something incredibly motivating about it. 🙂
I wanted to reach out and thank you all for sharing your stories and such helpful advice. I honestly felt like I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, thinking my problems were insurmountable, but it turns out everything basically boiled down to the fact that I picked the wrong major in college—that was the root of all my misery! It’s actually a pretty encouraging realization to come to. Now that I understand where things went sideways, I feel like I finally have a starting point and a sense of direction; everything feels much more manageable and... solvable, I suppose. I’m really not sure how I could ever properly thank everyone here!

See? It helps. And please, don't be afraid to go back to school. When I re-enrolled, there were plenty of older students in my classes—including a girl who was 23. Within two years, she was already married, still studying with me, working, and building her life. Everything can fall into place; you just need the drive to make it happen.👍

vividtiger50 said:I’m just a clone, obviously, so I know exactly how much people hate clickbait headlines. 😍
I’m not entirely sure what I’m hoping to achieve by starting this thread; maybe I just need a little bit of support, or even some insults or sympathy—honestly, anything just to feel like someone is talking to me, because I feel incredibly lonely. 😢

So, I guess I should start from the beginning. Back in high school, I was an excellent student without ever really having to try, which meant I never actually developed any real work ethic. I managed to get into the university I wanted without much trouble and moved away from my small hometown to this massive city. When the first deadlines rolled around, I passed a couple of exams, and then suddenly—just like that—everything changed. College felt pointless, I realized it wasn't what I actually wanted to do, and I just lost all motivation to study. I ended up spending most of the next two months just lying around the house, watching TV, or out drinking. Since attendance isn't strictly mandatory at my university, I took full advantage of that, and for the next few months, the campus didn't see me at all. By the time the next round of finals came, I hadn't passed a single thing, and that continued for the next three years. As my friends from school started moving into their senior years, we had less and less to talk about, our schedules stopped lining up, and bit by bit, I just drifted away. Yeah, I don't have anyone. I grew distant from everyone back home, lost touch with the people from college, and honestly, I don't even know who I could grab a coffee with tomorrow if I wanted to.

I'm 23 now, and I have no idea what my future holds. I don't have any real job skills to speak of, so I can't exactly be independent and stop relying on my parents, though I suppose I don't spend too much money since, as I mentioned, I have no one to go out with. I've basically locked myself in my apartment and stopped leaving. A few times a week I'll head to the grocery store or maybe take a short walk, but the rest of my time is spent in front of the TV or online; I've written ten thousand posts here, for goodness' sake. 😳

Nothing brings me joy anymore; every day feels identical. I only change out of my pajamas under very unusual circumstances, and I feel quite pathetic. I'm no expert, but I suspect I might be dealing with depression. There have been moments where I've thought about just ending it all to stop this stagnation, but I'm quickly snapped back to reality by the thought that I have no friends and no one would even show up to my funeral, which would lead my mom to realize things aren't as great as I tell her they are. 😢

I realize that my behavior is terribly childish and immature; I'm aware of it all. I spend my nights crying and feeling desperate, feeling small and worthless and ashamed, yet I just can't seem to force myself to change. I'll sit down to study, and then my mind just drifts away, and that's that. I don't know, I really don't. And I suppose I'm doing this for selfish reasons, just wanting to find some relief for my soul.

If anyone actually read this, I apologize for venting like this, but I feel a little bit better now. 😢

Look, your issue isn't some deep, spiritual crisis—it’s just laziness and self-pity. I'm not trying to come at you or be harsh here, but someone really needs to tell you the truth before you waste any more time.

Do you have a mother, a father, a sister, or a brother? If you do, consider yourself incredibly lucky. Just take a quick look at the thread "Losing a Mother"—you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Look, regarding college and career stuff—good grief, you aren't the only one who didn't click with their first major. I actually started out in philosophy myself—spent a year before realizing it just wasn't my thing—then switched over to engineering and finally found my groove. You're only 23! There is plenty of time to figure out what actually excites you. Have you even stopped to think about what kind of work you’d actually enjoy doing? Since you mentioned spending most of your time on the computer, maybe look into some specialized courses—coding, graphic design, that sort of thing. There is always plenty of work out there for people willing to put in the effort to learn a skill.

Friends come and go—honestly, it’s just how life works. Some people drift away, new faces show up, and that's that. There’s really no sense in sitting around moping about fate or feeling sorry for yourself. 👎

Frank Moore4 said:The Forbidden Kingdom

The movie has plenty of hilarious moments—especially with Chan—who basically has to stay perpetually drunk just to maintain his immortality since wine acts as his elixir. 😁 The most Impressive scene has to be when the crew is trekking through the desert—that moment where Li challenges Chan to prove his immortality by making it rain. Chan starts messing around with some ancient scroll, basically summoning the clouds, and then, out of nowhere, the raindrops actually start falling. A split second later, we see Li just peeing all over Chan from atop a rock. 😁

I’ve been staring at this movie for two weeks now—stuck in that constant loop of "should I or shouldn't I" regarding downloading it—but after reading about this specific scene, I simply have to. 🙏