Wednesday, March 18, 2020

How to Ask Your Parents for Money in College

How to Ask Your Parents for Money in College Asking your parents for money while youre a college student is never easy or comfortable. Sometimes, however, the costs and expenses of college are more than you can handle. If youre in a situation where you need to ask your parents (or grandparents, or whomever) for some financial help while in school, these  suggestions should help make the situation a little easier. 6 Tips for Asking for Financial Help Be honest. This is probably the most important. If you lie and say you need money for rent but dont use the money for rent, what are you going to do when you really do need money for rent in a few weeks? Be honest about why you are asking. Are you in an emergency? Do you want a little money for something fun? Have you totally mismanaged your money and run out before the semester ended? Is there a great opportunity you dont want to miss but cant afford?Put yourself in their shoes. Most likely, you know how they are going to react. Will they be worried about you because you had a car accident and need money to fix your car so you can continue to drive to school? Or furious because you  blew your entire semesters loan check within the first few weeks of school? Put yourself in their situation and try to imagine what theyll be thinking and open to when you finally ask. Knowing what to expect will help you know how to prepare.Know if youre asking for a gift or a loan. You know you nee d money. But do you know if you are going to be able to pay them back? If you aim to  reimburse them, let them know how youll do so. If not, be honest about that, too. Be grateful for the help youve already received. Your parents may be angels or well not. But, most likely, they have sacrificed something money, time, their own luxuries, energy to make sure you made it to school (and can stay there). Be grateful for what theyve done already. And if they cant give you money but can offer other support, be grateful for that, too. They may be doing the best they can, just like you.Think about how to avoid your situation again. Your parents may be hesitant to give you money if they think youre going to be in the same situation next month or next semester. Think about how you got in your current predicament and what you can do to avoid a repeat and let your parents know your plan of action for doing so.Explore other options if possible. Your parents may want to give you money and help out, but it just may not be a possibility. Think about what other options you have, from an on-campus job to an emergency loan from the financial aid office, that can help. Your parents will appreciate knowing that youve looked into other sources besides them.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Musings on the Uses of Abash

Musings on the Uses of Abash Musings on the Uses of â€Å"Abash† Musings on the Uses of â€Å"Abash† By Maeve Maddox The word abash has always seemed to me to belong more to the literary sphere than to the workplace. That’s why I did a double-take when I read this on a site dedicated to marketing: A corporation operating in a capitalist society has the obligation to make a profit. It does not have the obligation to make friends, except where/when that would lead to profit.  It does not have an obligation to abash itself at every possible opportunity. I wondered if the word was being used as a synonym for â€Å"bash† in the sense of â€Å"disparage.† As a transitive verb abash means To destroy the self-possession or confidence of (any one), to put out of countenance, confound, discomfit, or check with a sudden consciousness of shame, presumption, error, or the like.  Ã‚  OED. Older literature provides plenty of examples of the use of abash as a verb: That you are a princess does not abash me, but that you are you is enough to make me doubt my sanity as I ask you, my princess, to be mine. A Princess of Mars, Edgar Rice Burroughs The titter that rippled around the room appeared to abash the boy, but in reality that result was caused rather more by his worshipful awe of his unknown idol and the dread pleasure that lay in his high good fortune. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain. (The teacher has just sent Tom to sit with the girls.) Most of the examples I find in recent writing use the -ed form abashed to describe a person whom a remark or occurrence has caused to feel embarrassed, humiliated, or ashamed. Bruce had the sense to look abashed as he came out of his office looking dry and handsome and seeing Betty standing next to her desk dripping and wet. (review of an Ugly Betty episode) Though he does his best to cover himself with his hands and look abashed, Stiller merely comes off as ridiculous. (review of Ben Stiller movie) She seems to look abashed in her photos all tarted-up for the media. (comment on Scarlett Johansson’s publicity photos) According to the OED, the reflexive use is obsolete, but it is in use on the web: dont abash yourself for jumping the gun Do You Abash Yourself With These Negotiating Mistakes? when we believed the GOP could not abash itself any more it The strangestand most abundantuse of abash that I found was in gibberish postings like these: I deliberate on the most impressive horror you desideratum to do when starting in a home based affair is to figure out your budget before you start and stick to it.   Don’t abash yourself in a fix financially where you last will and testament be hurt if it doesn’t   This is from a site purporting to provide information for running a home based business. You don t charge to be a hero and do everything, and anticipate of everything, yourself. Abhorrence to acquaint you this but, if you alpha out you DON T understand aggregate ok so don t abash yourself by cerebration you do The second example had a byline. I was surprised that anyone would put her name to such stuff. Then I found one of my own posts transformed into gibberish with my name still attached to it. A group of fiction sites connector to posts on the DailyWritingTips neighbourhood. We like that. Sometimes they overreach a clear up excerpt followed alongside a connector to the remainder of the article on our neighbourhood. I date nothing falter with that. (Original here) Bottom line on abash: by all means, use abash when it seems to be just the right word. Just remember that it does not mean the same thing as bash. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other AcclamationsGrammatical Case in English