Introducing the Her Culture Advice Column: Ask Away!

What's up, Culture Girls!

My name is Alana, and I’ll be offering advice you may need about the issues and concerns that teens and young adults face.

My reason for wanting to do this is simple: though I’ve always had friends and family around to talk to, there were a lot of things I just wasn’t comfortable talking about with people that I knew. Because of that, I navigated the often-treacherous waters of my teens and 20s all while bottling up my worries, fears, and other feelings inside. Thus, the idea for this column.

Head’s up, I'm not a licensed psychologist nor do I have an M.D. after my name. I am, however, older than most of you all (I turned 30 this year), and one of my goals has always been to be the person I needed when I was younger. Now that I have survived my teens, early adulthood, an unfortunate post-grad existential crisis wondering what came next, and the dreaded quarter-life crisis (yes, it's real, but actually quite cathartic in some ways), I hope to help those who are younger get through the same periods without feeling as lost and alone as I did.

Whether you just need a sympathetic person to vent to or need advice from an objective person who has already experienced this stage in life and navigated many of the problems and obstacles that can pop up along the way.

No problem is too small and no issue is too big to ask about. Believe me, there are no stupid questions when it comes to what you may be facing or thinking about. When necessary, I'll also share the contact information for relevant organizations who can further assist you get through, into, or out of your current situation depending on what your case may be.

Whether you're stressed about school, worried about relationships, having problems with the parentals, having any other issue, or just need someone to run something by, you can do so here.

Ask away,

Alana