Anonymous asked: Okay I've known you for a little while by now and let me just say that you are earth-shatteringly gorgeous, I've wanted to tell you that for a while now. Like, you are so beautiful. Please don't forget that (:

This is unbelievably kind. Thank you so much. :)

Anonymous asked: You have some great poetry... I especially love the cartography one- "I Am Your Most Precious Natural Resource". I think you really should do more, it's just so great... keep it up!

Thank you so much! It’s always so encouraging to hear that someone has connected with my writing. I’ll be sure to share more of my poetry here. :) There’s much more of my personal work on my full-time blog, Someone Smiled From Out a Yellow Window, under the tag “my collection” — feel free to peruse at your own leisure!

Anonymous asked: Your heart deserves the most expert hands to tend to it and mend it.

:)

Anonymous asked: Hi, I don't know you very well but I wanted to say you really are such a cool human being. So stylish, and poised, and an incredible actor! So, I guess, despite the dark times and such, I wanted you to know you inspire me. Happy holidays!

This is so sweet! Thank you so much for brightening my day. :)

Anonymous asked: There are a lot of things I've wanted to tell you for a very long time. But I can't.

Having been abroad this semester, quite a lot of things happened back in the States that involved me directly but that, for whatever reason, I was (more often than not) the last to find out about. I’d like to take this opportunity, then, to encourage both you and any and all of my friends (or simply anyone who feels a similar need to do so) to communicate with me clearly, openly, and honestly whenever they feel the need. For me, knowing is always preferable to blindly moving forward in the dark.

That being said, anon, please feel free to talk to me! I swear I don’t bite. 

trotskylovesmebetter asked: You're beautiful. I can't wait until you come back and tell me about all of your adventures. I truly truly cannot wait to see you!!!!

Awww Brooke you are so sweet! I am so excited to come home in just two weeks’ time and see all of you next month. xx

my-quarterlifecrisis asked: I miss you (and all the summer gang). You should come to Chicago soon!

KATE! I miss everybody tooooooo! I leave the country in ten days BUT maybe I’ll pop in to Chicago sometime in 2013. Or you could always come back to the East Coast, we miss you here. :)

justanotherbluelanyard asked: Hi I just wanted to say that I love your blog!!! And I was wondering do you like being an RA at explo?! I went there for the past two years and unfortunately didn't go this year! But when i can i'd like to be an RA and i just wanted to know how you liked it !(:

I loved being an RA! Getting to know my girls was perhaps the best part of my job. :)

Anonymous asked: Are you planning on working at explo again next summer?

There is a very strong chance that I will, yes. If for no other reason, I would do it again to meet new people and, of course, to reconnect with old friends.

Anonymous asked: You could not be more beautiful.

Stop it, I’m blushing.

Anonymous asked: I hope you don't mind my asking, but you seem like someone who'd be able to help me out a little. I'd be classified as demisexual, but I know a lot of friends view me as kind of "emotionally broken" or "uninterested in the important part of relationships". What is your view on this all?

Hi! I don’t mind your asking at all, although I should warn you that I may not have a very good answer.

My familiarity with demisexuality is not extensive, but if I’m not mistaken, someone who is demisexual only experiences sexual attraction towards someone if they’ve first formed an intensely strong emotional connection with that person, yes? This makes complete sense to me, and I certainly hope nobody has ever made you feel ashamed for identifying as you do. Perhaps try explaining it to your friends in these terms?

More importantly, however, I would question their claims that you are “uninterested in the important part of relationships.” Do they define sexual attraction as the most important part of their relationships? Because I know, for me, that emotional connections are far more important. Perhaps they should reexamine their own approaches to relationships before questioning yours.

I’m not sure if I’ve been any help at all, but know that I appreciate you simply for being yourself, and I wish you luck (and love, romance, and everything else, too).

Anonymous asked: are you pansexual? what is it?

Yes I am! Pansexuality, for me, recognizes my ability to love regardless of gender or lack thereof. While I prefer not to label myself at all, pansexuality most closely encompasses my basic philosophy: love is the only reality. 

midgetsarepeopletoo asked: Hi Sam!! This is random but has anyone ever told you that you look EXACTLY like the actress Felicity Jones?? she's in the movie Like Crazy. You're both so stunning!

Maddy, that is such a lovely compliment! Thank you, thank you, thank you. :) P.S. Congratulations on UNH!!

Anonymous asked: hello! I was scrolling through the explo tags and saw a lot of your posts, so i thought i might ask what classes you teach / what living groups are you an RA for? I will be at yale second session (:

Hi! So I actually will not be teaching any courses second session; I’ll be working in the main office and around campus instead. But I’m an RA for Vanderbilt C 1-2-3 and am a theatre and English double major, so I really like goofing around and having fun. We’re all really excited for you guys to arrive, so we’ll see you tomorrow at Yale!! 

Anonymous asked: what makes explo worth going to? is it worth the money for the students?

Unfortunately, I never did have the good fortune of attending Explo as a student, but as an employee of the summer program, I can tell you that the experience is well worth the hefty price tag. These kids are spoiled, but in the best of ways—amazing teachers, really engaging and creative activities, awesome weekend trips and evening events, the opportunity to meet people from all over the world…seriously, Explo is worth every penny.

As an employee, I can’t complain much either. I love working as an RA and getting to know some of the students really well. And while I’m not necessarily loving my office job much at all, I have learned an extremely valuable thing about myself that, had I not accepted the job here at Explo, I may not have discovered until much later (perhaps too much later) in my life: that I need to be working directly with others, teaching, learning, and engaging in whatever field I find myself.

I thought I’d go into publishing for my day job…but 14 hours behind a desk each day here has shown me that the office environment may very well be the last place I want to be.