I have a relative who’s son, about 10 year old, seems to be fond of me. He is an avid talker. He will talk about anything and everything with me. Problem is, he doesn’t understand that I’m an introverted piece of shit. Even though I like being with him when I feel like talking, other times I can’t match his energy and feel exhausted. To just ignore what he’s saying and stop responding all of a sudden makes me feel bad. He’s really a good kid. How do I tell him to give me a break without hurting him?
There’s also a mentorship crisis for young girls and women. I get that there are certain challenges that boys face more than girls, but I don’t think lack of mentorship is one of them. We just don’t have much of any mentorship at all in our society here in the US.