[A note went up on the bulletin board sometime in early-mid August:]

Dear Members of the Inquisition,

Do you have questions about life? Relationships? What to do when you’re presented with seventeen forks at a dinner party? Or do you have something you’d like to get off your chest?

We’d like to help. There’s a small box outside the stables marked ‘Advice.’ Drop a note in there. Questions, other than who we are, will be answered. Admissions will probably be read.

-Dr. Love

--
[Today, there’s a throat clearing before a woman starts speaking; she sounds mildly bemused and around middle-aged.]

Good evening. This is the first round of answers to questions asked of… Dr. Love.

Our first question is how a person can become likeable. ...It says pause here, do I read that? Oh, I’m pausing.

[There’s a pause before she resumes speaking, sounding a little mechanical as she reads from what’s written.]

That’s a little more complicated than we expected to get right away. Depending on who you are, the first step could be trying to be kinder. Treat the people around you better. People respond to kindness with kindness, most of the time. Or sometimes they get more suspicious. The longer you’re kind, in theory, the fewer people will be suspicious and the more will like being around you. Perhaps also figure out what you’re doing that people don’t like, and work on that, if you can.

The second question is along the same lines - What are friends supposed to do?

[She takes a short pause].

The simple answer is be there. Both friends should be there for each other. Listen when they need to be listened to, support when that’s needed, call out when that’s needed. Be the friend you want to have.

The last one we’re taking on today is longer, which is why we’ll save the rest for next time. The writer asks, I have the choice of being incredibly unhappy in a job that I excel at, that people acknowledge as something I am quite skilled at, that makes my family proud, and is a boon to society. Or, alternatively, I can do something that I enjoy, but I am pretty terrible at, and will be forever condemned to being a mediocre unknown who ultimately lived their life for their own selfishness.

Is happiness truly more important than knowing that you are a success?

I think the answer to this rests mostly within the asker. How do you define living and success? Is there a goal you want to achieve? Not everything everyone does must be for the good of society, but can you use what you enjoy to aid others in any way? Being unknown is not something to be ashamed of, nor is being terrible at something. You can improve in time, and you can find a way to apply what you want to do to helping. There is one. Unless it’s training nugs how to dance, in which case there may be no hope for you.

[The woman sighs. She’s apparently not the biggest fan of the Doctors Love.]

Live. Make the choice you want to make, and move forward while seeking a way to help others through what you choose.

This has been Ask Dr. Love, as read by… No, I’m not saying my name. You paid for me to read this, to maybe talk to people if they talk back, not to connect myself with… this. Anyone wanting to ask a question, there’s an advice box outside the stables.