That must be difficult. Do you think you’ll eventually change your last name when you do your legal name change?

Isn’t it troublesome on paperwork to have differing last names in the same family? I even found an article saying that most Eastern European families use a singular last name when they come to the US, because differing last names really isn’t compatible with the US legal system.

If I’m not driving, it’s my responsibility to keep the driver entertained with conversation. A long car ride in silence sounds miserable.

Ah I see. OP did specify that they’re in the US so hopefully this is not a problem for them.

Oh, that’s really interesting and informative! Thanks for explaining it.

I’m sorry, I’m having trouble understanding the situation.

I don’t see the problem - Ashley’s mother and sisters would have the same last name, right?

Can you explain?

Yes! Thank you

I’m not a lawyer but I can’t imagine this would be problematic from a legal standpoint. For example, I’ve known several people who go by nicknames or their middle name and their birthday cards always get delivered without issue.

The tricky part is that some mailmen (mailpeople? I’m having a brainfart on the gender inclusive term.) won’t deliver mail unless it matches the name on the mailbox. This usually pops up in apartment complexes. In that case, just keep your last name on your mailbox and ensure your mail has a matching last name. Your first name shouldn’t matter.

This makes me feel sad.

Losing color sensitivity =/= going blind. Most people have until around age 30 before these changes are noticeable, but it can hit earlier if you have a lot of UV exposure or health issues.

I’ve noticed the same thing, whereby colors appear dull when I’m depressed and vibrant when treatment is working. But also note that colors naturally appear less vibrant as we age due to changes in our eyes and brains. For example, the lens of the eye yellows, and photoreceptor cells degrade.

You didn’t read my 2nd link huh

There’s two completely separate situations happening here.

1. Your relationship with your boyfriend is unfulfilling. You can choose to either try to fix it or end it.

2. You caught feelings for a stranger. Continuing to give time to this person while in a relationship would be inappropriate and wrong by most standards, regardless of how bad or unfulfilling the relationship is.

Fuck her then. I’ve been no-contact with my family for nearly 20 years and have zero regrets.

Your girlfriend wants to do something with her life, and she wants a partner with the same drive. You’re comfortable where you’re at. This sounds like an incompatible arrangement to me, but no assholes here.

That’s not how the average was calculated, see the article I linked. And people can absolutely have a fun time without getting on an airplane. A weekend road trip or camping trip, visiting a zoo, hopping on a train - plenty of fun and affordable options that cover most of the US without flying or dropping two stacks and threatening yourself with homelessness just to have an experience that can wait until you’re more established.

Hell, my favorite vaca was completely free - I strapped a tent (free from Buy Nothing) to my bicycle (same) and rode a trail to a river front campsite that was also free (thanks, boy scouts) and sat by the water relaxing for a few nights. All I had to buy was food.

I did some more digging. 52% of Americans have flown in the past year, including 60% of 18-24 year olds. 70-75% of those flights were for leisure travel. (https://www.airlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/A4A-Air-Travel-Survey-Key-Findings-18Mar2025.pdf) So I’m still confused - I hear all the time from young people that they can’t afford necessities, that they’re one paycheck away from being homeless, that they’ll never own a home - but they’re able to drop an average of $2k/year on vacations? (https://www.chime.com/blog/average-cost-of-a-vacation/) Make it make sense. Seven years of vacations would be the a down-payment on the median home price. I didn’t take a vacation until my mid 30s because I was trying to ensure that my money went to life stability, so it’s just kind of a head scratcher to me that people are so loose with their money while knowing that it could very easily make them homeless.

I’m kind of blown away that 88% of Americans have flown on an airplane. If everyone is so broke, how are they affording to fly? And people just don’t care about the environmental impact? I’ve never flown, and I can’t imagine I ever will.