i turn to her and say

i don't know whether to be flattered or flustered when people ask me for advice.

i fully comprehend that it really isn't possible to tell another person what exactly it is they must do in any given situation. rather, i view advice as a sharing of opinion- it's like a very specific direction manual that the giver of advice has followed and which may possibly help the asker in the presented situation.

hence my flattered/flustered approach- i find people continually coming to me, asking me what it is that is going on, what it is they should do. this means so much to me i can't even properly put it into words- that people value and trust my opinion is an indication [to me, at least] that they trust and value me.

the flustered part comes in when people ask me about boys. or girls. or relationships. because that's one area i don't have a manual for- it's more like i'm giving you the description you find on the back of a movie box in a specialty rental shop on some side street in berlin. i still value that people come to me, but i worry sometimes that what i say is going to be taken the wrong way.

[entirely random, i know. and now i'm effing late for science. AND it's raining. oooooooh god]