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“Dear Carol, I’m exhausted”

Exhausted-teen-advice

Dear Carol,

I love my friends…but sometimes I just want time to myself.

– Exhausted

Dear Exhausted,

I hear you. I’m a big fan of parties—and of solitude. If you have a friend who wants to hang out Saturday and again on Sunday, you don’t have to be with her all weekend. Don’t shout, “That’s too much!” Say, “Let’s get together Saturday, but on Sunday I have to finish my paper/help my mom/visit my grandfather/do my volunteer work.” You can’t be everywhere at once, so if you miss one adventure, there will always be others. And we all need time to rest and regroup.

Carol Weston is the author of 16 books, including Girltalk, Ava and Pip and Speed of Life, a novel about a 14-year-old girl who writes to an advice columnist. Carol’s audiobooks are on Spotify. More at carolweston.com and on Instagram @carolwestonnyc.

Read more advice from Dear Carol right here:
💞 “Dear Carol, I Just Can’t Get Over My Crush”
💞 “Dear Carol, My Siblings Get All The Attention”
💞 “Dear Carol, I Like This Boy Who Doesn’t Know I Exist”

by | Mar 13, 2025

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A teen girl with long dark hair in pigtails wears a colorful striped knit tank top and denim shorts, smiling with one hand on her hip. The cover features magazine headlines about summer, beauty tips, and crush advice.
A smiling young woman with manicured nails poses playfully on the colorful cover of Girls’ Life magazine’s Beauty Issue. Text highlights beauty tips, style ideas, relationship advice, and spring trends.
A smiling young woman with long blonde hair and a red dress is on the cover of Girls’ Life magazine, surrounded by headlines about beauty, spring fashion, self-care, and teen advice.

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