Many, many years ago, when I was studying at Stanford, there were reasonably good programs in place for recruiting Native students, and a fair presence/visibility of students, and still the statistics were frighteningly low.

That program matching students with local families is very smart. I will remember that if I ever get back home and teach in a place with even a minimal concern about such issues.

As for the gender question, while I'm straight, and very femme looking now, I think of myself as an overgrown tomboy. And if I were in a different profession, I'd probably still be a lot butch-er looking than I am now. Oddly, now that I'm fairly senior, I'm drifting back to an older less femme daily style. Feels a bit like homecoming

Heather, I have motorised beds from IKEA. I'm not sure what the weight limit is of the motors, because you could *easily* strengthen the slat system it works on with cross beams. If you want to know more about them, let me know...

And big hugs, too. I'm very very glad you posted as you did. I know Dee really struggles on her budget, and I already can't afford the help I need without even being supersized, so it was very helpful to hear some of the issues that come up.

These conversations always confuse me.

1) There are more men than women here.

2) There always seem to be more of the one you aren't, whatever it is.

3) My own observations, purely anecdotal, but since I'm currently modding the dating ads, not entirely without basis, is that mutual gainers are the fastest growing category around here.

4) I've been here for some years now, and while I've met a number of men--a number of jerks and a number of wonderful guys--I'm still without a feeder. So however good the grass looks over on the girl gainer side, trust me, it isn't.

5) MaryBeth and Chris and SilverLunar and Curious Kitten are examples of couples you might take inspiration from. It CAN happen!

I feel like many others. I like erotic fiction but not porn, because most porn is flat and unappealing. But I would like bbw and ssbbw porn, and I'd also love bhm and ssbhm porn, if it were well done and I cared about the characters even a bit!

Hi, Andrea--

First of all, welcome, and secondly, congratulations. Deciding to be happy is a wonderful thing. And if you're anything like me, the decision to stop worrying is an incredible starting place for a very fun journey!