Is that some kind of sex thing?

Correct, I just proved it

It couldn't be if *I* had it.

The asterisks are terrifying.

The way my day has been going, I might need to bum one of those, dude.

Fancy 40s? The gall.

Life advice needed:

So I have this friend--quite possibly the best I've ever made. We've been tight as you can get for just over a year now. She recently started high school, and she's put soooo much pressure on herself to succeed in everything (honours classes, multiple APs, the works), plus all the extra-curricular stuff she's involved in, that it's completely taken over her life. That's cool--it's what she wants to do. But we can't even have a decent conversation without it being hijacked by a discussion about her grades, or her homework schedule, or whatever. She's constantly preoccupied and complaining about the stress, which is completely self-inflicted and would be easy to relieve if she wanted.

It's gotten to the point where it's stressing me out, because we have had an amazing relationship up to this point, but now it feels like I'm just a dumping ground for her stress. Our conversations are more anxiety-inducing than fun these days, to the point where we're often bickering.

What the hell do I do? I can't just keep doing what I'm doing--it's too hard on me. I don't want to lose her friendship, but honestly, I feel like not talking at all would be better than the constant stress. Am I being a dick?

What do you think she would do if the situation were reversed? How would you want someone to approach you about it if you were in her shoes?

Those are the questions I ask myself when I find myself in predicaments like yours.

Pet, just be straight and tell her exactly what you just told us. Maybe soften it up a bit. Let her know that you want your time together to be a stress reliever for her and that she needs the occasional break from the rat race she's created for herself.