DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: One of my sisters was supersensitive to criticism when she was a teenager, and my mother used to say she was that way because she lacked confidence.

That is what I think is the problem with my roommate. She is smart and funny, but if she thinks someone is being critical of her in any way whatsoever, she shuts down and goes very dark, sometimes for days.

I try to build up her self-confidence, like I and my family did for my sister, but I feel that discussing what happened only triggers an even deeper reaction. Once she gets into these moods, I feel like I can’t say anything to her because she’ll take it wrong and just get worse.

I reached out to my sister to see what helped her overcome her supersensitivity, and she said our family and her friends just being there for her and reminding her of all she has going for her was a big help.

That makes me think this is one of those things people can grow out of, like my sister did.

Should I even bother bringing up the situations that upset my roommate, or should I just let them go and hope she finds her way to self-confidence? --- NOT SURE HOW TO HELP

DEAR NOT SURE HOW TO HELP: It isn’t easy for someone else to give another person self-confidence. You’ve already witnessed the results of revisiting situations that trigger your roommate’s emotional shutdowns, so that tactic isn’t likely to help.

The kind of support and understanding family and friends were able to provide for your sister is certainly a step in the right direction.

Perhaps your roommate could also be convinced to be more proactive in boosting her belief in herself. Finding volunteer opportunities or activities for people with similar interests might be one avenue towards feeling like she has more going for her than she gives herself credit for.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: As soon as I graduate next spring with my bachelor’s degree, I intend to enter the convent of the religious order that taught at my high school. I had wanted to enter at the end of my senior year there, but my parents insisted I go to a four-year-co-ed college at least 100 miles from home, so I would have to live there so I would have “the full college experience”.

I have not liked having to wait, but since my vocation came to me when I was 15, I have known what I must and will do and I do not resent my parents’ asking this delay of me.

I know my parents continue to hope I will meet some nice guy and fall in love with him and decide I do not want to enter religious life. But I dated a couple of those nice guys, and there were zero sparks. All this entire experience did was to confirm my devotion to my chosen life.

It is obvious this all greatly bugs my parents, and I hate that part of it, but I have a calling, and that ultimately cannot be pushed aside or denied. Life outside the order would be miserable for me.

I know my parents are praying this will be the year I change my mind, but I will not. I know that.

What more can I do to convince my parents I am doing what is best for me and what will make me happy? --- HAVE MY CALLING

DEAR HAVE MY CALLING: The path you’re committed to taking isn’t an easy nor a very common one, and I can certainly appreciate your parents’ wanting you to be sure before you moved fully into it.

That said, you and they struck a bargain that entailed you going to college to see what else is out there. I think that was a smart thing to do and it sounds like you were open to the experiences that come with the territory.

Your strongest argument now may be to remind them of your willingness and follow-through on taking a few years to explore a more conventional life. So far it obviously hasn’t changed your mind.

If that remains the case, as you’re certain it will, then hopefully your parents will accept the fact that you tried things their way and come next spring, it’s your turn to pursue your own convictions and passions.

DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: I remember things were tough for my husband and me when we first started out back in the late ‘80s, early ‘90s. We both had reasonably well-paying jobs, no kids yet, and still barely made it from month-to-month.

I see the same thing happening with our son and daughter-in-law. They have one child, two full-time careers (he’s in HR, she’s in retail management) and they are still renting a two-bedroom townhouse.

They have been looking to buy their first home, but between the prices being asked and the crazy-high interest rates and property taxes, they say they can’t afford anything within a 30-mile radius of where they work and have their son in daycare.

I feel for them and am even sadder because they told us they are not planning on having any other children because they just can’t afford it. Both of them come from larger than average families, and they had hoped to have at least three or four of their own. They say they can either work to afford a home OR more children, but they don’t see how they can do both.

What can we say to them to encourage them to not give up on their plans for more children AND a home of their own? --- NOT EASY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

DEAR NOT EASY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE: I’ve been hearing too many similar stories of other young couples finding themselves in circumstances like your son and daughter-in-law.

It isn’t an easy time for many of them, but that’s nothing new. You mentioned how you and your husband started out during the late 1980s-early 1990s, when real estate, always touted as a sure thing, was anything but. Fortunately, the economy improved, and many dreams that were delayed were eventually able to flourish.

You and your husband have been around long enough to know there are certain waves that we just have to ride out. Some are better than others.

I’d remind the young couple to not give up hope just yet. They’ll most likely still have to compromise in the years to come, but a larger family and a home of their own may not be entirely out of their reach.