DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel as if people contact me only because they want something and not because they want to check on me. I am a person who is well-connected and in the know about opportunities that are available. I am going into my senior year of college right now, and everyone around me is trying to develop their careers. People have seen how I was able to secure an internship before I even started my junior year, which led to a full-time offer. This has caused a large influx of people asking me how I did it and if I can help them get connected. I want to help others succeed, but it's hard when they just want me to do things for them — they never actually want to speak to me about much beyond career development. How do I create a relationship where people aren't just using me while still managing to help people out? — Stop Using Me DEAR STOP USING ME: Why not flip the script here? Get creative and set up a consulting company. Offer to help people strategize their next moves for finding internships and otherwise setting themselves up for the future — for a fee. Be clear about what you can offer; namely, you cannot guarantee anything, but you will share ideas and make recommendations. Sometimes just talking to someone can spark an idea in a person, as you have seen. Offer to be that person. That way, you will not be used by others for your knowledge; you will be compensated. This will weed out plenty of people who were freeloaders. It can also create space for you to see who you want to get to know better as a friend and who is genuinely interested in you for you rather than for your connections.

One of the murkier aspects of congressional Republicans' investigation of President Biden's financial history concerns an allegation that Biden, when he was vice president, accepted a $5 million bribe from the corrupt Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. The alleged scheme also involved Biden's son Hunter. Burisma, of course, was the company that for a time paid Hunter Biden about $1 million a year to do mostly nothing.

One of the best things you can do for your health and to reduce your carbon footprint is to adopt a plant-based diet. But if going totally vegan seems too radical or isn't quite right for you, try a 'vegan-ish' diet. For example, if you're going to eat meat, try sourcing it from an independent butcher who can assure you the cuts of meat are from animals that were free-range and ate a natural diet. Try the vegetarian options at restaurants, and opt for small changes like oat milk instead of dairy milk with your coffee.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am supposed to reconnect with a friend I have not seen in about a year. During the pandemic, we became close, and she was one of the only people I went out to see. Then she started dating someone and began to change as their relationship progressed.