I am 18 years old and I am a freshman in college. I have been a feminist since I can remember. My problem is I cannot deal with it. I get so depressed when I hear about all the sexism in the world. I close myself off and make my boyfriend's life hell if he laughs at a crude joke in a movie. What can I do to deal with this and how can I make a difference? Crying in my room won't help women. Signed, Roxann

Thanks for your note to FEMINIST.COM--and I'm sorry to hear about all of your frustration. I think the best advice is to pass on advice that was given to me from Gloria Steinem. (I have had similar feelings.) When she is asked "why [she] does what [she] does?" Her answer is "because it's harder not to." So the next time you get frustrated and upset think about how to funnel that energy into changing the system before it changes us. Think, too, about how we'd been in a worse place if there weren't feminists like you to begin with.

For ideas about how to get involved and make a difference, take a look around the FEMINIST.COM site. There are lots of ideas and resources here.

—Amy