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Their lack of sympathy does not mean that they do not understand or appreciate what you are experiencing. They have been through it too. They know that you are behind in sleep, neglecting your friends or family, in desperate need of a bath, and probably going broke while trying to pay your way through school. They know that your love life is suffering or interfering with your work. But they will tell you it is inevitable, a taste of and preparation for future reality. It is a rite of passage, a deposit on account for the dues anyone must pay to become an architect.

Structure is that part of a building, or any other constructed form, that provides support. The structure resists the loads of gravity (weight), wind, earth movement, and other forces that may be applied to the structure at any time. Some of these loads act vertically, such as gravity, and some horizontally or laterally, such as wind or earthquake forces. Architects also refer to the structure of a building as the building skeleton or frame, and in certain structures, walls, floors, and roofs constitute integral elements of the framing system.

With the help of engineering specialists, architects must fashion ambient environments that are safe from fire, offer thermal comfort (neither too cold or too hot), are properly lighted, provide fresh, unpolluted air to breathe, and have appropriate acoustic characteristics. In an era of expensive energy, buildings must be well insulated, retaining and reusing heat while capturing the sun's energy in winter. In addition to tempering the environment and satisfying the senses, architects and their consultants must design systems for distributing energy, fluids, gases, goods, and people within buildings.