You CAN interact with the attic now. If you're not seeing a little circle in front of the ladder you just need to train your agility up a little bit. Pretty sure the requirement is only lvl 2 or 3 so it doesn't take a lot. Hope that clarifies things
I'm not talking about being able to interact with the attic/ladder-- agility was the first skill I maxed and now I've maxed all of my abilities; I'm talking about the chest, the dress, and the "personal" things. How do I trigger the date to progress M's storyline? Someone said to read her diary...isn't that in with the "personal" things?"