Questions for you

El.Guapo

Active member
I'm at a point in my life where I have to make a lot of potentially life changing decisions. I know I have to make all my own choices but I think a lot of beliefs about what we should do or how we should live our lives are pushed on us. So first of all are you happy with where you are at in your life? What decisions did you make to get you to this point? Like did you go to college or not or chase a passion? What would you do differently if you could do it over again? What has brought you the most happiness? I guess this is mostly aimed at all you old folk of Newschoolers.
 
getting the fuck out of maryland and traveling, moving to the mountains was just a bonus

I think college is going to be worth it for me, but I'll be graduating debt free. I know plenty of people that make living in the mountains worth it, but I know plenty that are 5-10 years in and hate going to their shitty job every day.

the biggest catalyst for me was after spending a month couch surfing and skiing, on my way back home I stopped to get food and ended up talking to a waitress about how much she disliked her current situation and how she would love to travel yet something new seemed impossible for her. It really is as easy as getting in your car and driving somewhere new. You're only limited by how much time you have.
 
Happier than I was last year. Worked for 5 god-forsaken years making pizzas at my local bar, couldn't take the mental stagnancy anymore, so now back at university. Wouldn't do anything differently - gave me enough time to find my bearings, and had an absolute blast in the process. Guitar/playing in a band has been wicked, too - probably the thing that's brought me the most happiness.

Also, I would recommend hospo work for any undergrad. It can get pretty rough at times, but it teaches you how to deal with all kinds of people just in general, and how to work under immense amounts of pressure
 
I'm at a great place in my life. 5 years removed from college. Which for me was a dream. I wanted to play college baseball, and thankfully it paid for my education. So I'm completely debt free with a solid degree.

I guess you could call me a slave to society, because I'm a working stiff, but I found an industry that intrigued me. It sounds weird, but I sell commercial kitchen appliances and strangely this job brings meaning to my life. You don't have to work in the ski industry to love what you do. (Although it would be rad.)

If I could change something... I don't know if I would. Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of bumps in the road and being in your early 20's it takes some adjusting to the "professional" lifestyle.

I'm no Fresh_P but if you ever need any advice or guidance, feel free to PM me.
 
Deciding that I'd rather pursue music than become a doctor or engineer or something like that. Kind of stressful to think about job security in the future, but I makes me happy and I enjoy doing it and I'm in a rad place surrounded by rad people so I'm glad I made that call.
 
I stopped working in the ski industry because I was literally losing money year after year and getting deeper into debt for companies that couldn't give a fuck. A hard choice but happy I did it. After working a 9-5 for 5 years im 29 and purchased my first home etc etc. Sometimes following your passion doesn't always go as planned...always expect the worst and have a plan b.
 
13370591:ghosthop said:
getting the fuck out of maryland and traveling, moving to the mountains was just a bonus

I think college is going to be worth it for me, but I'll be graduating debt free. I know plenty of people that make living in the mountains worth it, but I know plenty that are 5-10 years in and hate going to their shitty job every day.

the biggest catalyst for me was after spending a month couch surfing and skiing, on my way back home I stopped to get food and ended up talking to a waitress about how much she disliked her current situation and how she would love to travel yet something new seemed impossible for her. It really is as easy as getting in your car and driving somewhere new. You're only limited by how much time you have.

For me, I like being home. I love washington and my family and friends and my gf so I don't know if I want to just leave. MY original plan was to go to CO and get my business degree and go from there. But now I'm thinking why leave some place if you're already happy? chasing something that I don't know if i really want? ya know? Like i like education and learning but I don't wanna go into the corporate world so why should I get a business degree. Plus money has been a little tight recently so my parents offered for me to stay here another quarter to get my AA degree and they would pay for some travel and a new car with the money I'd save on college. But just because I am happy now doesnt mean I will be in 10 years.
 
13370591:ghosthop said:
getting the fuck out of maryland and traveling, moving to the mountains was just a bonus

I think college is going to be worth it for me, but I'll be graduating debt free. I know plenty of people that make living in the mountains worth it, but I know plenty that are 5-10 years in and hate going to their shitty job every day.

the biggest catalyst for me was after spending a month couch surfing and skiing, on my way back home I stopped to get food and ended up talking to a waitress about how much she disliked her current situation and how she would love to travel yet something new seemed impossible for her. It really is as easy as getting in your car and driving somewhere new. You're only limited by how much time you have.

Yeah thats so true. I always get worried about getting "stuck" where I am or not being able to follow my dreams. But you're only as stuck as you think you are. All you have to do is say some farewells and leave. Well unless you have kids.
 
I'm currently in graduate school for a field I've dreamed about working in since I was 8. Life has presented me lots of opportunities to do other things (and probably be happy doing them), but I'm happy where I am now. I'm fulfilling my ambitions, living in an awesome environment, and exploring. I love exploring. It creates experiences, and that's what life is all about in my book. It's come with some sacrifices, but my end goal makes them worth it.

13370878:TheFap said:
For me, I like being home. I love washington and my family and friends and my gf so I don't know if I want to just leave. MY original plan was to go to CO and get my business degree and go from there. But now I'm thinking why leave some place if you're already happy? chasing something that I don't know if i really want? ya know?

Of course you don't know if you want to leave. Change is scary. Outside of your box is scary. Why leave when you're comfortable where you are?

You will grow, learn, and experience so much once you leave that box in some way, shape, or form. How can you really KNOW that the place you're in is the place for you unless you go immerse yourself in a new place? You can't compare anything against where you are now. You have to have lived there. Don't let your love of your home dissuade you from pursuing the adventures that your life has in store for you. You can always go back if nothing you find is as good as that.

That's been my attitude in guiding my decisions. I recently moved to California to start school here. I made the decision to come here as opposed to other places based on predicting a few things to the best of my ability: would I be happy working there? Would I be happy living there? Are there things for me to explore, learn, see, and do? I guarantee you there are places outside of Washington that satisfy those criteria for you, just as they did to convince me to move across the country away from everyone and everything I know. You just have to jump in and make it happen - worse comes to worst, you go home, but now you KNOW that it wasn't for you, and what you've LEARNED from the experience will help you guide the next steps of your life.

Hopefully that helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
I'm currently entering my 4th year in my undergraduate education for Molecular Biology and I hate my life. The end goal is to become a doctor, but I'll be honest, I'm not sure that it's what I want from life. Before entering college I was all about helping people and becoming a doctor, but after actually spending time with people and over 2000 hours of volunteer work I came to the too true of a realization that people are shit bags. Of course not all, but many are.

Initially I thought that it was a dream job, being a doctor, being able to preform procedures, getting paid well for it and living "the life". Getting closer to graduating simply put things into prospective of how fucked I really am. I essentially need to get into Medical school because if not, I'm stuck with a somewhat useless degree.

You truly have to love what you do, and for me personally right now, the education I am receiving is beating out any passion I had. Between the useless general education credited classes I have to pay for that range from 1200-1600 dollars per class, not really having a social life, coming home to parents that care and love for you're but terrified of telling them medicine might not be "your thing" really puts me in a slump.

I would have personally gone for a different major, business probably, or even design. I might have not even gone to college I am at now since I see it's costing me 5X that of a local school for the same piece of paper.

My passion (not to sound stereotypical) is skiing. I always wanted to combine my love for skiing with medicine. Like Para-skiing for people who are disabled or even for therapeutic reasons. I love the idea of helping people with a passion and combining an activity that I look forward to year round is just a cherry on top.

The thing that has brought me the most happiness would have to be a tie between meeting a girl in the library and studying with them for an hour or two since I can just forget my problems and talk with someone new and even get a number or a date out of it. Or saving a life through EMT work. Full arrest? No problem. Heroine OD? Pump them with Narcan, No problem. Holding a patient's hand while in the rig with them? Best feeling in the world since you know that right now, in that moment they have only you and your partner to thank for their life.

That my take, PM if you want some words from me.
 
13371119:miroz said:
I'm currently in graduate school for a field I've dreamed about working in since I was 8. Life has presented me lots of opportunities to do other things (and probably be happy doing them), but I'm happy where I am now. I'm fulfilling my ambitions, living in an awesome environment, and exploring. I love exploring. It creates experiences, and that's what life is all about in my book. It's come with some sacrifices, but my end goal makes them worth it.

Of course you don't know if you want to leave. Change is scary. Outside of your box is scary. Why leave when you're comfortable where you are?

You will grow, learn, and experience so much once you leave that box in some way, shape, or form. How can you really KNOW that the place you're in is the place for you unless you go immerse yourself in a new place? You can't compare anything against where you are now. You have to have lived there. Don't let your love of your home dissuade you from pursuing the adventures that your life has in store for you. You can always go back if nothing you find is as good as that.

That's been my attitude in guiding my decisions. I recently moved to California to start school here. I made the decision to come here as opposed to other places based on predicting a few things to the best of my ability: would I be happy working there? Would I be happy living there? Are there things for me to explore, learn, see, and do? I guarantee you there are places outside of Washington that satisfy those criteria for you, just as they did to convince me to move across the country away from everyone and everything I know. You just have to jump in and make it happen - worse comes to worst, you go home, but now you KNOW that it wasn't for you, and what you've LEARNED from the experience will help you guide the next steps of your life.

Hopefully that helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Yeah that has been whats been driving me to just leave and go to college. But at the same time I have opportunities here and the ability to travel. I guess what I am saying is that I dont want to leave to just leave. If I had a clear goal in mind that would help.
 
I moved from England to Canada at 18 and then to Australia at 19. I'm back 5 years later in London and working. But that is not as a result of regret or anything like that, it is simply circumstantial. All I can say is that change is terrifying but radical change shaped and educated me in such a unique and enriching way. I can't articulate how much I recommend it.
 
I remember that question. Answer is education. If you have to roll the dice to chose your program; let it be, Higher education in the right fields will make you happier in general. Just put your mind to it, graduate and work might even knock at your door. Mine did!
 
Back
Top