I was a lot like Connor when I was his age. It really fucked me up. I'm still pretty fucked up. I didn't finish college until I was 26, and its taken me years to find full time employment (still hasn't happened). He needs to shape up NOW so he doesn't become a fuck up like me.
Oh, hush, you're not a fuck-up. The fact that you're here giving advice is proof of that. You haven't given up, right? So there you go. Besides, I'm 25 & still haven't finished my undergrad (though I hope to re-enroll this summer & knock it out once I get financial aid stuff straightened out). It's not a race, you know? Shit happens.
I had a lot of financial setbacks to finishing school. I was old enough to be a graduate student when I finally finished undergrad, and now I'm an associate professor at an age when most people are looking into securing tenure. It bothers me a lot, because I've really limited my employment potential due to circumstances where I had to choose between having a roof over my head and taking another year of school while literally living in my car. There were a lot of times when I asked myself "Why am I doing this? I'm going to be forty before I graduate." The only answer that is that I'm going to be forty whether or not I graduate; the only difference is whether I'll be forty with something I really want, or whether I'll be forty with a dream I gave up on. I went for the dream. It's not all what I imagined it would be, but I absolutely do not regret it, even when the student loan payments roll in.
This. You just gotta throw yourself into something, or you'll regret it if you don't. My mom was 45 by the time she was finally able to make associate professor, & now she's 50 & has just gotten remarried, tenure, & plans on being associate dean of the school of nursing. Her life is just beginning anew. You're never too old to make your dreams happen, I think.
OH! What do you teach, by the way?
Also also
@sparklemilhouse &
@The Knife , the best therapist I ever had spent
ten years getting her
associate's degree. She has a PhD now.
I don't know what's funnier; the fact that this kid is a whiny duplicate of the Golden Knight or the fact that you people are trying when he clearly sees you all as NPCs.
Yeah, well. I think a lot of us see ourselves in Connor. Well, a few of us do. I don't think he's completely beyond redemption like GK is, though. He's just a dumb kid trying to be super-edgy, not a sadistic pedophile.
In all honesty, I really wanted Connor to change his ways because I sympathize with his position to a large degree. I even tried to encourage him to go out and volunteer at his local library because that's what I did to help get my first real job. If nothing else, I just hope other people look upon this thread as a tale of warning on how NOT to interact with people who are genuinely willing to help you out.
I did, too. Whether or not Connor decides to take this advice is his prerogative. But I think that, if nothing else, this thread is a reminder that there's hope for everybody, as everyone here has dealt with some really horrible shit & persevered in some way.
