Need Some Suggestions For... Life?

[Slinkytoys]

Your mind set is typical of the Joplin area. Heck, when they put in the first escalator in Penney's not too too long ago, it made headlines in the paper. Do yourself a favor and get outta there.
Carrie

 

[WildernessLofts]

Quote:
Ha ha! I was out for awhile! I lived near Bull Shoals in AR and LOVED IT. It was so gorgeous there. However, my fiancee of the time and I had a "falling out," so to speak. (I won't get into details. Let's just say I don't trust quite as much as I used to.) I ended up moving back into this area and going to MSSU for awhile. That's when the financial aid "discord" happened. I was supposed to be getting a "free ride" due to the finances of my mother. I don't know how 14k is considered "free". Nor do I see how they could say my mom's name didn't match her SSN on the latest FAFSA when everything was the exact same as the previous semester. *shrugs*

I'm tentatively trying for K-State Fall 2010. Maybe my FAFSA won't get messed up this time around since I don't plan on listing her.

 

[Beekissed]

I guess money is such a big issue ...It can make or break a person. I know what I've had to go through and I don't want to always live like that.

You sound very mature and intelligent to me! As such, maybe you can accept a little wisdom I wish to pass along to you. Money cannot make or break a person. Period. Evidence to the fact is all the many famous and rich people committing suicide, becoming drug addicts, and divorcing left and right. Obviously, money is not "making" their lives any better.

Your mother did not make these choices because she was poor. She made these choices because she just chose to do so.

I have been poor all my life. I am still considered under the poverty level. My homelife as a child wasn't the greatest either and my family are all fighting and hateful, my dad now is residing in a mental hospital and I lived in a small town also. Actually, 15 miles outside a small town, a mile back from the hard road, in a two room log cabin with no electricity or running water.

I am a single mother and I never received any child support. I am not stupid, a druggy, or promiscuous. I have never run afoul of the law and I was very much like you in my schooling. Bored to tears and too smart to pay attention in my boredom.

Bottom line? I'm happy. My kids are all smart, happy, well-adjusted and going places. I chose to be happy and actively searched for it all these years. Money had nothing to do with that. Being poor did not "break me" in the way you think that it would. It made me stronger....as it seems to have made you stronger.

I really just want to figure my life out. I don't want to end up like her.

You are a little too young to think you will figure your life out just yet. Life happens while you are making other plans....or hadn't you heard?

Money doesn't have the power to prevent you from turning out like your mother. Only God has that kind of power.

You have a choice in this life and it seems to me that you are already making plans to NOT turn out like your mother. Good for you! This has little to do with career choices or how much money one makes. It has everything to do with what kind of person you wish to become and what kind of life you wish to lead....I mean real life, not the one folks see on the TV. The business of living...of being a decent human being, of being content with oneself, of being at peace in your mind.

In the end, this is the best and only legacy you need to pass on to your children. Not how much money to make, what status to obtain, even the material things you accumulate, or the places you have been. Peace of mind and contentment are the only things worth striving for in this world and they cannot be bought at any price by any currency this world accepts.​

 

[fowltemptress]

My friend has gone ahead and finished up his wildlife biology degree, but before that he started feeling stuck when he was looking into careers and realized he wasn't exactly going to get the adventurous lifestyle out of it. He decided he needed to take off from college to get those jitters out of his system before settling into the "adult" world. With that in mind he joined the Peace Corps. He came back a much happier, confident, and mature person, and much more willing to get his degree and settle into his career.


But to be honest, there is one very clear, very obvious solution to your problem. Become a vet and open up a practice that specializes in affordable chicken care . . . a quick perusal through these forums shows a clear demand for such a thing. Just set up your permanent practice that you work at for 6 or so months, then take a working vacation for another few months as you take care of the BYCers around the planet to satisfy your traveling desires.

ETA: I'm not sure what zoos you're visiting, but you are clearly visiting the wrong ones. I've walked away from zoos feeling like the animals were a million times happier where they were than if they had been in the wild, and the habitats, particularly for the predators, are set up in such a way that most of the time people are never able to see the animals because there's so much room and places to hide from view and from the annoying exclamations of children. If I were you, I'd visit more zoos before I write them off completely.

 

[beefy]

WildernessLofts,
you sound EXACTLY like me, except for the bad childhood bit. i always thought i wanted to be a vet--never even considered anything else growing up--and then when i went to college decided it wasnt for me. i was an animal science/prevet major. my junior year i decided i wanted to switch majors to wildlife for the same reasons you describe. figured i'd have more opportunities to travel and be able to work with more animals than just livestock. i majored in wildlife/forestry for a year. decided that wasnt really for me either. looked in to the national geographic internship programs even. highly competitive and seemingly unrealistic. looked into landscape architecture, teaching, you name it. finally, i was like i'm just spinning my wheels.i was tired of school and figured i might as well go ahead and finish up my animal science degree b/c i only had a few classes left. so i did. at that point i was just stuck in a rut and my grandmother who i was very close to got sick so i moved back home to take care of her. there were so many things i wanted to do and i had all the potential in the world to do anything i wanted but there wasnt one thing that i just really really wanted to do.ive decided that maybe its kind of an unrealistic expectation for some people to just have one thing that they are like this is definitely what i'm supposed to do with my life. i dont konw. i still dont know what i want to do. still kind of stuck in a rut and an animal science degree isnt a very useful one to have, (even though i'm a cattle farmer so i sort of use mine but didnt really learn anything in college i didnt already know from growing up with cows all my life). one thing i have noticed is that i tend to not follow through with things, and thats all on me, and i cant place that blame on anyone else. sometimes i change my mind, sometimes i get bored, sometimes i lose interest, sometimes i just stop caring. now who knows, that could be from some type of adhd or depression or just being indecisive or scared to commit or who knows what all but it doenst change the fact that i still dont follow thru with things. so i guess i would either say for you to pick one thing that is practical, in demand, that pays well and follow thru with that even if you dont necessarily like it or think its your calling in life OR explore all you want to now and maybe that will help you to decide what you really want. dont spin your wheels and spend your money in college waiting for something to magically come to you one day b/c lets face it, it never came to me. i just wasted a lot of time and money (but i had fun). and now i cant really afford to do all the things i wanted to do as a result. but my life isnt bad either, its just not what i expected. i do commend you for looking to the future for your inspiration but you have to start somewhere and follow thru to get there. good luck.

 

[Chickenmaven]

Unless you are "over it all" in terms of authority issues, I would not recommend grad school. It is a real drag on the spirit. (You can PM me if you want to discuss this. I am currently in a PhD program...)
I do think, however, you might be able to suck it up enough to get through a program that has alot of field work. I know a woman who is in administration in a science program. Her B.A. grads get snapped up and earn $45K+ to start. I would recommend that you ask how people in your area get "good" science jobs (gov't or big industry) and go from there.
Good luck! Get going, don't wait!

 

[WildernessLofts]

Wow, Beefy. That sounds so much like what I'm going through. That worries me. You say it's not bad, but it's not what you expected. Well, I don't want that to happen to me. I believe that we can shape our destinies. I just have forgotten how to shape mine.

I won't deny it, though, I've been pretty worried lately that I'll never figure out what I want from this life and always feel unsatisfied. There are no second tries, so I'm really working to make this count. I thank you all for your advice, suggestions, wisdom. These posts have been pretty helpful in regards to my sanity.

Not to mention, I got a few ideas from them, as well. Thanks.

I also had a suggestion from a friend to work through internships. She said that some pay pretty well. Either way, it may help me make more informed decisions doing as some of you have said and, "Getting out there to see what it's really like." It's true. Paper doesn't do a job justice. It can only give a basic outline describing what it knows, not what it has EXPERIENCED. Not to mention, it'd also probably help a bit with getting into a college of choice. Things like that look good on applications.

 

[BarbK]

Are you still interested in being a vet? If so look into large animal like someone else said or into a different field of veterinary medicine. Get into exotics and then do emergency medicine. You never get the same thing all the time. You hardly ever have to do a spay. Try and find a large emergency hospital close to you and ask if you can shadow on one of their busy days. We have quite a few of those days coming up since it is getting ready to hit fall!!! We need a lot more large animal vets. They are a dying breed so to say. But a good emergency vet is hard to come by also.

Hope it helps good luck. I went back to school to become an RVT 4 years ago when I was 25 so I know what you are going through.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

One other thing that hasn't really been mentioned is that very few people work at one job their entire life. Some have similar jobs at multiple companies; others completely change careers two or more times. Generally some of the knowledge and experience you gain in one job will help with completely unrelated jobs: managing resources is pretty much the same whether it is managing the supplies for the copy room, the food for a zoo or the medicines for a veterinary hospital.

 

[onthespot]

Wilderness. We also have a lot in common, but I am twenty years down a rough road ahead of you. The most simple advice I can share with you, KEEP YOUR DAY JOB and freelance with your things you are passionate about. Sometimes your freelance income will out perform your day job, but keep your day job. Keep benefits. Keep your credit score. Floss your teeth, LOL all the boring stuff, but if you want to take a vacation to Greece, photograph the wildlife there and write an article, submit it to the suitable publication! Go for it! You never know unless you try. Volunteer in fields where you are not credentialed to practice professionally. That can be the biggest door opener of all. You are a tremendous asset to anyone lucky enough to have you, even if it is you, yourself. I mean if you eventually become self employed you will likely do very well. Best of luck in your future.