My brain is screaming. (908 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 1.55 on 43 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by shadow (View user info) at 2008-06-25 13:18:32 EDT
SCREAMING.
I'm nervous. My hands are twitching. My feet are flopping around under the desk as if under some weird tap-dance spell. I'm breathing so fast, I think I might just fall over. My heart is slamming the blood through my brain, WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP go the arteries.
Why? Because I just hit SUBMIT.
No, not here. I just hit the submit button on my University's web page. Specifically, the page for re enrollment.
I am submitting, oh yes I am.
I know where I stand, more or less. I know that I was not a prize student. I was an average-at-best student, but that was some years ago. I first went to University at seventeen, and I should have known then not only was I in over my head, but that my future was in peril. I should have seen the signs, payed more attention, and asked more questions. I should have fought back when told "no." I did not, and as a result I left the university without a degree, with a C average, and a mountain of debt. I watched my GPA drop a little each term as the money flew out the window, and the pressure stacked up.
I failed.
Now, the debt is gone. I am brighter and more observant. I don't take "no" for an answer. I smile a helluva lot more. I am more calm and patient. I am wiser, stronger, more determined than any teenage version of myself could ever claim to have been. I am twenty five years old, and I am fully prepared to quit my job, sacrifice my weekends, work for whoever will hire me, and generally make a muck of my schedule and free time in order to see this through. And I'm terrified. Truly, totally, utterly, terrified.
I think that's a good sign, actually.
Dear Über,
What thoughts have you on the matter? What experience can you share? What warnings would you give? I've heard a lot of "go back, it's worth it," and a lot of "don't go back, it's not worth it." I have ten days before I get the mail, telling me whether or not they'll even open the door for me. I have ten days to mull it over, though truthfully I've been a-mulling for the last two years. What advice would you give to a not-so-young person who's standing at the crux of such a decision?
Rain your pearls of wisdom down upon me, that I may be bathed in the sweet juices of your thoughtmeats.
On second thought, just type them in below.
Yours, Sincerely and Gratefully,
shadow
User Reviews
Submitted by Shallabow (user info) at 2008-08-09 18:52:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
By now you will have gotten a response back from the University, and you'll almost definitely have made your decision based on their response and a lot of hard thought. Still, I want to say (albeit belatedly) that I have a great deal of respect for people who are willing to go after what they truly want. That may mean going back to correct an old mistake, or it could be deciding that they would rather pour that same amount of dedication into a new endeavor.
Either way, I'm sure you've chosen the option that best suits you, and I wish you the best of luck in following through.
Submitted by JustAnotherStudent (user info) at 2008-06-27 13:51:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Well mate, good luck with all that.
I've been job hunting for the last couple months, but since I have one year left, I didn't meet the requirements for the jobs I truly want. Next year, I'm going to try to put the fresh degree to some good use.
Going back to school is almost always a good idea, especially if you can avoid mountains of debt.
Oh.. and I'm a single mom and I managed to stay in school and keep up a good GPA, at a great school. If I can do it, you can damn well do it, too.
Submitted by orph (user info) at 2008-06-27 05:06:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by F.J.Bell (user info) at 2008-06-27 04:59:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-26 15:34:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I should probably qualify my earlier statement in regards to Bill Gates/Steve Jobs...
If money were the only, or most important thing, I'm sure I could find some quick & dirty ways to make it. I'm sure I could steal ideas, make moves, skitter my way up the corporate ladder, etc., but there's more at stake than the quality of steak I'm eating.
About the apprenticeship: I have an acquaintance who is currently apprenticing for a sculptor/sex toy maker. How's that for a gig? Especially since: http://www.ubersite.com/m/116446
Submitted by anunusualyetwittyname (user info) at 2008-06-26 14:09:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Do something with specialized knowledge. Apprentice yourself to a mason, plumber or electrician of some kind. When all those old Italians keel over someone will have to take people's money for fixing their drains.
It's hard to get an apprenticeship, but from what I've read I think you're a woman. They will hire you just for the novelty and improvement in scenery.
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2008-06-26 11:01:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
With apologies to Yozz, I know of no curriculum in any college or university anywhere that doesn't require you to gain and retain knowledge, interact with others, and use the strengths of the group to achieve a goal in order to receive a degree. If you do, please tell me what it is.
Submitted by Yozz (user info) at 2008-06-26 10:39:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"Proving that I can finish what I start."
By the way, that is the ONLY thing and the MOST IMPORTANT thing that university will do for you, unless of course you finish in the top 1-5% (ranked by grades).
With apologies to Skrap, a degree is NOT going to provide you with one OUNCE of "knowledge, social skills, [or] teamworking abilities" that will enable your career. But it will also not be worthless like so many other people on here claim.
In people's minds, rightly or wrongly, you are perceived differently if you graduate. That perception grows with the more advanced degrees that you have (I have 3). It doesn't matter if you had a 2.0 gpa, that perception sticks. (As noted above, a 4.0 is going to be worth additional money to you in the long run as it is coveted by prestigious employers and required for many of the higher positions - there is a lot of competition out there). You finished - you are not a quitter. And, hence, they are more likely to hire you. Period.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-26 10:23:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Here's where I'm at:
I have ideas, lots of them. Some of them are particularly retarded, some are brilliant. Either way, I'm at a point where I recognize that it doesn't matter how great my ideas might be if I lack the skills to articulate them, share them, and see them through.
Currently, my reach exceeds my grasp.
Do I want the piece of paper to show that I've achieved SOMETHING in my otherwise mediocre life? Sure I do, but that's not the point, not in the long run. The point is to get the skills and knowledge to carry through on all the things my brain's been cooking up.
Might I fail? I might. But if I do, I'll be no worse off than I am right now.
I'm no Steve Jobs nor am I Bill Gates, and I have no expectation to make a country's net worth in profit without putting real work into it. Part of that is finishing what I started. Proving that I can finish what I start.
I accept your opinion(s) and value them for the sharing, either way.
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2008-06-26 08:09:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Sexualchocolate would have you believe that a university degree is worthless. Couldn't be more wrong. It may not be necessary to be a success (which is also dependent on what you define as 'success'), but no matter what you choose for your field of study, a degree is an accomplishment that will benefit you in the amount of knowledge, social skills, and teamworking abilities you bring to your career. At the very least, if you find yourself competing with him/her for a job, you'll have the degree. Further, there are a growing number of careers that simply require a degree in the field of study.
Go to school and learn all you can, remembering that not all learning in college takes place in the classroom or lab during regular class hours.
Submitted by matnotharry (user info) at 2008-06-26 06:29:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
University is the best thing I've ever done - you should go for it : )
Someone wish me luck as I get my results tomorrow...
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2008-06-26 06:28:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
There's a lot more to life than working.
Meeting amazing people and having adventures for instance. Or just sitting in the sunshine, drinking a cold beer.
Submitted by sexualchocolate1984 (user info) at 2008-06-26 05:41:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
EPIC FAIL!
You've been brainwashed into thinking that you need a degree to make anything of your life. You don't, you need experience, good judgment and hard work and you won't end up one of the many graduates fighting for the few graduate jobs.
University is for the elite, if you failed the first time you're not in that group.
Get back to work and stop wishing you were something you're clearly not.
.... or go back to uni for an EPIC FAIL!
(I cannot -2 a post with the word "thoughtmeat" I just can't)
Submitted by BeforeEmily (user info) at 2008-06-26 03:37:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
take advantage -- do it
Submitted by Lib (user info) at 2008-06-25 19:19:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Do it and good luck
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2008-06-25 18:56:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
do it.
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2008-06-25 18:42:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by i_can_get_you_a_toe (user info) at 2008-06-25 17:39:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't really care. Unless you're going back to become a doctor in order to volunteer in the third world - you're not doing anything special.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-25 17:05:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I was not aware that one could, in fact, study Extreme Sports.
I'll have to check the schedule of classes...
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2008-06-25 17:04:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You should also scream back.
That's what I do.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2008-06-25 17:03:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
You should totally go back to University and study Extreme Sports.
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2008-06-25 16:58:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:45:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
The parental units are not donating any money to this endeavor, nor did they the first time around.
Ok, that's not perfectly true; the father unit did supplement the portion of tuition that the student could not pay. He felt he should do that much, since the student did not qualify for financial aid on the basis that the father unit made too much money.
Stingy man, he was/is.
That's fine though, I think I'd actually rather do it this way, with no strings attached. I make the decisions, I alone pay for them, I alone reap the rewards. It's better that way.
Submitted by Cyrus (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:39:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Good luck then.
It's complicated. Another (of many) aspects involved that make it tough to give advice here is the fact that I don't know anything about you. I made a crack about art history majors. Hey, if you're a smart motivated person that really goes after what you want, and you have your heart set on being an art curator at a metropolitan museum of fine arts, then go for a degree in art history. If that's what you really want. It's not automatically a waste of time.
It's just that every day I see a horde of kids at school that are just drifting along. No idea what they really want, no clue really of where they're going. They're just taking classes and having a good time. all well and good, but somebodys paying big bucks for them to be there partying. If their parents are shelling out for it, more power to them I guess. But I'm not doing that. If I'm going to pay 15-20K a year to send my kid to college, they're going to have to know what they want and be sufficiently motivated in going after it to get decent grades. Otherwise they can go to CC for a few years and take a broad selection of classes until they find something that grabs them.
Submitted by beer-turtle (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:32:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Shadow: I am on my 3rd retry at the schooling thing. I was lucky enough to find a job that pays just enough to keep me alive while I am in school full time. My mortgage still gets paid, I had to rent out a room to make ends meet. Hell my pets eat better and more often than I do.
But it is worth it in the end I believe.
Rack up the best grades you can and more often than not, new ways to pay for it all become available through scholarships and grants. Hell i busted my ass for a 4.0 last semester even while writing my stand-up act, taking care of my hobby income on the side, and maintained some semblance of a social life.
It is rough but YOU CAN DO IT...just gotta believe in yourself
Submitted by Yozz (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:20:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My two cents. *Ahem*
You have exactly the right attitude (i.e., "I am fully prepared to quit my job, sacrifice my weekends, work for whoever will hire me, and generally make a muck of my schedule and free time in order to see this through. And I'm terrified. Truly, totally, utterly, terrified") to pursue ANYTHING you want to do. With this attitude, you cannot fail. So the question is - Is going back to school absolutely, positively the one thing you want to do most? If so, you are good to go. If not, apply that attitude to the direction/thing you want most.
\end fatherly advice
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:18:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I never had the chance to go to college and it would always kill me when people I wroked with pissed their schooling away on a useless degree. They went and were working with me and making less money than I was.
Idiots, all of them!
Give me the chance to go back, I'd go in a second.
Bubba, at 37 I am a dinosaur compared to the uber-kiddies.
and I'm a he.
**waves penis at monitor**
sorry
**waves mammoth penis at monitor**
thats better.
Submitted by DeathJester (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:12:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I plan on going to Uni next year to study Law. Sounds like a laugh.
Best of luck to you!
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:08:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fallen isn't as old as he/she thinks. :)
School is an excellent idea, regardless of age. Believe it or don't, I will be going back to school as well, even at my age. I,also,refuse to divulge the course matter I will pursue. I will say that I have connections who will hire me after I complete the classes.
In other news, did you know that a Wal-Mart greeter must now be literate? Just sayin'...
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:08:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:00:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Get thee to school, child!
But please do something that will get you paid.
__________
Are you saying I can't get my PhD in INTERPRETIVE DANCE???
CRAP!
How about Journalism? Does that count for anything more than any extra $0.10 an hour at Starbucks?
Yee gods, what am I going to do with myself?
Although if the Dean of my "college" has been replaced, I just might become a scientist after all...
Submitted by Director (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:06:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dunno.
I have a marketing degree from Texas A&M and I've been living hand to mouth for far longer than I'd care to mention.
Here's my advice:
Find a good pimp...one who will treat you right, buy you a nice car, get you medical insurance, pay your rent, never hit you, then FUCK THE PAIN AWAY, FUCK THE PAIN AWAY, FUCK THE PAIN AWAY.
Submitted by experima (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:03:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
what i always tell myself in these situations goes along the lines of, "where will you be in X years if you DON'T do it?"
Do something you'll be proud of in a few years, a few months, a few hours from now.
I'm not sure if that's the kind of answer you were looking for, but it has always helped me to think about that.
Submitted by FALLEN (user info) at 2008-06-25 14:00:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Get thee to school, child!
But please do something that will get you paid. No Master of interperative greek poetry, or social work, physical education, language, hotel management.
it's all crap.
Spending 80k to make 35k a year is retarded with a capital retarded.
Aim for six figures or you are waisting your time. and dont get wrapped up in this "do what you love" crap, the working world blows no matter what job you are doing.
You should damn sure be getting paid for your time.
trust what I'm saying, I've been working a long time and I'm old.
so very
very
old.
*weeps*
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:55:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Cyrus
I do have a very particular career path in mind, a plan. I'm choosing the degree program that aligns (the best) with that plan.
Unfortunately, I'm not ready to share that plan yet. Both because I don't want the boss/colleagues finding this and putting one and one together, and because this plan is just too important to be haphazardly thrown around Uber. The general notion of going back to school is broad enough, but the plan must remain a secret until, at least, October.
It's not nearly as cool as I've just made it sound, but still.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:53:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I've been meaning to go back, but something is always in the way, either money, family, or time.
Let me know how it goes.
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:48:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Edumakashun is neber a waist
Good for you.
Submitted by Cyrus (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:48:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
At this point I can't say whether I think going back to college is good idea or not without knowing what you plan on studying.
Fifteen - even ten - years ago that wouldn't have mattered. There were still plenty of good state universities around that were still a bargain just for the general expereince of going to college, even if your degree program was art history.
Not so these days. There's just no friggin point in spending $80,000 to get a degree in medieval literature.
It's only worth it if you have a plan Stan. Only if you have a clear idea about a specific job or career path that the degree with take you to.
I say this as someone who 1) loved college, 2) has a 1 masters and part of another, 3) has been on a university/college faulty for 10 years now, and most of all 4) as a parent that is sorry he will have to give this same advice to his children in a few years.
Submitted by corn_nugget (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:41:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:22:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
you already took the biggest step, kid.
once you're ready to engage, which it seems you are, the rest is cake.
***
For real... we're in the same boat, I just re-enrolled after being out for quite a while. Now that I'm enrolled and registered, everything else seems like it'll be fairly easy.
Good decision you've made.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:30:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What scourge said. Good on you. I'm thinking about going back, too. I took a couple of night classes a few years ago (my dad is a counselor and found that apparently I was 2 classes away from an associate's degree and didn't know it so I figured what the fuck), and I'm undecided about which route to go, but the wheels are turning. I pretty much think that going back to school is ALWAYS a good idea.
Submitted by GangsterSquid (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:29:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good for you, Shadow.
I have a liberal arts degree and even with THAT I can say confidently that having a degree is WAY, WAY worth it.
It gives you self-confidence and much more leverage when looking for employment. It also puts you on the same level with people who simply won't consider your opinion unless you're 'college educated'.
Those people do exist.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:25:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Well thank you, Mr scourge. But don't congratulate me just yet; I've sent a letter to my old mentor, but I have to get past the Dean and he's not a fan of mine.
Actually, I wonder if he's been replaced yet...
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:23:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
oh, and congratulations and all that.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2008-06-25 13:22:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
you already took the biggest step, kid.
once you're ready to engage, which it seems you are, the rest is cake.