<p>College is not necessary for success but ambition is. It doesn’t matter if you gain a college degree, if you do not have the drive to be successful then you will fail. Only you can place yourself in that secretary position making some CEO rich.</p>
<p>I don’t have a college degree. Despite this challenge, I’ve been able to do something successful with my life. I’m the most successful person in my family. Not only in pay but job security, job perspective, and the amount of hours I have to work. It’s because I wanted it bad enough and found a way to make myself succeed. I to don’t want to be someone working at a desk while other people are making the big bucks. I’m planning on dropping out next year from the current school I’m going to so I can focus more on my business and financial gain.</p>
<p>You don’t have to be intelligent either. I’m probably the dumbest person I know and I’m more successful then my peers.</p>
<p>Eventually you find your niche in life whether it requires a degree or not. Not all non-college degree jobs are working with your hands. There are so many jobs out there that you haven’t explored. You’ll eventually find one that fits.</p>
<p>I am seeing a therapist from a counseling center. I have seen him on and off for about a year. I think he is doing an okay job, but I think I am too difficult of a case for him. He is very inexperienced as he has only done therapy for two years. I don’t mean to sound like a snob, but I don’t think he knows about mental conditions in depth. I honestly don’t think he has anymore knowledge than a layman who has read the DSM-IV repeatedly for years.
I want to see someone else who has more breadth and depth of information and experience, but I don’t want to hurt his feelings. Yet if I stay with him, I think I’ll have to be there for years. I don’t have years. I just want to get help and move on with my life.</p>
<p>Hurt feelings may occur but would be out of place and, imho, unprofessional. A desire to change therapists is normal and can occur for any number of reasons. A professional therapist must learn to deal with that if he has not yet done so.</p>
<p>I will do that the next time I see him. I hope thinks aren’t awkward when I run into him while seeing someone else. Hopefully he’ll understand.</p>
<p>I just feel bad about this whole situation because there are people who go through a lot worse than me and aren’t half as messed up. I realize I create a lot of burden and do little in return. I hope this nonsense ends soon, so I can just be a normal productive person.</p>
<p>TA, there are very few “normal productive people” who don’t struggle, don’t have self doubts, etc. It is a matter of degree, of course, but please let yourself up. If you really believe that “you do little in return,” you can do something about that. If depression gets in the way of taking action, you and your therapist (and maybe some meds) can do something about that, too.</p>
<p>I already take meds. It’s just that I either forget to take them and I don’t remember to take them at the same time everyday. I’m sorry, I know that is very foolish of me. I’ll try to take care of myself better.</p>
<p>If anyone cares, I talked to my therapist today. He said that the only other therapist is regularly available over the summer and she went to the same schools as him and was educated pretty much the same way. He said that she will probably just give me the same answers as him. Oh well…I’ll make a decision later.</p>
<p>He helped me get organized because I need structure in my life. I have a decent schedule about times to eat, work, exercise, wind down, etc. I’m going to get ready to go outside everyday, even if I’m not going anywhere. I was told not to be too obsessive about it and that things will interrupt the schedule once in awhile. </p>
<p>On a lighter yet kind of strange note, I have a pen and pencil collection now. I need a light hobby of some sort. My therapist says that as long as I’m not obsessive about it, it’s fine.</p>
<p>Sorry. I just wanted to get this out to someone. The new friends I made months ago aren’t really keeping in touch with me and that’s probably why I’m acting like this. For some reason I’m much happier when talking to my family, but when I’m alone I’m like this. Again, I’m sorry.</p>
<p>“If anyone cares, I talked to my therapist today. He said that only other therapist is regularly available over the summer and she went to the same schools as him and was educated pretty much the same way. He said that she will probably just give me the same answers as him. Oh well…I’ll make a decision later”</p>
<p>You may still wish to try her because finding a therapist is a matter of chemistry in many ways. You may click with her in a way that doesn’t happen with your current one. She also may say things in a way that connects with you more.</p>
<p>I’m glad you’re talking to someone - if one therapist doesn’t seem to be a good fit, keep looking until you find someone who is (sorta like a college search!). I’m far from qualified to give professional advice, but I think you’re also getting something from communicating with people online like this. However, it’s easy to isolate yourself to “virtual” contact and intensify any underlying depression. I hope you also make a conscious effort to talk face-to-face with people you trust. Also, know that having to once again find new friends isn’t a reflection on you. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Yes, almost all my interaction with them is for fun and jokes. My mom says I’m less touchy and grumpy than I was last year. I even laugh with my therapist more often. It’s just being alone that bothers me because it gives me too much time to think. I guess I’m not introverted after all. I’m starting to realize that summer is a vulnerable time for me. Sigh, I wish I had the summers of my childhood. I always enjoyed winter and fall better than spring. It’s weird lol.</p>
<p>I talked to my mom today and surprisingly she said that she wouldn’t mind if I didn’t go to college as long as I was able to provide for myself. Then she asked if I would really want to do something like plumbing if I was going to drop out. I said that I didn’t really want to, but if I’m going to make the same amount that I would have if I went to college anyway I might as well.</p>
<p>After a while the conversation had a really weird turn and ended up being melodramatic. I did not want it to end up so emotional, but our views clashed far too much. It didn’t even seem as if we were having the same conversation. When it just felt as if I was seeing loopholes and flaws from her suggestions, she took it as if everything she said was useless, pointless and said that she gives up on me because nothing she says can get through to me. I am probably just draining and negative, but if I don’t think someone is right, I am not going to take it in, no matter how much I would like to. If I feel as if one is just saying something to make me feel better, I will not change my mind. It’s not that I won’t, it’s that I can’t Then she said that if nothing works I should read the Bible. I know she means well, but the Bible will not help in this situation.
At least my mom said that I should consider therapy somewhere else, but she told me to go to my dad to see if I can get one. She knows the treatments I have now aren’t working as well as they should. </p>
<p>Yesterday I briefly talked to the other therapist because I was very distraught about not doing well in a class. I felt that if I was not good at math or the sciences, I could at least write decently. Apparently not according to the prof I have for my summer class. This therapist seemed so cheerful that it’s eerie. It’s like she has a permanent unnatural smile on her face at all times, even when one is being serious and almost in tears albeit for a stupid reason. I guess I now have to go to someone from outside the school. I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t for the cost. Hopefully insurance would not make it too bad.</p>
<p>It’s almost four in the morning right now, so I’m sorry if this is not comprehensible or something…</p>
<p>I went off to college quite confident in my writing. Cocky, even. First paper (a one-pager) for my freshman seminar came back to me: the prof had crossed out the page I had written and had rewritten my entire paper in 3 beautifully crafted sentences.</p>
<p>This was the best thing that happened to me in college. I relearned how to write. I learned to prune my prose, to rigorously edit my work. Much of my present work involves writing; I am much better at it than anyone else in my company. I credit that prof in my freshman seminar.</p>
<p>" Then she asked if I would really want to do something like plumbing if I was going to drop out. I said that I didn’t really want to, but if I’m going to make the same amount that I would have if I went to college anyway I might as well."</p>
<p>A first generation college student who went to college with my husband decided to become a doctor after he graduated from college. At first, he had planned to be a plumber, but then he learned that it takes something like 7 years of training and apprenticeship to become a plumber. He figured that if it would take that long to become a plumber, he might as well become a doctor, and that’s just what he did.</p>
<p>Geez. Where does “plumber” come in? Its not like the only job available for people without a college education is “plumber”. </p>
<p>If you are seriously considering time off from school, go to a career counselor. Keep two factors in mind: if you leave school in good standing, you can always return. A college dropout can resume studies later or transfer to a different college. So quitting college is not permanent. </p>
<p>There are many jobs that do not require formalized training or a college degree. Starting pay is usually not great – but its a learning opportunity. A chance to get on-the-job training, plus an opportunity to learn more about yourself.</p>