What should I listen to?

By O.M. Hillside · Apr 16, 2018 · ·
  1. What should I listen to? The voice of dissidence in my head that goes "Fuck college. Fuck college. Drop out. You can do better. You can find your own way. This is a detriment. It's a load of bs. Fuck college." Or should I listen to the voice drummed into my brain by society, speaking with a sense of cushioning around every syllable: "Put in your time. Follow the well-traveled road. The grass is smooshed down already by the contented ahead of you, providing the right path for you to be a successful engineer. And maybe you'll make it as a writer. If so then you can smoothly transition off of the road. You'll skip the bumps and brush on the path of the other road entirely. That's how life works. That's how everyone says it is. Or maybe you'll never make it. Maybe if you would make it, you'd know by the age of 9. Like Bill Gates. He dropped out of harvard, not just any college. Or Stanley Kubrick, who was a genius even though he barely made it through high school. You're not them. That's life. Dreams are only for a few people. The rest of us should embrace being employees." And I go with that voice for awhile. Until a few weeks later, it comes back again. "Fuck college. Fuck this waste of time. Fuck this waste of money. You can do it."
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Comments

  1. Carly Berg
    I think you'll never be sorry you got that degree but would most likely be very sorry if you didn't. And of course life has a way of getting in the way so no better time to get it out of the way than when you're young and unencumbered. Also, imo school is a pain but not nearly as much of a pain as a job, especially the kind of job that doesn't require a degree. And, you can always try to go your own way or etc. after you cover your bases. In fact, you'll probably be in a much better position to then. So, who should you listen to? Well, duh. You should listen to me! :p
  2. Magus
    "Marry, and you will regret it; don’t marry, you will also regret it; marry or don’t marry, you will regret it either way. Laugh at the world’s foolishness, you will regret it; weep over it, you will regret that too; laugh at the world’s foolishness or weep over it, you will regret both. Believe a woman, you will regret it; believe her not, you will also regret it… Hang yourself, you will regret it; do not hang yourself, and you will regret that too; hang yourself or don’t hang yourself, you’ll regret it either way; whether you hang yourself or do not hang yourself, you will regret both. This, gentlemen, is the essence of all philosophy."

    After reading some Soren Kierkegaard at the suggestion of someone on the forum I came to really enjoy this quote and think it relates to the train of thought you're on. I regret dropping out of college, and at the time I regretted being in college. To be a great I think you would have to be on 24/7, motivated and driven day after day. If you think you can do that then you can do that. You'll still suffer, but you'll be a great at the end of it. That also reminds me of a great movie about well...greatness. Whiplash, worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
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  3. GrahamLewis
    College may sometimes be a drag, but for most people, including myself, it beats working for a living. Few people can be Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, but lots of people can be baristas or cab drivers who are desperately hoping for something better.

    I went through what I see in your post, and dropped out of college numerous times before finally picking up a BA. And trust me, it's a lot better feeling to say "I didn't really need that degree" than it is to say "I sure wish I'd gotten that degree." And when I later did find a goal and attend a professional school that engrossed me, I found a time that I think was the best time of my life.

    You don't mention finances here -- I do think in this day and age (what an old man phrase that is) anyway I think student debt has a lot of impact here; if you are going to school just to go to school and piling up insurmountable debt, then you need to do some plain and simple calculations and weighing of options. But if school is affordable, then, IMHO, you'd be damned fool to quit because you think the grass is greener in the "real world." You might finding yourself mowing it for someone else at low wages.
  4. 123456789
    Now THIS is what I call first world whining ;)

    (sorry, couldn't help myself.)
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  5. O.M. Hillside
    Well sir Numbers, in the same vein as your comment on the thread itself, but in the reverse direction: problems are still problems. Just to let you know, I understand the tone of your comment here, still replying, however unnecessary it may be.
  6. 123456789
    Funding aside, it's only a few years. Sadly the age expectancy has dropped slightly for us, but let's assume that will change. It does look like people are living longer and staying younger. Losing a few years probably won't hurt too much. To quote Bernie Sanders, a college degree today is in many ways what a high school degree used to be. You can still do something crazy after you go--maybe you'll have a better idea what.

    Even the anomalies you mentioned had to start college before they could drop out.
  7. GrahamLewis
    I agree with the numbers guy about the "first-world whining," though I don't intend to criticize or deny your discontents.

    Most people in the world are struggling to survive at all, and a sense of "inner peace" is probably the least of their concerns -- unless the inner peace is a stomach that does not grumble because of hunger. Only those of us fortunate enough to live in the first world have things like your complaints.

    Not that the "higher" things are without value. This site is also a first-world luxury, everyone here has our basic needs met and access to the Internet -- and time to be contemplative. But, luxury or not, the things we come up with can be spiritually satisfying, and sometimes we communicate what I think are important to others, and perhaps advance the best of humanity.

    Not to undercut your feeling of unhappiness, but it needs to be put into context. A lot of people would all but die for what you have, and probably will die without getting it.

    You're still young. Look deeper into your issues and take little steps to see more clearly. It's not an either-or situation, save the drastic moves for times when they are truly necessary.

    As always, IMHO.
  8. Magus
    It is worse to lose sight then to have never seen. Ignorance is bliss. A hungry African and a hungry American are two different beasts, one has the burden of knowing he is hungry because of his own faults and one is simply hungry because there is no food. Which is worse? Neither, they're both still hungry.
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  9. GrahamLewis
    This might not be a popular post, and I somewhat surprise myself by writing (and thinking) it in light of my long liberal background and career, but here goes.

    If you are educated and healthy, and unable to support yourself, that is your choice. People starving in, say, Eritrea have nowhere to go, no options. In the west we have options (again, if you are reasonably healthy). I think to sit in a dorm or apartment or parental home and ponder about meaning is a luxury.

    I'm not saying there are no mental illnesses, no bad luck, etc. I am saying that if you are educated and articulate enough to post on this site, you shouldn't be hungry, except by choice.
      O.M. Hillside likes this.
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