Are you over 18 years old and still living at home?

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Urchin
Pardon me not reading the whole thread, but  I read most of it.  I guess I'm what you could call a failure.  I certainly think of myself that way just about all the time.  I'm 24, still live at home.  Been working full-time since 22 when I got out of school with a history degree.  Bit of advice here- if your kid tells you he wants to major in history, tell him/her that they are a retard.  Worked 30 hours a week through college to pay for it, worked 25-30 a week through high school to pay for my own car, own insurance, phone bill, internet access, computer, etc.  

All that work, and I've still never had a job making more than $10 an hour.  I don't know about where you guys live, but I live in Maryland.  You cannot afford to live on your own unless you are making around 30 grand or so (or unless you are on welfare, but white people can't get on welfare.. no offense to anyone I hope, and I've never actually tried, but I've had a couple friends who did and got rejected... and one was friggin homeless).

I still haven't figure out what I want to do with my life.  It is pathetic really.. I'm 24 and I've no more idea of what my 'master plan' is than I did when I was 12.  I wanted to go into the police, failed the physical test and pretty much gave up.  I don't honestly know what'd I'd do if my parents got sick of me leeching off them and kicked me out.  Honestly.. no idea.  You may want to think of that if you've got older children, well, adults... well.. offspring living in your house still.  

I don't even know what'd I'd do if my parents actually came straight out and told me what I'm pretty sure they think about me all the time anyway.  I don't think that me, or anyone, wants to stay with their parents for a long time.. but on the other hand, I've no idea what I need to be doing to get out.  I work full time.  Even working full-time, I bring home less than $1,000 a month after taxes and deductions at work.

Sorry for rambling... I guess I just wanted to possibly bring a different perspective into it.

But Urchin, you are "working and paying your way"...thats quite different from the kid that does not work, does not attend school, and lives at home. to you sir! your getting there!  your wings are spread, you know how to fly, seems to me that the perfect landing spot will soon be in your future!

[eskimo2]

Originally posted by myelo
My parents died a year before I was born, so I was raised by opossums. By the time I was 2 years old I was too big to ride on my mother’s back, so she kicked me out of the tree. I got a job in a coal mine, worked 20 hours a day and went to elementary night school (days were 36 hours long back then). I never had any toys and my only pet was a swamp rat named Buster. But he got rabies and we had to kill him. When I was 12, I lied about my age and joined the marines and the army at the same time. With the money I saved from the service, supplemented by selling both kidneys, I put myself through college. Through hard work and sacrifice, I now own several South American countries. Not bad for someone starting out as a marsupial.

ROTFLMAO!

Literally, this brought tears to my eyes.



eskimo

[eskimo2]

Originally posted by Gunthr
LOL

When I was growing up, we were so poor that all we had in the house to eat was salt. We made salt soup out of it. It tasted ok, but it was a little too salty.

You could buy a 45 pound turkey for only 2 cents, but we didn't have the 2 cents.

We had to walk 27 miles to school. It was uphill both ways. Knee deep snow all year round. But we didn't complain. We were just happy that someone would teach us to read.

All we got on Christmas was maybe a stone, or a piece of coal.  If you were lucky, you got a cardboard tube or a rubber band to play with . And we were glad to get it.

There wern't no good times when I was a boy. Even if there were, we didn't want any. We were too miserable.  

Gunther,
This too brought tears to my eyes, .

eskimo

[eskimo2]

Urchin,
One day life is about as crappy as it can get and the next day you wake up and it's still crappy.  On and on it goes, crappy day after crappy day, year after year untill you make a drastic change or good fortune comes your way.  For me the real change came the day I met my wife.  Being poor but with a great family beats the hell out of having a great paying job.  Don't expect a great job to fix all that's missing in your life.

Give the cop thing another try.  You seem like a good guy and you can make it happen.  Go talk to a few police officers, find out exactly what it takes and work at it.  You are still very young!

At one point I really wanted to be a firefighter.  I earned a degree in fire science, applied and tested for fire jobs, worked out, etc.  Ironically, the process took over 2 years.  So I went back to school again and became certified to teach.  The week before I got my first teaching job, I was offered a job as a firefighter.  I wanted to be a teacher more than I wanted to be a firefighter, so I opted to teach.
Since then I've learned that you can't raise a family on a teacher's salary, so I'm back to square one, looking for a decent job.  

My point is, like you I still don't know what I want to do as a career, and I'm 37.  So what, there's so much more to life than work.  

eskimo

[Sikboy]

Originally posted by Urchin
Blah blah blah... Bit of advice here- if your kid tells you he wants to major in history, tell him/her that they are a retard
Blah blah blah... All that work, and I've still never had a job making more than $10 an hour.  I don't know about where you guys live, but I live in Maryland.  blah blah blah...

Dude, I was a History Major for a few months. Figured that one out long before graduation though lol. Unless you plan to go the distance (PhD) I wouldn't recomend History for anyone.

Where in MD do you live? I might have something opening up here at work. Not sure of all the details, and it might not be anything but if you can point and click you could be qualified! lol. Anyhow, send me an email.

-Sikboy