Mary Anne Johnson

Regarding my journalism degree - I am planning to get a day job in the industry. I have gotten straight As while getting my AA, and one of my professors said that I have a promising future in the industry, if I choose to get into it. Also, I enjoyed my journalism courses tremendously - I clearly have a passion for this. And I think it’s kind of bogus for me to go and look for a day job in a totally different field - like coming back into kitchen and bathroom appliance sales again, like some people here recommended - after I just spent a year getting an AA in journalism and graduated with honors. Music journalism is my passion, and I am gonna be aiming towards eventually finding work in that niche. But in the meantime, I am completely open to any other areas in this field. First of all, I need money, second of all I need stuff to put on my resume. I want to thank the person who gave me advice to do more networking - I do have a lot of friends who are in bands, I will inquire their help on that topic. And get out there and develop more connections in general. And I have been getting a pretty stable audience in terms of my blog. Now I just need money to take it to the next level, i.e. rent out a professional studio space, hire a video editor to edit my recorded interviews, hair and makeup, etc. And I need money for all of that - hence my goal to get a day job as a journalist, i.e. intern, writer, editor. After I received my AA back in January, I have had a few meetings with counslers at my college who advised me on what I need to do when I apply to jobs. And I have been following their advice. I hope that I will find a position soon - at least then my cup will be half-full

I have got so many responses, it’s going to take me a while to get through them all and answer accordingly. but here’s what I have to say regarding the above quote: I actually love going out to clubs to listen to live music. I have been doing that since my mid-20s, and it’s still just as amazing as it was back then. And when I first started going out, I met most of the friends I have right now through those outings. I also mentioned that despite the fact that I do have friends, they are all too busy with their lives (mostly careers, only one of them has a family, really) to hang out too often. I would love to see them more often than I do now, but they always tell me they’re busy. I have seriously considered the idea of meeting someone through going to events that have to do with the things I enjoy. But lately I don’t have too much money to go out.

Hi! I’m 32 years old, I have never been in a serious relationship, and I am currently single. In addition to that, I am also unemployed. I have been working on a personal blog for the past few years and have just gotten an AA in journalism a few months ago. I have graduated with straight As. I have applied to numerous jobs, but have only had one interview so far. All throughout my 20s, I was preoccupied with trying to build a career, taking classes at a community college, having part-time jobs so I could have some money, and seeing my friends. I have lived with my mother throughout my entire 20s - she moved away when I turned 29 (she still lives in the same city, just a different neighbourhood) but she still pays my rent. I got my BFA from a design school from which I graduated with a 2.16 GPA at the age of 24 - I got held back one semester, and finished up my senior year as a part time student, took me two years. I was having a hard time building a career as a fashion designer. I never got a job offer that was above an internship. In my mid-20s, I still had the drive and the interest to keep working towards my then goal of working in the fashion industry. But towards my late 20s I fully focused on another passion of mine - rock music history - and started a blog. Like I said before, I now have an AA in journalism. Unfortunately, all throughout my 20s - specifically my mid-to-late 20s - I have been unfortunate to only have been interested in people who were in one way or another unavailable to me. At 25 I developed a huge crush on one of my then-girlfriends (I have never been with a woman, but I have felt attracted to other women on a few occasions), but she turned out to be toxic. The worst part is, we have only hung out for a couple of months before we had a falling out, but I spent the next two years being obsessed with her and wishing that we could reconcile. Thankfully, I have long ago gotten over my obsession and don’t think about her anymore. When I was 27, I developed a crush on my music teacher whom I was taking adult voice lessons with. Naturally, because he was a staff member and I was his student, I didn’t want to risk getting both of us in trouble (he didn’t teach privately, he worked at a music center). I was so preoccupied with my feelings for him and my fantasies that I never even considered looking for someone else to date. After teaching me for a year and a half, he moved to another state. Nothing ever happened between us. At 29, I finally got my first legitimate job at a bathroom appliance showroom, and focused the next year on working and “me time”. After about a year and a half of working at the showroom, I got laid off because of staff cutbacks (this was in the fall of 2022, I heard a lot of people got laid off then). So, a year ago, just a few months before turning 31, I went back to school for a journalism degree. I have plans to take my blog to a new level, but before I do that I need to start working and saving up money - if I want to start a website and rent out a studio to shoot my interviews, I need money for all that. I have been trying online dating for the past three years. Three years ago when I first started doing it (after the teacher I had a crush on moved away) I met a couple of guys whom I’ve been on and off with for the next two years. A year ago I decided to delve into online dating again, but for some reason it has been going terribly for the past year! I can’t even get anyone to meet up with me - I have only been on one date, and after that the guy said he isn’t ready for anything serious. He was 27, btw. And it’s not like I’m shy or socially awkward! On the contrary, I’m pretty, interesting, and fun. I can honesty say - and no, I’m not being cocky - that I have a great personality and that I am an interesting conversationalist. I’m an aspiring podcaster with a journalism degree - it’s my job to talk to people, for god’s sake. All my close friends- and I have a number of them - have always been telling me that I have a great personality. I have no money, no legitimate job (I currently work part-time as a receptionist and still take classes, even though I got my AA), and no partner. All I have to my name is an AA that I received with honors, an interesting hobby, and a number of good friends who have been too busy with their own lives to see me. Only one of my good friends has a family, though. The rest are too preoccupied with their careers. When I was in my mid-20s, I have never thought that I would end up like this. Everyone - my teachers, friends, my bosses at the part-time jobs I had - told me I had potential. And I truly believed back then that if I continued working hard, that I would be ok. Even a year ago when I was still getting my degree my life truly felt like it had a purpose, even if technically I was also single back then. When I was younger, even just a year ago, I have always enjoyed working towards building a career for myself, seeing my friends, and enjoying lots of “me time”. My life was busy and I had time to relax. Now, I feel like I have nothing. I’m about to turn 32 in a few months, and I’m wondering if I’m ever going to actually be able to build a career for myself. I also feel like I won’t ever find a partner. Maybe all I’m ever capable of when it comes to relationships is fantasising about guys who are unavailable to me in real life… It’s 1:30 in the morning, and I’m tired. I’m gonna go to bed… I just wanted to have a place to pour my heart out. I feel lonely and right now I don’t have anyone to talk to…

@Wiseman2 and @LootieTootie thank you for the advice! Now I feel better!

@LootieTootie and yes, I do want a real relationship. Maybe marriage, someday soon. That I also explained in my original post.

@LootieTootie its true that I do not have experience with bf/gf relationships. As I have explained in my post, my 20s were filled with studying, working, going out, meeting new people, hanging out with friends, and also relaxation/ me time. A lot of times, I was too busy to even care about the fact that I’m single. also, in my mid-late 20s, I have had major crushes on people who weren’t available to me. At 25, I became infatuated with someone who turned out to be toxic. Even though things fell through with them about 2 months into our friendship/relationship, whatever it was, for the next two years I continued to pine and wait for them because they had a lot of qualities that I was truly attracted to, for the first time ever at that point. When I was 27, I developed an infatuation with my music teacher (I take voice lessons). He was in a relationship at the time, too. Besides, he was my teacher - enough said.

No, I am not from a conservative or sexist culture at all. Premarital sex is also not taboo for me. As far as me calling myself a sl@t… it’s just a figure of speech, or something… I did not mean it in a shameful way… idk, it’s hard to explain. and yes, I have been checking up at the doctors for STDs and taking care of myself, using birth control every time. and I definitely don’t use sex for any reason other than getting pleasure or having fun. I would do it for any other reason. thank you for the advice and kind and wise words!

Hi! I am 31 years old, and I have never been in a relationship. I lost my virginity at 21 years old to a random guy at a former classmates party. All throughout my 20s, I was too preoccupied with school, working, friends, going out, and me time to worry about the fact that I’m single. Also, ages 25-27, I was unfortunate enough to fall for someone who was toxic and wouldn’t give me the time of the day. But it was the first time I ever had actual feelings for someone, I back then I was willing to wait for them. Then, at 27, I fell for my voice teacher (I take voice lessons), whom I couldn’t date for obvious reasons. I liked him secretly for a year and a half before he moved away. I haven’t seen him or spoken to him since. Despite the fact that I have never been in an actual relationship, I still had plenty of opportunities to hook up with guys. So I did, because I was horny and I wanted to have fun. Over the past decade, I have hooked up with 18 men. Not all of those hook-ups included intercourse; most of them never went further than oral or sexting/sending pictures. One day, hopefully soon, I want to find a serious boyfriend who could eventually become a husband. My question is, is my number too high? Am I a *** who no one would ever want to marry because I hooked up with 18 guys? thanks.