Going back into education

[KH26]

OK. I dropped out of college when I was 17 because what I was studying wasn't going to get me any nearer to what I wanted to do. But at the time I didn't tell anyone what I really wanted to do because I knew they'd be disappointed. I was extremely miserable there, I didn't enjoy one day. I couldn't focus on any of the work, it was horrible. I could see people enjoying the course and people who knew being there was going to get them closer to what they wanted to be. But I knew that wasn't going to happen for me.

 

I eventually told my parents what I really wanted to do and, surprisingly, they were supportive. I dropped out thinking it would be easy to get where I wanted to be. I just needed a job to save some money. But this hasn't worked out quite as well as I thought. I've been doing part time jobs since then which have been enough to keep me going but I haven't been able to save anything yet. And this just doesn't feel stable at the moment. I don't have many qualifications (just the basics really, enough to get me by). So it's a struggle finding a job that I truly enjoy. I've been doing voluntary work which I absolutely love and has given me a lot of experience in different things.

 

Anyway. For a while I've been on off thinking about becoming a paramedic. In the last 6 months I've been thinking quite seriously about this. But everyone knows what I wanted to do before and I'm worried people will judge me because I've changed my mind. I don't want to write here what I wanted to do before because too many people in real life know what it was and paranoia is making me think someone will find this (haha). But being a paramedic would tie in with what I did want to do and I really do think this is something I would enjoy. I've done plenty of research and know what I need to do. But I'm being held back because I'm worried about telling people about this incase they think I'm just changing my mind again.

 

I have told my boyfriend about this who's been supportive. He's a doctor and knows a lot more about what I need to do and what it involves and we've talked about it, had a look into it together and things.

 

Not sure what I'm asking really. Just wondering has anyone gone back into education as an adult, experiences etc. How supportive were your family?

[thejigsup]

My brother went back to school in his 40s to become a paramedic. You have to work on-call for about 2 years before you MIGHT land a full-time job. He gave it up because he had a family to support and he just couldn't do the prerequistie 2 year "internship". If you don't have a family to support, I would say go for it. You need to be really good at math and science to pass the course, but my family excells at that kind of stuff, so it was pretty easy for my brother. If you love science and working hard, you should find a lot of satisfaction being a paramedic.

[simply]

I had several different ideas for things I wanted to be, I persued them, and they didn't work out. So now i'm going back to college at 25 to try something else. It's perfectly normal, people in their 40's still don't have a clue as to what they wanna do in life. So family especially, should be understanding. I'm sure that won't be a problem.

 

The only thing you can do is try, persue what it is that will make you happy, if it doesn't work out, thats fine, at least you tried and would know that certain career isn't for you, so time to move on to the next one. I hope things work out for you, as long as you keep trying, i'm sure they will.

[catfeeder]

The best way to crush your own spirit and choke your own growth is to cater to imaginary presuppositions about what others think.

 

Fact is, few people think very much. Especially about people who aren't them. That's not meant to be cynical, it's liberating.

 

GO FOR anything and everything to which your focus directs you, and keep tunnel vision on your own desires and goals. Once you learn how to put your eyes back on your own paper, you'll be surprised at how little you notice anyone else's ideas about it. That's because those are your projections, and they are the only hurdle you truly face.

 

In the face of adversity, turn 'stupid and cheerful'. It's like Teflon amnesia, and nobody on this planet has come up with a useful argument that can penetrate it.

 

In your corner.