tman666 Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I feel like this is relevant to this thread: Young and Isolated - NYTimes.com One thing is for sure: the path "up the ladder" isn't as clear cut as it used to be. Link to post Share on other sites
MuscleCarFan Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 In a word: no. I make jack squat at my job, it's hard trying to find something in the field I want to enter (human resources) with experience, too damn expensive where I live, and a bunch of other crap. Link to post Share on other sites
sweetjasmine Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Neat thread, Castle. To answer the question, for the most part, yes. Changing careers is probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. It's grueling and exhausting. It's a bit of a mind-f* to start over when all my friends are just settling into stable careers. And it's a very long road. But I'm loving what I'm doing and killing it at school again. It's actually kind of awesome to go back to subjects you haven't touched in literally 10 years and do well in it. My job is kind of crappy a lot of the time, but reminding myself that it's temporary and that I'm there to help me get to where I want to go helps. The stuff I get to see and do is pretty incredible, and the stories I have sure as sh-t beat the ones I had from my old desk job. I love the field, even if the specific job isn't exactly the greatest thing since sliced bread. Other than that, my H is freaking awesome, and I love him to pieces. He's also doing well in his job. We're both healthy and doing well. We don't have everything we want, and there are some things we're not thrilled about, but it's a work in progress. You just have to take each day as it comes and focus on what you do have and what you're doing to get to where you want to be. Link to post Share on other sites
lino Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Yeah it's not so bad Things are even starting to look up for Samp these days so it's all good Link to post Share on other sites
SpiralOut Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I don't know if I'm happy or not. I'm not happy with where I am in my life. My job sucks, I'm in debt, I have very few friends, I'm single. My way to overcome it is to work on my social anxiety. My whole life that has been holding me back. I'm scared to change jobs because interviews scare me, and I have no social life because people in general scare me. So most of the work I'm doing is internal, to not feel scared of people anymore. I'm figuring out who I am, what I want, improving my social skills, pushing myself to meet new people. I now do things that I had stopped doing long ago: drawing, writing, biking, reading. Being creative again has made me feel so much better. So I feel really happy that I feel more like myself, but I'm unhappy that none of it really shows on the outside. I wish I had something to SHOW for it. Link to post Share on other sites
seren Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 6 years ago a whole bunch of crappy things happened all at once. I had cancer, H had an A, I then had a car accident (not my fault) that meant I was medically retired from a high profile career that paid very well and gave me great satisfaction. Found myself feeling powerless, feeling worthless and worse of all, I had lost my joy. I had always managed to fight myself through crap times, but having it all land on me at once saw me unable to climb out od the dark pit. We made the decision for H to leave a 26 year military career, up sticks and move to a remote spot and live the life we dreamt of and not the one that looked the best on paper. We are 70k (GB£) down, have little spare cash, but, we live in a beautiful part of the world, try to be as self sufficient as we can, take time to watch the world spin and life is good. I was driving to the nearest village the other day, around 6 miles or so, sun was out, radio playing and I stopped to watch some red squirrels playing at the side of the road and I felt joy, such joy and happiness at just being in the moment and knew I had made it. Life is no longer rushed, my designer shoes and clothes are now stored, my health is getting better but still not so good, but, sitting in our garden watching the world go by with nothing for miles just he, me and our animals makes me very happy indeed and I wish I had done this years ago. Today we are taking a picnic to the beach, no one goes there, just us, we will look for the wild dolphins, maybe do a bit of fishing and just enjoy the moment. Sometimes the impossible is possible, just different or takes sacrifices. I hope everyone finds joy and happiness. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Eggplant Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I have the potential to give and receive a lot of happiness. Right now I am healing emotionally, and in a fragile state. Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Are You Happy With Your Life? More so every day. It's great to be alive! Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 gonna break your heart, kid, but journalism is a dying profession. At least the kind of journalism I was trained to do nearly 25 years ago ~ it seems like there's a lack of accountability, from the ground up, in all aspects of the media profession. The scary part is that it seems like people are even more expendable today than they were when I started out, because it's become solely about garnering the top ratings, selling the most copies and bringing in the bucks, rather than a balance of those things AND good, balanced and fair coverage of issues. Basically, journalism is the new prostitution, and that hurts ... however, at the far end of 40, I can honestly say I've enjoyed the ride (well, with the exception of being let go from two jobs because of budget woes), but I've been blessed in that I began working in my chosen field of print journalism immediately after graduating college. I've known what I wanted to do since I was 16, so there never was a matter of what dream to focus on, just being patient enough to *get* there. that said, my advice is to focus on doing what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life. The best thing about writing is that your skills can be adapted to the different styles of writing, so you can dabble in freelancing if you're still trying to winnow down what discipline to get into – lots of periodicals look to freelancers to "flesh out" their staff because they can't afford to hire full-time staff, and you have the opportunity to cover a wider variety of subjects. Link to post Share on other sites
Dread Pirate Roberts Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Well...for me. No. But that is because I am 25 and lost as hell. I am just out of my first relationship (yea yea) and it seems like I'm been wandering aimlessly. So...I'm just going through the motions working at a place I...don't hate but I could live without... I'm trying to become a star in my own life but I think the casting director was a little drunk when I got my supporting cast. >_< Mr.Castle, how did you discover what you are passionate about? I am always amazed when people just seem to KNOW what they are passionate about. I know what I care about but I am not sure anything really sets me on fire. However, shouldn't you pursue the passion that makes you feel more fulfilled? Not just the one that will allow you to make a living? Also...we're only 25...why do we have to decide our life paths right this instant? *shuddar* I would hate to think the decision I make today are ones I will be stuck with forever. We've got time to be flexible because really...passions can change. To answer your final questions - I am not satisfied with my life or where it's headed BUT I have the power to change it. I just need to make a decision...pick a direction and go. However, how do you fight the fear of making the wrong decision? Here here Link to post Share on other sites
Phoe Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 When I'm totally honest with myself I am not happy with where I am in life. Perpetually single, stuck in a dead-end job and have been unable to get out to something better yet, definitely can't pursue my masters until I have a better job... sort of in a limbo right now. Family issues are terrible, probably the biggest thing to bring me down. But I don't like to think about these things. I force myself to be happy and positive. Things could be so much worse. I'm healthy, my social life is reasonable, I have things that I enjoy doing and everything I need to survive. I'm grateful! But I can't help but long for truly starting a life for myself, a life with someone.. Link to post Share on other sites
mario_C Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 Thank you for that OP. No, I am not the least bit happy, largely because I am torn in so many directions regarding who I want to be as a person and professional, that I end up riding the same rut, running the same endless loop to nowhere. And I worry that I will never figure it out. Link to post Share on other sites
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