When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
when 24 hours in a day is not enough
remember this recycled story:

"The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Beers"

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items
in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a
very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with

golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They
agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into
the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open
areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if
the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the
jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once
more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous
‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and
poured the entire contents into the jar – effectively filling the
empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to
recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are
the important things—your family, your children, your health,
your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else
was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your
house and your car.

The sand is everything else—the small stuff. ‘If you put the
sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the
pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your
time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the
things that are important to you.

‘Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children . Spend time with your parents.
Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take
your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to
clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls
first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The
rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer
represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’
The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.’
aunt lucy? you registered here?

since you’re going to post these here, can you please stop emailing them to me?

My dearest nephew, since you don’t write back and never visit

FUCK YOU!

XXOO,
Auntie Peg

Related posts:

1. I need your help – what should I do? Im worried to say the least, I dont want to...

I find it hard to relate with anyone and don’t really see the need for bullshit relationships and bullshit pretending and bullshit selfishness.

I thought things were going well with this girl I was seeing. She sorta just stopped calling, and though I’m pretty much over it I can’t help but wonder what it was that made her stop.

I had some rutines going but now I’m falling out of them. Even my study habits are going out the window. My 3.6 GPA is going to be hard to match. For some reason I feel so pressured, so useless, so wasteful, but I can’t really seem to get myself motivated.

I don’t know what sort of steps I should take to start feeling better or how I can start developing a new outlook on life, but I’m really tired of crawling. I feel turned on and tuned in, but I’ve dropped so far out I don’t even fit in with the fringe.

I can’t relate to anything. I can’t seem to make the best of what I have which I understand as no road towards progression, but damn. I’m all out of fresh ideas. Anyone? Thanks.

I do pushups daily, but nah no regular exercise. During the couple of weeks where I was "seeing" that girl I started climbing, getting into a gym rutine, and eating more. I’m still eating more but I haven’t climbed or gone to the gym since last week. It’s really on off exercise, but I do need to get into a good gym rutine after spring break.
Well get out and do actual exercise. Pushups here and there and eating aren’t going to help resolve any pain. Why would you wait until after Spring Break Do something for an hour, the endorphines will make you feel good and you’ll feel confident the better you look.

No one is going to pity you for being depressed if you aren’t doing steps necessary to getting yourself out of it.
I agree that natural release of endorphins will make me feel physically and mentally better, I just do not think it’s going to solve all of my problems either.

It won’t magically solve your problems-it will make you feel better, look better and become a more healthy individual. It can also give you more confidence which you can use to get out there and make some friends so you aren’t sitting in your room on a computer all the time moping.

Actually, haven’t been on the computer for about a week. I go out often, have friends, etc, it’s just my attitude in general that is shitty I guess. I can’t get to the point where I’m ever happy.
Fresh air and regular activity will help. Everyone goes through times like this. You’ll get through it. But pay attention to what’s happening to you – if you need help, seek it.

A few things that I have realized as partially the cause of my problems are my impulsivity and my speak-before-you-think tactics. Some people appreciate these qualities about me but it seems that I have a hard time modifying my behavior when it becomes appropriate to not speak up, etc. Sometimes I just feel certain things can’t remain unsaid. I guess I have a hard time containing myself, but I keep so much contained. I don’t know. I think I’m going to go talk to my psychology professor about a couple of things. I’m just way too sad/angry.

Thanks again guys.

Most universities have a psych area where you can see a therapist for free.

I struggle with that, too. My freshman year of college was hard. I still deal with impulsivity, but it’s helped me to have a couple of close friends to whom I can say anything (and who understand that I’ll usually regret the outburst two hours later).

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Exactly.

And Iwishyouwerebeer, my school does offer free counseling. My psych professor is a counselor himself and I’ve been in a class with him all semester so I’m comfortable with his operations.

.

I think you should really see one. This won’t end well if you don’t. Trust me.

There’s your answer. Go to him ASAP.

Stop being passive.

Set boundaries and stick to them.

What kinds of people do you want to hang out with?

Define them, on paper, then find them. Ignore those who do not fit the criteria. Adjust as you go.

Pay ZERO attention to the people or behaviors that bother you. Staring at something you hate creates more depression.

Stop that.

More boundaries:

What do you want to be doing with your time?

You don’t need habits. You need choices.

Decide what you wish to be doing and do only that. Think of nothing else.

Stay active on that.

Do more of the things that create progress in your life, stop doing the things that do not (no matter how small).

Pretty easy.

This is the magic bullet. Name your goal and do ONLY the things that bring you closer to it.

Do what works. Stop doing what does not work.

Don’t think about what i’ve told you. Shut off your computer and go do it.
I don’t know that exercise helped bring me out of a 6-7year depression, but it gave me a huge goal to chase down. I started at 138lb and today I’m up to 189lb at roughly 11% fat. It not only taught me how to set a remarkably challenging goal, but I look pretty awesome right now too. I remember the first time I went in there, I was so afraid, and could only get about 135lb up on deadlifts. I pulled 315×5 this week.

The gym taught me to do something challenging, and without a doubt the most difficult and demanding process I’ve taken in my life.
Believe it or not, psychiatrist are finding that pornagraphy in a respectful manner is very therapeutic for many males with chronic depression. Depressed males are give stimulants to enhance the lack of dopamine in the brain. Pornagraphy has the same effect.

Although they will not recomend this if the person has sexual identity issues.

I say, keep feeling like daffy duck in your Avatar and you should feel alot better.

BTW I have the same problem!

Related posts:

1. Alone and depressed. **VERY LONG READ**. Girlfriend of 7 years and I broke...
2. I feel depressed and brainless.. any hope for me? Once again I’m feeling depressed and down about myself. I...
3. depressed I feel horrible. Im angry and mad but not at...

How do you even do that? I’ve always seen people as being weirded out whenever some random dude comes up and starts just talking. Also, how do you pick out who looks like a good candidate for being a friend/small talk? All of my friends are people that I was forced to interact with, and usually wherever I am I don’t see people that I think "hmm, they look cool I should go talk with them".

I’m pretty tired of not having a lot of people to go do shit with (the issue of asking people to do shit also comes up here, because I have never been good at that either), so any help would be awesome.
small talk? thats your problem, no one likes small talk…initiate a conversation. Do things that interest you, by yourself, or try new things by yourself…its amazing how some people will be willing to teach you or help you if youre just starting out.
Yes but how do you initiate that…it’s so freaking awkward walking up to someone and say "hey wanna ride bikes?".
No, observe somebody doing something your interested in, bikes for example.

start with:

hey man you ride?

lets say your not a pussy in spandex, and you ride a motorcycle, ask:

how long have you been riding?
or
what do you ride?

then ask where he gets his gear, or takes his bike in to get fixed, shit like that…based on the vibe of the convo, you can ask about riding together…if not then you’ve located some gathering spots of people who are into what you are into and other potential spots to recruit friends.
Striking up conversations with people you don’t know won’t do jack shit to get you friends. That’s a fine way to get a new associate. What you do is get people to invite you along to things with them. That’s how you make friends…going out and doing things with them. Ask people if they know of parties/crap happening and proceed to bond if you find them interesting.

you’re just all around dumb aren’t you…
I struck up a conversation with a girl at a bus stop and ended up losing my virginity to her less than a week afterward.
Become good at conversational hooking.

If someone says to you "I’ve been working as a nurse assistant for the past 6 months," you have multiple potential conversations. You could ask what her job is like, what she did before that, how far she plans to go, does she like her co-workers, or even simply tell any medical-related story you may have.

It may feel natural sometimes to simply say "Oh…cool," but become conscious of it because 99% of the time there is a potential conversation.
heres an example for you i met this girl today
me: watsup
her: not much
me: do you think we’ll have class today (alota times we just joke around and we dont really learn anything)
her: (smiles) i dont know
me: we’ll prolly talk about the primaries again
her: (laughs a little) o im sure…
u get the idea? just go with the flow i guess btw her name is Melissa

That’s bullshit.

Its all in your head. If you think its going to be awkward, It will be, and so will the person you are speaking to. They will pick up on the "awkward" vibe you’re putting off.

Think whatever you want and the other person will feel that as you speak to them.

I’ve walked up to girls and flirtatiously said "I like sex. I think you and I already have something in common. Wanna dance?" And it worked.

Translation: Talk more, think less. Say ANYTHING.

Really.

If nothing works, say

"I like cheese hats"

At least then they will ask "Huh? why?" Then you’re off to the races because they are already asking questions about you.

Viola. You’re in a conversation. This took exactly 0.9 seconds.

You are a walking offense to all human progress.

i keep in mind when meeting new people that people like to talk about themselves. they tell you one thing, keep asking them stuff around that topic to keep them talking. dont just say ‘oh … thats cool’. if you dont know much about the topic, ask them about it. they might change the subject, if they do just go with it.

i find that a conversation can end badly (as in, the person doesnt show interest in takling to you again next time you see them) when you say small thingsl ike ‘oh cool’ or when you talk too much about yourself. if both people keep answering then asking the other a question "oh im working on my masters right now – how about you?" then the conversation keeps flowing. if they just say ‘oh i’m doing my masters right now’ , its easy for the other person to say ‘oh..cool’ and then the convo can end awkwardly.

also try to find a spot in the conversation to introduce yourself and exchange names. sometimes people do this first, a lot of times i see people talking but never introducing themselves. i try hard to remember to ask for their name and then say ill see you next class, or it was nice meeting you, etc. when you have a name, its much easier to approach the next time to talk more

Yes that’s true. You can do it online too. At the grocery store, while getting fast food, even while on the telephone calling some place.

For example, I called Walgreens Pharmacy the last few days and I was trying to get certain medications. I was talking with the pharmacist Tech. Her name was Jackie. I was telling her all about my trip to Italy, asked her if she liked her job etc. I was playful but polite.

Turned out she didn’t have some of the meds I needed at her store, and that since she knew I was leaving for Italy in two days, she went to another Walgreens when her shift was over and she picked them up for me.

Someone I "just" met over the phone, went out of her way to get my medications, so my order would be ready? How does that happen? By building rapport, but being interested in someone other than yourself.

I do it every chance I get! Now a lot of people say that people like to talk about themselves or to let the other person do all the talking, but this isn’t true until you’ve done a lot of talking yourself. People will not open up until you’ve opened up a little and shown them some of yourself. You can tell that I’m right based on your prior experiences. If you don’t say anything, neither do they. So much for that "fact" –……..

You must have a reason for talking to them, otherwise yes it will seem creepy. There must be a context to what you’re doing. Let me give you some examples.

At a bookstore you see a random girl reading a book:

You: Excuse me, can I ask you about that book you’re reading?
Random Girl: Sure?
You: Which isle did you find it?
Random Girl: Oh it’s in the Religious/Spiritual section.
You: Oh, great, I want to take a look at it. Is it good?
Random Girl: Yeah, it’s pretty good.
You: Have you read (Name off some books you like) — Conversations With God?
Random Girl: Oh yeah, that book was awesome! I learned so much.

Now you’re in the conversation and you can take it anywhere you want. If she said she hadn’t read the book you would explain parts of it, and sell her on it, persuading her it was worth her time. You made the connection based on a book she liked that you might have interest in.

Say you met at the grocery store and it was the cashier girl you wanted to talk to.

You: Wow you guys have a really good deal this week on the Orange Juice (Or whatever product you’re buying that’s well priced)
Her: Yeah.
You: Do you like working her?
Her: Yeah, I meet nice people.
You: I used to work as a cashier for Big Y a grocery store in my home town.
Her: Oh really?
You: Yeah, I worked part time while going to school.
Her: Where did you attend school?
You: blah blah blah

Once again, you’re in. The context of getting in was connected to what was in the environment, something you shared some sort of connection. She worked at a store which had a product you liked.

Usually we’re attracted by physical appearances. Not just women, but also men, and it’s not necessarily romantic in any sense. Often we "know our kind" by who we feel pulled towards. Sometimes just randomly picking a person can be great too. You can pick based on physical features, hair color, eye, skin/ethnic, clothing, hair style, etc. You can choose based on age too. Whatever you find most appealing. I tend to primarily go at random unless I’m intentionally seeking a romantic partner, which then becomes highly focused on appearance and age.

Well, the key to starting relationships is to start them gently. Relationships grow, they don’t just suddenly manifest and pop, you have a best friend. They take cultivating with small interactions generally.

Find commonality between you, even in the most awkward of places. For example, perhaps you’re in class at college and a really cute girl sits 4 seats over. Try something like this as you’re walking for the door or outside:

You: Hi, hey what did the professor ask us to review for the next class?
Her: Um, she told us to read pages 46 through 69 on photosynthesis and the Calvin cycle.
You: Oh, ok, I was taking notes and hadn’t heard what she was saying.
Her: Ah, yeah.
You: My name is Michael, I’ve never talked to you before I don’t think.
Her: My name is Alison.
You: Alison (Use first names as often as possible when building rapport), do you know of any study groups for our class?
Her: No, but I’m interested if there is!
You: Hm, let me find out, maybe there is.
Her: Ok cool.
You: I’ve gotta get to my English class, I’m running late, talk soon Alison, and it was nice meeting you!
Her: You too!

There, you had something in common again, you had a class together, and the subject matter was your bridge. You then built some rapport and familiarty by using your name and hers. You also leave open an opportunity to meet again. The next class you sit next to her, look at her, say hello, smile, ask her how she’s doing. Tell her you’re going to look into the study group today. Ask her if she’d like to get together to go over some of the material together for the next exam, that you really could use someone to bounce questions off of, to help you learn.

You’re in, then you ask her out to lunch the next time, or coffee or whatever. Letting her pay for herself obviously.

doing shit with people will create a sense of intimacy

he’s wrong about talking to random people not making friends, though. it’s just harder.

talking to random people can make you lovers, so it can definitely make you friends.
I could go into a long explanation to make myself look smart, but it comes down to this.

1. Notice something about the person and ask them where they got it. If they give you a short answer like, "the mall" then ask a follow up question.
2. Don’t think about what you’re going to say next. That is what everyone does. Listen to everything they say and you will instantly think of something to ask about what they are talking about. If the person doesn’t begin to tell a story about what you are asking and keeps giving you short answers then move on because they’re not worth talking to.
3. Never ask a question that will lead to a Yes or No answer. The whole point is to get them talking, not you.

People in general love to talk about themselves. It’s human nature and builds selfesteme. All great communicators and business men know this and take advantage of it. Pretty soon everyone will be enjoying your presents then you can begin telling your stories.

Good Luck.

You should have, I did.

Hahaha, maybe!

somehow I don’t think that will be an issue

at least it gives him a pizza mine

Related posts:

1. sibling rivalry, how do i talk to my brother i think my younger brother and i have a really...
2. why would any woman want a guy to interrupt her to "talk" I’m seriously dumpy right now, and my friends don’t even...
3. (anonymous thread)How could I talk to my parents about it? I have been smoking mary jane at least once a...

My other concerns are that I might fail just due to missing so many days. It started out with me being sick for a while and then I just kept missing more and more classes because I was not ready to give my speech. Arg.. I only have like 3 weeks of class left and it looks like I fucked it up at the end. I missed the withdraw date too…

You pretty much have to get it done now or later, so maybe go talk to the teacher and see what can be done to get it done and behind you for this semester.

Or if you’ve already bombed, take it over the summer. 5 week classes are great (although you can’t miss ANY days).
Yeah but I don’t even know where to start for the speech. I have tried a few different things and practice them but they are just bad. It is suppose to be a funny speech that has the format of stand up comedy somewhat.
Find a topic that relates to your audience, like college humor. What do you and your friends joke about? What is funny and "hot" on your campus? Has anything "big" happened on your campus that people are angry about? Start with thinking of a topic that your audience can relate to..
This is what I wanted to read and I chopped it to make it shorter but it didn’t feel very stand up..

Is your problem writing the speech or giving the speech?

Yeah, I don’t know how to write stand up.
Pretend (or for real) talk to a friend about the topic. That relaxed feeling you have will make the jokes just come. When I had my speech class my problem was also writing the speeches. (I’m a communications studies major so I had/have a lot of speeches). I used to give them to my boyfriend for practice and ideas.
Speeches don’t really bother me unless outside of my field. I am dead though I don’t think I will be ready Monday I read tons of funny sites for 2 hours.. I dunno.
I took 4 speech classes and considered a minor in speech communications.

Public speaking is tough but it gets very easy after you practice it. I can do it now and get in front of 100+ people, as long as I know what I am talking about, no problem.

Agreed. Although not public speaking, I have found counseling and interviewing my patients (in front of supervisors, peers, and family members) has become much easier as I did it more often. I never had a problem public speaking, I always felt comfortable doing so, and that was always commented upon. It’s in the way you deliver what you want to say. You have to evoke emotion and confidence in what you are saying. Your topic sounds great… it’s nice how you involve the audience from the get go, too. Just make sure when you deliver this speech you keep your tone light, but make sure you convey confidence that it’s amusing.
Think I might read this..

Ever miss so many classes it feels impossible to go back.

yes. The only way I can get back into the groove is to suck it up and walk through the doors. after the first day it get easier because the unknown is gone. If the class is really interactive talking with the professor/TA will ease the shock of going back and help out your grade with some "pity points."
lol I haven no pity point left having missed like 11 days.
Just try to finish out the semester.

Or, talk to the professor, and ask him if there’s any chance of passing the class from this point forward? If he asks why you missed, don’t make up some bullshit excuse, professors have heard it all and will see right through it. If it’s all put out on the table for you, and you can see passing is feasible with some hard work, the feeling of fear might diminish. If it’s not possible, withdraw and take a W? I’d rather have a W on my transcript than an F.
Yeah thats another thing I am kicking myself for I could have withdraw 3 days ago but I thought I could pull through, that was before the current speech and more days missed…

Thats the the thing, I don’t lie or whine to professor about those things. While other students will say something like my dog, died Im sorry blah blah. I will just be like "I just didn’t come to class"
Well talk to him about it then.. he might be understanding. He’ll also tell you what you do need to do (if anything…) to pass the class. Worrying doesn’t do anything to solve the problem. You can’t solve it until you start taking action.
dont write anything, wing it, the class and the teacher will respect your confidence. just make like 3 main bullet points you watn to talk about before hand and do your reseach on the subject.
A difficult life lesson is that you need to finish what you start, after the fall the only thing you can do is stand up and walk again towards the finish line.

You don’t have to do it alone, we can help supporting you , also OT tutoring is the place to be to get some help for your speeches. You don’t become stronger by letting your weaknesses become even weaker, what it needs is all the holy might and power into exactly the opposite and positive direction, so don’t think about it, just do it.

Good advice

You can write the best speech in the world, but if you fail to relax and deliver it like you believe in what you have written/will be speaking, that will come across in the speech. Don’t be such a perfectionist. Have fun with your work when it starts to stress you out.

Hope your speech goes well
Talk to your teacher ASAP. Ask if it’s possible for you to even pass at this point considering how many days you’ve missed. He/she might be cool and give you some kind of extra assignment to pass.

Do you really want to fail such an easy class and have that on your record?

Wouldn’t be the first time I have failed an easy class for something stupid. I failed this one class online because I kept forgetting to log in at the correct times. I talked to one of my friends who took the class and he said the only people who failed were the ones that didn’t go to class…

I mean I have missed 10 days at -10 points per day and me having a C on everything in else, -100 points more than likely brings me down to a D.

If your college or university has a workshop on how to manage time or some other topic most people don’t take seriously, I would go to one of them. If you can’t keep on top of things and adhere to deadlines, that’s going to affect you in more than just school.
Drop the class and retake it next term/year. It’s probably a required class…you’ll have to do it eventually.

. What he said ^

Related posts:

1. my bf wants to breakup every time hes stressed. i have been dating this guy for 2 months and...

Just finished up a 50 page paper on my senior design project. We thought it was over and done with, but our advisor still wants a presentation. The problem is that there is nothing to show for it because one of our components apperently failed (we don’t know if thats the part that failed, we can’t isolate the problem because the whole system is acting funky even though we did tons of testing on each component to make sure it worked) and we didn’t know how to fix it.

We can show that the other parts work but we would have to recode the whole thing because those components all fed back into the part that failed so there is nothing to physically see even though they do what they are supposed to do. He wants to see a demo on Monday, but this weekend was meant to study for the other finals and do other projects. The amount of work I have to do in the next 5 days is so overwhelming, I’m so anxious I don’t even know where to start right now. I needed good grades this semester to maintain a decent GPA to apply for jobs (which is making me anxious too, I totally procrastinated the whole thing and I’m not gonna have health insurance soon either). I also don’t want this professor to think me and my team mates are complete fuckups who didn’t do anything the whole semester and just came up with a bullshit excuse for not having a working project.

Fuck I need sleep but dont have the time for it.

I feel your pain. Next week is going to suck for me, granted I only have 4 finals. One of them is a practical final for my clinical rotation. Last semester they were so dirty about it and pulled out shit we don’t even use EVER!! Needless to say just thinking about that on top of thinking about how I haven’t even started studying yet is really making me anxious. Doesn’t really help that 2 weeks after my finals summer session starts, blah.

I don’t know WHAT possessed me to think I needed a graduate degree

Good luck on your finals and your presentation!! I would honestly someone incorporate the component’s failure into the presentation. I would then also add the reason WHY you guys think it failed, as well as other possibilities. If you make it look like you put thought into researching possible reasons for failure, and gave good, strong evidence that these reasonings might pertain to your situation, I’m sure the professor will respect that and appreciate that you put the effort into it.

That’s what I would do Not sure how it works in the engineering world, but whenever I present research that didn’t go as I had planned, I always give the "here’s what went wrong… in the next trial, these parameters will be taken in to consideration… here’s how this experiment can be improved upon… blah blah blah." Works in psychology at least

Yeah that approach works well in Psychology and Behavioral Science because there’s always room to improve in experimental design. I think with Engineering it’s more of a hit or miss.

Good luck you two, almost there!

Shows you how much I know about engineering!

Good luck guys!

Me, too! Sometimes I even hope for whatever I’m experimenting with to fail, just so my discussion section of the paper is longer.

I do the exact same thing
I have all 3 of my finals on Tuesday, all in a row. Finals crew

I’m such a terrible student.

Yuck. I have 2 Monday, 1 Tuesday, and 1 Thursday.. a little spaced out, but I would deem none of them as an easy final. I’m worried about them all.
I get the feeling he just wants to see that we did put effort in there and didn’t just bullshit the project, which is hard to show as it is because there is nothing you can actually physically see in this system without that part working.

We can explain to him what the problem was and replicate it for him, but he still might think we just started a few weeks ago, ran into a problem, and gave up. In engineering the idea is that if something goes wrong, you just go back and try a different method or start from scratch.

We ran into the problem a week or two before hte project was due, which to someone who didn’t see the work that was put in before, and the work that was put in after to try correct the problem, might seem awfully convenient. I’d say a solid 80% of our time was spent making tiny adjustments to try to determine the problem, but there is very little to physically show to prove that this was done because in the end we coudln’t fix it. We are left with tons of unfinished code and small chunks of the project working but these would require a recode to actually demonstrate that they worked.

Yeah I’ll admit I’ve done it in a few classes.

Try to recall and date your progress. Like say you started at blah blah time and then at these subsequent dates you ran into this, tried that, and then this happened. From what you’ve described he sounds like an understanding prof who’s just looking for the time and effort.
i have one final on friday, one monday, and two on tuesday. i broke up with my gf of 2 years a couple weeks ago. i’ve been seeing this other girl who doesn’t want to get involved in anything serious. my friend from home just died. i think i’m losing my mind.

Related posts:

1. So I didn’t go home for a week So, it all started about a few weeks ago when...
2. Last week….. …. my SO of five years decided that he needed...
3. if you had two days a week to do anything.. provided you had to do it on your own, what...

I play guitar pretty much all the time, own several of them, and love music, but majoring in music? If I wanted a career in music, would I truly need to stay in college?

I feel like i’m pretty much wasting my time… I only have a couple of thousand dollars saved, but I’m sick of this town and everything and I want to move across the country and wing it… but I know that won’t happen.

Sorry, just felt like venting a bit.
The first two years of college suck because general classes are boring usually and forced upon us and then there’s the added stress of "well, what do I want to do?" Myself and many many others felt the need to quit after 2 years just because you are tired of in and uninterested. However, I finally chose a major I loved so much I enjoyed going to the classes. I had other friends who switched majors more than twice just to really find something they liked.

If you wanted to major in music you should’ve started my taking electives in music a long time ago. If music is just a passion anyway I’d say to choose a stable major that can get you many jobs while also just enjoying your music after school.

Did you not take any electives during the first 2 years??? I took a psychology and a communications or sociology class here and there and that’s what helped me decide.
"living at hom"…I hate that phrase. I live at home, and its an apartment, and I’m the only person who lives there. You probably just need to get some campus housing.

As for the career path, pick something you can life with, and do it now. I don’t make much money, but I love my job. Student loans suck.
I have a professor who talks about music a lot. Loves it. Doesn’t shut up about it. Invites us to all of his "gigs" and concerts. Once tried to teach a class with his guitar. Crazy bastard.

However, he has a Masters in Accountancy, CPA cert, teaches for two semesters a year, and use to be a senior auditor for a big four firm.

First day of class he told all of us that he felt indifferent towards accounting, something he had been studying/teaching for 20 years. Said that musicians don’t make money, and that studying/doing something that isn’t your "passion" can still enable you to, in your off time, develop the things in life that you love.

Interesting perspective, considering the "Follow your dreams" mantra that so many parents/teachers/friends chant, or the opposing "Lets make some money" hymn.

Point is, you can do what you love and still pay the bills with something that you don’t. Sometimes the world isn’t perfect, and sometimes your passion in life doesn’t lead to financial security.
If you were thinking about E.E. but you like music, why don’t you major in recording or management? My brother is a music recording major and he LOVES it. One of his classes is concert tour management, and instead of going to class, he goes to this club 3x a week to run the stage and set up. Only problem with majoring in music (not recording or management, but an instrument) is that you have to decide pretty early on what you’re going to do with it. Teaching and performance are about the limits there.
I’m a music major and let me tell you it can be tough. Also, it’s very unstable. You might have a lot of gigs one part of the year and then nothing for a month. Right now I’m music performance, but lately I’ve been looking into double majoring for music therapy. That is another music field that you may or may not be interested in?
my brother majored in music.

He couldn’t make any cash playing instruments… so he got into the business side of it. Paid his dues at $10/hr in Los Angeles and now is a manager at Sony BMG in NYC getting his MBA.
Go see a Career Counselor… I did, and it helped me find a path.

Trust me when I say this-if you drop out with 0 plans of exactly what you will do for a living in your future you’ll regret it the rest of your life.

I know many people who dropped out sadly after 2 years and they are nowhere. Having a Bachelor’s can seriously help you out in life (career-wise).
Thanks guys. I’ve got some soul searching to do — maybe I’ll check out a career counselor.

Related posts:

1. Anger issues I’m 32. People (wife, therapist) are telling me I had...