I grew up in a incredibly dysfunctional, relatively wealthy family where my father was making about 200k a year. I grew up watching my mom and dad constantly arguing over money no matter how many raises at work my dad got at work. In about 10 years his salary nearly doubled but no one was ever any happier and no one stopped worrying about money, in fact things seemed to be worse as time went on.
I graduated high school a few months ago and it seemed like college was really my only choice being that both my parents were insistent that it is impossible to survive in this world without going to college so that you can get a job to make money and support your family. I also got pretty good grades in high school and went into college with approximately 20 credits to start so a lot of people told me it would be a waste not to go to college being how smart I am and that a lot of people would love to have the opportunities I have; that it would be selfish not to take full advantage of what I had.
Anyways I was kind of reluctant about the whole thing but I was in no mood to argue with every influential adult in my life that had helped me get to where I was and all my friends who were also going to school, so I went.
I'm really not a big fan of the whole thing, I would rather just buy a van and drive around reading books and running cool trails around the country essentially working odd jobs, making money where I can and doing my own thing for as long as I can. I don't want to be 22 years old with a college degree 100k of debt and no will to work it off.
Does it seem like I am being stupid or have the wrong idea on what it really is to go out and live in the real world by myself with minimal possessions?
I have never had a problem trying new/weird/uncomfortable things, but anytime I've ever talked to my parents about wanting to live a lifestyle like this they act like I have no idea what I'm getting into and that it's not as romantic and peaceful as it sounds to live a simple life without much money or possessions.I currently have no desire to start a family or settle down anywhere, and even if I change my mind one day, I'm a relatively smart guy, I feel like I could pull at least 35k a year without a college education and if my wife worked as well we could support a family, being that I don't believe money brings any kind of happiness.
Hypothetically if I didn't go back to school after this semester I would have about 15k of debt and if I finish my second semester I would have about 24k debt total. I think the chance of my parents paying this off for me are pretty high, but I think I'd feel too guilty about having them pay for a school I didn't graduate from so I'd want to pay at least half putting me about 7k-12k down at the end of the day. Which I could prob work off in 3-4 months living at home and not wasting money. Then I would be debt free with a little more than a years worth of college behind me probably about a year from today.
I don't really know what I want (or maybe I do and I'm to scared to go through with it) but I'm totally open to hear what anyone has to say about the situation that I've found myself in. Thanks :)
Submitted November 05, 2017 at 07:37PM by GyroscopeHands http://ift.tt/2iyKKcU
