# Which path?



## LovelyAcorns (Jul 3, 2009)

Well, being out of high school for a few months now (only one year late! And my teachers told me I'd never graduate. Bah.) I'm still trying to decide what to do. Looking at both my calendar and the lethargic rut I've been in lately, I need to start making decisions before inertia takes hold and I wake up 40 years old, still living at home, sitting on the internet claiming capitalism was invented by space aliens.

So, I've narrowed it down to four options:

1. Fuck college, start squatting.
The option I'm leaning toward. I could start this early August, mid-August at the latest. Though I could get involved in radical projects while in school, this would allow me to have tons of more time to do so, big plus. It also gets me back out of my parent's house, which isnt exactly the funnest place to be (My sister is openly white supremacist, and a week ago her and her friends woke me up at 3 a.m. by deciding they wanted to see who knew the most bible hymns and who could say them the loudest). The problems being, I have the whole "radicalize your own community" mentality, so I can't comfortably move to a more established place, meaning I'd be going it alone. I'm also at a point where I have to start trying to convert demographics other than the supposedly more radical, as I've burnt bridges with all my old punk friends, or rather, I lit the bridges on fire and sung "Burn, Baby, Burn!" as I began to realize how authoritarian these kids were. This doesn't bother me, as I actually feel the *least* comfortable talking to straight white youth. But, being a white youth, I do have to try to overcome the fact I'm expected by other demographics to engage in token rebellion, making them more resistant to joining me. In a few days I'll be meeting of group of anarchists south of me, which from what I can gather, isn't completely youth. If it turns out to be a legit group, it should make it easier as I only need to convince them come along to an established group, rather then trying to get them right off the back to start something from scratch. 

2. Become a paramedic.
Would provide me with useful skills in a radical community. It'd also provide me with an income, allowing me to support radicals less willing to compromise with the system, in a way where I don't have to completely feel like an asshole. It'd give me one last chance to see if this generation's youth can be radicalized. Also, thanks to the nearby college's funky numbering system, I'd actually be able to get credits for taking an anti-terrorism class. That'd be the first time I'd ever take notes in class.
The downsides, other than the obvious having to work, having to go to school, and the accumulation of even more debt (insurance lies resulted in me getting thousands of dollars in debt within a month of turning 18. Another point for choice one), is that the area around campus ain't really the best for squatting, so I'd have to get a job and an apartment, staying at home in the meantime. Plus, if I must get a job, I'm getting a wobbly card. Paramedics would be harder to radically unionize, as wildcat strikes are pretty much off limits. So I'd have to convince people of more creative, probably less legal means of resistance which would require massive amounts of solidarity to pull off. That, and I'd have to compromise on my refusal to drive and sign up for the Selective Service.

3. Go for sociology.
Only a mild interest. It'd be nice to become a conflict theorist and push the thought spectrum in a more antiauthoritarian direction. I'd probably also learn how to write things in a more logical fashion (For those of you who haven't given up reading yet, you can see why that would help me). I wouldnt need to compromise on driving, though I'd still probably have to sign up with the Selective Service to be eligible for federal aid. This would be a real teeth-grinding course, as I can assume half the things they will try and teach me are utter bullshit designed to benefit the drug companies and the other half made up to defend the status quo. As I'm assuming being an anarcho-sociologist doesn't pay well, I'd be accruing debt without gaining the ability to get rid of it. I guess thats a big deal as long as I make sure never to own anything of value.

4. Take a couple computer classes.
This is really just a modified 1. I'd really like to help out the open source community and programming is fun. But I run into too many roadblocks and am shit at learning things over the internet. Unless I find another nerd when I meet the anarchist group, taking classes is my only choice. Given that I dont give a fuck about a degree, I only would get myself in debt a few hundred dollars, making federal aid unneeded. So my plan would be to continue living at home, take some fall quarter classes, hitchhike down south for the winter, and come back and squat in spring. 



Help?


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## ianfernite (Jul 4, 2009)

I don't see why you can't do all of them!
Pick one, and go with it. If that isn't for you, try another one, etc.


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## Mouse (Jul 6, 2009)

yeah... even with a college degree 90% of people end up changing careers 4-5 times in their life. that's IF you're a career minded person.. so our odds are more like 10-40times in ours lives. I think paramedic training would help you a lot. you could get a job almost anywhere you ended up and learn great practical life skills. bewared you'll have to deal with a lot of complete assholes on a daily basis! that's why most people quit that line of work. 

computer training is always a good idea. the world is changing fast!

socioligy is interesting but seems like maybe something of a hobby for you. doesn't kill a person to read a few books now and then!  

squatting? well.. duh. you can do all these things AND squat. if anything, it will mak elife easier not having to pay rent so you can focus on learning and advancing your life i nstead of working a dead end job to pay off the lanlord. 

DO IT ALL!


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## wartomods (Jul 6, 2009)

Paramedic, go to the campus and leech the fuck out of it while learning how to be a paramedic.

edit: this is such a good idea i might as well do it myself


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## Beegod Santana (Jul 6, 2009)

I'd definitly go for being a paramedic. A friend of mine just became one yet still manages to travel for a decent chunk of the year while playing in a band while at the same time also working in production. So it just goes to show that its not the end of your life if you decide to pursue further education, especially something as rational and useful as medical care. Also just because you're learning to be a paramedic dosen't mean you can't be squatting at the same time. I've squatted while holding down three jobs and taking on the job training. A squat is just a place to crash, it doesn't have to be a political statement.


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## Ravie (Jul 6, 2009)

...Will You Marry Me?


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## connerR (Jul 6, 2009)

My best friend just graduated from an expensive private university. He's tens of thousands of dollars in debt and has absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life. Go figure.

From personal experience, I'd say stay away from college for a while. I went to community college for a few years and immediately grew disillusioned with it (keep in mind I live in Southern California, we don't have good schools) and dropped out. I wasn't getting taught anything, I was paying money to copy down pages of text from a book and waste my days away. I've learned far more outside of school than I ever have in it. 

It seems to me that the people who rush off and get a degree don't value it as much as those who go back later in life. Sure, you can go now and get a degree in *insert major here* and probably get a good job/career, but it seems like an uneventful way of doing things. My personal plan is to find a basic job somewhere and start waning back into community college over time, while train riding locally. 

A good friend of mine who, immediately post high school, went out and squatted all over the place, is back home (he was squatting for about two years) and going to be attending the local community college soon. Basically, he feels that he could get the most out of a formal education now. 

Hope this helps in some way. I've had a few drinks. :X


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## LovelyAcorns (Jul 6, 2009)

Thanks guys/gals. I ended up meeting with the anarchists, which, though I'm fairly certain I creeped them out, helped alleviate my "if you don't get out fast the systems gonna get you" syndrome.

I'm probably going to paramedic/squat. I don't feel AS concerned about the car driving thing (thats what recycled veggie oil is there for, eh?) and I've found a way I can make a little bit of money to avoid large amounts of debt. Involves pandering to rich folk, but oh well. 

Completely forgot about the ability to leech off colleges. Dang. Don't know how I missed that.


And Ravie, I'm going to assume/hope that was directed at me. Depends, does our marriage have to be validated by the state?


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## Ravie (Jul 7, 2009)

nope. although still not sure if your male or female haha


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## finn (Jul 7, 2009)

Ah, romance on the web... Anyway, don't try to cram a full schedule with squatting, because squatting is like a part time job. Granted, I'm working 2 jobs while squatting and doing other things, but I've been doing this for years. Also, a lot of anarchists tend to be a nervous bunch, so don't take it too hard, unless you are a scary stalker type.


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## LovelyAcorns (Jul 7, 2009)

Ravie said:


> nope. although still not sure if your male or female haha



Details, details.




finn said:


> Ah, romance on the web... Anyway, don't try to cram a full schedule with squatting, because squatting is like a part time job. Granted, I'm working 2 jobs while squatting and doing other things, but I've been doing this for years. Also, a lot of anarchists tend to be a nervous bunch, so don't take it too hard, unless you are a scary stalker type.



Ah, I was more the nervous bunch then them. But a part time job equivalent + school doesn't really seem like a crammed schedule to me.


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## veggieguy12 (Jul 7, 2009)

LovelyAcorns said:


> 2. Become a paramedic.
> Would provide me with useful skills in a radical community. It'd also provide me with an income, allowing me to support radicals less willing to compromise with the system...



In my experience, you can make quite a bit of money picking up shifts for OT pay, but the skills aren't terribly useful when you so often need ambulance-based equipment for so many of the interventions. Don't wanna rain on your parade, just put it out there; I thought I'd be able to do a ton of stuff just being in the city everyday, but I literally saw no 'action' (as a civilian) of emergency situations for most of the year after I graduated EMT school, and that's actually what drove me to work EMS professionally.



LovelyAcorns said:


> ...I'd have to compromise on my refusal to drive and sign up for the Selective Service.



I guess this is something I'd refer to as 'lifestylism'. If you can accomplish some tremendous gains by using a car, what does it hurt? Besides, driving cars is not what's killing the planet - making them is. (And by the way, I've never had a car - but I don't think that's a great accomplishment, unless I want to be a judgmental, moralistic prick. Oh, too late!)
I realize that if _everyone_ stopped driving our air quality worldwide would be greatly improved; but fantasies about getting everyone to do something could be greater than that. If we can fantasize getting everyone to do something, why not make them smash through the guards and capture the war criminals and polluters who've ruined our planet?

Y'know I'm not sure having a car is any worse complicity in the problems of Civilization than is having a computer...

And signing up for the SS is no big deal, really. For one thing, you can always dodge the draft, or have older, 'respectable' friends/family apply to get on the draft board, and then turn down most of the draftees as unfit. For another thing, sometimes I get to wishing I had military training and expertise for so many situations... use your imagination.


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## LovelyAcorns (Jul 7, 2009)

veggieguy12 said:


> In my experience, you can make quite a bit of money picking up shifts for OT pay, but the skills aren't terribly useful when you so often need ambulance-based equipment for so many of the interventions. Don't wanna rain on your parade, just put it out there; I thought I'd be able to do a ton of stuff just being in the city everyday, but I literally saw no 'action' (as a civilian) of emergency situations for most of the year after I graduated EMT school, and that's actually what drove me to work EMS professionally.


Oh, I know what you mean. People usually don't randomly collapse into life-threatening situations while I'm passing them on the street. I was actually referring less to the emergency situations then the general medical knowledge (I have to assume they teach you that too?). So that folk dont have to run to the hospital over small stuff, or possibly helping out the healthcare collectives in actions where the cops are busting heads. Plus, I tend to be optimistic. Its possible that within my lifetime there will be an escalation to the point the pigs stop using "less lethal" weapons.





veggieguy12 said:


> I guess this is something I'd refer to as 'lifestylism'. If you can accomplish some tremendous gains by using a car, what does it hurt? Besides, driving cars is not what's killing the planet - making them is. (And by the way, I've never had a car - but I don't think that's a great accomplishment, unless I want to be a judgmental, moralistic prick. Oh, too late!)
> I realize that if _everyone_ stopped driving our air quality worldwide would be greatly improved; but fantasies about getting everyone to do something could be greater than that. If we can fantasize getting everyone to do something, why not make them smash through the guards and capture the war criminals and polluters who've ruined our planet?



Well, of course we have to make compromises with the state. But that doesn't mean I have to make unnecessary compromises. If I had something to gain from driving/signing their papers, I'd do it. But I wasn't, and am still not completely, sure that thats the road I want to go down. Even ignoring the political/environmental aspects, driving just plain sucks. Bad for my physical health, bad for my mental health, and requires large sums of money to maintain the habit. Why be complicit simply for the sake of being complicit?




veggieguy12 said:


> Y'know I'm not sure having a car is any worse complicity in the problems of Civilization than is having a computer...


True, but we have differing views on whether civilzation is the problem.



veggieguy12 said:


> sometimes I get to wishing I had military training and expertise for so many situations... use your imagination.


I can't possibly guess what you mean.


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## Ravie (Jul 8, 2009)

awww your my complete opposite  love it. haha we can at least agree on the avoiding inertia.


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## LovelyAcorns (Jul 8, 2009)

Ravie said:


> awww your my complete opposite  love it. haha we can at least agree on the avoiding inertia.



Wait, so you based your marriage proposal on the fact we DONT agree? I have a feeling this is going to be a tricky marriage.


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## Mouse (Jul 8, 2009)

connerR said:


> It seems to me that the people who rush off and get a degree don't value it as much as those who go back later in life.



truest statment.

I know so many kids going to my school, fresh out of highschool, and they are just bullshiting their way through like it's the 13th grade and none of it matters. I put myheart and soul into my work (art.. so it makes sense) and try my hardest to get wrapped up in learning because I really want to learn these things. They, however, are just doing what they've been told they have to do.


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## finn (Jul 8, 2009)

veggieguy12 said:


> ...For another thing, sometimes I get to wishing I had military training and expertise for so many situations... use your imagination.



Most military training, from what I've heard, is standardization and how to follow orders. Then it's mostly with a squad. Aside from SERE stuff and certain hardware operation, most everything else you can learn pretty easily outside of the military.


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## Ravie (Jul 8, 2009)

LovelyAcorns said:


> Wait, so you based your marriage proposal on the fact we DONT agree? I have a feeling this is going to be a tricky marriage.



aww just see us as ying and yang  you have strong outlooks on life and politics and i could care less about anything except cigarettes, photography, and my dog. we obviously were made for eachother :drinking:


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## LovelyAcorns (Jul 8, 2009)

Mouse said:


> truest statment.
> 
> I know so many kids going to my school, fresh out of highschool, and they are just bullshiting their way through like it's the 13th grade and none of it matters. I put myheart and soul into my work (art.. so it makes sense) and try my hardest to get wrapped up in learning because I really want to learn these things. They, however, are just doing what they've been told they have to do.


I dropped out of high school for two years. Still bullshitted my way through. Pretty sure I'd do the same in college, no matter how long I waited.



Ravie said:


> aww just see us as ying and yang  you have strong outlooks on life and politics and i could care less about anything except cigarettes, photography, and my dog. we obviously were made for eachother :drinking:



Ah, so I'll be Winston and you'll be Juliet. Based on views, not gender, obviously.


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## Mouse (Jul 8, 2009)

Ravie said:


> cigarettes, photography, and my dog.



that's pretty much my top 3.


well, maybe not so much cigs any longer but I have to have some on me just in case.


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## Ravie (Jul 9, 2009)

hell yeah. some call me selfish, i say i just know my priorities


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## Mouse (Jul 9, 2009)

fuck "selfish." i do tons for others but i refuse to hold their hands like babies. i'm just self-aware and know what I enjoy and other can fuck themselves if they wanna get in my way.


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## Ravie (Jul 9, 2009)

i like you. empowered females are the best.


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## Mouse (Jul 9, 2009)

haha true that. 

sometimes it's more helpful if you tell someone they're stupid and suck at life rather than trying to help them. that whole give/teach an idiot to fish idea.

and there IS such a thing as a stupid question. don't let anyone tell you otherwise.


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## Ravie (Jul 9, 2009)

i feel its not stupid questions, but lazy ones.


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## finn (Jul 11, 2009)

I think there are questions that indicate exactly how stupid you are.


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## veggieguy12 (Jul 11, 2009)

Finn, what are you talking about? On an unrelated note, how stupid am I?


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