I can't see myself slaving 8 hours a day for things that will never make me happy, so greetings

[LosSanfranistan]

I'm a senior in highschool, just a few months away from graduating. Like every other goddamn teenger out there, I have zero direction in life. Zilch. Nada. No sense of the future or myself, just dragging myself through every day. I've always dreamed of packing up my bags and leaving on an adventure, meeting new people, and seeing parts of the country you can only get to on a train.

For the year or so I've been wrestling with what I want to do in the future - that thing people call a career. Makes me feel weird to think about. Doesn't matter to me if I like what I'm doing, there are still the issues of a fixed location, 8 hours a day of the same thing with no breaks, monotony galore. My parents are constantly pressuring me to "GO 2 DA UNIVERSITY, GET DA JOB, AND MAKE DA MONEY DEN YOU GONNA B HAPPY". They seriously can't see how someone would be happy otherwise. Fuck that noise. I will be depressed forever if I'm forced into such a structured, robotic existence.

Mind you, I don't feel the desire to become a nomad, a hobo because I feel like I have no other options. I have other options, and I'm very thankful I do as many others can't say the same. I just WANT this life for myself.

I guess I'm just an angsty teenager, but how can I ever be satisfied doing the same thing every day, working for someone else's gain, waiting for that two weeks vacation every year where I'd do the same things I'd be doing every day if I were a nomad? Why wait so long every year, while slaving away, when you can live a life that provides you with amazing experiences by just waking up to a new day? Why live a life where I die before I take my last breath? Why should I wait until retirement to do what I've always wanted to do, when I can do it now while my body is still young? I can't be confined to an office space, grappling with the social pressures to be a robot and my desires to run free.

 

[Phil]

hey, hows it going? id just advise to say fuck the future and focus on the current moment of time, until it leads you to where you wanna be. which it could be tomorrow or ten years from now.

 

[LosSanfranistan]

Hey. Well, I'm in a bit of a rough spot as you can probably tell but the only choice is to keep moving. Though thanks for the suggestion and I'll try to apply it.

 

[Phil]

yup np. if you stop moving your guaranteeing yourself from making it through the rut.

 

[wizehop]

I guess I'm just an angsty teenager, but how can I ever be satisfied doing the same thing every day, working for someone else's gain, waiting for that two weeks vacation every year where I'd do the same things I'd be doing every day if I were a nomad? Why wait so long every year, while slaving away, when you can live a life that provides you with amazing experiences by just waking up to a new day? Why live a life where I die before I take my last breath? Why should I wait until retirement to do what I've always wanted to do, when I can do it now while my body is still young? I can't be confined to an office space, grappling with the social pressures to be a robot and my desires to run free.

Firstly welcome, and I know where your coming from, but here's the thing: You don't have to do any of that. Working a 9-5 job you hate isn't the only option out there, in fact its far from it. The way you see things now, your already dooming yourself to a miserable future, and at the end of the day your the only one who's in charge of that, so chipper the fack up.

Look your still in high school so really you don't need to overly worry about how your going to grow old. Despite how your parents feel (which isn't entirely wrong) you have time to find yourself before making any life altering decisions. Heck even when you do, there is no saying its not going to change 50 times between now and when your a geriatric.

If I was your age again I'd be thinking the same thing, but you know what that's not what happened to me. Why? because at the end of the day that's not who I am. On top of that, not wanting to be a 9-5 slave doesn't mean you have to go the complete 180 and become a skid either. There is plenty of ground to play with, so don't fall into that trap. The world isn't black or white, its really any color you want it to be, sound cheesy as all fuck but its true. Only most kids gravitate to scenes with negative outlooks on life and get off track. Your not going to do that.

So far you've found a great site dedicated to all sorts of alternative lifestyles. Have a look around and see if anything tickles your fancy. Also when your done high school, instead of rushing off to collage or university, take a year or two and travel both here and abroad if you can. Take some time to find yourself before you get to worried about your future.

All you need to realize is that at the end of the day your the only one who decides your future...know that and you'll have everything in life you want.

 

[LosSanfranistan]

Firstly welcome, and I know where your coming from, but here's the thing: You don't have to do any of that. Working a 9-5 job you hate isn't the only option out there, in fact its far from it. The way you see things now, your already dooming yourself to a miserable future, and at the end of the day your the only one who's in charge of that, so chipper the fack up.

Look your still in high school so really you don't need to overly worry about how your going to grow old. Despite how your parents feel (which isn't entirely wrong) you have time to find yourself before making any life altering decisions. Heck even when you do, there is no saying its not going to change 50 times between now and when your a geriatric.

If I was your age again I'd be thinking the same thing, but you know what that's not what happened to me. Why? because at the end of the day that's not who I am. On top of that, not wanting to be a 9-5 slave doesn't mean you have to go the complete 180 and become a skid either. There is plenty of ground to play with, so don't fall into that trap. The world isn't black or white, its really any color you want it to be, sound cheesy as all fuck but its true. Only most kids gravitate to scenes with negative outlooks on life and get off track. Your not going to do that.

Firstly, thanks for the well thought out post.

Yeah, I truly realize life isn't so black and white. It's a spectrum, and a vast one at that. Howeverm I'm an anxious wreck and I revert to such a mindset when I'm ruminating (which is often). You're right though, I need to take some time to think, to figure myself out. I can't lay out my future so far in the future as I'd like. Sometimes I have to take things as they come, and for someone like me, that's hard to accept.

If I was your age again I'd be thinking the same thing, but you know what that's not what happened to me. Why? because at the end of the day that's not who I am.

As you think, so you become. If I think I'm going to crash and burn, I probably will. I'm glad you told me this.

 

[Kim Chee]

Find something you like to do, get paid fo it and it won't be like work. Get paid enough and maybe someday you can relax a bit and enjoy what you've worked for.

I probably sound like your Dad, huh?

 

[EphemeralStick]

Well you seem to have a darn good head on your shoulders, welcome to the site!

From what you've said you kind of remind me of myself from when I first started out. I didn't travel straight out of high school [didn't know it was an option then] and I didn't go to a university either. I just kind of wallowed in depression for two years until I finally jumped ship.

My best advice is to try and keep positive. Even after I hit the road I found that my depression from lack of direction still came with me. Eventually I found what I'm passionate about and thankfully is something I can do while on the road. You have plenty of time to have an adventure, and who knows what will happen at the end of it? Just remember to have fun.

 

[Maxx Power]

Life begins to expand once you're out of high school trust me. I remember older kids telling me that the one thing they regret in life was not taking school seriously and back then I didn't care because school sucked. Now I'm sitting here saying the same thing. If you could learn to not only listen but apply what we're saying to your life, you will break the cycle that all others fall victim to. And once you're done with high school, I highly recommend traveling around and really getting to know who you are before you settle down. I've been bouncing around for three years now and I've grown to having a better understanding of who I am and what I want and come August I will be going to school to study Biochemistry (or at least that's the plan anyway), but it took this journey to get a better understanding of what I want and I wouldn't change anything I've endured along the way.

 

[ottawafm]

When I was in high school I've always had that urge to go on an adventure wether it was down to the local pond or out to throw bottles at the train cars.
My sense of adventure never subsided. So I moved in with a distant family member. I met alot of women. lol!
I'd suggest that if you feel the urge to go hobo it. Then I'd say experience the working life for a while. Then, if your like me, you'd spend most of your hard earned money on bills, bud, and women. lol!
I always felt that I always had someone trying to tell me what to do! I recently decided that even if I end up homeless, I'm not letting anyone tell me 'what to do' or 'how to spend my money'
I'd say before you decide that your gonna jump off the deep end, that you know what you want out of life.
You have to decide if you want to EXIST as a member of society or as a corporate slave. If you ever feel that you've become a SLAVE to the corporate world, then you have to reevaluate your values, which I've reached in my life. I'm cutting out all the expenses in my life and co-existing with it.
I always hear that shit- well if everybody wanted to live off the land- that it would be different. Well that may be true but it seems that everybody is brainwashed!
I'm not killing deer to eat. Although a good road kill wont go to waste. I live with very little now. You have evaluate your life and determine if you want to exist in harmony or exist as a plague! Only you can chose!

 

[briancray]

You're still mad young if you're just finishing high school man. If you already know this now then you're one step ahead of the game imo. I didn't figure this out until a few years ago. For me I have no regrets though because I went to school and have something to fall back on if I choose to change my lifestyle.

You don't have to go to college. You don't have to do what your parents want you to do if it doesn't make you happy. You also don't need a 9-5 job to still travel the USA or even travel the world. II have no idea what drives you or how you want to live. I also don't know your upbringing, but a piece of advice that I am finding out about myself from my travels is as much as I enjoy traveling I need to work a few months out of the year to balance it out. You will find some people make it a lifestyle and kudos to them. I respect them for that, but this is how I live so I'm just telling you my experiences. Even if it's random jobs for a few weeks until my summer job starts I like to have something to balance me out. There are all different kinds of traveling along with travelers. You will find many different people here. Read as much as you can and absorb the information like a sponge because it's helpful and many people here are veterans and know what they are talking about. No matter where you came from or where you want to go if you have a passion for adventure then trust your heart and follow it. Good luck to you.

 

[sketchysteeze]

They only way to be happy in life is to follow your dreams . there is no other valid advice a person can give. Everyone has a dream they are ether chaseing or gave up on long ago. The people that are chaseing them seem to be the happiest people out there. The answer to your problem ( not wanting to be a slave to the flawed monatary system) is inside of you. You have a lifetime to find it so just relax and enjoy it.

 

[Matt Dawg]

I know exactly how you feel. For now, just do what you think is right. You're young, you've got all the time in the world to think about what you want out of life.

There's no certainty, only opportunity.

 

[Kim Chee]

Haha, I guess I sound like @Pigfucker 's Dad too.

Some day you might realize that the good advice you were given was good even though it doesn't agree with your present values. Foodstamps and Government assistance only go so far, everything else usually has to be worked for.

 

[RovingGale]

Honestly, even though I made some good people contacts out of it, going to college right out of high school was one of the dumbest choices I've made. I thankfully don't have any debt left because I dropped out two years into my degree, but I still wasted money and time and stress because I thought it was the right choice. After that, I did 8 months as a cubicle monkey because the money was good and solid jobs were what all my friends at the time were doing - but I didn't take into account the fact that I was hanging out with people who were all 20-30 years older than me, who'd finished their wanderings and had kids and houses and such. I've kind of bounced around through semi-permanent situations since then, and have finally found a job I love that pays what I need to be able to do the things I want and is flexible enough that I don't feel weighed down, but it took research and luck and some other things.

One thing I can tell you is that there are a huge, giant, amazing number of options depending on what you're willing to do and what you're able to do, and if you just keep looking, keep reading, and keep sharpening your skills in wherever your interests lie, then you're more likely to end up in a situation where you're able to keep from being flat broke without hating your job.

 

[Yung yeek]

I work half the year and travel the other half, it keeps me very sane getting an extended amount of time off to do whatever i want. During my work season i work with extra motivation knowing what im going to do after the job is done. Working half the year keeps my finances straight too so i dont have to ask anyone for ANYTHING. Its a good feeling to get a shittty motel room once in a while or a nice meal. Being broke in the good ol USA isnt fun and i never plan on traveling full time, always having to ask people for food or cigs or whatever else im in need for, ever again. The well will eventually run dry, and its shitty, but some things that will help your journey, and experiences, just cost money. Find a balance.

A good seasonal job thats somewhere youve always wanted to go to is traveling itself, and a new experience. Teach kids in SE asia english (all you need is a HS diploma or GeD)? Work on a resort or fishing boat in alaska? Trim cannabis during harvest season? Be a camp counselor somewhere cool like in the redwoods or something? Work on a ski resort in the rockies? Theres so much shit out there and these are only the tip of the iceberg. It all depends on what youre into, and if youre halfway into it, youl probably enjoy it, and learn a lot about the trade youre doing and further yourself of what youd like to do next, along with where you may want to go next based on the new area around you that you will become familliar with.

In my opinion, youre stupid young, so young that it makes most of us jealous(if i started traveling at 18 instead of 22 kinda deal), and if you started traveling right out of high school, youd be very ahead of the game and probably ready for the rest of the world by the time youre in your early 20's. Just dont quit school, at least a hs diploma or ged. Without it, you may be fucked out of a simple temporary restaurant job that youre in need for someday inbetween your travels.