infekt
Member
Hello STP. After discovering this forum and lurking here for awhile, I have finally made an account.
First, a little about myself. I'm from New Orleans, LA. I graduated high school (17), and moved to northern Louisiana for college. Its not that I didnt like New Orleans, it was that I had always lived there (except for a brief stint in Birmingham), and I just wanted something different. Two years into college (19), I realized I had made a mistake. I shouldn't have gone to school. The road was where my heart was. At the end of that year, I took the summer, hit the road, and lived out of my car for two and a half months.
Though I loved the sense of freedom, I decided to finish my degree, since I was already half done. Yes, I know how everyone on this site feels about degrees and fire. But I was half done, and the degree was a useful one (Computer Science), so I decided to stick it out. The next summer (20) I decided to go traveling again, but this time, I met one of the coolest people I've ever known, a traveler named David, and I spent roughly half the summer hopping with him.
Again I decided to go back and finish my degree, despite knowing that it wasn't really what I wanted to do. Well, over the next two years, I completely lost myself in the system. I forgot what was important to me, and was really unfulfilled. On the upside, now, after 5 years of college (22), I have a degree in computer science. I've been accepted into grad school (with a free ride), and I've been offered jobs.
Well, now the yearning for freedom has come back to me, and I am at a total loss as to what to do. I know I NEED to be back on the road (preferably hitching this time), but I'm having trouble working out when or how. I'd like to get my Masters, and if I don't do grad school now, I'll be giving up my free ride. Also, I can't just quit on life at this point, because I have students loans I'll need to pay off, and a lease.
So essentially, my options are:
A) Drop everything, pack a bag, leave. Give up free ride to grad school, deal with student loans when they come, and try to find someone to take over my lease.
B)Go to grad school. Get Masters. pack bag, leave. Deal with student loans when they come.
C) Get Job, pay off student loans, live as I want.
D) B+C. This would be optimal, but I'd like to not be in my 30s before I can really experience traveling life.
TL;DR
Sorry for this massive post. I completely understand if noone reads it. I'm asking for advice, but at the same time, there is a concept in CS called Rubber Duck Debugging. The basis is, you describe your problem to a person or an inanimate object and this act helps you resolve your issue, even if the object or person can't. So, offer advice if you have it. If not, thanks for lending me this space to think.
First, a little about myself. I'm from New Orleans, LA. I graduated high school (17), and moved to northern Louisiana for college. Its not that I didnt like New Orleans, it was that I had always lived there (except for a brief stint in Birmingham), and I just wanted something different. Two years into college (19), I realized I had made a mistake. I shouldn't have gone to school. The road was where my heart was. At the end of that year, I took the summer, hit the road, and lived out of my car for two and a half months.
Though I loved the sense of freedom, I decided to finish my degree, since I was already half done. Yes, I know how everyone on this site feels about degrees and fire. But I was half done, and the degree was a useful one (Computer Science), so I decided to stick it out. The next summer (20) I decided to go traveling again, but this time, I met one of the coolest people I've ever known, a traveler named David, and I spent roughly half the summer hopping with him.
Again I decided to go back and finish my degree, despite knowing that it wasn't really what I wanted to do. Well, over the next two years, I completely lost myself in the system. I forgot what was important to me, and was really unfulfilled. On the upside, now, after 5 years of college (22), I have a degree in computer science. I've been accepted into grad school (with a free ride), and I've been offered jobs.
Well, now the yearning for freedom has come back to me, and I am at a total loss as to what to do. I know I NEED to be back on the road (preferably hitching this time), but I'm having trouble working out when or how. I'd like to get my Masters, and if I don't do grad school now, I'll be giving up my free ride. Also, I can't just quit on life at this point, because I have students loans I'll need to pay off, and a lease.
So essentially, my options are:
A) Drop everything, pack a bag, leave. Give up free ride to grad school, deal with student loans when they come, and try to find someone to take over my lease.
B)Go to grad school. Get Masters. pack bag, leave. Deal with student loans when they come.
C) Get Job, pay off student loans, live as I want.
D) B+C. This would be optimal, but I'd like to not be in my 30s before I can really experience traveling life.
TL;DR
Sorry for this massive post. I completely understand if noone reads it. I'm asking for advice, but at the same time, there is a concept in CS called Rubber Duck Debugging. The basis is, you describe your problem to a person or an inanimate object and this act helps you resolve your issue, even if the object or person can't. So, offer advice if you have it. If not, thanks for lending me this space to think.
