Possibilities

So help me out here

After realising how pointless college education is, I've been thinking more and more about 'locking' a semester. Now mind you, I'm not abandoning college (It is free in Brazil and I have good grades). Rather, I'd take 6 months working towards my education in my own terms, reading whatever I desire. The plan in my head is more or less like this:

> Sell or give away my gaming PC so I don't spend these months on video games
> Purchase a bunch of great books (I have some money stored) to read in this period
> Purchase an e-reader and pirate some books
> Waking up early, run at the beach and then spend most of my time home reading
> Take up 2-3 languague classes, like Spanish, French and/or German
> At night, gym and/or martial arts so I don't become a sickly skeleton

So what you guys think? My mother seemed reluctant about this somewhat, understandably, considering she's a university professor - daughter of a fisherman - and her brother, my uncle, is a deadbeat near-illiterate taxi driver. But I think if I sit down and talk to her she'll accept. Hell, my brother still lives here and he is 26 (does help with the bills though).

If you've been thinking about this for some time now and are sure you want to do it, go for it.

The one thing I would add is to make sure you'll be able to either get your PC back when you're done or have enough money to buy a new one.

That and hopefully you'll still be able to come here and say hello from time to time.

Sell your PC?
What kind of a monster are you?! >:V




In all seriousness, it sounds like a good plan if you can carry it out, you'll have quite a bit of preparation for whatever life you want ahead.
Lot more healthy too I reckon.



...Selling your gaming PC >:U

Remember you need a lot of willpower to keep up a lifestyle like this without becomming a lazy dog (sorry Feral).
And I'd suggest you get a part time job too. Preferrably somethhing with regular hours. That will keep a bit of structure in your days, and you earn at least some token money. It may also be a bit of help to convince your mother.
For your pc, if you loan it out, try to find a place where you can still use it a few hours every week. Everybody deserves a bit of relaxation. And make sure you can get it back or buy a new one after your six months.

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You have obviously thought it trough.
I think you should go for it. You will get either a great experience or an informative failure. In either case, you will get to know yourself better. And believe me, there is always something more to learn in this department.
I agree with Malkav too: get something to give yourself some structure in life. Part time job, scheduled gym practice, walking neighbour's dog; doesn't matter. Just to force yourself to keep to some schedule.

On this note, schedule yourself a PC   

I hope you try to show on the forum sometimes, too.

@Malkav: Lazy dog!? I am PhD student for goodness sake! I slovly start to share Philo's opinion on higher education, though.

Without really knowing you or anything about your life, I would say this sounds like a pretty good plan to me.

I'm currently in a very similar position and I'm really having the same mindset. Is education really worth it? Am I not just wasting my life about a degree nobody's gonna bother to even look past the name?
I'm not really sure what is the situation in Brazil, but here in Bulgaria, like 90% of the things you can study are mostly worthless. Companies want experience, dedication and the ability to learn and improve. Of course, you need to have a solid base knowledge, but anything beyond that is more limiting than enriching.
Here in Bulgaria, they would rather take somebody with a bachelor's degree for a start-up position over somebody with a master's degree because they would have to pay more to the more qualified man. Plus, degree means nothing compared to experience.
Now, I'm pretty sure that if you're in a top world university, things will be a lot different. It all depends on where you are, when and what you're studying.

What I have learned for the past 6 months is that if you start asking yourself all these questions, then you need a break. You need to rediscover why you want to study and what.
A piece of advice - do not sell your PC. You can delete all your games, but selling your PC will only restrict your ability to communicate more easily with all the new people you're gonna meet

Good luck!

YamiRaziel wrote:

A piece of advice - do not sell your PC. You can delete all your games, but selling your PC will only restrict your ability to communicate more easily with all the new people you're gonna meet

Good luck!

Solid point. I haven't thought of that, but Yami has a point. Plus, a computer is a tool of study on it's own. All the publications you could download instead of porn and music  

Unless you're a language genius, you can't just learn a language alone with books.

My guess would be a compromise ; attend classes at university, but only classes that interest you, only certain courses at the level wanted, and work on those subjects alone in between classes ; aka, make your own university cursus ! If these are lectures, you could attend without even anyone noticing you're not enlisted. plus you can enlist to pass the exam in said classes, even if it doesn't give you the full diploma, it'll allow you to test your knowledge and to value it.

Getting books is always a good idea ; I'm not a reader though, I hate reading, it pains me, so I usually just loan them from my university.

Selling your PC is never a good idea, but the appeal of the lolcats is an issue whenever you want to get forward in your agenda. Trust me, I know XD


I've found that restricting my internet access through the internet box ("internet only works from X to Y and from X to Z", for two hours a day, like one early in the morning, one during the TV news) works fine for me ; I do whatever I need to do online like downloading books and shit, then I work, read my courses, work my Japanese...

It takes a lot of discipline and motivation, which is why I'm so in love with Lyle ; he makes sure I stick to my agenda and organizes things out there for me

Don't get a job! Having money is too nice, it will keep you from re-enlisting Though guys are correct, if you digress from your wanted structure, it's a downward spiral.
But I don't worry that you would not work on yourself. I worry you would not want to go back to a "useless college." You need a degree. The tremere, besides her chemical disilussion that will drift away, has a point. Stay in college, just take it easy. That will be a lesson too. A compromise

You know yourself and your limitations if you aren't very self motivated and a quick learner I doubt doing exactly as you plan will work to be honest.