What Are They Trying To Do To Me?!

[SongDragon]

Well, I am legally past the drinking age of England, and so they're actually encouraging me to try it! So far I've tried cider, wine, and a little bit of a liquor. Absolutely disgusting! They've been recommending drinks all week! Yuck! I think they just know that I'll give up and give them the drink, so they have an excuse to have another. I may be happy to go back to the U.S. where no one will offer me a drink.

Really I'm surviving alright, though the first few days were a lot of walking, seeing the beach in Devon, walking around in Clovelly, climbing the steps to Tintagel, and the outdoor market when we got back to Dorchester.

Grandma won't be coming back on the plane with us, though, and we're all a little worried about her. She's back on oxygen, because we think she overdid it and she rarely (if ever) complains, so it's hard to know when she's had enough. She'll need oxygen on the plane, and there aren't very many airports that will allow that (compressed gas).

Other than that I've been taking the dog (Belle) out for a walk with Charlie. That dog sure got city smart fast! She's a Parson's Terrier, and loves the fields where she can tear after a ball and be off leash. Simply put I should get my writing done and get my calculus done, but I'm just having too much fun falling into the lovely routine here!

We've decided (Uncle Andy and me, talking separately from the group) that I probably will miss a year of college. I just don't know what I want to do. He missed a year of college (postponed it for eight years actually) and he was much happier for it. That doesn't mean I know what I'm doing next year, but it means I have a few open options. Any suggestions for a job? Lol.

~Song

[Manchester]

Sorry to hear about your Grandma, she seemed so well when we met. I hope she gets home safely in her own good time, try not to worry.

Good news about the drink, you are right, it all tastes disgusting, and rots the brain cells, go by your instincts.... and pay no heed to all those Rudies you saw being bad :( (me included!)

What a coincidence, we have a cat called Belle - my daughter named her when the Beauty and the Beast movie was out (she was 7).

Hope you didn't meet Merlin in Tintagel? That's where Mike and I went for a week when we first got engaged.... 27 years ago, a magical place, home of King Arthur and the Round Table.... alledgedly.

Safe journey home, Song, and thanks for coming last week.
Anne
x

[Eva]

Any suggestions for a job?

Pirate Queen is a nice job Song. I can recommend it.

Pirate Queen

[Amy in Vermont]

Song:

I didn't start college until I was 25. At 18 I was sure I wanted to work with horses forever. I worked my ass off for 7 years, earned very little, and had a good time. I was ready for a change of pace and an intellectual challenge.

I busted hump for 4 exciting years, graduated summa cum laude and went off to grad school for a year.

Then I spent the next 10 years working with horses again...

I have no regrets about doing it the way I did. I wasn't ready for college at 18. I was at 25. And being a little older than the rest of the students is an advantage. You are there because you want to be, not because mommy and daddy made you go. You will get more out of the experience if you wait!

A

[hoops]

what is that expression??? follow your heart?? no matter where you;re going in life, eventually you'll get there and you probably won't know that you've changed your mind ( a few times ) best of luck song, enjoy life
pax '
hoops

[gisli]

Heiahh Songdragon, glad to hear you are having a good time, sorry to hear about your Grandma.

Now about school, don´t ever for one moment try to take a year off if you are thinking of a job career that requiers a university degree or another degree from school.
Around me, if people decide to take one year off, in almost every case, they never start school again. Please concider hard why you should would want to take one year off...........and then go back to school.

Now about them europeans offering you them drinks..........see what alcohol does to them??????????? A none thinkers they become. He, he, he, he,he.

[david uk]

song big hugs to you and rudie vibes of good health to your grandma...

it was lovely to meet you last week:)

david x

[Chet]

I worked 7 years before I went to college, and it worked well for me because it really was what I wanted to do at that time in my life, rather than because it's the thing to do.

Here in Malaysia, most youngsters follow the well-trodden path of education (all through to college unless they can't get in), followed by marriage, kids, career, etc. (not necessarily in that order). So when a kid goes to college immediately after high school, it may not be because they want to but because their friends are doing it, their sisters / brothers did it before them, etc. Same with settling down to marriage and family.

Looks like I've gone against most (if not all) of what's expected of me.

Do what your heart tells you, Song.

[Dee]

Like my signature says, Song:

[Margay]

How about starting on your first novel?

Margay
Who started college at 18 but at 25 still hasn't finished it yet.

[Stephen]

The only reason I went to college at 18 was to avoid the draft. And when, after my third year, Nixon most obligingly put an end to it, I put an end to my education for ten years.

My formal education, that is...the world is the greatest classroom if one is willing to be a student.

[Eva]

Taking off a year (or more) might be a nice idea, that is true. But please use that year(s) then to learn about the world and about what it is you want. Otherwise it's just an extended holliday from school and that is not what real life is, however nice a long holliday and getting away from school after all these years might sound. Please go back to school later because it's important to have a diploma. Important to get a nice job you can live from. And important to have the feeling that you have reached what you can reach in certain intellectual fields.

I have a bachelor's degree in social work (first one who dares to laugh at the 'bachelor' titel gets it...!! ;) ) and I would love to go back to university to learn more about psychology, sociology or communication. But I do find it is harder now that I am older. I would not only be going to school, but I would also need to work for a living and pay for university. That is a lot of work. Besides that I think I would find it kind of hard to be in school again while everyone is about 20 years younger than me.

Think it over well, Song. Follow your heart, but don't lose sight of practical issues either. You are an intelligent woman. I am sure you will make the decision that is good for you.

Eva

[SongDragon]

Maybe I'll just wait until my looks catch up to the rest of me. Go to school when I finally look eighteen or so (right now I look thirteen or fourteen). Actually, the four years of college would be wasted right now since I haven't got a clue what I want to do. For a long time I wanted to do architecture, but now I'm not so certain. I like photography, but it's not a great job. I like animals, but I'd rather not work with them all the time, they can make me nervous. So maybe I'll just work around for a while. Manual labor isn't really a choice, lol, so you needn't worry about me not going back to school. Psychology is interesting to me, so is math, and so is art. I'll find something, as long as it isn't history (blecgh, the one subject I can't find interest in, I can read it, but not study it).

Charlie has been having a great time, everyone we pass on the street thinks I'm his girlfriend. They don't know that Charlie is five years younger than me, and my cousin to boot. They're missing the resemblance. He thinks its fun, but I was amazed because he has good taste. We went shopping, found out how expensive everything was, and got some ice cream instead. He thinks it's fun because they think he's fourteen (he's thirteen) and I'm fourteen (I'm eighteen). Ah the pains of being short... being mistaken for my "little" cousin's girlfriend.

We're leaving grandma in England, but I believe she'll be alright. She's just feeling a little sick. I am returning very early tomorrow, but I'm already sad about it. I've enjoyed my stay here. An excellent week, I'll have to come back.

~Song

[david uk]

glad you enjoyed your time in the UK- we certainly all enjoyed meeting you....

big hugs xxxxxxxxxxxx

[corita]

What ever you do: ENJOY and have a good live!;)

[Bat]

I'm SO glad you got to go to England, Song, and had a place to stay, nice people to see, and Janis for icing on the cake! What a wonderful bd present!

As far as school goes, you have to decide when and where...as you have seen from the comments, waiting worked fine for some, others are glad they went right from highschool. (You could probably do some tutoring on the side for people like me who don't really get math beyond trig!, and inequalities give me fits. Just a thought to help keep body and soul together while you're deciding what to do with life.)

Meanwhile, you're bright, a world traveler...enjoy!
Hugs,

[Kath of the Guitar]

Follow your passion, Song...

[snakegrl]

Hey there,
I saw your posting about your dilema over school.
I feel that the best anyone can do in any situation is what their gut tells them,that part of yourself that is not tangled up with the head, ego, ect.
For me, it always knows right away what is most appropriate. We only have to get out of our own way to hear what is said.
It has taken me 40+ years to listen to it because I'm so damn pig-headed.
Don't waste your time trying to figure it all out like I did.
There is a time to rely on the intellect, just not all of the time.
Good lick to you, Sheri

[Dar]

I think taking a year or three off from school is a fine idea, especially if you have no idea what you want to study. You may want to take a single class at a time, in different things, to see if something strikes your fancy.

I also had no idea what I wanted to do when I got out of high school. After trying out a few different things I realized I really LOVED working with numbers and voila, I had a major. It's not the most exciting way to make a living, but it pays the bills and there's always somebody who needs their beans counted.

I follow my passion and my heart when I'm not sitting at my desk working to pay the bills, and that has worked well for me for over thirty years.

[hoops]

in my family, we had an understanding... you couldn't go to school until you could pay for it. that was a rule for a lot of things, bikes cars fancy clothes, it's no wonder i started working at 9. My parents couldn't afford to put any of us thru school, and, interestingly enough, my dad made too much money for any of us to receive grants or any of the good loans. some of us went to school right out of highschool ( most of us i should say ) others are still going to school and in their 30's and one of us has taken but one college course and is almost 40. life has a way of happening. btw, i never did save upo enough to go to school,
pax
hoops