Questions: Education & Career

I went to a top school and I’m thinking many people did not have real social lives outside of their families, their churches, and their boyfriends / girlfriends. Your competing with hundreds of people equal to you in ambition and intelligence for the highest grade in the class and if you don’t grind and study, somebody else will take your place.

I’m 31 Turning 32 this year. I currently have a BA in Sociology since 2016 & I’ve worked at various workplaces. The main type of job I work at is education field. I did americorps (1 year) after graduation, then payroll admin for 3 months before going into education.

I was a teacher assistant (sub teacher) for a year for a charter school, then an elementary teacher (2nd, 4th, & 5th) for a year at a private school (came in like dec 2020 then was let go in dec 2021 & the school closed), then on call English tutor for Korean students at their school/homestay program place for 8 months while my 2nd job at the time was a front desk receptionist for a medical billing center. I’m now a daycare teacher since last year oct.

The point I’m making is I do love teaching kids & I love kids but honestly I feel kind of burnt out right now with everything. I wanted to study counseling after graduation but I also wanted to teach for a bit before I do. I still want to do counseling but now it’s like I have other interests. I always wanted to do nursing but at the time I didn’t want to be a stereotype in my family (most cousins are in healthcare & nothing wrong w/it…just wanted something different then). So now my passion for nursing has come back but I still want to do counseling. I want to help kids better one on one & let them know someone cares about them. I also want to have a art therapy program to go with my counseling. For nursing, I want to help people get better. I’m very interested in learning

I also want to join the military or join the peace corps and experience another place besides my hometown. I’ve always wanted to join the military (Air Force). Peace corps is new interest of mine but it fascinates me to go to a new country on my own, experience new culture & meet new people. However I’m also kind of scared cuz it’s a 2 year contract, I’m not sure if I can handle that.

So please help me decide.

My mom always told us that we didn’t have to go unless we wanted to. And she made it clear that she wasn’t paying. I wasn’t intending to but I worked hard in school, graduated at the top (the sal), and got a bunch of scholarships thrown at me. The school counselor was my biggest fan (still unsure why) but she was a nice lady and had secretly submitted applications for me to colleges. Thats still kinda sketch lmao. I found out on awards day when they started naming all the students who got scholarship offers. I rolled my eyes and decided to tune them out, but then had someone waving their hand in my face saying I was the recipient for the biggest academic award package (instead of the val).
Anyways, college was such a fckin waste since I wasn’t brave enough to choose what I really wanted. I got a 4 year degree but not much to show for it. I personally won’t pressure my kids into attending college, specifically a uni. But I would encourage them to pick a trade and attend a trade school. Or maybe they could to try out a 2 year junior college. I wouldn’t mind paying for those. But if they want to go to a uni, especially one thats like 20k+, then they’re going to have to bust their butt in HS like I did to get an academic (or athletic) scholarship. If they attend a school in whatever state we move to, then they have the option to live at home, but I for sure won’t be paying for a dorm. I refuse to be like my fam who feels their kid “owes” them for raising them. But get this, if the kid drops out of a school I paid for, then that will for sure be the one time they financially owe me. #FeelFreeToList