Search Results: better off

My girlfriend and I have been dating for 5 years and recently we celebrated my birthday. There was one thing I specifically asked for that she got me and I appreciate it. But everything else just seemed a little thoughtless.

One thing, she got me a personalized ice cream spoon. On the surface, it seems cute but I practically only eat ice cream with a tiny spoon when I’m home and the spoon she got me was a normal size. I probably won’t really use it. She also got me pimple patches from a brand I like other products from but I really don’t have pimples and the few times I’ve used patches in the past, they don’t work or sometimes make my face scab. I've told her this before since she uses patches and sometimes asks if I want to use any. Then finally, I’ve been wanting a kiddie pool to just be able to sit/ put my feet in, like the $15 kind. She ordered me one but it’s not supposed to come in for another week. Which is fine and all but this week I have off of work and I would have used it now. To me, I would have preferred to just go get one myself at the store so I could actually use it when I have time off. Or even just ordering me one that would have came in time for my birthday.

Everything she got me is sorta thoughtful but also not that useful to me. Part of me feels like she didn’t really try but the other part of me feels like I’m just being ungrateful. Gifts from her have always been like this but in the past I just let it go since I thought she was actively trying and maybe just not hitting the mark. But now that we’ve been dating longer, I feel like she should know a little better.

I got my Bachelor’s in Psych back in 2018, since then I’ve worked in higher education. Was in academic advising for a little over 2 years & that job felt like a bad fit across the board. Then I was in career services for about 3 months at another school & combined with mgmt/having to talk in public settings made me quit, I then worked in financial aid at another school for a little less than 2 years. While that felt like kind of a better fit based off mgmt’s feedback & a bit more confidence in my job tasks, I was miserable. I just worked in FA again at another school for a little less than a month & decided working in this new school felt a bit off.

29F and I have never felt like such a failure, I have a bit of a savings after selling my condo a little less than 2 years ago & live with family again so there’s that “cushion” but it’s not ideal obviously. I completed a form to schedule a meeting with alumni career services where I got my degree & waiting to hear back, I’m scared to apply for work bc I really don’t know what I want to do with my life. My mom said maybe higher education isn’t a good fit for me b/c of this pattern I’ve had, thinks I should work temp jobs since there’s no commitment & I can pay my way to go back to school. But I don’t want any more student loans since pell is maxed out & again I DON’T KNOW what I want to do.

I’m kind of stumped in the sense that I don’t know what I want to do, I feel like I enjoy the higher ed field but it may not be the best fit as I keep ending up in a position where I’m back to looking for work again regardless if most of the time it’s been voluntary it seems. Advice appreciated, any resources or suggestions you have from experience leave in the comments.