Declining Student Resilience: A Serious Problem for Colleges - Polidicks

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48886679]I'll likely be berrated for this by the majority of this thread, but hey, fuck it. Why is it so easy to just be like "Lol those kids failed, fuck em, throw em under the bus"? Like I get it, they suck, they failed, they're garbage and they're never going to be as good as you or I but what the fuck is the point in lacking that empathy? They were raised like that. I don't know about you, but if you were raised in a certain way, it is fucking hard to break those deeply ingrained feelings and thoughts. I mean, blame them all you want but that's pretty callous and at least from you where you try and seem like you have a semblance of empathy in most of your posts, how do you and many others here just seem to not care? What? They should just bootstraps themselves out of emotional ineffectiveness?[/QUOTE] I was going to write a long answer, but, then, suddenly: From where do you get that I lack empathy? That I said "They failed. Fuck them"? Where did I blamed them? It would interesting to read how you came to those conclusions or ideas.

Probably by laughing at them

[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;48887285]I was going to write a long answer, but, then, suddenly: From where do you get that I lack empathy? That I said "They failed. Fuck them"? Where did I blamed them? It would interesting to read how you came to those conclusions or ideas.[/QUOTE] You laughed at their misfortune to have been raised differently than you like they had any say in the matter. If by "interesting" you mean you aren't aware of the implications of laughing at some one then sure I suppose it's interesting. To me it's just weird how choosey so many posters of your ilk are with their empathy.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48887486]You laughed at their misfortune to have been raised differently than you like they had any say in the matter. If by "interesting" you mean you aren't aware of the implications of laughing at some one then sure I suppose it's interesting. To me it's just weird how choosey so many posters of your ilk are with their empathy.[/QUOTE] Oh, I laughed at their misfortune, or the fact that I found it funny to find someone else here also thought the same about me regarding how that would affect future labour market competition? I am not laughing at their misfortune. Yes, I found it interesting how you could make a deduction so fast from a single commentary. If you think I don't feel any empathy or I blame them for anything....boy, how wrong you are. You shouldn't be jumping around to conclusions without asking for more information. That's why I asked, because, unlike you, I didn't want to jump to conclusions without asking first.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48886679]What? They should just bootstraps themselves out of emotional ineffectiveness?[/QUOTE] i fully support them getting any help they may need and i know it isn't their fault but there is absolutely nothing i can do to help their situation. it isn't that i don't empathize with how much their parents screwed them over, i just feel with the job market being as it is, having an edge on your competition should be something to be grateful about.

You know, sometimes I'm glad I let my crazy grandfather's ideas of 'Don't bother, the system is going to collapse anyway' get in my head, it was basically the only pocket of air I had in a shit situation and was basically just the sweet taste of the anti-freeze I call my teenage years. but it unfucked me out of the mindset that I had to go to collage to get anywhere and while I may be a useless Neet, at least I'm not in debt because if I had anymore shit to deal with on top of what I had I very likely would have considered jumping off a bridge. I think there is a problem, a very big one, with how the children are being raised and it's neither simple to fix nor easy to even figure out. It's a horrible mess of shit and we're now just being made aware of the side effects of this sort of autopilot life route everyone's been wired into since the 90s. the one with the big ??? after 'go to collage' but then again I have my own minefield of problems to worry about, but I hope these sad fuckers make it.

[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;48887594]Oh, I laughed at their misfortune, or the fact that I found it funny to find someone else here also thought the same about me regarding how that would affect future labour market competition? I am not laughing at their misfortune. Yes, I found it interesting how you could make a deduction so fast from a single commentary. If you think I don't feel any empathy or I blame them for anything....boy, how wrong you are. You shouldn't be jumping around to conclusions without asking for more information. That's why I asked, because, unlike you, I didn't want to jump to conclusions without asking first.[/QUOTE] Wow that sure does seem like some pretty strong backpedalling

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48888591]Wow that sure does seem like some pretty strong backpedalling[/QUOTE] 1 hour and that's the best answer you could come up with? "Oh no I outright assumed something and I was told I was wrong so he must be backpedalling". The same could be said of you by the way....

[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;48889055]1 hour and that's the best answer you could come up with? "Oh no I outright assumed something and I was told I was wrong so he must be backpedalling". The same could be said of you by the way....[/QUOTE] This is getting very childish very quickly. Quit shitting up the thread while you're ahead. [B][i]On topic,[/b][/i] What would you guys think about a "life management" class of sorts in elementary through high school? It's clear that not enough students are learning stress-coping skills from home or the occasional school assembly. Plus, it could be used to teach "important" things that people always complain about not learning in high school - how to do your taxes, how to manage a budget, following a good work ethic, etc.

[QUOTE=Dr. Evilcop;48889095]This is getting very childish very quickly. Quit shitting up the thread while you're ahead. [B][i]On topic,[/b][/i] What would you guys think about a "life management" class of sorts in elementary through high school? It's clear that not enough students are learning stress-coping skills from home or the occasional school assembly.[/QUOTE] I think you should ask everyone here to "quit shitting up" the thread when I was only answering back to empty statements, because asking only one member to do it...is in fact, shitting up the thread. Thanks. It would be extremely useful to have that kind of class but parents would start screaming and yelling all over the place that the school system is overtaking their duties (nevermind if they failed at them) and so...the implementation would be extremely difficult. [QUOTE]how to do your taxes, how to manage a budget, following a good work ethic, etc.[/QUOTE] 110% agree... One wonders how that is not included among the actual subjects.... EDIT: Yeap, should have asked all members. I didn't know you were that kind of guy, HumanAbyss. Generally, when someone answered back to you, you answered politely, addressed all points, and didn't become a jackass. But, hey, it seems you took a day off today. If anything it shows you wanted to move the discussion point to how I behave, not the content of my messages. Not gonna 1up the post count here as per Evilcop request. Thanks for doing the same.

[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;48889055]1 hour and that's the best answer you could come up with? "Oh no I outright assumed something and I was told I was wrong so he must be backpedalling". The same could be said of you by the way....[/QUOTE] It says something about you that you think I sat there for an hour agonizing over what to say back to you [QUOTE=Cutthecrap;48887594]Oh, I laughed at their misfortune, or the fact that I found it funny to find someone else here also thought the same about me regarding how that would affect future labour market competition?[/QUOTE] So having a leg up on people because of no reason of your own making, or their own making isn't laughing at their misfortune? [QUOTE]I am not laughing at their misfortune.[/QUOTE] Like I said. [QUOTE]Yes, I found it interesting how you could make a deduction so fast from a single commentary. [/QUOTE] I'm sorry if I made an assumption about you that was incorrect. Laughing at those less fortunate than yourself is normally seen as wrong, and I'm fairly sure you've made a few arguments about how people are doing that are wrong to do so about your own pet causes. I'm always curious to see where peoples personal interests over ride their normal personality. I know this is an issue that overwhelms my normal personality because it's personal to me. [QUOTE]If you think I don't feel any empathy or I blame them for anything....boy, how wrong you are. You shouldn't be jumping around to conclusions without asking for more information.[/QUOTE] I should have asked you why you laughed at them instead. My bad. [QUOTE]That's why I asked, because, unlike you, I didn't want to jump to conclusions without asking first.[/QUOTE] It's pretty hard to see someone laughing at people that you feel some similarity to without taking that somewhat personally. My bad. I shouldn't have taken that personally or lashed out at you. I don't think you should have laughed that you have it better than other people and have an easier ride than those people though.

I think both of you need to stop. No one cares, it doesn't matter, none of this matters. Its an internet forum and squabbling makes you both look like exactly like what this article is talking about. I mean really its a forum and all we can do is discuss it, but that's what we should do, discuss it. Discuss ourselves, people we know, and our opinion on the topic at hand. I am sure you are both very nice people and fun to talk to, but getting into a petty feud online does not help make either of you look very good. Take it to PMs. Honestly I don't have much to say on this topic because I didn't go to college yet and I grew up in a less than stellar life that has already give me lots of emotional resilience. All I can do is push forward and support those who are weaker than me. They might be "useless" but a useful person who does nothing to help others is pretty bad as well. Every generation is going to be more sensitive than the last, and I think that is a good thing. What is bad is that we're making this generation [I]too [/I]paranoid and [I]too [/I]sensitive. That is not the fault of them solely, its a lot of factors. We live in a new era with internet everywhere, tons of hyper realistic violent video-games, seeing real people get their brains blown out is just a few clicks away, reading the news about the iraqi war was standard for my high-school years and realizing how many boys just a few more years older than me were getting their skin bubbled and fats roasted in some fucking IED death-trap. Graphic imagery, blunt news, all kinds of shit is just so here now, so in our faces, I can't even imagine what a ten year old is doing right now. Me? I was playing Zelda and imagining all kinds of neato things. But I still knew what a blown open skull was thanks to 4chan too. Do I have to go on about how shit like 9/11 instilled a lot of paranoia? I wasn't allowed to just hang out in my own town or walk down the street, a combination of both urban decay unique to New Jersey and paranoia of crime and terrorism created by our media. I am not unique, I think a lot of us have gone through that We're over coddled, over protected, over watched, over cynical, we know too much too fast but don't know enough of what we do need to know, too innocent with too much knowledge. Its more than just pure sensitivity, you're going to find 18-20 year olds who run the gauntlet from apathetic and angry to sensitive and frail. We're either being battered and fucked over enough to be cynical and not care, or coddled enough to be frail, dependent or sensitive. Or if you're lucky, a nice cock-tale inbetween.

I want to give my opinion from my own perspective on this subject, but I don't want to berrated for having the views that I have. I'm a sensitive person. I had traumas in my life and unlike some of you, and even yourself doommarine, they didn't harden me, they just fucked me up and made me insecure about a great deal of things. I had a rough life in it's own ways with how I was raised, and how I was treated by those around me. I had a rough family life with lots of deaths, with some abuse and neglect thrown in there for fun. I didn't get harder or tougher from these things. I developed a shell, sure, I can deal with shit on the outside, but I've run into serious issues in my life because of these issues. My dad died 2 months ago now, and that's not helping with where I'm at. I don't know how to handle some of the things coming my way, and I don't know what to do about a future that I see as inevitably painful and shitty when I've already been there, done that. I work hard, and I've put my head down at a lot of jobs and just worked myself to the bone, and I've been through school and done the same thing and dealt with a lot of personal issues in that time frame and I don't feel those experiences have given me the ability to cope with the events that I fear coming in the future and I haven't found a single way to cope with the anxiety that life's given me, even though I know my lifes easy compared to a lot of kids, even to some I know. That disparity in strength is also a source of anxiety because I have no idea how I'm supposed to go from where I'm at to that without any of the stress.

It's a parenting issue combined with a zeitgeist that says it's hip to be offended/upset. Rich (white) kids are sheltered, spoiled rotten and told they are very special snowflakes from the day they are born. The moment they get to experience the real world in its full glory, they can't handle it. This behavior really isn't all that different from young children screaming and flailing on the floor at a supermarket because mom won't buy them candy.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48889420]I want to give my opinion from my own perspective on this subject, but I don't want to berrated for having the views that I have. I'm a sensitive person. I had traumas in my life and unlike some of you, and even yourself doommarine, they didn't harden me, they just fucked me up and made me insecure about a great deal of things. I had a rough life in it's own ways with how I was raised, and how I was treated by those around me. I had a rough family life with lots of deaths, with some abuse and neglect thrown in there for fun. I didn't get harder or tougher from these things. I developed a shell, sure, I can deal with shit on the outside, but I've run into serious issues in my life because of these issues. My dad died 2 months ago now, and that's not helping with where I'm at. I don't know how to handle some of the things coming my way, and I don't know what to do about a future that I see as inevitably painful and shitty when I've already been there, done that. I work hard, and I've put my head down at a lot of jobs and just worked myself to the bone, and I've been through school and done the same thing and dealt with a lot of personal issues in that time frame and I don't feel those experiences have given me the ability to cope with the events that I fear coming in the future and I haven't found a single way to cope with the anxiety that life's given me, even though I know my lifes easy compared to a lot of kids, even to some I know. That disparity in strength is also a source of anxiety because I have no idea how I'm supposed to go from where I'm at to that without any of the stress.[/QUOTE] Hardened doesn't mean a lack of empathy or a lack of love for others. It also doesn't mean I'm without stress or anxiety. However this is getting into >muh blog< territory from my side, imo. The reality is that we are all different all grew up in different ways with different things that supported or nurtured us, assuming we had anything to do so. But I am happy you gave us and I, the chance of seeing your perspective on it. I'm not ashamed of being able to hold myself together when someone I loved died, or when someone I love is sobbing. You shouldn't be ashamed of being who you are either and being sensitive, that's a great thing, its a unique thing and its you. That disparity in strength isn't true, you can be sensitive and be strong, be stoic and be weak. You're not a loser just because you're insecure, and we are all going to face personal trials while moving forward. I think these terms are stupid anyway because they are very hasty judgmental definite terms. Who is strong today might be a sobbing mess tomorrow, do you really think I've never sobbed before? Trust me, its not pretty when a deep voice jersey guy sobs. What matters is that we put in the effort and do the best we can do now. Its fine to be insecure, what matters is looking for good, even just decent ways of handling it and trying to go through life, following what we think, it means to be a good person. But anything beyond this reply is really getting into a more personal talk sort of level, so I have to leave this post, at this level.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48889210]It says something about you that you think I sat there for an hour agonizing over what to say back to you[/QUOTE] This is the first time I've ever been tempted to use that Roasted video by Filthy Frank for something. I'd probably be banned though, so I just want you to know I'm with you in spirit. Yeah, some people are going to waste the system's time with stupid problems without even fathoming how deep other people are in the shit pool. What does upset me is that articles like this one are going to be used to push that "all millennials are entitled" mantra that the media loves to play up. I was watching SNL the other day and they did a skit involving college grads who are lazy, can't stop messing with their cell phones, and asking for promotions three days into their new jobs. I was talking with my father about it after the fact and how it bothered me that they would target a group of people who are usually tens of thousands of dollars in high-interest debt, have severe difficulty finding work, and are expected to take less benefits and substantially less pay than what it would take to make up for those lost benefits. He responded that he had seen it "first hand" at the government contract job he's been working for the last twenty-five or so years. He makes around 75K a year, and only finished his bachelors last year partially on company money. He says "these kids" come into the company expecting 50K a year, and that they don't pick up on the hierarchy within. He cited one young coworkers audacity to sit at the big table during meetings, not realizing that newer employees were expected to stand. I asked him, if you were to complete a full education with a bachelor's degree in a STEM field, growing up in a middle class home with middle class parents, wouldn't you expect to be able to live a middle-class lifestyle upon landing a job in your career field? If your father bought a home after graduating from high school in 1983, why shouldn't you be able to afford one in 2015 if you're a more qualified, more productive employee than he was? And if you were hired on the basis that you were qualified to do a job, why should you be frozen out, expected not to sit or speak at meetings? I asked him, if he were in my or my brother's shoes, racking up the kind of debt we are, being presented with the sorts of openings with such comparably low salaries and benefits as his company is offering now, would he have still taken the job and worked there for his entire adult life? He responded, "well, if there's no other choice, you've just got to do what you've got to do." Millennials, right? I may be slightly off topic, but I'm fairly certain that this is the news that's going to be gaining traction on my extended family's Facebook feeds, rather than the larger picture, and it's unrelentingly frustrating. And, for the sake of clarity, I've never needed to speak with a counselor or seek out psychological help. But I've been vulnerable plenty of times over the years and I wouldn't want to live in a world where people just laugh at vulnerability.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48889420]I want to give my opinion from my own perspective on this subject, but I don't want to berrated for having the views that I have. I'm a sensitive person. I had traumas in my life and unlike some of you, and even yourself doommarine, they didn't harden me, they just fucked me up and made me insecure about a great deal of things. I had a rough life in it's own ways with how I was raised, and how I was treated by those around me. I had a rough family life with lots of deaths, with some abuse and neglect thrown in there for fun. I didn't get harder or tougher from these things. I developed a shell, sure, I can deal with shit on the outside, but I've run into serious issues in my life because of these issues. My dad died 2 months ago now, and that's not helping with where I'm at. I don't know how to handle some of the things coming my way, and I don't know what to do about a future that I see as inevitably painful and shitty when I've already been there, done that. I work hard, and I've put my head down at a lot of jobs and just worked myself to the bone, and I've been through school and done the same thing and dealt with a lot of personal issues in that time frame and I don't feel those experiences have given me the ability to cope with the events that I fear coming in the future and I haven't found a single way to cope with the anxiety that life's given me, even though I know my lifes easy compared to a lot of kids, even to some I know. That disparity in strength is also a source of anxiety because I have no idea how I'm supposed to go from where I'm at to that without any of the stress.[/QUOTE] I'd regard a tough shell in some regards to be hardening. I've not had quite the same experiences as you have, but the jist of what you've said applies to me somewhat too so I'm able to empathise; I was pretty mercilessly bullied by more or less everybody other than a hand full of friends all throughout my primary school life, and a fair portion of my secondary schooling life, and it had a pretty big impact on who I am as a person. Developing a hard shell has definitely made me, in many ways, tougher on the inside, too (although at the same time a lot of the old wounds are still quite open; they're just not quite so visible now). I have far more resolve now than I ever have, I'm far more confident in many regards, and the lessons I've learned have made me self-aware of my decisions, their potential consequences, and how to deal with that kind of stuff. Sure, life gets tough, and sometimes the most inviting course of action is to bundle up in bed and give in, but you can't; that's not going to get you anywhere. You've got to get up, do something about the predicament you're in, and keep fighting. The mere act of forcing yourself to be tougher outwardly (not becoming callous or uncaring, though, but just tougher and more confident in general) really helps to strengthen yourself inside. It's not perfect, but it's a great place to start. At least that's what I've found. I suppose everyone is different, though.

i wouldn't be surprised if part of this has to do with the rise of scare-the-shit-out-of-parents journalism teenagers and teen culture didn't really get much attention until the 1950s, and it wasn't until the 1990s that the news really started to hammer home the whole [I][B]"your child is going to get raped and murdered by a runaway MySpace needle, more at 11!"[/B][/I] style of reporting.

its hilarious that everybody here somehow thinks this is a problem, the article lists anecdotal evidence, but the same criticisms about a generations resiliency has been leveled at every single generation, students in the 50s had it easy because they got to go to college and didn't starve, or have to fight in a war, students in the 60s had it too easy because they were all draft dodging dope smoking hippies, students in the 70s had it too easy because they don't have any war, and they sit around and get drunk.... i don't think todays students are any less tough than yesterday's students, today you're expected to know more, do more, and have a flawless resume, as well as flawless GPA throughout college if you have any chance at getting a job, the system is rigged against the students now, you're expected to go from college into a shit starting job and get another 5 by the time your college reunion comes up, and thats the situation today, that anybody survives it is a testament to how resilient students are today i fucking hated how much my school babied freshmen and sophmores, i had to live on campus and get gouged to death on rent because they wouldn't let me live off campus, they expect that you are going to get shitface drunk every weekend so they make you sit through lectures and lectures on how to be responsible...when youre shitface drunk, and the list goes on and on. what is wrong and what the article conflates for a lack of resiliancy, is the sense that failure is unacceptable, its something the colleges are complicit in, fall off the track and you're spending the next 3 years playing catchup, fail 1 class and you're going an extra year, screw up any time and you can loose your scholarships and be expected to pay for everything because of one bad semester, they've built a system that not only reinforces that mindset, it demands that mindset, and somehow administrators are sitting there with their dicks in their hands asking why students are soo worried about failure? if they weren't jacking the price up nearly every single year to the point that one degree costs more than your average house, or if they weren't so inflexible about curriculum and GPA then maybe students wouldn't be so risk adverse, but its the fucking system, not the students thats the problem, and thats just the colleges the entire education to job system in the US is fucking made to be as risk adverse as possible, highschools are totally unequal in education quality and even basic grading systems, i know people that came from schools on a 5.0 system, just because it makes their students performance seem better than a 4.0 system, while i came from a podunk school in the middle of the country that only offers 3 AP classes at all, yet i managed to take college level courses there, but thats not acknowledged by the GPA which is the holiest metric for colleges, and then your college GPA greatly affects your entry level jobs, the start of your career is based on how well you did in EGR 201, because the first 3 lines on your resume are: college, major, GPA and thats where most HR people stop looking, which is fucking sick and fucks people who may have harder lives than your average student who comes from an upper crust family i know again acidotal evidence, but im worried about how much is in my bank account and how much i made over the summer, while other classmates are casually discussing how awesome their weekend was in chicago or how awsome their quick trip to florida was, or how shitfaced they were last weekend, i can't even afford to get shitfaced every weekend if i even wanted to, but of course this doesn't come up at all in how companies recruit or affects my resume in the slightest

[QUOTE=bdd458;48882438]I feel like this is sorta related: [URL]http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/[/URL][/QUOTE] this is 3 HOURS long but it's a very good video about a guy who reads this article and shares his thoughts and opinions on the pussification of america's young adults. [video=youtube;gwxcDqwDtxk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwxcDqwDtxk[/video] you can just listen to him, the visuals of the video don't add much

Honestly I'm not going to make the assumption that the girl that went to counseling because someone called her a "bitch" was just a pussy, or the person who called the cops for a mouse was a pussy, because people have very different ways of handling stress. I might as well tell my story as the thread's trending in this sort of direction. When I got to college it was like I just went to a foreign country. I knew no one, I was in a whole new environment, I was no longer at home in a place where I felt safe, there were rowdy people drinking, puking, and fighting in the dorm, as someone with social anxiety and depression this was a nightmare. I was expected to be on time to class, have time to eat, do my shitloads of homework, take 5 classes spread throughout the week at different times, some up to thrice a week, and then do my "freshman experience" of joining clubs and going to social activities which I was required to do a certain amount. I was on a scholarship that required me to get good grades, and I was forced to pick a major when I had no fucking clue what I'd want to do for the rest of my life. I was expected to get along with the random people who were my roommates, even if some of them were nasty alcoholics, slobs, or would kick me out during my study time to fuck their girlfriend. My parents were counting on me to get a good GPA and then get a good job, and if I got less than Cum Laude I'd have trouble getting a job and I'd have wasted the $60k in debt I'd accrued. And then I was told I was supposed to get a girlfriend in college too, which never happened because I was so stressed, depressed, and anxious I had trouble even speaking to random people. I was under so much pressure I tried to kill myself at one point. If I didn't do well in college, my life would be over. I'd never be able to afford my own home and support a family. I'd never be able to take care of my parents when they got older. I'd be stuck in debt forever. If I got less than a B my GPA would lower and then I'd be fucked. I'm supposed to make life long friends here and I hated, hated parties. I couldn't drink due to my medication and I got so anxious being around large groups of people that I ended up running out of a few parties within 5 minutes of getting there.I'm supposed to make business connections, make life long friends who could help me get a job, and I was supposed to meet them at these parties I was running from. I was supposed to set up the foundation for the rest of my life and I was fucking it all up. I was lucky that my college wasn't too far from home, so I ended up taking the train home every Wednesday to see a therapist in my home town, because the counseling center was so packed that I could get an appointment maybe once a month and I could barely get anything done in the 30 minute sessions offered. I eventually made some friends, I graduated with a 3.6 GPA with a bachelor's degree in psychology (which I'm still having hard time finding work with unless I get a master's degree and accrue even more debt), but honestly I could have literally died there. There's so much pressure, stress, and anxiety that if you don't do well you're fucked for life. I have no clue how I survived. I honestly don't blame someone for breaking down over verbal harrasment or rat problems, because sometimes it's tiny shit like those that ends up being the straw that broke the camel's back.

Due to the incredibly poor life decisions of both myself and my parents (mostly myself), I never had an opportunity to even consider going to college. Like, it's never even been remotely on my radar. Everyone in school pushes you towards it, it seems like all the time at high school they were asking me where I wanted to go to college and what I wanted to study there. I never had an answer. Instead, I dropped out of high school and then became homeless. I had some help, though, like my parents had already gotten me clothes and stuff like that. Actually I had a little dresser with four drawers that contained all of my belongings, and I was able to hold on to that while I slept on peoples' couches and tried to figure out how to become an adult all of a sudden. Sure, it was stressful, and sure, it was hard, and sure, at times, I felt hopeless and like it wasn't worth the struggle. But now, through hard work and dedication, I make more than enough not only to support myself, but to be able to afford to buy a house and support other people and even save up to eventually start my own business. No high school diploma, never even stepped foot into a college, in fact, honestly never even have imagined myself inside of a college. Really the only image of "going off for career education" I could conceive in my head is harry potter getting sent to hogwarts. You don't have to go to college, and in fact, I would honestly recommend the majority of people not to go. Everyone has a degree now, so they're practically worthless. Or, well, I mean I guess it's worth something to you personally as it's an accomplishment you should be proud of, but I mean, it's not worth the amount of money you put into it unless fewer people have them. Not everyone needs a degree. Not everyone is meant to work at a high level service position. The economy doesn't function that way. Some people need to shovel shit, in fact a lot of people need to shovel shit, and you don't need to go to school for that. Sure, you make less money shoveling shit, but you aren't royalty and you don't deserve all the comfort in the world. Make sacrifices. So with that being said, I honestly think that 90% of this stress and anxiety is artificial and pointless because half of these people don't need to even be there in the first place and the ones who do need to suck it the fuck up and learn to handle reality. Life is hard. Your parents might have sheltered you and spoiled you rotten, but the rest of the world doesn't give a fuck about your feelings or what you want, sorry. What you want and how you feel just isn't important and the fact that so many people believe it is important, in fact so important that they need to go take up a counselor's time so that they can feel better, is an obvious symptom of the fact that people are far too coddled and pampered now. Sure, they say that about every generation. I understand that. It's been mentioned multiple times in this thread that every generation thinks their kids are the laziest/most spoiled/etc. However, it eventually must be true. Maybe it was true a long time ago, maybe the generation of the 50's was actually right and everyone since then has been a pampered pansy. Or maybe they were right when they said it in the 60's. Honestly, I don't know. But even if that's not the case, and even if I'm wrong in that this is the generation where it's finally true, it will eventually be true. Through the process of people improving their situation and becoming more successful, there will eventually be more people who are pampered than those who are not. I think we're getting closer and closer to that, if we're not there already. Why am I so judgmental against that type of person? Because that's who I used to be. That's why I started this post by mentioning the incredibly poor judgement of myself and my parents. I was brought up in a comfortable first world environment as well, so I get it. I wasn't at all prepared for adulthood either. I understand. Then one day I suddenly became homeless and had to do a lot of growing up in a very short amount of time and honestly I think I'm better off having been through that.

[QUOTE=J Paul;48894465] Why am I so judgmental against that type of person? Because that's who I used to be. That's why I started this post by mentioning the incredibly poor judgement of myself and my parents. I was brought up in a comfortable first world environment as well, so I get it. I wasn't at all prepared for adulthood either. I understand. Then one day I suddenly became homeless and had to do a lot of growing up in a very short amount of time and honestly I think I'm better off having been through that.[/QUOTE] You're an awesome guy for pulling yourself out of that, but historically speaking, MOST people who go homeless never get out and never get tougher for it. Statistically speaking, you're rare and that's great for you, but be real, and understand that just because you got tough from being homeless, also realize that millions every year never leave that situation, die in that situation, or decide that they're fine, and won't be contributing to society. You can, and should feel proud of having dragged yourself out of that hell. But don't pretend that it's going to happen for most people, or that any generation was categorically as strong as you might be.

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;48894487]You're an awesome guy for pulling yourself out of that, but historically speaking, MOST people who go homeless never get out and never get tougher for it. Statistically speaking, you're rare and that's great for you, but be real, and understand that just because you got tough from being homeless, also realize that millions every year never leave that situation, die in that situation, or decide that they're fine, and won't be contributing to society. You can, and should feel proud of having dragged yourself out of that hell. But don't pretend that it's going to happen for most people, or that any generation was categorically as strong as you might be.[/QUOTE] Oh, yeah sorry if I wasn't being very clear. I didn't mean that everyone can pull themselves out of it. Kinda my whole point was that everyone isn't meant to be, nor is it even possible for everyone to be successful. Some people must fail. Not everyone will make it. In fact, for the level of success experienced in first world countries to be possible, [I]lots[/I] of people need to fail to make that happen. The fact that we train everyone to think nowadays that everyone is successful, everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets a pat on the back and a good job for everything, it just doesn't prepare you for the eventuality of adulthood where you realize that most people aren't that successful and that you're lucky to even be alive.

[QUOTE=J Paul;48894554]Oh, yeah sorry if I wasn't being very clear. I didn't mean that everyone can pull themselves out of it. Kinda my whole point was that everyone isn't meant to be, nor is it even possible for everyone to be successful. Some people must fail. Not everyone will make it. In fact, for the level of success experienced in first world countries to be possible, [I]lots[/I] of people need to fail to make that happen.[/QUOTE] Why do you think a lot of people need to fail in order to maintain our level of success?

[QUOTE=itisjuly;48894594]Why do you think a lot of people need to fail in order to maintain our level of success?[/QUOTE] I don't think there is enough resources for everyone to have all of the comforts of the first world. Only a select portion of the population has had the comforts of the first world and only for maybe a few centuries at most, and just for that select few to live that way, it has required us to cause so much damage to the environment that we really don't even know how long we can sustain this, much less elevate everyone else in the world to this level. Can't have a master without a servant. We can't all be kings. It just doesn't work that way. At least I don't think it does. Even cheap plastic crap requires sweatshop labor to produce it.

[QUOTE=itisjuly;48894594]Why do you think a lot of people need to fail in order to maintain our level of success?[/QUOTE] I mean, that much is obvious. Society [I]needs[/I] people in low level service positions and/or otherwise shitty jobs.

we really should stop considering being in a low level position as failure

[QUOTE=Ninja Gnome;48894973]we really should stop considering being in a low level position as failure[/QUOTE] Gotta live the ~American dream~, right? Honestly as long as people aren't leeching off society/their parents and they're happy, I'd consider that "success" regardless of their job.

[QUOTE=Dr. Evilcop;48896022]Gotta live the ~American dream~, right? Honestly as long as people aren't leeching off society/their parents and they're happy, I'd consider that "success" regardless of their job.[/QUOTE] What constitutes "leeching" exactly? I'm just curious. Because there's way too many Americans who consider kids still living with their parents leeching, which is fucking ridiculous considering the majority of human societies worldwide don't have this bizarre concept of "you must leave home and become independent by the time you're 18 or 21". Families stick together and contribute together, which actually makes sense to do-- especially at this time in history when future prospects for people in this country suck as badly as they do. I never have understood why Americans are this way, but we are. We're stupid about a lot of things though, so what's this then but one more thing to be stupid about? I go back home and spend time with my family continuously because I love them, they're old and won't be around forever, they need help and attention to make their lives easier and to fight loneliness, and I also prefer being at home with them (it's just comforting). They help me when I need help, I help them when they need help; it's a great system for everyone, and this is how things should be: parents care for the children, children care for the parents.