GUS UPDATE: He still thumps and runs away when I try to approach him, but will generally stay still after a few tries and stand rigid while I pet him. Hopefully one day he'll realize that I don't mean danger, and stop thumping
. I've also discovered that he'll take oats from my hand, which he won't do with anything else, so I've been trying to do that as often as I can without making him fat!
ME UPDATE: For this, you may need some background information.
When I was younger, I had gotten in with a bad crowd and had started using drugs. To get moneyto supportmy nasty habits, I would regularly steal money from my parent's wallets. I was kicked out at the age of 15.
This led to me dropping out of school, in part because I now needed a full-time job to support myself and also because I wasn't making the best choices at that time in my life. Suffice it to say, I left school with basically a grade 9 education.
Eventually, I did decide to quit drugs on my own when I was 18. I literally decided one day that I just wasn't going to do them any more, and stopped. The withdrawls were terrible, but I never went back. I've been fortunate enough since then to go and speak to groups of children about the horrors of drugs and what they can do to you and I have found it to be quite healing.
Anyway, to get back on topic, I was now 19 with barely any education, working dead end job after dead end job. I had done fast food, warehouse work, retail, and odd jobs, but I decided to follow my passion and find someone who would apprentice me as a tattoo artist. I was able to find someone, and after a very short apprenticeship, a position opened up at the shop I was working at. I became a full time artist and was actually quite good... but all good things must come to an end. The market in the city I live in was poor for tattoos and it takes a long time to build up a decent cliental. It simply was not enough money and the pay was too sporadic. I decided to leave and get a job with a paycheck.
I stopped tattooing five years ago and have since worked a lot of retail. At 23, I finally went back to school and took a course at the local college to get my high school equivalency. It really didn't do much for me but I'm glad I made the effort to get it, and I no longer label myself as a "drop-out". But still, it only gets you so far and I am only qualified for what I'm doing now, which is, you guessed it,retail.
Now I am almost 26 and I've decided to start my life and go back to school, but I'm having a hard time deciding what to take. I don't have the option to take a lousy four-year course that proves to be useless, and then go back for something else. If I take something, it needs to be the final decision of what I want to do with the rest of my life. These are the options so far of what I've been considering and why, and the cons of each:
Veterinary Technician: I love animals, I love science, it is only a two-year course at college.
Cons: The pay averages at $25,000, it's hard to find full-time work, I can be very opinionated if I think I'm right and I'm not sure a vet would appreciate that.
Veterinarian: I love animals, I love science, it pays very well, the hours are good, I can specialize in exotics, I like to be "the boss".
Cons: The schooling is long, I would need to move a couple of hours away for school and I'm sure Rob and I would not stay together if that happened.
Upper Management, retail: Within my comfort zone, I like to sell, I like to be "the boss", taking a short 2-year business course would set me apart, it can pay decently (about $40,000 for the type of store I'm thinking of).
Cons: Extremely stressful, long hours, it's depressing to imagine myself in retail for the rest of my life.
Physiotherapist: I love science, it pays well ($60,000 to start), the hours are good, you can be your own boss and even own your own business.
Cons: Only that the schooling is long -6 years of university plus about 2 years beforehand to get caught up with my prerequisites.
I'm honestly trying to think, If I could be anything in the world, what would it be? But also, what is realistic? I'd love to be a doctor, but is it realistic for me to do that? No.
Anyway, it's all just very depressing and stressful for me right now.
