Im 19 and have recently became completely unsure what do do with my life. I know I have a long time to figure this out but I am a unique thinker. I have been partying and enjoying my life as much as possible all though out high school and have had more fun than ever. Now that I am done with high school I recently got a full time job which was good enough so support myself with.I was working five days a week, making what is good money in my town even for an adult. The job was easy, I still had fun when I wasn't working, and everything was good. Then I quit and I have realized I can't just waste my whole life working for people doing things I don't REALLY want to do, I have to do something bigger."Life is too short." I am a hard worker and a fast learner. I also consider myself to be pretty intelligent, but I have no real desire to work for anyone and no money or desire to try to start my own thing. My personal goal isn't to get a high paying office job or own a thriving business but to become the healthiest and most educated person I can become and help others do the same, and it is very hard for me to understand how a high paying office job or any job doing pointless work can satisfy so many other people. With such little money my whole life I put almost no value on money and more value on people and the bonds I can share with them. Shouldn't people be able to become the best they can, idividually and as a whole without being held back by lack of money?If people were completely free to become the best they can become, wouldn't the people that are happy being bankers still be happy, better, bankers. And for all the people that didn't want to become bankers at all, there would be tons of highly skilled workers in all different kinds of positions. A person can't go to college without money, and can't get a job without going to college now and days. Is there no value for self education? This might be why our generation listens to everything any "officials" tell the without question. Don't you see a huge problem in the way we are living all living?

anything that might clear my mind up or head me in any kind of direction is appreciated

Im 19 and have recently became completely unsure what do do with my life. I know i have a long time to figure this out but i am a very unique thinker. I have been partying and enjoying my life as much as possible all though out high school and have had more fun than ever. Now that I am done with high school i recently got a full time job which was good enough so support myself with.I was working five days a week, making what is good money in my town even for an adult. The job was easy, I still had fun when I wasn't working, and everything was good. Then I quit and I have realized I can't just waste my whole life working for people doing things i don't REALLY want to do, i have to do something bigger."Life is too short." I am a hard worker and a fast learner. I also consider myself to be pretty intelligent, but i have no real desire to work for anyone and no money or desire to try to start my own thing. My personal goal isn't to get a high paying office job or own a thriving business but to become the healthiest and most educated person i can become and help others do the same, and it is very hard for me to understand how a high paying office job or any job doing pointless work can satisfy so many other people. With such little money my whole life i put almost no value on money and more value on people and the bonds i can share with them. Shouldn't people be able to become the best they can, idividually and as a whole without being held back by lack of money?If people were completely free to become the best they can become, wouldn't the people that are happy being bankers still be happy, better, bankers. And for all the people that didn't want to become bankers at all, there would be tons of highly skilled workers in all different kinds of positions. a person can't go to college without money, and can't get a job without going to college now and days. Is there no value for self education? this might be why our generation listens to everything any "officials" tell the without question. Don't you see a huge problem in the way we are living all living?

anything that might clear my mind up or head me in any kind of direction is appreciated

Fact of life... you ARE free to be whatever you want... but you AREN'T entitled to make a lot of money doing something that is of little to no value to other people. That money has to come from someplace... and it should be self supporting whatever it is. Nobody should be entitled to support, nor should anyone be forced to pay it.

Issue with self education many times is like representing yourself in court. The old saying goes, While you COULD do it, you would have a fool for a client. Too many people are so self absorbed they actually believe they know everything there is to know... need an example, talk to any recent college or high school graduate. They will tell you they know everything they need to know, reality dictates however... the real education BEGINS when you get into the workplace. It takes little time to understand how little you really know about anything coming out of high school or even college. BUT a structured education does teach you an important lesson, you do learn the basics you need to know, but it also teaches you how to learn more in that field. You can't properly teach yourself about something you know nothing about. You need someone who already knows a lot about it to pass on that knowledge. Self education does have many inhearant disadvantages.

Another example... do you actually believe a recent college graduate, deserves the same money as anyone who has been working and learning the details of the field for say... 20 years for example? Why, the recent college grad doesn't know a fraction of what the 20 year seniority guy does... thus doesn't have the same value to the employer.

Say your passion is making Liver Donuts... with Cherry Icing. You are passionate about them... do you deserve a 6 digit income making them if nobody else wants them? Of course not. You are still free to make them, just your income will be limited to what the portion of the public that likes Liver Donuts with Cherry Icing thinks its worth to them.

gmunny has put a fair summery of my core belief.

Except I was not deluded enough to expect to be financially sound living in that manner.
"I was deluded enough to think it might be changed. For a while. " (edit)

It's the price you pay for the lifestyle.
No one knows this better than I do.
I have 50+ years experience.

Unfortunately we all have to do jobs we don't necessarily like doing to enable us to live, by doing so we are able to spend some of our time enjoying the things we do like to do.

The only way many of us could be free to do as we wish with our lives the whole time, is if we came into a vast amount of money which would hold us in good stead, providing a firm foundation for us to complete our ambitions in life.

No, this is not how it should be,but life is a learning curve which will provide you with many different experiences throughout your life,these, you will be able to draw on over the years allowing you to make many decisions on lifes journey.


If everything was provided for you,why bother to do anything! Respect and knowledge has to be earned over many years this will give you standing within any community enabling you to go down your chosen route in life.

Self education is just that, for yourself, and while it makes you a better person, there is no proof to society that it makes you better for them.

And often it is the hard work, the experience in life that those who merely go for self realization don't find, since they miss out of the problems in life and the challenges one over comes

And sadly depending on the party and the fun you want to have, it all takes money, unless you live in the wilderness you will have to pay rent, have to buy food, and other things.

If you want to go to the beach to surf, you have to own those things and have a way to get there. I enjoy music, guitars cost money. Happiness comes from discovering what you want to do, and what makes you happy, and doing that to earn the level of income you need to live a life style you want.

If you want a one bedroom trailer that leaks in the rain, or a nice apartment or a 4 bedroom home on a lake, that is your choice of how hard you wish to work or what carrer you want to do.

I loved my time in law enforcement, would not have ever changed, but it never paid the big bucks so I gave up the large houses and cars for a job I wanted.

So you have to find a balance between what you want, material in life, and what you are willing to give of yourself for that

Gmunny, I know exactly where you are coming from. While I'm considerably older than you and have had more life experiences than I would have liked to, I would suggest to you to look at where you don't want to be first. Be very clear about it. Don't pressure yourself to find the answers in one day, especially when it comes to questioning life itself.

There is nothing wrong with living a modest life and still enjoying what it has to offer. Education is very valuable on both a personal level and monetarily in the long run. However, your personal happiness needs to be at the forefront of your decisions or you may have regret later in life. Take your time, but don't waste it away either.

Just because you don't want to start your own business right now doesn't mean that it won't happen in the future. You sound like you have some of the attributes of an entrepreneur and I wouldn't mark it off just yet. You probably haven't found what makes you truly happy yet.