pull down to refresh
thanks for the replies @monerostar and @XMR_plug.
i get survival skills like cooking. i just do not like it.
the walks and "view the world on better terms" part is not what i meant.
right now it feels like i have to pick what i will be for the rest of my life, and if i pick wrong the whole thing is wasted. that is the part that is eating me.
"tough sell for your parents" you got the main problem and that is an understatement.
college is non-negotiable. they only agreed to this gap year with terms. so i am trying to decide fast what to do.
even thinking some kind of military just to be able to move out and they teach you stuff. hate that this is on the list. still on it.
It's insane you're seriously treating the military like a trade school with free housing. It isn't there to teach you "stuff," it's a meatgrinder refined over centuries to turn young men into cogs. Each of them thought they'd stay themselves, each one of them either come out a soldier or it takes a piece of you -- moral, physical, or both. If you think you'll find a clever way through, you won't. I had a short mandatory stretch, no contract, young and stupid, figured I'd play with real guns and maybe learn the machines. I spent more time being punished than not. Health problems after.
Don't be a fucking idiot! Tell your friend to get the fuck out of that contract too. If your big problem right now is your annoying mom: you can walk out of your house. There, leaving is a criminal offense. You'll dream about the days when arguing at home was the worst thing in your life.
Read this. Say you read it. At least think. Reading the contract won't save you -- they had lawyers and years to write it. Even if you spot a clause, you are not the one who gets to change it. Get that plan out of your head.
To the actual question: right now I'm working on a pilot license, plus biology and chemistry. Telling you that only to show we all have our own reasons to learn things. Learn what feels like yours.
damn I’d much prefer my kid go to the trades over the military. a lot of military ppl end up going to the trades after. the military does have its benefits but with so many wars going on it’s scary. you can go to college for le trades but it’s not a requirement so that may help.
I agree with @xmr_plug my kids would not go into the military over a technical school for a skilled trade.
I'm not sure how military and skilled trades work in your country. I'm unfortunately Canadian hoping soon just an Albertan though.
If there is a path through Military that allows you to pursue one of the easier paths that is more technical and out of the war aspects that is legit.
Your job should be in this gap year then to gather all the information and present your cases to your parents.
They only hold their future in their hands if you don't fight for it or give them a reason not to.
If my kid came to me with a well thought out plan if respect that and the man he is becoming.
If there is a path through Military that allows you to pursue one of the easier paths that is more technical and out of the war aspects that is legit.
+1 on that ^^ line.
if there is a legit technical path through the military: signals, comms, mechanics, med, tech, logistics, cyber, whatever the local names are. A trade school with a uniform. But read the contract like it is hostile: they teach you a trade but they will own you...
Before you consider the military, consider the UCMJ. Has lots of fun stuff in it like article 134 the general article. Basically a catch all law that means they can prosecute you for nearly everything whether it's explicitly against the rules or not. You'll also have at least 4 years of no control over where you live, where you work, who you work with, who your boss is. Your first two years will most likely be as a glorified janitor for at least a third of the time. The military incentivizes most good and talented people to leave it so that means the people above you will likely be dumb, of low character, or have a lack of planning ability. Also, the US hasn't fought a single war since its founding on behalf of the betterment of its citizens. Maybe you could argue the First Barbary War, American Indian Wars, and the War of 1812. All the others are pretty objectively not in the interest of the US and are in the interest of the high echelons of the American empire. The US has never fought a defensive war pertaining to a threat on actual US soil and citizens in the 20th century. In Afghanistan the US allied with warlord pedophiles against religious fundamentalists. Those warlords engaged in a practice called bacha bazi which is the rape of young boys. The US military instructed service members to turn a blind eye to this and threatened to punish them if they spoke out or attempted to intervene. Furthermore, the recent wars have been revealed (even within popular discourse) to be based on bullshit. Ask any sand wars veteran if it was worth watching his friends get killed for the end result produced.
I recommend getting a job like construction or something (relatively high pay low barrier to entry), getting a small place on your own, and working towards a trade or your own business.
Also, plenty of people switch careers or switch what they do within a career. A career choice doesn't have to be a life sentence. You're not at the end of your life as an adult, you're at the beginning.
Consider checking this out. I still have to, but it seems up your alley:
https://www.amazon.com/Preparation-Become-Competent-Confident-Dangerous/dp/B0FLRKZCKL
yeah. thank you @OldNorseAnarchist and @samourai . looking at it again the military thought was a panic door. idk why it looked like an option for a second. i see the consensus here is it is worse shit, and my friend who was going that way is not sure anymore either. i am actually looking at living with roommates. checking out your video now.
You can't say survival skills and do not like it in the same sentence.
You are young I get it but the reality is life is hard and you will have to do plenty of things in life you do not like.
Those things will make your life better.
That's where you learn to be resilient, gain confidence and overcome things.
If you had all of those you wouldn't be wandering aimlessly like you are now.
Learning isn't easy.
What you need to learn to do is to try and push through.
As for having to pick.
Pffttt that's BS you don't have to pick shit.
Be whatever you want to be.
I'm on my 5th career in my life. I've lost more money than you could imagine and started over 3 times.
If you are a young man what you need is a trade where you use your hands and you are out in the world. HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more. Those are all excellent hands on careers for men.
Go the STEM route and you will be set for life.
You will learn and earn forever.
i get that life is hard and that you had to start over more than once that part actually helps. thanks.
survival and liking it are not the same thing. i will do the stuff that keeps me alive. i just do not want that to be the whole answer.
"be whatever you want" is the part that does not fit my situation. college is non-negotiable. mom only agreed to this gap year with terms. so i am trying to decide fast.
as i said, even thinking some kind of military just to be able to move out. seems like military will stay relevant as long as there are nation-states. a friend decided to go that route and do some drone stuff. does not feel right.
You don't learn new things just to learn them you learn them to make your life better.
Learn to cook a new meal, learn to be consistent and go for walks, learn how to view the world on a better term.
You sound like you are pinning learning to some degree or some societal expectation of what you are suppose to learn. Don't buy into that pressure. Life isn't suppose to be a pressure cooker like that.
When in reality you could just go out and learn.
Everyday I wake up and I learn and I'm 45.
I learn something about my family, house, yard, my computers, my fitness, my health and more.
I'm always learning.
But that is my mindset and I do it for myself not anyone else.
So maybe start small and do something you like already. Just try to learn something new about it everyday.