Feeling a bit depressed ...

[sfmini]

Aren't you close to ATI in Wooster? Affiliated with Ohio State as a 2 year college and they have a good Equine program. Then, if you decide you want your bachelors you can move on to the main campus to finish that. They are all right, unless you are in a trade, or up in a management position you won't earn diddly. Also, you will be working nights and weekends. Also beware of some of the trades, the bottom can drop out fast and leave you unemployed after a life of work.

I work to live, not live to work so my choice serves me well. At the max I was getting $100 per week plus room and board, and no horse, no insurance, no unemployment since it was cash under the table, which meant no payments into Social Security as well.....

You don't have to decide right away, take some time, but just because you don't know what you want to do, don't let that stop you from going. Most freshmen change majors a couple of times as they are exposed to new possiblities they had not considered. That time in college is a tiny part of your life and can set the tone for the majority of the years you live.

 

[Watcheye]

OMG this is a sad reminder of so many things that go through my head. :no: I myself have been fighting depression over this kind of stuff. This thread did nothing to boost my spirits let me tell you. I currently live with my mom and go to a 4 year college... I am FOREVER worried that I am making the right decisions to get out and live on my own with my horses. I want to get a good job and worry that unless I do something amazing Im going to hit a dead end. Due to recent events though, I tend to be a bit negative so it should be alright for you.

Alright as far as the Michigan stuff goes... I live here. I understand the complaints of Michigan. I also LOVE Michigan. Especially northern MI. It gives me inspiration. I love the woods and I love the lakes. I love the beaches and the scenery. I go to a beatiful school here too.

Well I dont think I helped much but I have been going through a lot of that type of stuff.

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I would prefer, if you were my daughter, that you go to some kind of school for some advanced training in a field that could support you if you were to be injured and unable to work with horses for the rest of your life.

Ky.Equine program is good, but most grads only go on to work on horse farms as grooms. Maybe eventually work up to something else, but 6 months education is no substitute for a lifetime of work with horses and a college degree to go with it! Most of the farm managers on the horse farms in Ky. have a background of horses, plus that college degree! With that said, if you absolutely do not want to go on to school, how about the racetrack? You will get your fill there of cleaning stalls, grooming, bathing, and taking care of some of the most expensive horses in the world. You will also become acquainted with all sorts of people from all over the world from royalty to drug addicts, and worse.

My oldest daughter felt much the same way you do now, but went on to college. She went to work for a QH trainer while in high school and in college. She "graduated" to a TB farm, where she was the only female allowed to care for the farm's most expensive and valued TB mares. One day, she woke up and decided she didn't want to be 40 and shoveling poop for a living in all kinds of weather. She went right out and got a job in an office.

 

[KenBen]

I myself worked for 2 years after graduating from highschool and then went back to collage. I don't know about the States, but up here in Canada with the babyboomers starting to retire there is becoming a great shortage of tradespeople. If you could hire on and apprentice with someone in a field you like you could earn money at the same time as you work your way towards a licensed tradesperson. With the high cost of education today this may be another route to follow. I also agree that not everyone can go to Collage or University. My daughter never finished her highschool and after getting married and 2 kids later got her upgrading and finished her course in working at Senior Homes and now is working.

Ken

 

[Ashley]

I am almost 22. I have been at my job for 3.5 years. I started it a month after my 18th birthday. To this day the biggest regret I have is not going to school.

Even if it is only a 2 year go for something. If you dont you will regret it later. A joe shmo job is fine, but now a days, that income isnt gonna be enough to get you by, especially haveing horses. I highly recommend going to school no matter how much you dont want to.

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Ashley, thanks for posting this! This is exactly what leeana needs to hear. The Joe Schmo minimum wage job isnt going to get you the little house with the barn and horses. Morgages even for the little houses are several hundred dollars a month not to mention taxes , utilities, food... and thats just for you not horses too. You like to use the computer so maybe some job programing , a trade school to teach that.... My son in law did that and he went from a minimum wage job to 18 dollars an hour two years later. The school cost him about 10.000. to attend which he had student loans to help with. He owned his own house since he was 20. It is tiny, less than 1000 square feet but he paid 50,000 for it 4 years ago and now it was assessed at 73. He didnt go to college but went to the computer school at night while he worked his low end job. He married my daughter two years ago and both their cars are paid for, all they owe is on the house. It can be done but....this is a little house in the city not a little house on a farm. I think Leeana your goals are unrealistic for the plans you are making. Do as Ashley says and go to whatever school you can now.[/SIZE]

The days are getting longer, spring will come and you will be less depressed.

Seasonal Affective Disorder hits lots of us in the winter . The less light we have the more depressed we feel Thats a very real thing. But it does get better.

Lyn

 

[jdomep]

Don't ever let a horse stand in the way of your education.

Go to college and get a great education.

Horses will always be available to you when you get out, and so will a good paying job with a future that will enable you to wear jeans and buy your own place.

College Education = Good job

Farm

Horses

A Joe Schmoe job = lots of struggling to get by......

I am sorry but I TOTALLY agree with Marty. The only I ever dreamed of when I was a child was horses and my dad promised me when I turned 16 and drove he'd get me one - he did

- and I Loved my Mystery Image so much

: but when it came time for college I knew he'd have to go (though I tried to talk dad into letting me take him to Tennessee with me I lived in Florida ) I sold him and left for school in August of '83. Missed him SO much but got a great education - moved to PA worked a few years then got my horses again and now I am living the dream - on my little farm with a great hubby, house full of boys and yep my horses and donkeys (okay the donkeys were never part of that dream but they sure are now!)

Did you ever look into Massage Therapy (I did this as a second job for awhile because I like going to school

: ) Us riders need good massages too LOL

Do what is best for you and I hope a nice warm clear spring day will help

:

 

[pepperhill]

I guess I would encourage you to at least do SOMETHING in the way of education. Four year, two year, 6 months, whatever. It is funny how one day you might be slogging along, working at TSC and taking one lousy night course at a community college, when BAM. It hits you. You hear about something that really interests you. Maybe its another class in animal husbandry, or a computer class designing web pages, how about being a large animal vet tech? The thing is, if you are just working the daily grind, clock in, clock out, clock in........., you won't be in an environment where you will see these opportunities. You will be doing the same thing over and over again. Go ahead and get the job at TSC, but one night a week, show up for that class. While you are there you will meet all kinds of people interested in the same things you are. These people can be your connections to a great job later on in your life. Jump out of your fishbowl! There is a big ol' world out there and you can discover it just by taking a class or two. Best wishes in this stressful time! You will make it!

 

[Leeana]

I will have to keep looking into colleges.

There are so many jobs that i would LOVE to do, i might even wait untill i'm 20 or something.

But what is a trade school? I've heard of them all the time but what is it.

Leeana

OH YEAH, I like Michigan because its all wilderness almost, its beautiful. Im a KY and MI kind of girl i guess

:.

 

[chandab]

we all need to remember that college is not for everyone. If leanna WANTED to go to college i would be the first to say GO!! But getting a good job does not always equal a college degree. My husband doesnt have a college degree and makes more then our friends who do have one. My daughter who has always been college material just dropped out of a 4 year private college (after 3 years!!) that i paid thousands of dollars to send her to. Shes now taking a paralegal course UGHHHHHHHHH. For sure you need to know what you really want to do first and save yourself the heartache and lost money and time. to be successful you need to do somethign you love and are passionate about.

I really wish that we were more like our friends overseas where kids take a year off before they head to college. I think if my daughter had done that she might have had a clearer idea of what she wanted to do before she jumped into a 4 year college.

Leanna keep in mind that very few people really know what they want to do at 18. And most will change their minds many times during their working years

Also I have a friend in illinois that works at Big R (same thing as TSC) she makes a pretty dang good living

I dont think she would consider what she does as being "menial" She started at the bottom and worked her way up.

Kay

:aktion033: :aktion033: :aktion033:

Well said.

I do have a college degree and I'm not using it. I married a rancher and live 40 miles out in the country, so too far to work any town jobs (I live in the middle of nowhere, so even town jobs don't pay great - not enough for wear and tear on a vehicle and gas for that much mileage). I'm happy having my horses, my little eBay quilt supply business and my husband (I do help with the ranch work as much as I can - love to bottle feed those calves, when necessary).

 

[~LadyBug~]

Get a college education. I agree completely with everyone that is pushing you to go.

I am 17 years old. I graduated high school when I had just turned 16, and went right on to become a Certified Equine Sports Massage Therapist. I started working for my local vet clinic under the table at age 13, and by the time I was 15 I was hired at another clinic. I thought I was going to go to school to become a licensed vet tech, but long story and circumstances changed that.

I am now employed on a huge Standardbred race horse stud farm as a foaling technician. Ive got 150 mares there to foal out and I'm loving every minute of being in the stud farm setting.

I am proud to say that this August I start my college education (on top of the ESMT certification) at Midway college in KY (Heart of thoroughbred country right by KY horse park) Majoring in Equine Business Management. It is a 4 year bachelors degree.

Look into the colleges that you are interested in, dont worry about the cost. If you really put everything into it you will be surprised what financial aid and scholarships you can come up with. Just by getting straight A's in high school, I am one of Midways freshmen Presidential Scholars and $20,000 was knocked off my tuition just like that.

You can write essays for scholarships, etc. I am also going to be part of the International Horse Show Associations Hunter Jumper team at this school. I will be in the scholarship program for that too, which will help.

Dont forget about Federal and State Aid.

My last mini will be leaving in a few weeks, and my rodeo horses are all sold. All I am keeping is one Hunter so I can keep riding my selected dicipline over the summer so I dont get rusty. Selling the horses was a sacrafice I made for my future. Even though I have a very good job right now, Its not enough to support me and my horses when I'm on my own.

The reality of life is that you cant work a minimum wage job in tractor supply and buy yourself a house property barn etc.....let alone be able to properly care for your horses. If horses is what you really want your future to be, letting go now might be the only way to see that turn into a reality.

Good luck in whatever you decide.