Need Some Advice...

[Roxyluvsme13]

Bri - it's not really any of my business, but what do you plan to do with your time off before/if you go back to school? Get a job??? - if so - in what field that will allow you to support yourself? Get married or co-habitate??? - does your BF have a good job and can he support the two of you and your animals, and God forbid - any children that come along?

I've been around a lot of years, and have seen girls with the same plans/ideas, that you have now. All good intentions and they look great when put on paper, but ones that almost never work out. Unless you're fortunate enough to step in doo-doo and come out smelling like a rose, then these are all just grand plans - ones that never work out as you just knew they would.

But if your mind is made up and you won't consider any of the advice that has been given to you here, then there's really no sense in beating a dead horse. Most of the people that have offered you advice here (and you did ask for advice), have a lot of years experience under their belts and really do know what they're talking about. Life is difficult enough, without making it more so, and we all just hate to see you throw it all away - for what???

It will be interesting to see just where you are 5 years from now. I hope it's in a good place and you are happy with the decisions that you are making today.

Good luck!

I'm not getting married till Summer 2014. Well, right before Summer 2014 in June unless something comes up and we have to move it to a later date . I'm going to get a job (or two) and save money in my time off so I can relocate.

Michael had a job when he moved in with me (due to him getting kicked out of his house) but had to leave that job as it was a 40 minute drive from where he was relocating to. So he's on the job hunt with me.

I don't see how any of this is throwing my life away because I'm still going to school and getting a degree, I just need time off... I wish people would stop doubting me as they've always done and have a little faith that I'll actually do something, because I know I will.

Thanks for the good luck and advice.

Finish your semester. That's what I did at Kent State. I finished it out with the best I could and then I took a 3 months break, then applied to Ohio State. Everything worked out on its own after that.

Alright I'm going to sound old here. I met my boyfriend in college also. But that was in 2007, I was 23 and he was 24. Almost 6 years later down the road, to today, I'm 28 and he's about to turn 29. We now live together. We have been living together for almost 9 months. Are we engaged? No. Not yet. It's in the plans, probably next year. We are not in a rush, but I know it will be soon because we have talked A LOT about it - type of wedding, rings, etc. We took our time, PAINFULLY slow! It was a really good thing what we did because we've learned SO MUCH about each other every day. I'm very happy. So is he.

But hey, you know, I'm not going to lie, that first year I met him, my grades fell. I spent EVERY free time I had with Mike, and that wasn't smart. I just got too wrapped up with being in a new relationship and being with this amazing, wonderful man. It was my fault, so what did I do? I realized I couldn't change what happened so I got back on the horse & bounced back and got those grades up and did so much better. I realized, it was FOR ME, not for him. Now what do I do? I graduated with a degree in Art in 2009, took me a while to finish school because of switching schools & juggling my grades. But I FINISHED college. I even thought of dropping out. When I think about that now, geez, what the freak was I thinking? I was not thinking clear back then.

I PROMISE it will get so much better down the road, JUST do what is right for you at this moment. I can see you are doing that already so do not lose focus of what YOU truly want in life.

Hope I made sense! I just feel like I have been in your shoes, just... be careful. Don't put all your eggs in one basket! I am just wondering, how long have you been dating Michael?

You and Mike are adorable btw .

I'm definitely going to finish. Michael lives with me, as I just said, so I see him pretty much 24/7 anyway. He's always, always told me I need to finish school and I will... just not at UT. I know that I can do better in vet tech school because I'm fairly certain that I'll be happier there since it's what I want to do. I just feel like I'm getting nowhere near my goals at UT.

Thanks for the support, Rachel!

I will be careful. We've been dating almost 5 months. But like I said, no marriage till at least Summer 2014.

One of my teachers in the vet tech program I went through (The top one in CA and one of the best nationwide) was in charge of intake for vet school at UC Davis for years. He said that he ALWAYS loved to see on vet school applications that someone had been an RVT, since they then had a much better idea of what they were getting into, as well as knowing that they could handle the job.

There are a LOT of things you can do with a degree as an RVT. I manage a retail pet store. Other people who graduated with me are pet food representatives, going to vet school, dog trainers, running a doggie day-care, one is a feline behaviorist, one works in a local kid's zoo, at least one works for fish and game, and one is in further training to become an "animal cop". This is just people that I know of, in ONE graduating class of vet techs. There is no end to the places that this could be a starting point for...

Personally, I went through somehting somewhat similar with vet tech school. I got to within a month of graduating, and realized tha the job was pure hell for me. People in the veterinary field suffer from burnout and compassion fatigue, and in my area one of the results of that problem is that people in the veterinary field here are VICIOUS to one another. It was always ALWAYS the vets vs the techs vs the kennel people vs the receptionists. My sister in law has a thick skin and handles it all with grace. I do not, and I did not. I found myself riding my motorcycle to work one day thinking "Gosh I hope a car runs me over so I don't have to go in today", and I quit the next day.

I may not be making a ton of money managing a feed store, but I love it, and I feel like it will look better on my resume later to have been a successful manager of a retail store than to have been a failure as a vet tech.

Random: I met my husband while I was in vet tech school, got engaged three weeks later, and married less than a year after that...our relationship had nothing to do with my performance or my decision to leave the field, so I have no idea why this keeps being brought up.

That's what I was thinking. If I do decide to become a vet later on down the road, then I can always take some extra courses and apply later.

Thanks for sharing your story, and I'm glad you are happy doing what you do!