Finishing School, Overcoming Addiction, and Reaching Financial Indepdence

[DrSeuss]

Hello,

I'm 25 and I have recently sobered up from smoking cannabis all day every day. I'm about 2 years from graduating and 6 years from FI if I stay focused. I'd have to pay rent if I wasn't studying but I feel school is making it harder to stay sober.

For a while I felt isolated and like I'm wasting my life. My addiction costs at most, 200/yr since I have access to sunshine and soil but the time and energy lost is of far higher value than that.

The first few weeks of sobriety were easy, then I started class again and I've had more moments of stress, overwhelm, anxiety, and doubt.

Honestly, I know the best step is probably to stay focused, keep saving for FI, and finish my classes but I'm hoping for some wisdom on this doubt I'm facing.

tldr: Feeling doubt on school and feeling like building up support network, sobering up, and healing are of higher value but my extremely low cost, high savings are partially dependent upon my studying.

Mainly-how do I overcome this constant doubting of school so I can focus on studying and sobering up?

 

[rodi]

You've got a great start to saving/planning for the future, financially. Kicking addiction is hard and you need to be mindful to stay the path. Are you in any kind of a 12 step program or other type recovery program?

 

[DrSeuss]

Thanks Rodi. You're not the first person this week to tell me that mindfulness is something I'd benefit from focusing on.

I'm currently in a weekly recovery group, getting weekly counseling, and updating a friend daily on whether I was sober.

I tried a 12 step program but it didn't feel right for me so I found another recovery group that feels more congruent.

 

[eta2020]

Is this some Troll activity?

"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities."

Dr. Seuss

 

[DrSeuss]

No, more feeling stressed and doubt.

Doubt on sobriety comes and goes but it's easier for me to see through that since I have a cost-benefit analysis taped up on my door.

Doubting school has been consistent for me for a while now but I feel almost cornered into it and I'm seeing if anyone can shine some wisdom into my situation.

 

[RobbieB]

I dunno.

When I was going to school we (me and my buddies) drank alcohol regularly and ate all the drugs we could get our hands on. We all graduated with the degrees we started out on and are all millionaires now.

My buddy referred to it as "maintaining", party to the max but you still have to study enough to pass the tests and not flunk out. I graduated with a degree in electrical engineering and GPA of 2.4.

I had a lot of fun -

 

[ivinsfan]

What kind of addiction cost 200 dollars a year? Your entire post is confusing and hard to follow.

What kind of help are you looking for from forum members, because you really didn't ask any questions.

 

[DrSeuss]

Thanks RobbieB! I think maybe my expectations of my grades and actually mastering the material may be too high then.

Ivinsfan, thanks for the pointer, I reread it and edited it to make it more focused on the specific challenge I'm seeking help with here. I don't purely consume but grow so it costs me under 200 instead of several thousand.

 

[RobbieB]

Glad to be of service!

Early on we figured out that there were 2 ways of addressing school;

1) Study as hard and as long as possible to maximize the GPA
2) Study as little as possible to just pass the tests to maximize the party time

 

[DrSeuss]

I'm pretty sure I've been of the first way too long. I think it'd be manageable if I switched to the 2nd way.

I'm noticing some guilt thinking about making the jump and getting my first C's but there's so many more important things than studying.

 

[ivinsfan]

So you live at home and you must have done your growing at home and since it was a constant habit your parents must know all about it.

It sounds as if you can live at home, make a great part time wage as long as your parents believe you are in college.Have you brought your parents into the discussion about school..you are 25 and have 2-3 years remaining are you going for a masters degree? I hope that part of help you are getting includes a trained psychiatrist for the best possible starting point to help you focus.

 

[pb4uski]

....Mainly-how do I overcome this constant doubting of school so I can focus on studying and sobering up?

Finishing your education simply increases your likelihood of future financial success. There are all sorts of examples out there of people with little education that were highly successful and people with great degrees from prestigious schools who struggle in their careers... but, a degree increases your chances... from there, the rest is up to you... but you already know that.

Median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 25 and older with less than a high school diploma were $488 in 2014. The median for workers with a high school diploma only (no college) was $668 per week, and the median for those with at least a bachelor's degree was $1,193 per week.

Median weekly earnings by educational attainment in 2014 : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

[rodi]

Ok - now that I know what the addiction is... My words of advise are: don't try to study when baked. I speak from experience. Get your studying done first, before you light up.

But then again - pot effects different people, different ways. For me, it made me stupid and sleepy. It did not enhance my concentration or ability to understand and retain material.

And don't drop out of school for pot!