Posts by William Collins11

Patrick Wright2 said:Rade General Electric? 🤣

Hahaha, oh my goodness... 😂😂😂😂😂:lol :

Goodness, I actually laughed out loud—it certainly isn't General Electric.

Iskra

Uh... absolutely. I actually have two names—my first one is a common American word that also happens to be the name of a major appliance manufacturer. Back in seventh grade, kids used to give me a hard time constantly; they’d call me Dishwasher or Toaster and things like that. My second name is much more international—it's recognized everywhere.

You get through it. Though it can be pretty exhausting.

Nowadays, I actually like my name and wouldn't change it for anything.

Daniel Foster86 said:It just hit me—we are basically the ones setting our own limits. Think back to when you were kids, maybe even in elementary school. What did you actually want to be? What was the dream? For me, throughout my education, I had this deep, genuine love for music. I wanted to make a career out of it, and honestly, I still would if I could. But then the voices start creeping in. All that subtle persuasion and nagging, like "there's no money in that," or "what are you going to do with a degree in that?" or "you need to find something serious." Blah, blah, blah. So, here I am, working as a teacher in a public school. I don't enjoy this job one bit. It’s a cycle: "Don't do that, it's not a real career"; "Don't act like this, it's not appropriate"; "Get married, John Stewart9, because that's what's expected of you." And just like that, we lose ourselves. We end up mistaking other people's expectations for our own desires, and then we feel miserable. I truly believe those twenties—that identity crisis everyone hits—is meant to be a period of self-reflection. We all go through it. But if we fail that internal evaluation, it feels like we almost *want* to fail, so we can point fingers at the world and blame society for molding us into who we are. Sure, maybe society is partially to blame for planting those false seeds of expectation, but the crucial thing is realizing that we still have agency. We can stomp all over those fake expectations and choose to chase what we actually want. I'll say it again—it isn't easy. But courage isn't really courage unless you face your fears head-on, and effort isn't true effort if you aren't willing to put in the actual work.

Courage is truly necessary—on every level, really. I often wonder where this pressure originates—whether we set these boundaries ourselves or if society imposes them only for us to accept them as "normal." Why does there have to be an age limit for everything? Where exactly is it written that we all need to marry and start families by thirty or thirty-five? Is life somehow over at forty? Are those the years when one is forbidden from falling in love... I think we stress ourselves out far too much with these imposed norms. It’s difficult—especially when you feel somewhat isolated because all your friends are already married with kids and established careers—and then you end up feeling out of place, like you've been left behind.

I am not sure if I am personally experiencing this crisis—but I have realized that I only feel this intense pressure when I am around people who talk about nothing else. When I am alone and reflecting on my own life, I don't feel like I am lagging behind in any way—I truly feel as though my whole life is still ahead of me and there is no need to rush. However, once I catch up with my old high school crowd—most of whom already have kids and established lives—it hits me with this strange sense of urgency. Is it really my time yet? Why does it feel like my time is running out?

I agree with Daniel Foster86—it takes real courage to push back against social pressure and fight for a life that actually makes you happy. I had to find that out for myself during my undergrad years. After freshman year, I walked away from my pre-med track—even though I’d already passed my classes—to pivot into something completely different. It was a field most people looked down on; honestly, they thought it was a total waste of time. The judgment was brutal. People would constantly question my sanity or ask where on earth I expected to find work. But, despite the noise, I truly loved my studies. Today, I have a career I’m passionate about in a field I genuinely adore. Sure, the paycheck isn't exactly breaking the bank—it’s a modest salary by any standard—but money isn't everything. And I refuse to feel like a failure just because others dismiss my profession as "unproductive" compared to the path I could have taken.

I’ve officially entered the latter half of my twenties—and honestly, I think I finally figured out exactly what I *don't* want from life. It feels like a massive turning point—a real fresh start, if you will.
I believe that, eventually, we all hit those rough patches—some people face career setbacks, while others deal with heartache or family friction. In my experience, though, these phases are temporary and tend to resolve themselves over time. I don't view these crises as moments where we need to lay down permanent foundations—as if life were some house we're building. To me, life is simply constant change; anything is possible at any given moment.