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And you keep harping on how you are self- supporting, while neglecting to include the fact that you lived at home out of school while saving your money, or that your father gifted you with 20k for the down payment. I've lost count of how many threads you've made saying the same thing, and honestly, nobody cares.
60% or so of my peers are married or engaged and have real jobs. Maybe I should tell them the internet thinks we should quit our jobs and travel to asia to teach English.
I also can't find a single article that points to this apparently common phenomenon of making less than your starting salary.
Given China's role in global economics and commerce, it's not a bad idea to be conversant in Mandarin. Opens doors. Lots of doors. Outside Spanish, Mandarin is the most popular foreign language course offered at our local high school.
Actually, they did send a delegate to call him upstairs. I literally felt like I was back celebrating a high school graduation. Shouldn't one be a bit more of an adult at 22? He isn't "junior" anymore.
The parents invited two separate groups who didn't know each other. His friends didn't know the family, and would never see them again. Why should they let that put a damper on the evening? The parents did a poor job of planning the party. They should have thrown two, one for the relatives and one for the friends. Don't blame the graduate for entertaining his friends; it was his responsibility, just like it was the parents' responsibility to entertain the relatives.
Of course, they could always have invited younger relatives who would have more in common with the graduates, but it sounds like they invited their own generation to the party. It doesn't sound like anyone in that family has much in the way of social sense.
Back to the first question, yes, I think the college graduates should have come upstairs, mingled with the relatives at the party and had some of the graduation cake. But this thread has gone off that topic, so I'd like to respond to some of the other issues.
One, I commend the OP for having her life together: a corporate job, a purchased home, a growing 401K, and an excellent work ethic.
However, what I want to say is that not everybody has the focus as the OP Going abroad teaching English for a year or two in Asia is also a valid choice for a 22 year old. Not only that, not everyone needs to be financially independent at age 40. In my case, I worked as a teacher of English as a second language and never made all that much money, but I found my work very satisfying. I helped a lot of people and learned a lot about other cultures. I truly enjoyed my work. When I saw the improvement and confidence that my students gained from class, what I experienced was complete joy. And this happened at least a few times a week.
By anyone else's measure, I may not be a "success." I did not purchase a home until I reached my 50s and became financially independent in my 60s. Yet, I found time to find a loving husband, pursue my hobbies, hang out with friends and probably would have stayed at the party until 11:00 or 12:00. At 22, losing a few hours of sleep would not have stopped me from getting to work the next day.
We all make our choices and have to live with them. I have no regrets that I did not have it all together at 22. Thankfully, I do have it pretty together at 64. People really do have their own approaches to adulthood. We all get there eventually.
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also how is spending several years at a big company in Ireland any more exciting than working for a fortune 500 in america?
You are seriously asking that question?!?
Yikes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kibbiekat
It's in Ireland.
The OP clearly lives to work, and she does not understand the difference of working and LIVING!
OP, there is SO MUCH MORE to life than just working.
But you "know it all" at 22, so...
I have 3 sons all in their 20s, and I am so glad none of them think like you. Each one of them has had opportunities to study abroad, and each one has taken advantage of those opportunities. One of my sons has just been given an overseas account with his job, so he will probably be traveling there somewhat regularly, possibly staying there for weeks or months at a time, depending on the project's progress. He is so excited for the opportunity! He's not married and has no kids yet, so this is the perfect time in his life to travel and explore and gain experiences (and get PAID to do it!!)
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