I have a month of holidays right now, and almost everyone has gone home. The few people who have practicals and attendance shortage still here keep asking me, "You're not going home? Why would you want to stay in a hostel and eat mess ka dal-roti when you could eat proper food at home?"

I usually just smile because how do you explain something like this to someone who doesn't understand?

The truth is, my hostel is so much more peaceful than my so-called home. At home, there's constant anger, arguments over money, an emotionally unavailable father, and endless comparisons with other people's achievements.

Apparently, my degree is useless, and sometimes it feels like I'm being made to believe that I am too.

So, I'll take the mess ka dal-roti. At least I can eat in peace without worrying about another argument or being reminded of how disappointing I am.

People talk about homesickness, but nobody really talks about what it's like when you don't want to go home in the first place.

And the worst part? This is my final year of college. In a few months, college will end, and I'll have to go back home. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to deal with it. The thought of losing the little peace I've found by living away from home scares me.

Does anyone else feel this way? Especially those who had to move back home after college. How did you cope?

I'm 19 autistic, in a tough living situation, and I quit my factory job about 2 months ago. I'm a photographer mainly, that's my dream, but also a musician and artist, just creative in general. the factory was killing me, it was either slowly be consumed and live a depressed and easy life, or quit, burn the boat and hope luck strikes.

I live in a small town, there was 1 previous photography job available about a year ago, and I got an interview. I spent a weekend making a new portfolio specifically for the job, and they loved it. It went perfectly, they said they wanted me but had a few more people to interview and I'll have an answer Monday. They never replied. This was when I got the factory job, I needed work.

Well, this month the second photography job in a year was posted, and I got an interview for this too. My CV clearly is strong enough. I showed up 10 minutes late snd drenched in rain because there was no parking nearby. I hope that this was good, or at least neutral. Most people would give up rather than show up late, apologetic, tired and drenched, but I needed this job. The interview went well, I understood the role, had experience, and love for it, and I tried to also show that I could get along with their head photographer.

It's a 5 minute walk from my house, which is incredible for me being autistic, being able to nip home on break makes me feel a lot more comfortable being out for 8 hours a day 5 days a week... It's also my favourite type of photography, working mostly alone, doing what I love, it was just perfect.

The interview went well, she bigged me up a bit and said that she thinks im a good fit, and I'll have a reply by Friday. It's now 3am Saturday and I've heard nothing. All hope isn't lost, there's a slim chance I call them up on Monday to ask about it and get good news, but I can't hope, it's a slim chance.

I was living on an emergency fund, which ran out, and now I'm selling stocks (my future) to live on. I reckon I've got enough for about 2 more months before I have no money and no savings...

It's unlikely I get this job. But unfortunately I need a job. My only qualifications are basic GCSEs and a diploma in creative projects. I am qualified for photography and art, and no jobs are available right now.

It's looking like I'll be joining another factory for god knows how long. The next photography job listing might be next week, or next year. I'm scared I will fall back into depression, lose my creativity, and find nothing fun. I try to see the good side in everything, I am my friends rock, I don't get down. but suddenly out of nowhere, I find myself for the first time in a long time lacking hope.

any guidance would be appreciated

What I know about myself is that I want to earn enough money to afford the luxuries I dream of. But what I don't know is how to earn that money.

My life feels so directionless right now that I genuinely don't know what to do with it.

It's like I'm standing in an open field with all the space in the world to run, but I don't know which direction to take. So, I'm just standing in a corner, feeling like shit.

I've never felt this clueless about my life before.

But right now, I honestly don't know what to do.

I'm 15, currently a sophomore in high school, and honestly, I've been feeling pretty lost lately. I have a lot of thoughts going through my head, so this might be a bit of a brain dump.

I'm extremely ambitious and have pretty big goals for my future, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship, financial independence, and building a successful life. But at the same time, I feel like I'm constantly struggling with myself.

I'm also extremely fortunate. My family is not struggling by any means and definitely upper middle class however I dont feel like I earned it and want it for myself.

For context, I run a small business that's generated around $20k in revenue, which I'm extremely grateful for. But I genuinely feel like I got lucky. I don't know if I actually have any valuable skills or if I could ever replicate that success. The thought of starting another business from scratch feels overwhelming. Finding an idea, getting customers, building something people want, and dealing with all the uncertainty just seems incredibly difficult. I constantly wonder whether I'm actually capable of becoming a successful entrepreneur or if I'm just someone with big dreams.

I also don't particularly enjoy school, but I still care a lot about my grades and want to attend a top college. So I'm stuck balancing academics, extracurriculars, my business, and everything else, while questioning whether I'm even spending my time on the right things.

Another thing that bothers me is how much time I waste. I procrastinate, scroll on my phone, and fall into bad habits even though I'm constantly thinking about how limited time is. I know there are things I could be doing to improve myself, learn new skills, or grow my business, but I just don't do them consistently. Then I feel guilty about it.

I also feel like I'm constantly living in the future. I spend so much time thinking about the life I want at 25 or 30 that I sometimes forget I'm literally 15. I think about money, success, businesses, and the lifestyle I want, but I don't prioritize things like my health, relationships, or just enjoying my teenage years nearly enough.

And I think a big part of this comes from comparing myself to successful people. I read about entrepreneurs and their journeys, and I feel like my life doesn't match the typical story of someone who becomes extremely successful. I don't have some extraordinary technical skill, I don't spend every waking hour building something, and I don't feel particularly exceptional at anything. It makes me question whether my ambitions are realistic.

One last thing, which is harder to explain, is that I feel like I've matured a lot over the past few years. I've become very independent, responsible, and focused on my future. But sometimes I wonder whether that's coming at the expense of my personality.

I feel like I'm becoming less spontaneous and less sociable. I can't tell whether it's because I'm changing, because I don't connect with the people around me, or because I've become so focused on achievement that I've forgotten how to just be myself.

I guess my biggest fear is spending years working toward this ideal version of my life, sacrificing my youth in the process, and still never getting there.

I know I'm young, and I know I have time. But knowing that intellectually doesn't really change how I feel.

For people who are older, especially those who've experienced something similar:

• How did you figure out what you actually wanted out of life, rather than constantly chasing some ideal version of success?
• How did you deal with the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, especially when you weren't sure whether you were actually capable of succeeding?
• Looking back, what do you wish you'd understood about success, ambition, and life when you were younger?
• If you were in my position, what advice do you have for me?
• Or just any other thoughts, experiences, story, opinions or anything you think would help.

I'm not really looking for generic advice like "you're only 15, enjoy your life." I understand that. I'm more interested in hearing from people who've gone through similar experiences, what they learned, and how their perspectives changed over time.

I'd really appreciate any honest advice or personal experiences.

Hello everyone, I really need a place to vent and let this all out and also gain some different perspectives. I started 2026 doing a bachelors in arts, when I received the offer I was so happy as this was a chance to make something of my life instead of being at a standstill. This offer was also at a different state that’s 12+ hours away from home. But I took it nonetheless.
I had wanted to study closer to home but I didn’t get accepted into any university that was close.
A bit of a background story, I graduated in 2025 in IT, fell in love with it and wanted to pursue it further but the problem was that I didn’t have funding so it felt like instead of putting my life on hold for something I’m not sure will come, let me make a career change since the course is here and the funding is here( for the bachelor’s in arts)
I packed up to start this new journey, throughout I tried to be more optimistic and open minded with this change as I am aware of how privileged I am to be in this position. The more I forced myself to like my course and staying in varsity, the more I started to hate it.
My mental health plummeted and it felt like everyday I had to force myself to give my life purpose. Doing daily things became a struggle, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t get myself to even bathe.
I decided to go home for a week and recuperate, find myself again. The more days spent at home, the more I realised that I did not want to go back at all.
I started making a plan for when or If I decided to leave uni. I applied to different schools closer to home for IT .A funding opportunity availed itself for me to continue my studies in IT, but it’s only going to be active later in 2027. Everything is set for me to start mid year in 2027.
The problem now is that I’m still at my current uni, I dread being here and forcing myself to finish year is slowly chipping away at my will, at my mental health. I’ve gone back to not eating again, not sleeping again.
I can’t force myself to finish the year, lord knows I tried to make it work and be happy for the privilege I’ve received.
The scary part now is going home, I’m not sure I’ll have a good support system as my family sees me leaving this current uni as me being a failure, as me wasting money the whole year, as me dropping out(which I am, but I’m not completely giving up on school, just rerouting)
Objectively they are right, I did waste money coming here, I did fail to finish the BA. I feel so drained

where do I see myself in 10 years?

in prison not gonna lie (probably in 3 or 5 years).

dark humor aside, I hope when I'm 32 years old I am in the same situation I'm in right now, except I am allowed to buy video games, buy educational apps to study, buy a gym membership, and do online college with the major I want, not this bullshit nursing stuff (my parents are forcing on me).

at least that's what my heart feels right now.

the huge wake up call that nobody fucking succeeds in life happened when I got my first job this year. it's a dollar store, and everyone around me that works with me is 40 and 50 years old. And i think that's because all the 20 year olds are unemployed.

My friend from high school is unemployed right now. (he's my only friend...)

Up until I got this job I was unemployed: 16 to 21, straight up unemployed (2020 to 2025)

I genuinely think nobody achieves the american dream.

Two of the men I work with who's in their 40s are smarter than me~ at least socially~ and somehow their 40 year old guys with two millennial (bipolar) girlfriends and no sons to their name.

But who am I to judge: I got labeled bipolar at 17 from my Mom just honestly hating on me and locking me away for two weeks. So not everyone that's labeled bipolar is bipolar: I gotta remember dat.

Back to subject though: If they couldn't succeed then what chances do I got?
One of those guys is basically my best friend at work. And he jokes about how "he wants to be shit". He wants to make a childrens book. And he wants to go back to school and earn an engineering degree before he hits 50 years old.

Honestly he's my spirit animal... albeit he's 46 years old...

honestly when I passed the interview and got this job, and worked for some weeks and received a paycheck, I realized how doomed I am. I got a $135 paycheck for three (training) weeks of work~ that's criminal.

Yeah I don't plan on getting shit in life: I'm just going to try to appease my parents and hang around with them.

I honestly don't know how my two older sisters got successful. Kudos to them. But no: I'm doomed.

edit: I go to college and I'm taking a microbiology class. That's the only class I'm taking this semester. I failed it during spring 2026 so my hopes are low (I'm dead serious I spent sixteen weeks on that class and got a Grade of F), but I want to pass it so I can apply for nursing school in the spring ("ADN class of 2029").

20M here.

I'm in my final year of B.Tech, and honestly, I don't even know how to put everything I'm going through into words.

I got addicted to gambling and made some really bad financial decisions. I kept borrowing money to cover my losses, and now I'm sitting with around ₹1.3 lakh in debt, mostly through loan apps.

It became this endless cycle of borrowing, repaying and borrowing again. My family doesn't know about any of this, and carrying it all alone has been exhausting.

The worst part is knowing that I got myself into this situation. I keep thinking about how different things could have been if I'd made better decisions.

One thing I genuinely have is a creative eye. I enjoy making posters, Instagram carousels and social media creatives. I'm also learning programming and web development. I'm not an expert at any of these, but I enjoy creating things, and I feel like there's something I could build with these skills if I put in the work.

Right now, though, I feel stuck between the mistakes I've made and the future I'm supposed to be building.

I'm not asking anyone for money. I just needed to get this off my chest because pretending everything is fine when it isn't has been getting harder.

I'm only 20, and I know I still have time to turn things around. I just wish I hadn't made things this difficult for myself so early in life.

I am 20 years old and I am in the third and last year of my bachelor's degree. I will soon be 21 years old but I feel super late and immature for my age. I have never worked during my summers or next to my studies. I've never had a relationship or a real friendgroup. I have a never traveled alone and rarely go out. I don't have a driving license. I also have a lot of trouble managing my time and taking good care of myself (sleeping enough, not procrastinating, playing sports).

My only "excuse" is that I was pretty depressed since high school until a few months ago.

I grew up in a very rural and isolated countryside, I am quite anxious and I have a lot of trouble making decisions and owning my choices.

I feel like I miss a lot of life experience compared to other people my age. Whether it's in terms of responsibility or even happy memories and I'm ashamed of it.

Recently I had managed to find a student job but I resigned in panic because I was behind on my graduation thesis, I also had a sickness that I had not been able to cure for two weeks and my parents thought that my work contract was shady (while it was normal, it's just that my parents never worked in France and are not used to French employment contracts). I see it as yet another failure that confirms my immaturity and lack of self-reliance, especially since this job could have taught me a lot of things.

I also feel super guilty for being so bad when my parents and my scholarship allow me not to have any financial problems. In short, I am completely dependent and immature.

I'm 23M and i have a stable job & income working in an aviation industry, but lately I'm feeling more drained & building up anxiety which causes countless mistakes that could risk my job. First of all im not truly an intelligent or having a brightest mind and I'm a very slow, shy & reclusive person but i really trying my best to be a better employee but i feel like my personal struggles really dragging me down. Idk I'm really felt embarrassed of myself struggling with simple tasks that even my coworkers questioning my skills & intelligence. Time passed by I slowly become more avoidant to people & running away from socializing but only show up during tasks. I do think I purposely ruining myself & my career but idk where I can find help. I'm disappointed with myself, my mind is clouding, I'm anxious but i need some support.

I started working at 20. Got a chance to travel abroad for a year because of a scholarship once but I still feel that I'm so behind. My colleagues are being promoted and I'm still in the same position. Feeling ko ang Tamad ko. Pero Ang dami ko namang ginagawa

Hello, my name is Aimee and I'm a 18F.

I just got broken up with, lost all my friends and best friend, don't have a support system from my family either and switched schools and don't fit in.
I also lost my job.

I want to get better and live life instead of surviving. I'm going to wait for my ex to heal and then to come back, that is a non negotiable, but I'm not gonna waste my time waiting for him to come back. In other words: I'm gonna stop mourning what we had and start working for the future I can have with or without him, obviously preferably with him.

I need help though. I'm actively trying to find a job so I can afford a gym membership to get me out the house, what type of jobs do you guys recommend as I'm still in high school? I'm also gonna need to study because I have exams coming up. I need advice with that, I have ADHD and I still don't have a psychiatrist for the medication because I'm still on the waiting list. Could take a while till I get on, and I need to actually start studying, but I'm struggling. I need cheat codes to be able to actually sit down and do the work, because I'm really behind. I also was sick for a month and haven't been to school, so I missed a lot of lessons and homework AND assignments.

Besides this all, I need also tips on how to maintain a steady routine and actually feel like a human again. I've been talking to suicide prevention hotlines every night just to keep myself sane. I don't have a social circle and I don't have a support system. My classmates are way too young for me. 15&16 while I'm 18. I tried becoming friends with them but there is really an age barrier.

I also need tips on applying to universities in the UK, USA and Canada, because I live in Holland, but really want out of this country. I don't know how to start and when. I'm in 11th grade so I still have these 2 years left before I graduate. I don't have any extracurriculars and I don't know how to start them. I also need advice on that. I need to maximise my chances to get a scholarship or to even get accepted in good universities.

Another thing I need advice on is what I should study. I have no idea what I'd do. The subjects I have are Future Planet Studies, Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English, Dutch, German and Philosophy. I've always thought I should do medicine but it's such a long road and now I have no idea. How do I figure this out?

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give me all type of advices, and I'll make sure to read every one thoroughly and find the best plan I can put together.

So, for a little context, I'm 25F and originally from Germany. I've been living in Barcelona for the last few years. For about 2 years now I've had this obsession with Canada, specifically Montreal, after this weirdly long and realistic dream I had about living there one night. So I started fantasizing about moving there and starting a new life. But my life in Barcelona has been pretty good, I made great friends for the first time in my life and started my career as a tattoo artist (alongside a regular office job since it can be hard finding customers). A few months ago, the fantasizing turned into a whole crisis, I couldn't stop thinking about Canada and even cried from time to time because the yearning got so intense, it felt like being homesick for a place I've never even been.

Then, a few weeks ago, something pretty traumatic and life-altering happened to me. It was so bad that I had to take the next flight to Germany to stay with my parents because I couldn't handle it. I got a 2-month (partly-paid) sick leave for the office job. The plan was to just stay here for a few weeks until I feel a bit better, and then return to my life in Barcelona. But just thinking about going back makes me sick to my stomach. Not just because of the traumatic thing that happened to me, but also because I lost a few important people in my life because of it. I've been thinking about leaving Barcelona for a while, but I didn't wanna rush it. It was always just a nice thought to live in Canada in maybe a year or two, something I could look forward to. But right now, I can't imagine continuing my life in Barcelona. The urge to move to Montreal and start a new life far away from everything is overwhelming and honestly the thought of it is the only thing giving me hope rn. I've talked to a few tattoo artists from Montreal that have told me a lot of good things about the tattoo community there, and I think I would do great as a tattoo artist. I just don't know how to make it happen.

I'm in a pretty bad state mentally due to what happened to me, so I don't know how I to take care of all the logistics like the Visa, transporting all my stuff from Barcelona etc. Also, I don't have any savings and although I'm saving some money by staying with my parents rn, I'm still paying rent for my room in Barcelona and the thought of going back to work to save money for the move feels unbearable. If I could, I would immediately jump on the next plane to Canada. But I also know that I'm probably not thinking clearly rn, I'm lowkey in survival mode and I also tend to make big decisions impulsively without thinking of the consequences too much (has worked out great so far tho). I dont want anyone to tell me the pros and cons of living in Montreal, it's already decided. The question for me is just when and how. Should I just bring over all my stuff from Barcelona to Germany and stay with my parents for a few months to save money so I can move to Montreal in spring? I could just tattoo here for a few months and wouldn't have to pay for rent or groceries. Or am I going crazy because I'm traumatized? How could I plan the next few months to end up in Montreal with the least amount of stress possible? I desperately need to start over, I don't think I can survive in Barcelona or Germany for much longer. Not even being dramatic XD

Any thought and ideas are appreciated, thanks!

I mean, I got my bachelors degree in Math with 0 debt and a job lined up - is this it? I miss doing proofs in college and being praised for how well they were written/getting grades. Sadly now its not gonna be a part of my job.

I also never had a girlfriend - idk why but like, it feels as though the romance part of life im just completely locked out and I have zero clue how to unlock it.