That is a title to a new Jay-Z song but lately its got me thinking...

I'm currently a 26 year old male living in southern california. I have a steady job that includes benefits, but nothing spectacular. I am currently single and live with my mother and sister, I know I know, but its expensive to live in southern california.

I really have no responsibilities, no kids, no wife or longterm girlfriend. All I have is a couple bills, you know, student loans, car payment, car insurance, phone bill, etc. I really don't worry about money, but that is only because of my current situation.

There are many out there who have many more responsibilities like kids, wifes, house payments and other such things.

I guess what I am trying to say is that other than a piece of paper that tells me my age, I really don't feel like my age. I relate better to the teenagers I work with rather than the adults I work with. Its as if I am not young enough or old enough for either world.

My current career of being an athletic trainer is a decent career but not one that fulfills me. I feel that I should be in a better position within my career due to my undergraduate performance, but am not good enough for elite positions due to the fact that I do not have my masters, which society says I should have. However, I feel if I did get my masters, I would still not feel fulfilled as squirting water into the mouths of Pro football players during games is something I do not desire to do when I am 50.

So in a nutshell I feel marginalized, a favorite word of mine lately. Both careerwise and socially, I feel like a tweener, not a weener but a tweener.

At this point in life I live very simple, go to work, go to the gym, play cards, video games. However, I do not want to end up being 40 and living as simple as I do now.

At this current point I couldn't handle kids, a wife or anything else that goes along with it. Realizing this has gotten me to really think about my future and how I want to live.

So with that said I pretty much decided on pursuing medical school, yes medical school. I need about a years worth of prerequisites before I can apply, but nothing I shouldn't be able to handle.

So back to the title of this topic, I feel like I'm just starting out again coming out of high school, I feel like I'm just starting to get serious about life, and that the last 6 years or so were just kinda me feeling out what I wanted in life.

So if all goes well, medical school should take me about 2 years max to get into, and than go from there, where eventually I would like to become an orthopedic physician and work with professional sports. Oh and of course bang tons of hot chicks on the way...

Sounds like a plan.

Myself I kinda went the other route. I felt like I had to have wife and kids to be a "man". So I started that whole gig at 18. What a friggin mistake. Now half my money is gone before I see it.
Luckily, I am somewhat intelligent and got promoted quickly in the company I work at out now. But alot of times I think about what I could be doing had I stayed single. There's all these college kids that work for me and they come in telling all their crazy stories.

Anyway, best of luck. Sounds like you have a great plan.

I don't know how I missed this thread the first time around, but I'm bumping this because it's nice to see you actually make thought-out posts.

Good content Pckt. Gl w/continuing education.

sorry OP for hijacking your thread with cats, but this is my new favourite. a serious gl to you

I know how you feel to a big extent.

Good luck with getting in school, and then getting through it. I hope sometime soon I figure out what I want to do with myself.

It's really amazing to me how little I was warned about the real world while coming out of high school and going through college. I just assumed I'd find my way and figure it out and I assume that's what my parents figured as well. The first bachelor's degree I earned was a waste, but I made some great friends so I don't regret it. Now I'm going back to school to be a High School History teacher and a Basketball coach. I'm excited about my new path because I have a passion for both, I just always thought being a teacher was a cop out.

So now I'm 22 turning 23 soon and live with my father. I really don't feel bad about where I am and honestly didn't feel mature enough when I came out of college at 21 for the real world. Maybe I'll start my career a little later than some, but that's okay with me. I think that too many people like myself just head to college with no clue what they want to do, just because that's what you're supposed to do. I wish I had taken a year or two off to examine what I wanted to do with my life and saved/earned some money in the process.

So good luck goin back to school OP.