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I failed out of college my first semester
Last Post 14 Jan 2012 02:04 PM by reytsh. 38 Replies.
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
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| 30 Nov 2011 08:38 AM |
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Well, I'm not really sure what I'm writing this for. Perhaps... perhaps it's because I just want to be understood. Or find someone who understands. Or maybe all of you understand, but have never been in a similar situation.... no, that's probably not it. I have amazing friends who understand, who sympathize, and support me. Maybe I'm just searching for pity, subconsciously. I know what I need to do. I always have, I just never... get around to it. Maybe I'm inherently passive, or just a ridiculous procrastinator (except I never get my work done anymore). At any rate, I am incredibly frustrated and angry with myself, and am rather depressed, and have been for a while. I feel like a failure. It doesn't matter that I am very intelligent. It doesn't matter that I get frustrated sitting in class, listening to classmates regurgitating what the professor said two days ago, in awful wording. It matters that I used this as an excuse to not go to class. I made so many excuses, just because I didn't feel like doing such and such task. It led to this. There are no excuses. It's all my fault, I know that. I know so many things, and I never do what I know I should be doing. I have common sense, but I'm not using it. I just feel so... dead. It's almost like there is no hope. Like I'll never be able to break out of this ridiculous mindset. And I realize that all I have to do is DECIDE THAT I WANT TO CHANGE.... but I haven't done it yet. How? I realize it's something you just do... but how can I go this long, and not decide to change? What is wrong with me... So many excuses. So much... ugh. I know this is rambly, and incoherent, and I wish I could express myself better. I... don't know. I suppose I'll add a few other things.
This subset of ADD describes me rather well ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_cognitive_tempo), and I recognize that it isn't formally recognized yet, but I believe it will be.
What essentially happened is that the combination of a lack of motivation, a lack of discipline, an addiction to video games (trust me on this, there's a plethora of evidence), and a feeling of resignation, and inevitability that I would fail (this happened last year as well, I barely passed my senior year. I was constantly on the internet or playing video games, resulting in me staying up till the wee hours of the morning, as it takes me several hours to fall asleep if I'm not tired, and have never had a consistent sleep schedule, ever) combined into a huge clusterfuck. Now I think I'm repeating myself.... shit. At any rate, I don't know what I'm expecting from this... so... I guess I'll just find out. |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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Nadette  MBTI: ENFP Age/Sex: 2x/F Relationship: IM:
 Beloved Author Posts:680

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| 30 Nov 2011 09:44 AM |
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Does your college have free counseling services? It sounds like you are depressed and dealing with dissonance (cognitive/moral/emotional/other) so extreme that you using a lot of your motivational energy to subconsciously suppress it. At least, that is what I have discovered about myself when I feel/act like you are describing. Leaving home, starting college, and launching yourself into the role of an independent person can be difficult, especially if you come from a controlling family. I seem to remember from past posts that you described your family as unattractively christian... My family was ridiculously controlling, restrictive, conservative, and Christian. Transitioning was epically difficult and I didn't even realize how hard I had been fighting until after the fact. As far as interenet/video game addiction, I've seen that and it isn't pretty. Don't let yourself be that. Cold turkey? Love yourself. You are worth working hard for. You are worth making sacrifices in the present for to ensure a better future for yourself. You are going to change a lot in the next few years, but you get to decide what those changes are going to be. Make yourself into someone you really love and admire. Become your own champion. Don't beat yourself up about this past semester. Note it, make necessary changes, and move on. |
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TheJan  MBTI: COOL Age/Sex: 22/m Relationship: Wouldn't you like to know... IM:
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| 30 Nov 2011 10:01 AM |
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One thing that helps me to not procrastinate: I imagine that if i do it now, i will have time later, while if i don't do it now, then i won't have time later. |
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alysaria  MBTI: ENFP Age/Sex: Relationship: IM: Empress of Random Founding Member
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| 30 Nov 2011 10:10 AM |
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I don't know that it's depression..... It seems like the same sort of issue I had first going to college. Sounds to me like you just aren't ready yet. Maybe give yourself a break to figure out what you want to do. It's much easier to commit when you don't feel like you're just doing what you have to...and it's more of a personal choice. And it's better to take off a semester or 2 than slowly watch your grade slip downward because it gets easier to skip classes you don't feel like going to. >< (Experience talking) |
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Stripes  MBTI: intj Age/Sex: M Relationship: IM:
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| 30 Nov 2011 12:35 PM |
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| When all else fails, improvise! |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
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| 30 Nov 2011 05:17 PM |
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@Nadette- I've always been extremely good at suppressing feelings of depression, therefore I have no idea whether the issues still affect me subconsciously. Examples: 1. Was backstabbed by a really close friend and heartbroken. I was incredibly depressed for three days, then I basically decided that being depressed sucked, and suppressed the crap out of it. 2. My dad's Huntington's Disease always depresses me when I stop to let myself think about it, but I very rarely do. I usually end up treating him like any other person, which isn't fair, because he has a major condition which has changed him greatly. (Also, my Dad is in a ridiculous amount of debt, and the overall financial situation for my family is preeetty awful). 3. I suppose, right now. I'm diving into video games, reading random articles, whatever. It keeps my brain occupied, and I usually don't let myself think about everything I said above. Whenever I do, it usually results in a state like my OP.
While my mom (mainly, but my dad to an extent) has always tried to control me, I never let it happen. I've been fighting and ignoring my parents since I was a young child. (My mom literally said that she tried to "break my spirit" when I was a child, in order to make me obedient...religion... *sigh. I can't express how many times I heard "obey your father and mother, so all that will be well with you, and you will live a long life". My parents would act like I should have to listen to them, just because I came from their genetic code. They rarely, if ever gave reasons for what they did, even if I pointed out many times why it was illogical and unintelligent. I never could resign myself to listen to them in order to avoid punishment. Idk, maybe I'm a rebel at heart... ). My parents have always been very proud of my intellect, and very disappointed by my applications of it. However, due to my fellow classmates from my GT high school, my mind transitioned into a very... liberal, I guess would be the best way to put it... mindset. I made the ideological transition a long time ago. My parents actually stopped trying to restrict me once I had a car (got it two years ago, but my dad sold it while I was here), as it gave me a ridiculous degree of independence, and I guess they knew that I wouldn't listen anyways, and gave up... Not really sure. It was odd, they transitioned from grounding me for a year+ straight, (which I completely ignored, as always, and tried to go around) to not giving me a curfew, and basically letting me do whatever I wanted. It probably was largely because my dad was always the source of authority (while my mom is very sweet, but also very lecturing, and many other irritating things, she has never earned the respect that would enable her to become "authority" in my eyes), and when my parents divorced, my mom couldn't handle things.
I am considering the "cold turkey" thing, and I hope I can muster up the willpower to do so.
@The Jan- Will try to keep that in mi.
@Alysaria- I'm pretty sure that I'm depressed, but I also wasn't ready for college, and I realize that. You do bring up some very good points, though. I do feel like it's something I "have to do". I was already planning to take a semester off, and then come back to UT Austin next fall semester, although, if I haven't gotten my shit together by then, there's no point in going, and it will be a waste of money and time. I'm probably going to get a job, and try to find an apartment, in order to force myself into a sense of responsibility. I don't know if it'll work, but we'll see. |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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alysaria  MBTI: ENFP Age/Sex: Relationship: IM: Empress of Random Founding Member
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| 30 Nov 2011 06:34 PM |
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Your only responsibility as of right now is to yourself and your own happiness and sense of fulfillment.  Don't stress too much over finding something perfect - this is a chance to test the waters of the PROFESSIONAL ADULT!!!! world and see what suits you. |
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Nadette  MBTI: ENFP Age/Sex: 2x/F Relationship: IM:
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| 01 Dec 2011 09:00 AM |
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Wow, Bird Salsa, that is a lot. Especially as ENFPs, I think we tend to feel a tremendous amount of responsibility for our families that maybe we don't need to. All the things you listed are things that you can't really control. You can't really help or fix your dad's disease or debt. You don't have to feel guilty for that. You also don't have to feel guilty for focusing on yourself and being happy and entering a brighter future than the one your family is in. As far as suppressing depression... I don't know. I still don't have it figured out how you are supposed to deal with depression in the first place or where exactly it comes from and whether or not it has a purpose or is just a disease...I over think things. Sometimes it is ok to skip feeling depressed, especially when you have a deadline to focus on. Sometimes it is important to figure out where your depression is coming from and then look for solutions. Try to be pragmatic about your depression. For instance, I was feeling really depressed for the past month or so and it was starting to affect my performance in classes and stuff. When I finally recognized this, I made a list of all the stressful things in my life and tried to rank the level of each. Then I looked and tried to see what I could actually control and change. I realized that a lot of my stress/depression was coming from not accomplishing stuff I had to do and from not being properly employed. Once I figured this out, I could focus on fixing those things. Knowing that accomplishing things would make me feel better gave me the necessary motivation. Employment was trickier. I realized that I had to stop waiting to get the job I wanted and focus on paying bills. So (and I really just got lucky here), I looked for a job that would pay the bills and found one. Needless to say, I feel better! Another thing that helps though, is talking to someone and having someone else tell you that you aren't crazy. Maybe a good friend or a counselor could fit the bill. I'm really glad to hear that you have already transitioned from your parents like that. The thing about not really feeling connected to family members on an ideological level though, is that you really need to have good friend support. Do you have good friends at college that you really connect with and share similar views with? Friends can help hold you accountable to yourself too. If you do decide to take a break from college and live on your own, make sure you do so in a way that ensures you have a good friend network, support system in place. As far a video games, just prove to yourself that you are in control. If that means proving that you can go cold turkey - go for it. If you can feel in control by just limiting yourself to more reasonable amounts of time - that is even more impressive (actually.) Somebody recently shared a quote with me and I forget who said it, but it went something like, "Abstinence is much easier than moderation." |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
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| 01 Dec 2011 07:33 PM |
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@Nadette-"Sometimes it is important to figure out where your depression is coming from and then look for solutions. Try to be pragmatic about your depression. For instance, I was feeling really depressed for the past month or so and it was starting to affect my performance in classes and stuff. When I finally recognized this, I made a list of all the stressful things in my life and tried to rank the level of each. Then I looked and tried to see what I could actually control and change. I realized that a lot of my stress/depression was coming from not accomplishing stuff I had to do and from not being properly employed. Once I figured this out, I could focus on fixing those things. Knowing that accomplishing things would make me feel better gave me the necessary motivation. Employment was trickier. I realized that I had to stop waiting to get the job I wanted and focus on paying bills. So (and I really just got lucky here), I looked for a job that would pay the bills and found one. Needless to say, I feel better!" This seems like something that I will definitely try out. Also, the friends I have here at college... I only connect with one, and even then, not to anywhere near what I have with my close high school friends. However, all my best friends from high school are at superb colleges and are working hard (Stanford, Rice, Harvard). I also talk to Sakari quite a bit. They're the ones who I can tell anything to. I've been moderately reclusive here at college, and I'm really bad about starting conversations with random people, which definitely contributes to not finding anyone here like that. I don't think I would go cold turkey for long, I'd just be a needed step in forming discipline in that area... and all others. @Alysaria-Thank you. That is an encouraging thought. |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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Stripes  MBTI: intj Age/Sex: M Relationship: IM:
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| 01 Dec 2011 11:24 PM |
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Well BirdsallSa, after reading your post on this thread I think I understand why you love socialism |
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| When all else fails, improvise! |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
 Assistant Editor Posts:289

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| 01 Dec 2011 11:54 PM |
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........................................................ *sigh I support socialism because I think it's what's best for everyone, not because I'm undisciplined, and not because my family and I are in a shitty financial spot. Also, the country with the best standard of living is socialist. We come in thirteenth, and have the wealthiest nation. I think there's something wrong with that. Also, when I posted about why I supported socialism, I was actually getting my work done, and had a job. And frankly, I don't think that dig was very appropriate for the situation... but whatever. Also, how did my post make you think you understand why I love socialism? I'm genuinely curious.
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
 Assistant Editor Posts:289

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| 01 Dec 2011 11:54 PM |
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(Also, I liked your fragged cat, I meant to edit that into my second post, but forgot). |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
 Assistant Editor Posts:289

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| 02 Dec 2011 01:56 AM |
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Stripes, after that comment, I think I understand why you're an INTJ.  |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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Stripes  MBTI: intj Age/Sex: M Relationship: IM:
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| 02 Dec 2011 11:35 AM |
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Okay firts of I wasn't taking a dig at you, I was merely making an observation. Note you said "I don't know what I am expecting of this...so... I guess I will just find out"
Secondly I did not supported or deny socialism, I stated that now I understood why you supported it. If you read anything other than that, then it was your perception
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| When all else fails, improvise! |
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PurpleGiraffe  MBTI: INTJ Age/Sex: 28/F Relationship: Jirafa sola IM:
 Philosopher of ENFPs Posts:964

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| 02 Dec 2011 02:23 PM |
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BirdsallSa, I am sorry you had such a rough go with your first semester. College is a very different atmosphere, and I agree that it didn't sound like you were completely ready and that you sounded a little depressed. My INTP brother actual failed out his first semester of college a couple years ago because he just stopped going. I think it overwhelmed him, being so different and not having the good social network. I agree. Maybe you just need to take some time and figure out what you want. If you want to go back to school, you will do so when you are ready. Does anybody else see the pic that Stripes put up (that I've seen before) and see the two faces and the cup simulateously and/or immediately flip from one to the other image and back (over and over?) It really messes with my head because I can't seem to concentrate on just one. I have pretty equal brain dominance, so that could account for it, but it's still trippy nonetheless. Anyway... |
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caprice  MBTI: eNfP Age/Sex: F Relationship: IM:
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| 03 Dec 2011 12:50 AM |
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Well that sucks. I wasn't too far off from that my first year at college. I skipped many of my classes and turned in mediocre work in favor of enjoying my social life/boyfriend and just going about business in the usual way (no discipline, procrastination, figuring my aptitude would get me by). My grades reflected it. I also had no idea (or too many ideas) of what I wanted to major in. I took a break and felt like an aimless, underachieving loser. The only thing I can say in my defense was that those intro classes can really be dull. As to ADD, I don't know, I've gone back and forth considering that I may have this disorder, but I've never sought a consult. I most certainly lack focus. Anyways, after a couple of years I went back, and pretty much got straight As for my last three years (I think there were two Bs in the mix). It was a matter of pride, motivation and holding myself accountable. So it sounds like you know exactly where you went wrong and feel crappy about your poor choices and habits. Now you have to change them. Dust yourself off, get therapy if you need it, but you're too smart to not do well and you surely will be depressed if you succumb to your worst traits. College should honestly be fairly easy for you if you apply yourself. I've seen enough evidence of your intelligence to be sure of that. Tough love here. But I have complete confidence that you'll pull it together. I really do. |
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BirdsallSa  MBTI: ENFP (7 w/9's) (Technically incorrect, I know) Age/Sex: 19/M Relationship: Single IM: Samuel Birdsall (Facebook)
 Assistant Editor Posts:289

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| 03 Dec 2011 07:53 AM |
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@Stripes-I'm sorry. I jumped to conclusions (I've got a super right wing, INTJ friend who says stuff like that in a derogatory way quite often, so I was reacting to those memories).
However, I'm still curious what you saw that made you "think you understand why I love socialism".
@PurpleGiraffe-Yeah, I probably only went to class like... 20x max. That's preeetty bad. I feel quite different as well, and I don't have a good social network here, so I can empathize with that, but I don't think it was a major factor. (I do really wish I had applied for honors, as they're the people around my mental capacity, although they are certainly harder working and a bit more knowledgeable, except in the field of history. Maybe I would've felt more at home there, and therefore enjoyed the classes more, but it's a bit late for that.)
Also, with the picture, I can switch between all three potential perspectives rather easily.
@Caprice-At least you turned in the work. I didn't :/. Also, I know that I want to get a degree in military history, but I don't particularly want to be a professor, so I'm probably going to try to get a job with the government after that. I don't really care about being wealthy, but I certainly don't want to be poor. I know all too well that I'm going to need some money in case I ever want to have a family (which I do, kids rock) (although I don't particularly like babies, which is a bit odd).
"So it sounds like you know exactly where you went wrong and feel crappy about your poor choices and habits."-Exactly.
Also, I didn't have my ADD medicine this semester, which I believe would have helped, at least to a moderate degree. I'm probably not going to get the medicine for a long time, because I have to see my psychiatrist and get a job to pay off the medical bills my dad dumped on me (around 500)... > ... because he never paid the insurance...
The thing about ADD medicine is that it greatly helps focus, which is useful no matter what you're doing. However, discipline and motivation aren't affected at all, so it basically led to me being one of the best players at Call of Duty on the Xbox 360 in the world. What I need is a combination of ADD medicine, discipline, and motivation, and then I should be well on the path to success (at least, my definition of success).
I believe that a consultation would be greatly to your benefit, as the ability to focus properly (although it does get thrown off, and in a way you're even more ADD, because while your focus is laser sharp, you're still easily distracted, in my experience) is mind blowing, and it feels wonderful. Everything is just so much less frustrating.
" But I have complete confidence that you'll pull it together. I really do."- Thank you.
I'd like to thank everybody for their input. I feel better than I have in far too long. |
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Vini Vidi Vici- Julius Caesar |
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Stripes  MBTI: intj Age/Sex: M Relationship: IM:
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| 03 Dec 2011 11:28 AM |
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BirdsallSa the truth isn't found in the answers given, but in the questions asked. If I were to lay out my reasons for thinking so would that change you or your situation? And it would seem to me you need to sit down and ask yourself the hard questions that only you can answer. |
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| When all else fails, improvise! |
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Nadette  MBTI: ENFP Age/Sex: 2x/F Relationship: IM:
 Beloved Author Posts:680

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| 03 Dec 2011 11:51 AM |
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Stripes, you are being annoying. BirdsllSa isn't looking for "truth," he is asking about how you perceive something. Only you can answer that one. |
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Stripes  MBTI: intj Age/Sex: M Relationship: IM:
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| 04 Dec 2011 12:49 AM |
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And I really don't care if you think I am annoying Nadette . Because you lack the patience to try and see the bigger picture. Or let me put it in another way, you might understand. Sometimes it is better to figure things out for yourself, than to have someone tell you the answer. |
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| When all else fails, improvise! |
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