#28806 I’m scared of intimacy and have no idea why

#28805 So I've been here a while; 2.5 years of engineering. Back in high school I wanted to pursue an art career but convinced myself that my good math and science skills could lead me towards a fulfilling and successful engineering career. I also knew that art wasn't necessarily a steady and lucrative career path. I've done well here and can usually force myself to see the big picture when I get overwhelmed. But recently I picked up a paintbrush for fun and can't get my head back in engineering. All I want to do is leave and pursue my passion but I have too much time and money invested here to leave. I like my field of engineering but it doesn't give me the same sense of accomplishment and excitement as art ever has. I feel trapped and depressed as I realize I have the next couple decades to pay back student loans and further my engineering career before I can go back to what I love.

I can accept this but I need to get my head back in it so I can actually do well in my classes. Any suggestions?

#28804 I'll always have a special place in my heart for that girl from Westchester. The one that got away.

#28803 The new GOP plan if comes into effect is going to fuck up the lives of grad students. What the fuck man. Why aren't they taxing the wealthy and why are they running after the poor souls who are already under the burden of academic and research stress. I wonder if PhD would even be worth it towards end if I end up in debt... People who are thinking of going to grad school, think about it.. :( I thought we were moving to this world where education would become cheaper... Maybe not just yet.. what are your fellow PhD students thinking? I'm super stressed right now.

#28802 ... and it is sad that I still care about you.

#28801 It is sad when people doesn't care about their wrong doing o the harm that they inflict to others, and instead they only care about their reputation and how their careers can be affected if what they did comes to public. It's sad that the girl I though was nice and someone who honestly care about others, came into being someone that humiliated people from who she can't obtain finacial, academic or laboral adventage, and at the same time she is so nice and good with the people from who she can obtain something.
It's sad that I kept trying to believe her innocence when everything proved the opposite. There is no one innocent, but it's sad when someone is a decent human being only when can obtain an advantage.
It's sad that her heart is hard as a rock, and I though it wad soft like an ice cream. It's sad that there are people like that. It's sad that they don't care about it.

#28800 In this gun arguement, how about we stop it with the anecdotal evidence and use actual data. If you are pro gun rights, how about you actually cite a study that says owning guns increase safety. I’m sorry but the arguement of “oh we tried it with drugs” is not proof. If you are against gun rights, how about you cite the evidence that exists of other countries becoming safer (but without omitting the fact there were short term safety problems). Everyone can be civil on this issue, but when people fight with feelings instead of data nothing will get solved.

#28799 A response to all the Gun Control Posts:

When discussing ways to prevent gun violence, there are 2 general approaches for a solution: A. You can work to put a bandaid on the problem or B. You can work towards solutions for the roots of the problem. You may ask what I mean by this, if you have a cup of water with holes in the bottom of it, do you keep adding more water to keep the cup full or do you fix the holes in the bottom of the cup so it no longer leaks as much.

With gun violence, some propose gun control which in the end only takes the guns away from the law abiding citizens, since the criminals will not follow the laws to start with (Bandaid Solution). Or you could start looking at what factors lead to the gun violence, whether that is drug problems, mental health issues, etc. There is a huge drug abuse problem in the United States, and there are not enough resources for drug abusers to get the help they need or enough response for reducing the drug issue. Mental health is an issue that doesn't receive enough attention in the US, since there is stigma around discussing mental health issues (and yes there are many people/organizations working to address the stigma), but there are also not enough resources for people suffering from mental health issues to get the help they need. Many Psychiatrists and other Mental Health Professionals have long waitlists to be seen, since there are not enough of them to meet the demands of the population, so even if someone wanted to seek help they would struggle getting that help. I am sure there are many more factors that lead to gun violence, but these are 2 very common ones. If as a nation we worked towards finding solutions to the roots of the gun violence, there would be less of these horrific events in the US.