Planning and Sudden Disaster, Want to Die

[Telstra]

^I am impressed with your ability to judge my character and personality from an anonymous post on a gay message board.

I covet your ability.

i congratulate you that you have the ability to ignore negative comments.

 

[Joshua_me]

Oh.

I see.

So you're a modern day Frasier Crane.

Great.

MUST you act like such an insipid little prick ALL the fucking time, Jasun ?

 

[Cognition]

SMU recently came out as #13 in a recent ranking in Forbes magazine, ahead of Notre Dame, MIT, Cornell, and Duke.

I feel better now.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2008/0519/030_2.html

 

[G-Lexington]

Congratulations. The school you want to attend was highly rated. Is that what you hope to get out of that school? A piece of paper therefrom that people can see and think "That's the #13 school in the nation"?

Lex

 

[Cognition]

Congratulations. The school you want to attend was highly rated. Is that what you hope to get out of that school? A piece of paper therefrom that people can see and think "That's the #13 school in the nation"?

Lex

To answer your question: No. I see your point.

I just wanted to feel as though an education at SMU is not second-rate, as my peers on the east coast tend to think about schools in the South. Plus, I wanted to feel as though SMU wasn't inferior to graduates from Notre Dame, where my hookup-turned-friend-turned-rival graduated from.

I really hope I can get into the school, or else, I'm feel like the biggest loser on earth.

 

[G-Lexington]

But that's just it. What the hell does it matter to your "peers"? Unless they're the ones who are going to hire you, and they're still part of the "ivy or I'll see ya" mentality that hasn't really been prevelant since the 1960s, what does it matter? If they feel that way now, I doubt some study will change their opinion of this school.

Lex

 

[Cognition]

But that's just it. What the hell does it matter to your "peers"? Unless they're the ones who are going to hire you, and they're still part of the "ivy or I'll see ya" mentality that hasn't really been prevelant since the 1960s, what does it matter? If they feel that way now, I doubt some study will change their opinion of this school.

Lex

Prestige factor, GLex. In the south, especially Texas, and much more in Dallas, Texas, SMU has a prestige factor that is second to none. No other school in Texas has been able to match it. This association with the school is vitally important to me, because all of my life, I've been an average person - someone who was always overlooked and never thought of.

I want to change my life, starting with my college education. I don't want to graduate from some meaningless state school. I have to start making a name for myself.

I recall the scene in the recent movie, "Milk", where Harvey Milk admits to himself that he hadn't done anything great with his life at the age of 40. I don't want to wait until age 40 until I ask myself a similar question. I want my life to start building value now. I want to be known. I want to be appreciated. I want to be someone special to many people.

That's why I'm so obsessed with this.

 

[metta]

^
I think that you guys are taking things way to personally. There are very good reasons to go to one of the top schools in your field. Many students work very hard to get into the best school that they can get into. Whether one school is better than another for an individual really depends on what you get into and how important networking and the schools reputation is for that industry. There are industries where it does still matter.

It is good to set goals and try to get the best education possible.

Gesh...I remember being in high school and most people were trying to get in the best college possible for the field that they wanted to go into; and we are talking about a time where many of you were not even born. There is nothing wrong with that. The better the school district, the more pressure there tends to be to get into the top schools.

Saying that, there is nothing wrong with going to a State school either. There are benefits to both. For me, my father past away during my first year of college. I had to make some quick decisions on whether I wanted to continue the university that I was at and finish school with over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in student loans or go to a state school and work my way through school. I changed to a state school, got a job, and finished college without any debt, paying for my schooling myself as the expenses came in. That worked well for me but that will not work for everyone. My goal was to open my own business, which is what I did. The name of the college did not matter as much for me as the education and not finishing with lots of debt. But I'm not going to put anyone down because they want to go to one of the top schools. I think that is great and I hope that it all works out for him.

 

[Cognition]

When I initially read your first post, I thought that you wanted to make a change by having a good college education so that you can be of service to other people. I didn't realize that it's all about you and how you can feel far superior to others through your college education. I am sorry to say that success truly is not measured by one's personal accomplishments; rather, it's the impact of those accomplishments on the lives of other people that matters the most.

Yes, my goal is to be of service to other people. In fact, it's because I don't feel that I'm valuable to anyone that has been part of the motivation for me to complete my undergraduate studies.

On the other hand, the "prestige" factor of the school is important to me because I want to feel as though I'm on a level playing field with those in my future socio-economic bracket. I can't get over how a few months ago, how an acquaintance of mine intimidated and made me feel deeply inferior because he graduated from a prestigious Roman Catholic university, whereas I was a college dropout.

The drive to acquire something of significance in others' eyes also serves partially as motivation for me.

I just don't want to be second-rate. I've had enough of that for the last 24 years. Change is needed and is happening now.

 

[G-Lexington]

>>> I can't get over how a few months ago, how an acquaintance of mine intimidated and made me feel deeply inferior because he graduated from a prestigious Roman Catholic university, whereas I was a college dropout.

And there's the problem right there. You need to get over this. Because it's bullshit. I have friends and acquaintances who are smarter than me. Better educated than me. Taller, hotter, bigger-dicked, and nicer than me. Who. The. Fuck. Cares. We're all human. We're all something-er than everybody else. Anyone who would take time out of their lives to belittle someone due to their differences in education is somebody not worth having in your life.

>>>I recall the scene in the recent movie, "Milk", where Harvey Milk admits to himself that he hadn't done anything great with his life at the age of 40. I don't want to wait until age 40 until I ask myself a similar question. I want my life to start building value now. I want to be known. I want to be appreciated. I want to be someone special to many people.

I'm known. I've been stopped in the street by people I don't know asking if I'm Lex.

I'm appreciated. I have thank you cards taped to my walls, and people telling me that they wouldn't be where they are if it weren't for me.

None of it had to do with what school I went to. It all had to do with what I achieved. And - to me anyway - notoriety and appreciation are side effects, not a means to an end. The gratitude is a great warm fuzzy, but that's not why I do what I do. And, brutally honestly, I HATE the notoriety. I hate when people recognize me on the street, and when people want to talk to me "because I'm Lex". I got a bit of a write-up in the paper a couple times, and I hated that, too.

I do what I do because I like it. I made a name for myself in my field because I worked my ass off at it, and because I'm damn good at it, and it pleases me to no end to get to do it. That - and only that - should be your motivation. Because you're setting yourself to suddenly find your life infinitely hollow several years down the road, and it'll be a lot harder to steer the boat to a new course then. I'm not anti-education. I'm not even anti-good/expensive education. If this school is the best place for what you want to study, cool - go there and kick ass. But if you're more concerned with the name on the college than what's being taught within, you probably need to make sure you're doing the right thing.

Lex

 

[BabiGayPimp]

Yes, my goal is to be of service to other people. In fact, it's because I don't feel that I'm valuable to anyone that has been part of the motivation for me to complete my undergraduate studies.

On the other hand, the "prestige" factor of the school is important to me because I want to feel as though I'm on a level playing field with those in my future socio-economic bracket. I can't get over how a few months ago, how an acquaintance of mine intimidated and made me feel deeply inferior because he graduated from a prestigious Roman Catholic university, whereas I was a college dropout.

The drive to acquire something of significance in others' eyes also serves partially as motivation for me.

I just don't want to be second-rate. I've had enough of that for the last 24 years. Change is needed and is happening now.

Please get some psychiatric help. You are close to hysterical.

 

[metta]

Life is not smooth sailing. It is often a bumpy ride.

Always have a plan B, plan C, etc. to leave yourself other options in case plan A does not work. I do hope that plan A works for you.
​

 

[rareboy]

OMG! This thread has turned into a self-important snore fest.

yaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Couldn't agree more.

 

[Cognition]

No one and I mean no one gives a shit about "grades" in undergraduate school.

Granted at 31 I'm an old fart on this board, but never, ever, not even once, have I been asked about my grades in university. Both my undergrad, and MBA are from Michigan.

You're are seriously in error. Yeah, grades are important. To whom, you ask? Well, I'm wanting to be a patent attorney, so law school admissions (which is primarily a numbers game) want to know my GPA and LSAT scores. They don't give a shit about anything else, usually.

And if you think no one cares about grades in undergrad, what was your experience in getting admitted into a MBA program? I know for a fact that the SMU Cox MBA program has a history of only admitting students with at least a 3.6 GPA for the program.

BTW, I wish I'm as cute as you at the "old fart" age of 31.