Saturday, 7 August 2010

Coco's history -- part 6 -- Leaving school for good

As you probably guessed, I never made it through school. The more I stripped, the more I was addicted to the feeling of having money, being independent, and not having to turn in a 30-page paper made up of quotes of other people's work.

I increasingly found classes and professors boring and pointless.

Plus, the fewer classes I took per semester, the further away my goal would be. Would I be an undergrad for five years? Six? I was already almost 21. Would I become one of those losers who are 24 and still trying to pass Psych 201 surrounded by 19-year-olds? Then what?

I was in an arts program with no direct job prospects, not like someone coming out of business, law, medicine or accounting. Even someone coming out of nursing or education would have a clear-cut path in front of her.

If I wanted to continue working in the field of my double major, sociology and psychology... Well, sociologists are essentially academics. I'd have to continue into a graduate degree. Same with being registered as being a professional psychologist -- you can't do it with a BA. Some provinces require a masters, and others a PhD.

I looked at some of my friends, living off of instant noodles, sleeping on horrible mattresses on the floor of shared flats, studying all night, worried about student loans -- and I decided that I liked my cushy life more.

So I finally left with about 2/3 of a degree.
It wasn't an easy decision. I didn't leave home to go to college to become a stripper. I know how bad that sounds.

But I also wasn't forced. Some people think that every woman in the sex trade is trafficked or a "sex slave" and that's just not true.

That same year, a good friend of mine also dropped out of school, pre-med. She grew up with horses and love them. All she wanted to do was train them. So she went out West and started apprenticing at a ranch. Later she would open her own horse farm.
I'm sure her parents were shocked at her decision. Why would someone muck out a barn instead of being a doctor? But I think she was happy.

2 comments:

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