did you go to college? before/during/after wts? what is your profession?

by nowisee 40 Replies latest jw friends

  • nowisee
    nowisee

    sorry, i really did get carried away answering carmel.

    i am just so very impressed with everyone and i think it is so wonderful that so many have had the chance to get an education.

    please continue! i am truly curious about all of you.

  • larc
    larc

    Nowisee, don't be discouraged. Keep on posting. All contributions are important. I have advanced degrees, as I noted, yet I have many friends both here and in real life who do not have any degrees. As far as getting along with others and sharing experiences, formal education is not the criteria. We can all learn from each other. By the way, if you do decide to take college courses there are lots of scholarships, grants, and low interest student loans out there that can be of financial help. Also, some companies pay tuition for their employees. I think it is a good thing for a person to take courses, even if it is part time, with no goal of a degree. It is good for one's mind, plus you meet some interesting people.

  • Joyzabel
    Joyzabel

    Went to college while a dub and an elder's wife. (I was slowly, mentally shrivalling up serving where the "need was great" ) Hubby got hassled that I went to school, but I pursued my dream of becoming a Certified Nurse-Midwife. Now after 2500+ births, I'm getting ready to retire. (Also a dream to do so before I hit 50!)

    j2bf

    btw, my poor brother was Validitorian of his Trade School, had lots of job offers, but we were at Bethel the same time during the 70's, now he is in a no where job, not earning much with little retirement, if any, for all his "service".

  • nowisee
    nowisee

    thank you larc. I TRULY appreciate your kind words and encouragement.

  • larc
    larc

    You are welcome, nowisee. Some other comments: Both my sister and my cousin were valadictorians of there class, but never went to college. My cousin did well financially, nontheless. My sister never worked once she got married. If something happened to her husband, she would be in a world of hurt in terms of earning a living.

  • SpunkyChick
    SpunkyChick

    I ended up going into a private/homeschool program while attending the local community college in the 10th grade (still a JW). I had a business teacher who hated JW's and would purposefully mark me absent, while I was sitting right in front of her in class. So, I was happy to leave the public school [then]. (Looking back, I'd missed so many opportunities for a fun highschool life, yada yada yada). I finally graduated with my Associates of General Studies in 1999.

    After graduation, I worked as a flight attendant for National Airlines (they're now bankrupt) out of Las Vegas, Nevada. I am currently in career hell. If anyone has seen the movie Office Space, that's what my life is like. I've worked/temped in many industries (medical, mortgage, insurance, start-up companies). I abhor office work, but it seems like any other jobs that aren't 9-5 won't pay the bills!! I feel I need to return to school and obtain my Bachelor's...but I'm not sure in what area to study?? I've taken so many career assessment and personality tests, my head spins! I even gave nursing a try, because the need is so great! Learning about atomic structures and plasma membranes was a challenge for me and I'm not that special type of person who can clean up feces, vomit, ect....

    *a seriously confused SpunkyChick*

  • Mystery
    Mystery

    No problem nowisee

    First - you are intellegent or you would have stayed blind and ingornant of the beliefs of JW's.

    Second - due to circustances some of us were able to attend college because of circustances. Belive me it was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life!

    I was married to a man that made me feel as worthless as JW's did. I decided that I was going to school. I became a "different person" when I walked into "school". I wasn't 2nd class. I was there by the rights that everyone else was. I soon learned that the person I "pretended to be" was realy me. Not the second class citizen I was as a JW and as a wife. My father (an elder) felt as your father, --my father was sexist - told me that girls didn't need an education, that i would get married and have babies and that was that. -- but since I had been fading anyway I didn't have much opposition from them.

    Some of the threads are intimidating to me as well. Regardless of my education, I still feel ignorant regarding some of the subjects. But you know what? Its OK. I don't have to know everything. I learn more everyday I am here. If I had to debate regarding scriptures right now, I probably couldn't, I have been away from JW's a little over the 20 years I spent as a JW. Dont' feel inferior or at a disadvantage, we don't have to know everything. If we did why would we be here. What we don't know, we can ask. If someone has read our question before then they have the option to skip the topic and go to the next one.

    Even guys have PMS you know. : )





    PSS: "as i write this im tearing up - i suppose this question sprang from my own feelings of inferiority. does that give you your answer?"
    Don't let some the insincerity of someone who doesnt want to answer your question do that to you. And plus - I don't know you - but STOP thinking of yourself an inferior. What good does it do anyway.

    Take Care,
    Deborah

  • Jourles
    Jourles

    I graduated from high school two semesters early and promptly went into a local community college for an associates degree on a certain subject which I no longer desire to do. At the time, I was recently baptized and gung ho in the truth. My mother refused to let me attend a university(I really wanted to go to CalPoly). But at the time, everyone realized that the end was really just around the corner. The time frame was the late 80's early 90's. Anyone in the org back then knows what the stance towards higher education was. It was a no-no.

    From the time I was very young, I grew up around computers and electronics. My mother's side of the family were all engineers either in computers or electrical engineering. The very first computer I learned to operate was a TRS-80, my grandpa's computer. I had just about every Heath kit that ever came out. I was a young geek, I admit it. My interest in electronics eventually brought me into telecommunications, primarily wireless. I have been invloved in every aspect of the wireless arena at one time or another. And in this field, a college degree does not exactly guarantee you a job. Most employers and managers, including myself, look at the vendor training acquired(certifications) and the length of time that you have worked on certain equipment. That is what really counts. It's a big buddy network too....

    So no, I have not had any formal college training. And I'm not sure if I need any or want it. I am doing just fine in my line of work and the wife does not have to work either.

  • SloBoy
    SloBoy

    Dragonfly5 checking in.

    I looked at the highschool counselor 29 years ago as he was saying, "You are such a bright girl, we'd like to get you enrolled in some College prepatory classes". I thought, "Armageddon's coming you moron," and said out loud, "I'm not going to college". Like a good widdle witnit should!

    29 years later, I am working 40 hrs a week, pursuing an Associate of Science degree on my lunch hours, at night and through distance education courses. I am 2 0r 3 semesters away from the degree with a 3.88 gpa and I was just awarded a scholarship to split over the next two semesters.

    I grew up 15 minutes from a University and 40 minutes from a college. But as we all know, if you go to college you will become a promiscuous, acid-dropping, abortion-having, evolutionist.

    Don't go to the Kingdom Small anymore. This Spring, first Memorial I will not attend in 39 years. Still, as I walk to my car on my breathtaking college campus I thank a God of Love that I get to keep learning and as long as I am drawing breath I will continue to do so.

    Kinda Intense I know, but getting better.

    SloBoy's Spouse,

    With Love,

    Dragonfly5

  • bebu
    bebu

    Nowisee, whenever I see your posts, I'm always glad to read them. You have a kind air about you, and you are sometimes a breath of fresh air to me! I can't think of a single "bad" post of yours.

    JER 9:23 This is what the LORD says:

    "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
    or the strong man boast of his strength
    or the rich man boast of his riches,

    JER 9:24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
    that he understands and knows me,
    that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
    justice and righteousness on earth,
    for in these I delight
    , declares the LORD.

    Meditate on the value of God here--it is not 'men's wisdom', strength, or riches... those only take you so far...maybe an inch, on God's scale. Love--not high intelligence--never fails.

    ...I never met any JWs at college. All the JWs I've spoken to seem rather robotic. But now, through these posts, I've come to see that there are so many thinking people trapped in a wretched cult. For these, doubt has been God's grace, not a sin. I feel relieved that JWs ARE thinking human beings after all--though some to such a lesser extent...

    bebu

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