Most of the doctors I've seen look more like the second guy...

Ex Hiki, you're either a troll, or really, really brainwashed. If it's the latter, you should consider going back to being just "Hiki", since being alone tends to help a person develop a mind of their own.

I agree with Saigyo, you need to analyze the unspoken assumptions that are apart of these "situations". I think it's a really vague to just throw out two options without really thinking about what the person's past is like, their personality, mindset, etc. Becoming a doctor definitely does not mean you "succeed in life". It's all about of society's standards. I know if you're a doctor, people automatically think you're rich and super intelligent, with no problems of your own. Both of my parents are doctors - my dad is a complete bastard with drug issues while my mom is suffering from major depression and other illnesses. An occupation doesn't show someone everything about the person.

I don't see how the doctor could have "failed" if s/he dropped out of school, got his/her GED to go to medical school. That's a huge achievement, but, that doesn't mean that s/he is better than A. As long as A is happy, I believe that's an amazing achievement. Who the hell cares if you're working at a convenience store? Money is money and as long as you have food, clothing and a home, you're pretty well off. Especially with the economy the way it is now, there's no time to worry about what others would think about your occupation.



And I'm not very sure about what you are trying to imply with this statement. I know many people that did not live the "typical" youth. Just because you missed out on your teenage years, does not mean your life is going to be horrible for the next 50/60/70 years that you live. I know about many people that have had a horrible life until they were 50 or 60, then finding happiness. No one should judge anyone else based on what happened during their youth. I know I didn't live out my high school years at all, I didn't do anything the other teenagers have done, isolated myself and made it nearly the top of my class. Now I'm going to the most highly populated city in my country for school, while my "peers" back in high school are stuck back in my hometown doing absolutely nothing with their life. So, ones' teenage/youth years should not explain who they are.



I know it's not in my place to say, but, please be careful about how you say things. ): You don't want to offend anyone, plus, just because someone may agree with your opinion does not mean they are automatically more mature, especially if you are saying it in a broad statement like that.

She accomplished a degree in arts and philosophy. She accomplished an expansion of her skills and her knowledge. She accomplished to be able to make use of the things that she got to know in university during the times she isn't working at a store. Why do you question the choice of an unconventional path of life which applies to someones specific interests, rather than choosing a path that results with social acceptance and a "career". Most people who study stuff like arts and philosophy are very aware of the fact, that it's very hard to make a living of those things of interest, and that they'll probably being forced to take smaller jobs in order to get food on the table in the future. But they still do it, because they prefer pursuing their interests over forcing themselves to do something that they're not happy with and something which they would do only for the blank sake of material wealth and social acceptance. it takes a really narrow mind to say that doing so is "immature". B probably didnt choose to become a doctor because of passion or because he wants to help people (especially after years of isolation it's very unlikely that you are a philanthropist), but only chose this path in order to show his parents and his former class-mates of what he's capable of. it's an huge accomplishment, of corpse, but it would only takes a few years until he realizes that money and social acceptance isn't the core of being alive, he'll get addicted to painkillers (look, i can use clichés just like you when u posted those pictures) and eventually kills himself (btw: Every year, between 300 and 400 doctors take their own lives—roughly one a day. No other profession has a higher suicide rate. )

speaking of accomplishments, what do you want to accomplish with this thread, ex-hiki? that's not the way to approach a "philosophical question."

I pick option C: Do whatever sounds enjoyable at the moment. Don't give even a hint of a damn about social acceptance or being wealthy. I just want to provide for myself necessities and have a good time. Choosing one lifestyle over another doesn't imply immaturity.

i'm biased because of my situation and will dog option A. also keep in mind i'm talking about the states as i don't really know how things work in other countries.

option A would be unbearable and i'd attempt suicide if it were me. see A won't just be a cashier at thirty, they will be a cashier for the rest of A's working life. paying off tens of thousands of dollars in student loans to be a just a cashier living off of either a spouse, parents or the state for forever. getting a degree in art is showing the entire world how book smart you are and how street smart you are not. because of people like A people like myself who didn't have the luxury of higher education yet are passed over for these min wage jobs. A may have enjoyed their youth but there is so much more to life than youth and anyone who will tell you otherwise is selling you something.
option B may have made some mistakes but has a good future ahead. a doctor is able to pay their own bills and know that they have made a difference in someone's life for the better. B won't have to despair over retirement, will be approved to buy a new car or a home, and will be pursued by potential mates as the general public finds doctors enticing. B has the world as it's apple for as long as they choose to practice their profession which is something A will never get to do. i see no flaws in B's past or future. the only flaw in B's present is the illusion that the best years of life are found in youth.

looking at it from that perspective makes me understand your point quite well. but its not very realistic to assume that someone educated will always stay cashier while someone not edjucated will become doctor

but if A would really stay cashier forever it would be fuck thats for sure

i thought that both options A and B were educated, it's just that B chose education about four or five years later than A did.

Aren't the youth years, 15-25 the best years in your life? Like in this song where he enjoyed his youth?

yeah but its not realistic. a school dropout that has shut himself in for years will not even be able to pay for the education. you cannot assume that someone already educated will never be able to change his job to something where he can pay his bills, while the other person suddenly changes his whole life in an instant. of course B CAN get that kind of change but much less likely than A having enought money to make a living

I just watched that video because David Tennant was in it.

I hate that song.

It just reminds me of my parents because apparently, it's 'their song'.

Puke.

You know this is a pretty hard question to answer because there is Not a correct answer. It gets even harder for me to answer because I am not really sure where I stand with what makes life better, accomplishments or rich experiences.

I guess I am going to say person B. While person B may have not really enjoyed life he or she have something solid to fall back on. Even if my life was full of socializing and friends and experiences like that. I do not like the idea of living paycheck to paycheck. So I would rather be a doctor who wasted the prime of his youth and be comfortable and well off. Over being some poor store clerk with no real skills whose best years are now over.

Aren't the youth years, 15-25 the best years in your life?
not for me. i didn't live a typical bourgeois life. i didn't listen to the song but read the lyrics and just don't identify with this romanticized small town outlook. i hate it when older people talk about how the times have changed.. the only thing that changed was their ignorance of the worlds ugliness. bottom line is the best years are the years you choose to make the best of, circumstances permitting.

yeah but its not realistic. a school dropout that has shut himself in for years will not even be able to pay for the education.
i agree with most of what Syc has said but would like to throw this in. depending on B's situations it would be possible for grants to cover the tuition. before i got married i would have been able to get something like 70% of the tuition covered by federal grants. also B didn't change their life in an instant, they still had to attend university for 8 years to achieve their doctorate. ( i know in Germany it's 6 since you graduate with what's an associate's degree here)