Should I stay or should I go?

sveerai
Wed, 09 Aug 2017 22:20:19 +0000

Hello everyone. I’m new to CC, but I think this is the right place to post.

tl;dr - “non-traditional” student with depression/anxiety, torn between moving back home with aging parents to focus on school or to stay where I am now.

I’m a student in my mid-twenties with depression/anxiety. I’ve been in college off and on since I graduated HS, but my mental illness got worse before it got better and ruined every area of my life, so I’ve spent a lot of time trying to fix things.

Once I recovered, I moved out of my parents’ home to a different part of the state. I now work an office job and would really like to get serious about school. My ultimate goal is to get a degree in accounting and to work for the non-profit sector, specifically mental health outreach.

I really want a degree, but my previous college history is a disaster. It’s so bad, I’ve been hesitant to see a counselor because I’m afraid they’ll tell me that college may not be the right choice for me. At the moment, I can only handle 1 hard class on top of working full time. Any more, and my performance suffers. I barely have enough energy just to live, let alone volunteer for a mental health organization, intern for an accounting firm, or minor in music.

Meanwhile, back at home, my parents are aging, and my father isn’t doing very well. I’m thinking of moving back home to be with them. They want me to be done with school just as badly as I do, so I’m considering a temporary leave from the workforce while I focus on school. That way, I can get done quicker. Right now, I barely make enough to take care of myself. If I get a good job after graduation, then I’ll be able to take care of my parents the way they took care of me.

However, I’m torn. I don’t like the idea of being my age and not working, but I know myself well enough to know that I can’t do well in both school and work and expect to get done in a timely fashion. Plus, while it has been tough, I’m doing well for myself in my new location. I’m not sure if it would be good for me to go home when I’ve worked so hard to get to where I am now.

What do you guys think? Any help would be greatly appreciated.