[NevadaGhosts]

Good for you, Blackmane. If you can afford college and also afford to buy survival supplies, go for it!

[jesus_of_suburbia_old]

I work a low-paying job because my family has no connections, because we have no influence, because we have no money. I wasn't joking when I said I work at Walgreens for $8.10 an hour.

The mods already slapped me on the wrist.

You can see the second part of this message in the Flame Forum.

[NevadaGhosts]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') work a low-paying job because my family has no connections, because we have no influence, because we have no money. I wasn't joking when I said I work at Walgreens for $8.10 an hour.

The mods already slapped me on the wrist.

You can see the second part of this message in the Flame Forum.

[NevadaGhosts]

jrob8503,

Don't feel bad. I'm not excatly rich myself. Neither is my family. Nothing to be embarassed about.

[arocoun]

College sucks. I'm in my second--and last--year of college right now.

Our society doesn't need any more scientists, engineers, powerful leaders, etc. We also don't need people who are dependant on large-scale growth-oriented capitalist systems for their very lives. We've had our experiment with those things, and that experiment failed miserably.

What we need is for people to start depending more on themselves (as opposed to specialists and leaders), and for people to start becoming more indigenous to the natural world (as opposed to "above" or "seperate from" it). College doesn't help do any of that.

You can prepare to become a leader and a dependant of society as it is today--another citizen; or you can choose to live differently. Keep this in mind, though: Society is going to completely change very soon, either because of the intelligent decision-making of most of its individual members, or because geological reality will catch up to and destroy it. I think we all know which condition will come to be, and I don't intend to be a part of this destroy-and-grow society when that happens.

[jesus_of_suburbia_old]

^I say the world is too crowded to simply live on your own. We have to learn to cooperate, trust and depend on each other to some degree. Two heads are better than one.

BTW, we might have the similar birthdays. I was also born in August, am 19 and in my second year of college.

8/24/85

[arocoun]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('jrob8503', 'I') say the world is too crowded to simply live on your own. We have to learn to cooperate, trust and depend on each other to some degree. Two heads are better than one.

[chargrove]

Whether or not you remain in school, and whether or not you are studying a discipline that may or may not have obvious benefit in a post-peak world, there is one piece of advice I will offer that applies regardless (particularly if you're in a scientific/mental discipline):

Build up your sense of Awareness, and learn how to listen to your intuition and instincts that come from it.

This may sound like "obvious" advice, but in a Western society driven heavily by the mind and thinking, it is all to easy to lose touch with your inner awareness, your sense of being and knowing. This sense is not improved by the mind or by thought, but just the opposite: shutting down your mental feedback processes for a while (do whatever you can to think of nothing) and just taking everything in and focusing on your awareness of who you are and where you fit in the Here and Now.

It may sound a tad bit mystical/religious (and it is), but I offer the above as very practical advice, since in a survival situation your life may very well depend on it.

The mind is a problem-solving machine, and it solves these problems heavily based on input from previous similar experiences that it can draw from. When confronted with problems that cannot be readily solved in this way (as in when you're thrust into an unfamiliar survival scenario), the mind becomes confused and can cause panic. Sometimes, when the mind cannot solve its problems (or, in the case of over-abundance, when there are no available problems to solve), it makes up new problems to keep itself occupied. Both of the above scenarios are incredible energy wasters which in a survival scenario could very well kill you.

By being able to silence your thoughts and calm your mind (through meditation or various other techniques), you will increase your general sense of awareness and start recognizing that your mind, the source of your ego, is not "you", but rather just a tool and that the real "you" is a consciousness that resides beyond the limits of the physical world, in harmony and Oneness with all things (you can call this Oneness "God" if you like, or use whatever term you prefer).

Again, I realize this may sound religious, but in a survival scenario it takes on a very important quality, as Native Americans and other pre-industrial "primitive" societies have found out through many years of experience. If you have not honed your awareness and fully realized your unity (not superiority) with nature, you will not be able to survive in nature, because nature will not recognize you as being One with it. Such a separation directly impacts your ability to effectively hunt wild game without modern weapons, to distinguish edible and poisonous plants without a guide, to recognize intuitively where your next shelter should be, and so on.

Obviously, in a post-peak scenario, survival may be some kind of hybrid of modern living and pre-industrial primitive living, but the need for intuitive awareness may be all the greater in this situation, because there may be large numbers of people attempting to acquire the same resources as you, and these people may be friend or foe (depending on how bad things get). Dealing with this kind of situation through logical thought alone is likely to get you into trouble, when your counterparts are anything but logical.

I come from a very rational/skeptical background (working as a software engineer until very recently), and only in the past few months have I truly realized the value that heightened awareness can give you once you've hit the limits of what rational thought can effectively accomplish. To gain this awareness and reap its benefits, you first need to fight the hard fight against your own ego, because that ego (and the fear that it bases itself on, both of the past and the future) will only bring you harm once the societal shift has taken place.

Use your mind as a tool only when it helps you, and let your awareness of the present moment take care of the rest. Not only will this help you take better care of yourself and the world, but the world will take better care of you.

Hope that helps.

BTW, this is my first post on the forum; I've been reading for a while but hadn't decided to say anything until now (hi everyone).

[bentstrider]

Well, you should still go to college, but try getting certifications that don't take that much time.
There are local community colleges that teach Paramedics and fire sciences.
There are still going to be things catching on fire and people getting into crazy predicaments. Not to mention rescue vehicles either being pulled by a horse, or powered by corn/vegetable bio diesel if churned out accordingly.
You could also learn to fix things, anything, or make anything from scratch.
Just because petroleum will be a total loss doesn't mean motors and common structures will be. Sh!t breaks down, sh!t needs to be fixed.
And then of course law enforcement classes.
I currently do armed perimeter security.
My job and all these listed professions above can be generally finished in 1-3 years.
And engineers, math and music majors would be good too though.
You'll need engineers and mathemeticians to find a non-fossil fuel way to shoot down an asteroid headed for the Earth.
Musicians can simply contribute to the relief department.
Keeping a sense of humor and calm in the middle of a dark time.

[Pops]

Hi Char and welcome. Your post is very relevant I think, as I am one of those who tend to over analyze things and often ignore intuition. I think that going with your gut feeling is good advice to people in blackmane’s situation and to the rest of us as well.

No matter how much logic one applies to a situation there are sometimes things - to paraphrase the Secretary of War, we don’t know we know.

Make your best assessment given the information at hand and then make your plan, but be sure the plan “feelsâ€

[Blackmane]

Char, I know what you mean about using your intuition. I have started waking up in the morning and before doing anything, I take 15 minutes to relax, clear my mind, and do a little bit of meditation. I was surprised at how relaxed I felt and how much more alive I felt after starting to do it. I plan to take even more time to get into a sort of peace before I take on the day. I recommend doing something in the morning to relax yourself and become relaxed.

Also, my birthday is 8/05/85, so I'm pretty close to you too, jrob.

[KiddieKorral]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Blackmane', 'A')lso, my birthday is 8/05/85, so I'm pretty close to you too, jrob.

[jato]

My daughter's is 08/05/96!

[Blackmane]

It seems like that is a popular day for babies. I have a friend I went to school with that had my birthday too.

[Coolman]

I am currently in college, but I am slowly slipping away from it. Most of my time is spent reading, exercising and starting my organic garden. In the very near future I plan to learn survival skills and start stocking up on survival items. So personally I am taking classes in college that intrests me, but I don't plan on getting a job out of going to college because I know very well the economy is goning to hell soon. I live in Phoenix Arizonia. Its going to be like the 7th circle of hell here soon enough. I have a lot of decisions to make and work to do. My chances of survival are minimal in my situation but that does not stop me from enjoying nature and the simple things in life like the cool breeze on my face or the birds singing. Learning about Peak Oil is the best thing that has happened to me, I am more happy then I have ever been in my life. I have learned to love nature and its wonders and If I die in 5 years who gives a fuck, people die young all the time (I am currently almost 20 years old) and Peak Oil just means I won't have to live a long industrial life (Thank God). I will try my hardest to survive but it is going be extremely hard. So it all depends how you want to live the remainer of your life here on Earth. I go to college to learn for fun, but costs may force me to drop out soon.

Enjoy the simple things in life, they will make you high on life.

[savethehumans]

Peak Oil, global warming, climate change, resource wars--I really HAVE come to appreciate what's really important. And every day IS special. I can get very depressed at times. But I find myself happier than I've been in my life, too. Always living on Your Road Plan For Life, instead of in the now (except to prepare for the crash, of course!), is an ultra-downer.

I don't think college-agers need to write off college, necessarily. If you are aiming to major in something that matters (pre-med, engineering--yes, we'll still need some of that, emergency management, environmental science--heck, ANY science!--, even education--if it's teaching the basics), then the investment is worth it. We don't KNOW exactly when the crash will take place--next year, 2010, 2012--or how fast things will collapse--though I think it'll be faster than we'd like to think!--so yeah, go on to school. Don't do it on loans, of course! And remember to be learning barterable skills on the side (mechanics, scrounging, knitting, farming, whatever services are USEFUL in a fallen civilization). My older nephew will be entering college in Fall 2006, and if he's chosen a good major, more power to him! (Of course, my brother's retired military, so the tuition's free, so that helps! )

[small_steps]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Blackmane', 'I') am majoring in Mechatronic Engineering, which is a combination of mechanics and electrical data. While it is a new field and probably won't be able to be implemented in the future, it does give me a broader base of information than Mechanical (my other choice) It also gives me a good base of science and construction, which could be useful.

[tmazanec1]

Anything unusual about November 5?
I never thought we would make it to here in 1976 when I started college, but I did and loved every semester of it!

[avisolo]

An alternative to college is doing a professional Gardener's course at your local botanical garden.
That's what I'm doing BTW
Avi

[sventvkg]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NevadaGhosts', 'H')mmm. It's usually been my observation (from most of the highly educated people I have met and known) that the more educated a person is, the farther out of touch with reality that person is. Highly educated people are some of the dumbest people I have ever met (dumb as rocks) in my life. Not always, but usually. But I have met some that were extremely wise and intelligent (usually few and far between). I guess this shows that any idiot with a piece of paper is still an idiot. I am not knocking a college education at all. I am also not calling anyone here with a degree an idiot. But is it really wise to go into massive debt if that person truly believes we are on the verge of a society crash? If that person is not really convinced a crash is coming soon, then they should go to college. Absolutely. But if it's a choice between starting college or preparing for a society crash, I would have to say prepare now. This is to say that they cannot afford both at the same time.