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Hello. I have. I had no college degree. I was a drop-out. I worked as a line cook, for $9.70/hr (no tips). No economic help from my family. $9.70/hr. Had

by kom107 11y ago

Hello. I have. I had no college degree. I was a drop-out. I worked as a line cook, for $9.70/hr (no tips). No economic help from my family. $9.70/hr. Had my electric turned off a few times. Phone turned off regularly. Water turned off. No gas for a northeast winter. Decided I was sick of it. Went back to school, took out some loans, but worked my ASS off, trying to get as many hours as possible so as to take out as few loans as possible. Kept communication open with my bosses and with my professors: I'm not making shit, I have to keep this job, but I want to make a better life for myself. It was hard. Hardest thing I've ever done. Realized that I couldn't rely on the cook income, so I started a side business JUST IN CASE they decided to fire me (building websites, took one class that had a week long section on HTML in college). Hustled. Replaced my income. Kept the two jobs, took a full course load. Awful. Hated my life, always tired. I graduated with $10,000 in debt from my bachelors and a post-bacc certificate program. Could have been a lot more, but I saw what happened if I went down that route. But you know what? I did it. It is possible. I am not a millionaire, but I have a great job, and am working on launching another company, so that I and my family can have an even better life. Everything we put in front of ourselves is an excuse. It IS possible. If I would have lost my job, I would have found a new one. Kids add difficulty to the situation (trust me, I know), but it is still possible.

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juliangregorian 11y ago
What is with all these jerkoffs who think a handful of examples of overcoming adversity invalidate everyone else's struggle against futility? Jesus, get some perspective.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  I think it's about ego. Most people who overcome adversity tend to have a strong desire to tell everyone about it, because the subtext is "I'm awesome!" And the logical extension is, "If people aren't able to overcome adversity like I did, they aren't as awesome as me!" You're also witnessing survivorship bias. Those who struggle against futility and don't make it through are unlikely to come to places like HN and tell their stories. Indeed, the only failure stories we see here are from entrepreneurs, and that's only because entrepreneurship as a whole is worshipped among hackers and failing at it is therefore seen as noble and applauded as another step on the way to inevitable success.

by kom107 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

juliangregorian 11y ago

What is with all these jerkoffs who think a handful of examples of overcoming adversity invalidate everyone else's struggle against futility? Jesus, get some perspective.

enraged_camel 11y ago
I think it's about ego. Most people who overcome adversity tend to have a strong desire to tell everyone about it, because the subtext is "I'm awesome!" And the logical extension is, "If people aren't able to overcome adversity like I did, they aren't as awesome as me!" You're also witnessing survivorship bias. Those who struggle against futility and don't make it through are unlikely to come to places like HN and tell their stories. Indeed, the only failure stories we see here are from entrepreneurs, and that's only because entrepreneurship as a whole is worshipped among hackers and failing at it is therefore seen as noble and applauded as another step on the way to inevitable success.