> I fell for the same trap that lots of insecure overachievers fall for after college: a strong desire to prove myself, inability to set boundaries and a lack o

> I fell for the same trap that lots of insecure overachievers fall for after college: a strong desire to prove myself, inability to set boundaries and a lack of mentorship / welfare support (other than to 'lean in'). Oh man do I feel seen here. I worked at a commercial pizza kitchen for a few months, this led me to feel maybe I could try software again and had a really, really bad experience. It took a few months for me to apply again, which is the job in my post above. That desire to prove myself causes me so much pain and I wish I could give up. Going to a retail job I have similar reservations, starting to feel like things have just changed and I'm the one who's not recognizing it trying to live in the past. I hope I can find a way to dig myself out of debt but it's going to take years at a drip drip drip rate compared to what I used to make in software. Why do we have resumes and talk about our careers if we're just going to be accused of "living in the past"? I think it really just depends on whether you have a past you can be proud of or if you're embarrassed by it and trying to hide the shame.