Is it like this for you?

[arenee]

My life is in an emotional mess right now. I have little control over the problem. My step son has decided that he doesn't want to go to college.
Forget the fact that he has a medical condition that means he needs medical insurance (he has a yearly medical bill of $20,000 if nothing goes wrong.) Forget the fact that he has a 3.5 GPA. Forget the fact that he is 17 years old and should not be encouraged to make decisions that could endanger his life. His mom feels he needs to be free............................So she is ok with him thinking he doesn't have to go to college.

All this has made me lose my desire to scrap.............I was a scrapping beaver last month. I made my 30 points by the 20th............. I have no desire to shoppe with my coupon. I have no desire to even look at the challenges.--This is worse than being hormonal.


Has this happened to you? How do you pull yourself out of a blue funk?
I really need to snap out of it before my coupon expires.

[Paula]

This hasn't happened to me before.

But, man you have a lot to deal with right now. I do hope that things settle down for you.

[Laura_A]

Aww man, I'm so sorry. It's so hard when you're having serious problems IRL. It really can drain you emotionally. Maybe you should just take a little break until you can either work out the problem or come to terms with the situation.

OR, you could scrap a page about foolish 17-year-olds. ROFL

Seriously though, I hope things work out.

[meems]

sorry to hear you are feeling down.

why doesn't he want to go? does he have a plan for doing something else instead? is he open to going eventually?

I know most parents want their kids to go to college but I also think it can be kind of a waste if the kid is not ready.

Perhaps he could find a job with some sort of medical insurance (although can be hard to find a decent job w/o college degree)?

[nikkiARNGwife]

I'm sorry you're blue...

I had a funk back in the spring...I was having 24/7 morning sickness and DH left for his year deployment and I was just way down in the dumps..I didn't scrap for 2 months so I know what you mean.

I just had lunch with my mom who is dealing with my 23 year old baby brother who went through 4 years of college at Ole Miss (which was NOT cheap for them) and has been living at home with my parents for A YEAR b/c he still doesn't know what he wants to do...soo...I think it's a generational thing lol...

[lizzyfizzy]

i can relate to the shutting down feeling! sorry your going through all this. i am totally one that tries to save the world, but we just can't. you give your sincere opinion and then you have to let it go. it hurts to have to sit back and watch the mistakes happen. your in my thoughts!! ((hugs))

[scrappychic]

That's tough, {hugs} to you! I don't know what to say, perhaps scrapping it will be like therapy but you'll need to discuss what's he gonna do if he's not in school. He needs to pull his weight around the house, don't know if his medical condition will interfere with this, but he has to help somehow.

[Nikki Epperson]

Poor girl! I hope it gets better for you soon.

I dread the college years with my stepdaughter and her mother who just doesn't care about it.

She's only 8 and I'm tired of fighting now.

[mrs_jb]

This does happen to me, whenever I hae too much on my mind, my creativity flies out the window. What I have found helps is to just try to scrap anyway... open something, anything, and start a LO. I try not to be overly critical of myself when I am in these funks, I just push through because most times I feel better about my others troubles after scrapping.

[BrattyMeg]

(((Hugs))) I hear ya on being emotional..I've had a tough couple weeks myself

As for your stepson..Although it's sad that he feels his choices are what's best or right for him, when as parents we might know better..I just remember being 17 once and I thought I knew it all then too. I wouldn't force the issue. Him choosing to not go is better than him going and skipping class, etc and you paying for him to not go. There will be a time when he'll realize parents really do know best.

[my3hens]

Oh honey Im so sorry, you really have your hands full! You sound like an amazing girl and I hope that things get better for you soon!! Im so sorry to hear that your stepson is so against college. My mom has a similar problem with the blls, my brother is in college but hes so undecided hes just eating away money.Hes already switched through 3 colleges already! And one he had a full scholarship for and totally blew it! Anyhow im rambling ut I hope it gets better soon babe!

[lovely1m]

Oh, that is hard to think of him doing something to ruin is life like that. I hope he can get it straightened out before its too late.

Maybe go window shopping and you will find some must haves? Or go gallery browsing and find some really inspiring LOs?

[ColleenSwerb]

Like someone else said, try not to let it get to you too much. I'm a HUGE advocate for college. I've talked myself blue in the face to one of my best friends. But he's a musician who "KNOWS he's going to make it big" (cuz it's just so easy to do, kwim?) so why bother with college. I pray he really does make it big, just so I don't have to worry about him so much.

All you can do is say your peace, and put it to rest. He's not going to change his mind right now, no matter how bad you want him to.

Go out and do something you love and try and take your mind off of it :/ Big hugs!!

[schock77]

I feel ya- my sister dropped out of college for her man (who is now her ex-husband and although he's a lawyer, he makes no money and can't support himself-wtf?) Then after HE graduated from a private college, he proceeded to go to law school while she went to cc and got her associates the loan was a combo.

Only now, 18 months AFTER the divorce decree (and he STILL hasn't gotten the loans out of her name so she has 88,000 in school loans and only an associates to show for it) is she finally getting her bachelors. At least she gave him the boot and is now going to school, but if it were me, his a$$ would be back in court to show how he has done nothing he was supposed to (instead of selling their house 60 him/40 hers, he's remarried and has the new wife and her kids living there, he has loans out in both of their names and refuses to get a better job. If McDonald's pays mor than the law, work at McDonald's dude!)

Among other things I could rant about... I just want her to see the forest for the trees, you know??? Argh.... SORRY I'M TOTALLY A RAVING LUNATIC NOW!

Take it easy and remember, scrapping is therapeutic... even if you make a rant page just for your eyes, it would feel good.

[Chels85]

I know how you feel about being in a slump. I just came back from taking a 4 month break from scrapping because of emotional probs. But scrapping is like thraphy for me and it makes me feel better, writing even.

As for your stepson, there's nothing you can really do about it. but hopefully he'll open up his mind about it soon before he'll regret it later ((hugs))

[jessica31876]

yep happened to me...my 16 year old daughter said she hates me and cant wait to move out on the day she turns 18 which is 6 months before she finishes school. All because I told her she was still grounded because she will not stop texting and going onto myspace and facebook(shes allowed to do those things but not while shes grounded and she wont stop when she gets herself grounded). She has had a snotty attitude all summer. I know she doesnt mean it but I can think of few things that sting so much as your only daughter saying she hates you.

What do I do? I scrap about what I am feeling or at the very least I journal it. Soemtimes I use the journaling on a page but sometimes I just delete the journaling. It helps to get it out.

Hope you can figure out what is going on and get your scrapping back.

[Voodoo_Bryn]

when this happens to me, i go to places like Digi-Dare Ya, where they mainly have you scrap about the one thing we forget the most... ourselves.

I don't journal unless I'm in a real funk, and sometimes getting stuff off your chest really helps.

[crystalbella77]

I am so sorry! I totally know how you are feeling with the emotions and stuff. It's been really rough for me as well.

I really hope that things settle down for you soon! With scrapping funks, the challenges help me and browsing galleries a lot. I hope that things work out for you soon!! {{hugs}}

[rach3975]

I'm sorry you're dealing with a lot and don't feel like scrapping! But don't stress about the coupon expiration too much--maybe what you need is a break, and you can always earn another coupon when you're ready. I've taken a few breaks from scrapping when life got hard--the longest was a year with only infrequent scrapping, but I've often stepped away for a week or so.

It's so hard to give advice about your SS, because so much of it conflicts. On one hand, a year in the real world may be all he needs to convince him that college would be a good thing, and then he'll go into it with a dedication he doesn't seem to feel now. So if he does decide not to go now, don't give up. He may be more open to the idea later. On the other hand, some kids need a push but make the most of the opportunity once they're there.

I was the 2nd kind of kid. Like your SS, I was smart and had a good GPA. But by the end of high school I was tired of school and of working so hard. Both my parents have graduate degrees and college was not optional in my family, but at one point I told my parents I didn't even want to go. They insisted, and once I was there I settled in, worked hard, and did well. I graduated with honors and eventually went to grad school, too.

However you decide to handle it and whatever your SS decides, I hope you're able to make your peace with it soon!

[arenee]

Thanks Ladies--
It helps to know I am not alone.
I know there isn't much I can do. I have to let him do what he will but he
has to know that his actions have reprocutions (sp)
I think scrapping it is a good idea...................
17 things I wish I knew at your age

And I am off to shop!!!!
I am going to make my husband pay for having
such a stupid, selfish, immature ex-wife!!
Thanks again

[MelindaH]

Originally Posted by arenee

Thanks Ladies--
It helps to know I am not alone.
I know there isn't much I can do. I have to let him do what he will but he
has to know that his actions have reprocutions (sp)
I think scrapping it is a good idea...................
17 things I wish I knew at your age

And I am off to shop!!!!
I am going to make my husband pay for having
such a stupid, selfish, immature ex-wife!!
Thanks again

I hope the shopping is therapeutic. If the 17 year old has a health condition that will require him to have medical insurance, I would encourage him to start looking for jobs now, and that he be watching for jobs that have medical insurance ... once he realizes how few jobs there are out there that offer medical insurance to starter employees, maybe that will be the kick to make him realize that school isn't so bad after all.

He could always go for general courses for a year if his concern is not knowing what he wants to do ...

I think your layout idea sounds absolutely perfect. I should do something like that myself, even though my kids aren't that age yet. There are so many "I wish I'd" done statements that float around in my head. I don't regret my children at all ... but I really regret some career stuff that I did early on.

HUGS ... this too shall pass!

~Melinda