Hello, everyone! Do you have trouble coming up with discussion titles? I do. haha
I want to share with you some of my realisations and findings from the last two weeks in hope that it could help you embrace the time we are living in, and take advantage of what it is offering us.
We, chiarians, might suffer from fatigue, pain, brain fog, passing out and many more symptoms that make it close to impossible to interact with others in the usual ways. I mean teachers and classmates to learn, employers, employees, co-workers, clients to make a living, friends or family to just have fun, support and safety. School, work, family and friends are pertty basic aspects of life that come relatively easy for most. The society is built on the paradigm that everyone is capable of going to school/college or work, studying or working for ~8 hours per day and after that, do what ever they need to do at home for themselves or for their family.
What about the people who physically can't do that? Are they supposed to drop out of school/college and be done? Are they supposed to loose their jobs and not bother the world with their problems? There ofcourse are some social guarantees, but as far as I know, they don't offer a good quality of life.
I say, a person who wants to learn and grow, or someone who wants to work shouldn't loose their future just because they can't do the average 8 hour day!
Lucky for us, we live in the internet era that keeps throwing at us more and more opportunities! :) For instance, you can learn almost anything now on the internet. There are millions of people around the world who happily make and upload tutorials for free. I guess people are starting to realise the power of this, because not only the net is full of sites that teach all kinds of things, but also people are talking about how the education model doesn't apply well to todays world.
I'm 25, my parents couldn't afford to send me to university, I have Chiari, that, I suppose, is causing my symptoms, due to which for the past 6 months I can't even clean my home. Most of the time each step feels like a hit to the head. As I am now, I could not take care of myself. Fairly recently I still felt like I had no future.
Then I received an e-mail from a learning site about programming and although the words "progrmming" or "coding" sound pretty scary, I looked into it. I signed up on a learning site and started the first lesson. It was soooo interesting and fun! Made me feel like playing a game. :)
So now my goal is to learn, learn, learn, build in between and sooner or later get a job.
If you are interested in growth, check out this non-profit site founded by MIT and Harvard!
They offer courses in any subject that would be available in a college. You can take courses free or for a fee(~30-100 usd) to get an official cerftificate. edX also offers financial asistance that covers 90% of the fee (if I remember correctly).
Don't ever feel too old for moving up in your carrer, even if you have lost your job! Read here about a 55 year old lady's success story after a lay off.
In another success story a guy shared this song, I thought has a great message.
Explore all the options the internet offers and don't give up!
Hope you all stay optimistic!