re: OT Wise Words for DirtyDawg

You won't find a bigger opponent to the "everyone should go to college" myth than me. The whole system is a shitshow sham - it's downright criminal.

My real advice to DD would be, go to a tech school, learn an actual trade/skill, save yourself about $100K, and most likely earn more money over your lifetime than your buddies going to college. Unless you plan on becoming a doctor, a lawyer, or somesuch, getting a university degree is pointless.

There's a great program currently at Georgia Piedmont Tech (DeKalb Tech for us old timers) in building systems/controls. I've seen students hired out of that program - a two-year program - staring out as high as $65K/year. There's not a BA or a BS that can compete with that.

Agreed. You can't put a price on 4-6 best years of your life

You're right. I don't regret my path in the least. But, the reality is a lot of these kids have unrealistic ideas about what a college degree does. It's a different time than when I was in school.

Also, Hope isn't what it used to be and is only there if he keeps the grades. Today, many graduates end up with debt and jobs that keep them in debt for many many years. It comes down to what his long term goals are and what he's willing to do to reach them. So many young people are shortsighted and end up with degrees that really don't take them anywhere. It's just a different perspective.

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but I feel UGA will give me plenty of opportunities to get my foot in the door with whatever I do.

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Explain why you feel this way.


Initially I wanted to attack you, then I remembered you are just now getting ready to start this, and you are 18 ish.

Do you think you can't frick hot bitches every night if you don't go to UGA?

This whole "Greatest 4-6 years of my life" shite is ridiculous.

The ages of 18-22 are great no matter what you do.. you will have the time of your life.

This is assuming you don't live with your parents and you make responsible decisions from time to time...

Being 19 or 20 or 21 and being independent in your own apartment, you will have plenty of fun.


You don't have to be a college student or frat boy to buy cocaine and frick girls.


When you check in to Russell Hall, they don't hand you a cocaine stipend and a whore card.


As a potential journalist, learn how to judge your sources.


When people give you advice, it's ok to say "you just graduated a year or two ago, you have your entire life (to this point) invested in college, you've only lived a year or two in the real world, why should I listen to you, over several other 30-somethings that are also college graduates from UGA?"

It's ok to question the status quo.

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There isn't a large enough eye rolling emoticon for this bullshite

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Thanks for the insight. You are a gifted man. I admire you.

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Thanks for the insight. You are a gifted man. I admire you.

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You're so adamant about making your point that you equate the college experience to doing white collar drugs and sleeping around. You went to Georgia, surely it meant more to you than that. You're being extremely disingenuous when you pose that as the college experience and not what it really is. Meeting people, making friends, challenging yourself, and for the most part it's about figuring out who you are.

The whole idea of him skipping college to learn a trade isn't realistic for the obvious that I've stated as well as the fact that he probably has no idea what he'll end up doing. He says he wants to do journalism but I bet you anything he changes his major or direction at least once. You're a smart guy, don't be dishonest about the merits of college.

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This whole "Greatest 4-6 years of my life" shite is ridiculous. The ages of 18-22 are great no matter what you do.. you will have the time of your life.
This is assuming you don't live with your parents and you make responsible decisions from time to time...
Being 19 or 20 or 21 and being independent in your own apartment, you will have plenty of fun.
You don't have to be a college student or frat boy to buy cocaine and frick girls

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I'm assuming you're advocating jacket's stance that he should be open to learning a trade and entering the workforce? If wrong I apologize, but it seems that's what you're saying.

Obviously, you don't have to be in college to have fun and party. If he were to learn a trade and start working, he could have plenty of fun and actually have some money to boot. But that's not what it's about. College is an experience, much more than just getting your name on a piece of paper. Let's say he learns to be a welder or something (they make pretty solid money I believe) and starts talking to some hot UGA student. There's a big party on a Tuesday night that he obviously can't go to because he has to be up at 5:30 on wednesday like an adult. Scenario between his G(irl) and some D(ude) at the party..

D- Great party huh!
G- Yeah, I'm so drunk!
D- What's your major?
G- [major], you?
D- Same! I can't wait to actually start the major classes, [insert freshman pre-req] is killing me.
G- I'm in that same class! I guess I've never seen you in there because it's so big lol
D- Yeah! Hey why don't we get together for lunch at ECV before class on Thursday and then we can sit together? It'll be nice to actually recognize a face in there!
G- Yeah sounds great!


Aaaaaaaand now you've lost her. Sure if DD has game (and he would have some money in this scenario) that's great, but for an 18-20 year old UGA student, she's looking for other 18-22 year old UGA guys. She doesn't want some dude talking about his boss and what happened at work that day. She wants a young, irresponsible, care free college kid just like herself.

Entering the workforce and making money isnt' the solution to every problem. And like I've said before, this is THE LAST time period in DD's life where he can have pretty minimal responsibilities. If he wants to skip 2 days of class to watch march madness he can. If it's an absolutely gorgeous April Friday and he wants to join his buddies at the pool, he can. You can't do that shite at work, and he's going to be working for about the next 40ish years after he graduates. There's simply no need to rush into working, just to make a little extra money. 10 years from now he's not going to say "well I've got a few extra grand in my bank, decision paid off!", but he damn sure will remember his memories of college and the friends he made.

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Your argument assumes that the only attractive women available to DD are college women

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No, not really. I said I fully understand a situation like you and rig are saying (skipping college, learning a trade, start working and earning, still have fun and meet girls, etc) can happen. Of course it can. But uh..the facts would most likely support that most of the 18-21 year old females living in Athens are probably there bc they go to UGA. Which doesn't prevent them from dating/fricking anyone they want of course, but the odds are probably good they will gravitate more towards other students, IMO.

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There are all kinds of "experiences" available to people 18-25 that don't involve going to college

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Obviously, I never said college was the only way.

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I took four years off between my AA/one semester at UGAg and going back to finish my BA. So, from 20-24, I did something other than college, worked, travelled, did the band/music thing, and had no problem meeting and dating women

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That's great, but there's a few things. First of all, 22-24 year old women are at the stage in their life where they're moving out of the 'looking for someone else my age in college' stage and looking for someone they can see as a husband and father phase. I'm not talking about 24 year olds, because DD likely isn't going to be targeting that age group. Second, traveling and playing in a band is TOTALLY different than going to trade school and working in a plant or something. While your scenario involves going out, being adventurous, not setting down roots, etc...DD's would involve none of that.

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I'm not saying that my way is the "right" way, just that your way isn't the only way.

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I never said it was. I, and others, have simply said that college is the best time of our lives filled with lifelong memories that we wouldn't trade for anything. It was just a handful of others saying "well, you can also learn a skill and get to work too". Neither way is "right" for everyone, it's up to DD.

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I just know that I really want to be involved in sports in some way past my days in High School. If I could get into Broadcast Journalism at Grady I will have a pretty decent shot of having the resources to get me set up with a low level job at first. From there I know I can work my way up in the sports anchor world.

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You don't need a degree for that job....

-Get a real job. NOW. Pay your own bills and learn about "Life".

-In your spare time, start a sports blog. Read your arse off. Write everyday. increase your knowlege everyday.Perfect your craft.

-Set yourself apart.

-If you are good at it, people will read your blog. And you will have your own Original, proven-to-be-productive resume if you want to go get the entry-level assembly-line job to end up being the sports-writer for that free newspaper rag that they throw in your driveway sometimes in the yellow plastic bag.

-If you suck, and nobody reads your shite or watches your videos, well then you've saved yourself a lot of time and money. And you can move on. Wiser and stronger. Earlier.

-or.......if people do read your blog and your videos get hits, and etc etc.....then maybe you're good enough to do something on your own. Use the money from your actual job to start a website. Cash checks from the advertisers that pay to advertise on your website. Say "yes" to email from book publisher that wants you to travel to every SEC teams home game and write a book on it. Use exposure from this to get paid radio appearances on the various sports talking head puppet shows. Cash more checks. Write more. CONTROL YOUR, OWN DESTINY. Build a fricking empire...

-or just go to Grady with the zillions of other schlubs with dreams of being Dan Patrick......and join the cattle herd march toward s your atlanta cubicle.

-do whatever. I don.t really care. Good luck.