u/International-Exam84

Hello Community!

I’m a local from Queens born and raised. I just got my license! And my friend came up from North Carolina :). We are looking for swimming holes but I realized a lot of them are hidden, because I just got my license I never ventured out past Queens much so I’m looking for help from the community!!

I understand people want the areas to be clean and un disturbed, I currently work as an environmental educator and I have been volunteering across the city for many years participating in beach clean ups, and have volunteered at the Zoos for a while! I am veryy environmentally respectful as a result and promise that wouldn’t be an issue with us seeing that my friend is the same.

I’m really just looking for a nice way to spent our day together, I really appreciate any insights and I won’t share the info given since it’s just me and my friend. We are both 22 year olds looking for fun hikes and a cooling dip, thanks so much <3 please send me a message if you have any recommendations !

TL;DR: 22 yr old working in ed policy, strong profile and experience in this out of wanting to be a “good immigrant daughter” and grind to help the community but realizing I actually don’t like it. Interests/passions in archaeology, art, literature, history. But don’t know what to do because it could mean losing stability and I want to do these things abroad. What should I do?

Hello!

I’m a 22 year old woman from NYC, for the past 5 years i’ve been working in higher education.

It was cool at first, I’m a first-gen latina that grind culture was kind of instilled into me since my youth. Feeling like I had to work hard and prove my parents I was worth the coming, and prove that I can help my community. “No one works harder than a first generation daughter.”

I’m over it. I’m really burnt out… I’m currently working at an ivy league institution as an assistant researcher. I’m the only one there with a bachelors degree and it felt cool at first, yay i’m making a change in reducing systemic barriers to education!

But honestly? Overtime it got boring writing reports, going to meetings, realizing I need a masters degree to obtain more research skills and not knowing If I actually want to do that. I was researching schools and doing the work I needed to do when I realized I was avoidant putting it off and being more excited about going to other countries for grad programs rather than the substance of the program itself.

So I don’t know what to do. I went through a breakup 3 months ago with a guy who followed his dreams of being an athlete even if it means being paid poorly or the possibility of not making it because he’s 20, but he was always confident and happy because he knew at least he tried.

I wish I felt like that. I think saying I’m an assistant researcher in higher education sounds cool, it is a good cause, and I’m not getting paid back and my co-workers are cool— but I genuinely just don’t feel like it’s what I actually like but moreso a front to look put together and it feels like something I should be proud of.

When I was younger I wanted to study conservation biology and be an ornithologist, or an archaeologist. I really enjoy watching nature/archaeology documentation my free time, and this past summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at an excavation site in Scotland and it honestly made me feel so alive. I picked up a part-time job as an environmental educator at my local environmental center, and I feel a lot of joy in seeing how excited students are to learn about nature and archaeology when I’m working there. I feel like my mood has improved since being there, I get to lead classes outdoors and help identify plants, birds, etc. while they ask questions excitedly. I get to handle animals and hear kids tell me they want to be a scientist when they grow up.

I’m also an amazing artist and it’s such a huge passion of mine. I held an art exhibition a year ago, showcasing my poetry and visual art portraits. It did amazing. I had people come up to me and ask me questions of my experiences, telling me they related to how I felt, It was awesome and so nice to connect with other artists too. I feel like I love myself so much whenever I create art and my ex would encourage me to open my own small business because he thought I was really creative. I feel so inspire to write and create art, it truly heals me.

I feel really insecure working in research… I feel kind of fake. I was getting a job with the OECD too, but I felt myself more excited with the idea of being in a new country rather than working in research. I declined the final interview round because I felt like the work was really heavy and I would get burnt out.

So yeah, what do I do? I think it would be cool to get a masters in archaeology, anthropology, cultural heritage studies or something— but I’m in NYC and I would love to study this somewhere like Scotland, Ireland, or Barcelona Spain because that’s where I felt most alive. I know this is a whole other hurdle though. I’m thinking of going to Scotland this summer and volunteering in archaeology and at a seabird wildlife center so I can try these two out. The thing is I can only volunteer for a month as a visitor too though.

Gosh it really sucks, I feel so stuck because my entire resume is education policy. I did minor in anthropology but I don’t know if that’s enough. I do depend on funding a lot because I’m first gen and so my parents are not willing to help (also my dad is homeless he literally can’t), so I’m afraid of making a decision that doesn’t promise stability which is why I studied marketing in college (though it sucked and was so boring). It’s hard to get experience even in volunteering here in NYC because.. well it’s NYC so everybody and their moms want to move over here for a shot. I tried applying for an UNPAID position at the museum of natural history in archaeology AND anthropology and got rejected 3 TIMES! I had better luck flying to another country and volunteering.

I don’t want to live my life out of fear anymore though. My ex broke up with me because he found me to be too pressuring and demanding, because I felt like his career path was unstable and it frightened me. But honestly, I’m realizing I was jealous of his freedom and I wanted the same so I’m trying to do that now.

Does anyone have any advice? Is it foolish to follow these passions? Should I stick with education policy because it is somewhat fulfilling morally and I’m already a competitive contender for grad school given my background in the field? Should I backpack for a few months and talk to others, volunteer, visit universities and speak with professors of my interests? Should I stay home and save up for a year? Like I really don’t know :,(

Hello!

I’m a 22 year old woman from NYC, for the past 5 years i’ve been working in higher education.

It was cool at first, I’m a first-gen latina that grind culture was kind of instilled into me since my youth. Feeling like I had to work hard and prove my parents I was worth the coming, and prove that I can help my community. “No one works harder than a first generation daughter.”

I’m over it. I’m really burnt out… I’m currently working at an ivy league institution as an assistant researcher. I’m the only one there with a bachelors degree and it felt cool at first, yay i’m making a change in reducing systemic barriers to education!

But honestly? Overtime it got boring writing reports, going to meetings, realizing I need a masters degree to obtain more research skills and not knowing If I actually want to do that.

So I don’t know what to do. I went through a breakup 3 months ago with a guy who followed his dreams of being an athlete even if it means being paid poorly or the possibility of not making it because he’s 20, but he was always confident and happy because he knew at least he tried.

I wish I felt like that. I think saying I’m an assistant researcher in higher education sounds cool, it is a good cause, and I’m not getting paid back and my co-workers are cool— but I genuinely just don’t feel like it’s what I actually like but moreso a front to look put together and it feels like something I should be proud of.

When I was younger I wanted to study conservation biology and be an ornithologist, or an archaeologist. I really enjoy watching nature/archaeology documentation my free time, and this past summer I had the opportunity to volunteer at an excavation site in Scotland and it honestly made me feel so alive. I picked up a part-time job as an environmental educator at my local environmental center, and I feel a lot of joy in seeing how excited students are to learn about nature and archaeology when I’m working there. I feel like my mood has improved since being there, I get to lead classes outdoors and help identify plants, birds, etc. while they ask questions excitedly. I get to handle animals and hear kids tell me they want to be a scientist when they grow up.

I’m also an amazing artist and it’s such a huge passion of mine. I held an art exhibition a year ago, showcasing my poetry and visual art portraits. It did amazing. I had people come up to me and ask me questions of my experiences, telling me they related to how I felt, It was awesome and so nice to connect with other artists too.

I feel really insecure working in research… I feel kind of fake. I was getting a job with the OECD too, but I felt myself more excited with the idea of being in a new country rather than working in research. I declined the final interview round because I felt like the work was really heavy and I would get burnt out.

So yeah, what do I do? I think it would be cool to get a masters in archaeology, anthropology, cultural heritage studies or something— but I’m in NYC and I would love to study this somewhere like Scotland, Ireland, or Barcelona Spain because that’s where I felt most alive. I know this is a whole other hurdle though. I’m thinking of going to Scotland this summer and volunteering in archaeology and at a seabird wildlife center so I can try these two out. The thing is I can only volunteer for a month as a visitor too though.

Gosh it really sucks, I feel so stuck because my entire resume is education policy. I did minor in anthropology but I don’t know if that’s enough. I do depend on funding a lot because I’m first gen and so my parents are not willing to help (also my dad is homeless he literally can’t), so I’m afraid of making a decision that doesn’t promise stability which is why I studied marketing in college (though it sucked and was so boring).

I don’t want to live my life out of fear anymore though. My ex broke up with me because he found me to be too pressuring and demanding, because I felt like his career path was unstable and it frightened me. But honestly, I’m realizing I was jealous of his freedom and I wanted the same so I’m trying to do that now.

Does anyone have any advice? Is it foolish to follow these passions? Should I stick with education policy because it is somewhat fulfilling morally and I’m already a competitive contender for grad school given my background in the field? Should I backpack for a few months and talk to others, volunteer, visit universities and speak with professors of my interests? Should I stay home and save up for a year? Like I really don’t know :,(