u/Such_Age_734

hey all,

i’m a 19F student from aus wanting to become a corporate lawyer, and i’d love to practice in CA.

I’ve never been to the USA, but i love everything about it - i’ve considered a bunch of different states, and i’m going to go on exchange in the US before graduation.

I’m definitely looking at relocating to California - and i know that this is a long, tedious process so i want to begin planning now.

i have a few plans, feel free to call me out on plausibility. i tend to be a bit idealistic, but i’m also a bit of an academic overachiever ..

• getting a juris doctor from an american law school (somewhat on a scholarship if i can) - preferably a T14, then transitioning from a student visa to a working one - can you even do that? i apologise. i’m really naive.

• getting my juris doctor in australia and then finding a company to sponsor me

• getting my juris doctor in australia which is paid by being in debt to the government, then being employed as a corporate lawyer here then somehow transferring over?

i’m deeply confused if you can’t already tell, but i’d love to gain permanent residency in the US or dual citizenship with my Australian citizenship. I’d also love to raise a family in California and settle down there. I hate the city i’m from in Australia with a burning passion (tall poppy syndrome here is rough)

any help is appreciated !!

P.S

• is it hard to meet people in CA as a foreigner?
• what finances do i need for the whole process so i can save accordingly (broke uni student)

hello everybody. i’m turning 19 in 6 months and need some life advice :)

if you were 19 again, what would you change/plan/do?

hey everyone,

i am an 19F and i am losing control of my life and struggling. i dont know what to do. just a heads up, this is a pretty long post.

last month i lost my mom, who i was really close with. in the span of few weeks, i’ve lost a lot of weight from the stress of it all & i am struggling to eat a healthy amount - i was already underweight prior to my grief and my bmi is now “severely underweight”.

before i lost my mom i was already going downhill for about months - she was my source of comfort & she kept me stable. i entered a depression around about september last year and i haven’t been fully the same since. i’ve drifted away from most of my old friends, and i’ve kept going only because i’m quite passionate about becoming a doctor one day.

i started my undergrad degree this year and things seemed to be going uphill - i was making a lot of new friends, keeping up a high GPA, and taking care of myself, but this all came to a halt when my mom was admitted to the ICU and then suddenly passed.

i’ve really detached from everything else going on in my life since she passed. i’m struggling to leave the house and socialise like i used to - i quit my part time job, & i’m not attending any of my extra curricular (tennis & volunteering), because of how emotionally drained i am. even before i lost my mom i could keep doing these things amidst my depression, but now i feel as though i have really hit rock bottom.

i’ve also been in a relationship with my partner of a year whilst all of this has been occurring. we began dating before i fell into my depression, but we were on a break when i lost my mum. when i reached out to him he showed up for me, and he can be really kind for the most part. the problem is that our relationship is really volatile with a lot of ups and downs, with both of us saying terrible things to each other at our lowest points. i would be lying if i said that our relationship didn’t strongly affect my mood right now. but that’s a whole other issue.

for context, i haven’t had the easiest upbringing. i have C-PTSD from what i have experienced and i’ve also recently been diagnosed with ADHD.

this is all really upsetting because i feel like a shell of my old self. before entering this depression i was a highly motivated and ambitious person. i had clear goals for my career, a clear plan for my life, and dreams of starting a family one day. i also had a really vibrant social life and now i feel as though my best friend is my only genuine friend left. i drifted apart from all my other friends when i first became depressed and was heartbroken at the way three of my closest friends reacted when my mom passed.

i really feel miserable and dissatisfied with all else in my life apart from pursuing my career. i feel like no happiness about anything in my life apart from my education and my good looks, but those things feel so shallow. i just miss my mum and the genuine friendship we had. i think the most valuable thing life has to offer is the relationships & memories we build with ourselves and others - and i feel wasting away at home alone instead of making those when this is the best time to do so. i’m beginning to feel a sense of hopelessness and i’ve felt so incredibly isolated and lonely this past month. i’m also feeling such strong betrayal from my friends, i’m grappling with c-ptsd, and my relationship is so volatile i don’t know how to solve it. i want more than anything to feel like joy in my life. to stop feeling so alone and return to how i was before mid 2025. i’m fighting so hard for it all.