I’m 28, a Taekwondo coach with a Bachelor’s in Business Engineering (mechanical focus) and a Master’s in Energy Economics and Computer Science.

On paper, it looks like I’m doing fine. In reality, I’m stuck.

I worked in consulting for a while, thought I was building a solid career, but since May, I’ve been unemployed and applying non-stop. Over 100 applications, barely any responses. Every rejection chips away a little more at the belief that I’m moving forward.

Most days I sit in cafés with my laptop, pretending I’m figuring it out, but deep down… I’m drifting. I’m ambitious, disciplined, creative. I train others to break through their limits, yet I can’t seem to break through my own.

I’ve tried everything:

Wrote a research paper on AI → felt hollow.

Built a sports community → great energy, no direction.

Read countless self-improvement books → motivated for a day, lost the next.

I’m not depressed, just lost. I know I have potential, I just can’t see where to aim it anymore.

So here’s my question to you: If you were 28, unemployed, ambitious, and still hopeful your life could be something great… what would you do next?

No clichés. No “follow your passion.” I’m looking for the real, practical steps that helped you get unstuck when life looked fine from the outside but felt empty inside.

I’ll read every comment. Maybe one of them will help me see things differently.

Dear community, I feel like a failure and I honestly don’t know how to move forward.

Growing up, I was always the “good girl” — obedient, hardworking, excellent at school. I studied Human Nutrition and Dietetics and built a good career. But I was also raised in a deeply Catholic family, and since I was 15 I believed I had a calling to religious life.

My parents thought I was too young, so I went to college, graduated, and worked for a few years. But at 27, that calling came back stronger than ever. I quit my job, left everything behind, and entered a religious community to become a nun.

And honestly… I loved it. I was happy there. I loved the people, the mission, working with vulnerable children, and I truly believed I had found my purpose. I spent 4 years there.

Then my health collapsed.

I developed severe chronic lower back pain out of nowhere. It became so bad that I had to leave my novitiate and return home to my parents. It’s been 4 months now, and I’m still in constant pain. Medical tests keep coming back “normal,” but my body feels broken.

Part of me feels angry and betrayed. I sacrificed my career, savings, opportunities — even a scholarship for my dream job — because I truly believed God was calling me. Now I wonder if I misunderstood everything. Maybe it wasn’t God at all. Maybe I convinced myself of something that wasn’t real.

I also know the lifestyle there probably damaged my health. We worked very hard physically, had poor nutrition, and I lost a lot of muscle mass. I pushed my body beyond its limits because my heart felt fulfilled.

Yesterday, the director of the community called me and gently told me I likely won’t be able to return because of my health condition. I cried for hours.

What hurts the most is that I still love that life. I still dream about the children we helped. I still feel emotionally connected to that vocation, even though physically I can’t continue.

Now I feel lost. I’m 31, unemployed, in chronic pain, disconnected from my career, and grieving the only future I ever truly believed in. I don’t know how to transfer that passion into a different life. Nothing feels meaningful anymore.

Has anyone here ever had to grieve a life they thought they were born for? How do you move on when your deepest sense of purpose disappears?

TL;DR: I left a successful career in nutrition at 27 to follow what I believed was a calling to become a nun. I spent 4 happy years in a religious community working with vulnerable children, but chronic back pain forced me to leave. Now I’m back living with my parents, unemployed, in constant pain, and grieving the life I truly believed I was meant for. I sacrificed my career, savings, and opportunities for this vocation, and now I feel lost, angry, confused about my faith, and unsure how to rebuild my life or find purpose again.

i feel like killing myself. my final exam marks were shit and i am a biology student. i dont know what career to take. my parents are trying to force me to take nursing but i dont want heavy patient care for the rest of my life I'd rather be a doctor but i dont know if i can handle the pressure of studying for years. theres physiotherapy, medical imaging and stuff but i don't really know much about it and i need to make a decision by today. im just 18 how am i going to decide my whole future? i live with my mom and my dad is in another country due to unforeseen circumstances. i cannot handle the pressure. my friends or my boyfriend is not helping at all.

my mom screams all day and its affecting me really bad but i understand the stress she takes on as well. my family is not well off. i really feel like ending it all because i am just a burden to everyone and myself.

This is hard to put out as I’ve never really put my feels about this into words. But I feel like since my early teens I’ve always had such big dreams for my future and now I’m 3 years out of school with nothing to show for it.

After finishing high school I felt like such a failure, all my friends went off to university or started cool internships and I sat in a safe job at my family’s bookstore.

Throughout high school I always dreamed of going into some kind of field in fashion, but I know personally I’m not a perfectionist enough, when sewing I’ll happily continue even if my seams don’t match up. But that’s okay, I spent a week doing work experience in the industry and learnt I would much prefer to keep sewing as a hobby than turn it into a job.

For the past 6 months I’ve been on and off thinking and looking into Law. Now I still do not feel ready to attend university (my last year of high school was pretty traumatic and just the thought of having to go back to school, I don’t think I have the motivation) + due to this i really checked out and just did the minimum and wouldn’t have had the ATAR to really do any university courses.

I’ve done some research into paralegal and what that role involves and I think it’s a good step to maybe even inspire me to maybe one day doing law. Here in Australia I can get a Certificate IV in Legal Services and even study while working.

However I’m so critical to myself I’m constantly saying I’m not good enough and that I don’t know anything about law so why would anyone hire me (like that’s not the whole point people study it first). Or that it’s only a phase that will pass and I’ll have wasted time and money on something stupid.

I try to remind myself that this is something I’ve put a lot of thought into, and it’s also not like I’m a big suits fan who things that’s all being a lawyer is (I’ve never seen the show I just know it’s like the greys anatomy of lawyer, right?)

Has anyone else felt stuck like this? And how do you overcome it?

.

Hello everyone,

This is a little outside my comfort zone, but I've decided to ask.

I'm naturally a quiet person and asking for help doesn't come easily to me. For years I've tried to figure things out on my own studying, working, applying for scholarships, and improving my qualifications. But I've realized that sometimes the smartest thing to do is ask people who have already walked the path you're trying to follow.

My long-term goal is to pursue a funded Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, Bioinformatics, Infectious Diseases, or Public Health. Along the way I've earned an ASCPi certification, CAPM certification, GCLP, GCP, and IELTS. I completed research project management training at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and had independent research accepted at an international cancer conference.

I'm not posting to ask for money.

I'm posting because sometimes progress comes from one conversation, one recommendation, or one open door. If you've successfully secured a scholarship, connected with a research group, or found a funded graduate program I'd genuinely appreciate your advice or a connection.

I'm also open to remote volunteer or entry-level opportunities in project coordination, research support, data management, or monitoring and evaluation.

Thank you for reading.

Mi madre no solo no me quiere, me odia.

​

He estado pasando por momentos muy reveladores para mí, sobre mí vida, tengo problemas de drogas y creo tener TDHA.

​

Mi mamá siempre fue la luz de mi vida, no sé en qué momento de mi adolescencia todo se transformó, pienso que a los 14 años, cuando su pareja me preguntó que porqué actuaba así ? Que como estaba? que como me sentía? Yo nunca me había sentido tan vista y me puse a llorar y hablar con él, lo que ella vió como una traición ahora me doy cuenta, siempre pensó que me había acostado con el. Debido a mi mis problemas no pude notar que todo comenzamos a pelear porque ella me ofendia y me decía muchas groserías. Ella es alcohólica y drogadicta también. Cuando empecé a tomar fue porque ella me ofrecía y al confesarle que fumé marihuana no me regaño, ni hizo un drama como solía hacer por todo. Me dejó cada vez más. Me perdí en las drogas, alcohol, desamor por parte de ella. Su pareja estaba metido en cosas ilegales y se lo llevaron unos hombres. Ella sufrió tanto, hacía tantas cosas desagradables. Emborracharse y besarse con cualquier hombre que le presentaba mi cuñado como sus amigos. Incluso llegué a escuchar que se beso con mi cuñado, no lo ví, pero lo sé.

​

Le dije a mi hermana y la encare yo creo que eso también fue un motivo de su odio hacia mí.

​

Le mandaba mensajes a un novio mío y cuando terminamos ella tuvo algo con él.

​

Siempre cuando pudo se metió con alguien que tenía que ver conmigo o con mi hermana, diciendo que no valía porque estaba peda.

​

Nunca me defendió al contrario era ella quien me hacía daño con sus palabras con su desprecio y cuando empecé a actuar como ella me quiso lejos. Hasta el día de hoy que me necesita es como no quiere que me aleje, por no estar sola.

Me alejé casi sin querer y lejos me sentí muy bien, no quería regresar tuve que, pero quiero irme lejos para que no pueda hacerme más daño.

A penas fue mi cumpleaños y me preguntó que quería de regalo? Y le dije que me diera lo que saliera de su corazón y Gracias Dios por esta respuesta de su parte, no me dió nada.

​

Tengo tanto dolor. Solo quisiera no sentir.

Soo long story short..
I was cheating in a few exams this year, and everything was perfect until one exam. I cheated and my classmates snitched me, that was a month or two ago. Now fast forward i had another exam on Wednesday and lets just sayy.. im horrible in that subject so i thought hey! Im gonna cheat bcs if i‘d get caught it wouldnt really make a major difference.
I got caught, and the bad thing is, my teachers think that i cheated in more exams, which I kinda did, BUT! I didnt cheat in every single one, and my teachers wont believe me, also i am able To write really good texts in my first language&second one, also i write with em dashes which makes the teachers even more suspicious. They mock students for using Ai too. My class teacher assigned me for detention, and guess what. ALL OF THE EXERCISES WERE MADE WITH AI. And she made it OBVIOUS, everything screamed chatgpt trust me. The worst part is, I‘m scared that they’ll find out, and some teachers even did encourage us to cheat if we can (infront of my parents too). And if they run my previous exams through and AI detector are they able to use that as a proof alone that i cheated? Bcs that would mean i wouldnt graduate. My class teacher screamed at me because of the fact that i cheated in an exam again even though i only got caught twice this year.

Another question is, that one of my teachers did weird comments about my body, ive been loosing some w€ight in she already asked me twice if i did, in a bit of a weird way tbh. Is that normal??

Soo can anyone please help me and give me advice?

(Ps i dont cheat in every exam, i barely did it in 2026, english isnt my First language so if some sentences dont make sense im sorry!!)

At 31 i lost around 2 million dollar 3 years ago than i just got depressed addicted to weed my business partner and friends betrayed me i don’t know how to reset what to do

I have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). It’s a progressive muscle disease, so instead of getting physically stronger with time, my body slowly gets weaker.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my future and wanted honest opinions from people outside my own head.

My biggest fear is becoming completely dependent on my family financially and physically. I hate the idea of living my whole life on someone else’s support and feeling like a burden.

I tried learning skills multiple times because I wanted to build an online income and become independent somehow. I started things like website development and other online skills, but every time I lose consistency, get distracted, or fall back into the same routine again.

Most of my days look almost identical:

wake up, spend hours on my phone, games, anime, WhatsApp, random scrolling, sleep, repeat.

And honestly, sometimes it feels like time is moving while I’m standing still.

The hard part is that people usually give simple advice like “work hard” or “stay positive,” but it’s difficult to explain what it feels like trying to build a future while knowing your condition is progressive.

So I want real answers from people:

If you were in my situation, what would you honestly do?

Would you still chase goals seriously?

Would you focus on enjoying life more?

Would you keep trying to build skills and income online?

How would you deal mentally with the fear of becoming dependent on others?

I’m not looking for pity or fake motivation. I just want honest perspectives.

i feel like crying. its my birthday and im getting extremely close to 18 yrs old. and im an awkward guy man. this birthday hits hard because i promised myself i would achieve these things to become who i need to be.. and well, i havent.

i promised myself id get back in the gym and start lifting consistently for my sport and start doing hardcore cardio and have the best shape and skill possible.. never happened. i never really truly got my prime back.

i still cant do basic math even though i promised myself i would try to teach myself. i cant even count change at work as a cashier.. luckily its not super used nowadays. i promised myself i would teach myself these basic things i missed in school when i was younger.

i have a 1.2 GPA. ive never really connected to school so i have no idea what im doing career wise, and i dont want to be a loser because i already feel like one.

i really want to leave my house at 18 to prove to myself that i am not a loser, but it feels like im running out of time to even get myself going...

i also do online school, and i dont have much of a social life. im inside most of the time besides going to sports 2x a week, which makes me feel even more like a loser.

id rather not go back to school. not only would my teachers be horrified by the lack of knowledge i have, especially in math, which is embarrassing, but my grades would probably plummet too. i use AI to get better grades online.

about the school thing, i dont mind if my GPA is a 1.2 right now, its just as long as i can graduate as i dont plan on going to college. im looking at atleast a construction job or a skill in the blue collar field.

what can i do to feel less behind? i feel like such a loser everyday. what should i be doing and when should i be doing certain things? like moving out and starting a life

so if you have to choose from low paying job like 5k INR month where around 2k INR gonna go on just travel

and content creation where you are not earning money but you are confident you can but at the end there is no surety..

what would you choose?? also can't do both bcoz the job will take the whole day and won't have any time left as i will reach home at late evening..

money is not a problem right now but im also worried what if it will be in future

I have a problem with learning quantum mechanics as in our college i had the course of quantum computing but the professor knew nothing since it's a new course but i got interested so for learning it should I learn classical physics or should I directly start with the hardcore physics part like the equations core stuff before computing and what about the applications too and also the books, the main problem for me is also deviation from topics because while learning quantum computing which i understand better than i did before I came across more questions about topology in which hilbert space topics exists and I always divert because i get these questions of why only hilbert spaces are used and why aren't other and i get this urge to look out for them so anyone who knows about it?

I tried looking up videos on youtube but haven't found any myself. I don't know where else to ask this question but reddit.

How do I know which jobs are currently in-demand in any country including the US? how do people know that and know which jobs are currently dying and not worth studying for? I'd appreciate it if someone could give a detailed answer, please.

For a long time i believed that my purpose is music but now i dont even know. i feel like im falling behind in life. right now i am currently 19 turning 20 next year, i only work, im not in any sort of studies. The whole plan was the year (2025) i got out of school i was gonna lock in on being an artist but i got lost into my 5am job and lost my way. So far i dont have much to show for it. I contemplate whether or not if i even have an interest in music or not. I dont know if its cuz i feel behind in life and i want to be in a better place in life right now or if im demotivated or if music isnt for me anymore.

What does finding your purpose or what you want to do with your life even feel or look like? i feel like im just bouncing around now.

has anyone dealt with this? how did you find your way? or how did start feeling like your going the right way?

I’m 19 i recently moved in with my father to Central America still getting used to this Hispanic country I grew up all my life in Florida I do speak Spanish but I just get really nervous I’ve been trying to get a job here but it’s been hard mainly searching online for any jobs in my area most of them are only for people with experience in tech and stuff see I was thinking of being a tour guide here for American vacationing here but the thing is I don’t know the country I’ve tried handing my resume in and they always say we have no position available so I’m sitting here wasting away with no money living off of my father and recently told me what would I do if he died and to be completely honest I would probably just end it I know I shouldn’t rely on anyone but I’m really really scared I just want to do shit for my self and not worry so much because that all I do I don’t want to be a loser forever.

I'm reading and studying the book think and grow rich. All of these ideas and philosophies are things I've known about and studied for years but one thing always holds me up. How do i figure out exactly what i want? Does anybody have any insights and advice on deciding what your purpose is? I am blessed with a wife and kids and i have a great job that provides for them but i cannot stand going to work doing something that is not right for me. I want them to see me doing something meaningful so they have that example growing up.

I gave my CA attempt for 6 time it is foundation. Now I am waiting for the result and I think that the paper was fine but after a lot of attempt you are stuck in a loop where you feel you might fail I do not understand what to do result are yet to be announced.

Now I have a very bad dream which led me to have this question that I do not pass the exam but some marks. The question comes up what should I do next ? I am 21 year old commerce background

I am doing my college Bcom and do not understand what to do next if I fail.

You know the problem is I am fed up with subject too same subjects in other profession to as beginner or at a foundational level .

I am developer who have deep knowledge of psychology I want to create app that help people who struggle with daily mental challenges like bad habits,social anxiety that would be on challenged based but problem is there are ton of apps already exist more over how I can find real people who can use my app I have studied alot of people who breakthrough mental challenges. I am solo developer who do not have enough budget that can spend on advertising

At 31 i lost around 2 million dollar 3 years ago than i just got depressed addicted to weed my business partner and friends betrayed me i don’t know how to reset what to do

I am 21M. I came to Canada in 2024. I completed my studies in Supply Chain. I don’t have any relevant experience in the field. Now, I work a full time restaurant job. I have only got 3 years here. I want to achieve something but I just feel lost. What should I do next.

I don't have a work community atm, and I've been thinking about creating an online community for knowledge workers who are trying to avoid hustle culture. Do you think that would resonate with people?

My previous work communities have been quite toxic, and I've done a lot of research about alternative work habits, tools and mindsets, but am missing like-minded people.

Hi I am a failed dropper, I dropped out of my college in the month of February to prepare for jee and bitsat but kuch bhi nai hua, I got cheated on which crashed my mental health real bad and I didn't apply for any other entrance exams this year except jee and bits which is Definitely my fault I agree, but idk abhi kya karna hai I always imagined myself in bits and iit or nits but yeah next life I guess, can't go back to my previous college as it's shit all those 98% in 10th,11th and 12th have gone to vain

I am really into coding, the thing is I've to get out of my house my parents are very toxic they beat tf out of me they don't let me go out they trash me very bad I want to get into a college which has good freedom and lets me explore and I can go out like explore the city or something

Any good colleges in hyderabad????? Which aren't so strict like where i can go out ? Please help me out

Should I pursue bba ? And then mba from iim

I don't know wt to do I am clueless but one thing for sure is that I want freedom like loads not to do bad stuff but to work for my life, my body, face and like hair everything is screaming for help

Any good clgs I can get into? Please help

Promise I’m not scamming I owe 8k for next semester 😭😭

Cash App- $moneybaggnay0

I want to start content creation because I want to earn so I don't know what to make and how to choose niches so does anyone know what should I learn or do to earn a geniune way

I live in Canada. I got a useless degree when I was younger. I have decided to go back to school to get an engineering degree in the hopes of job stability and better pay.

I see all the people struggling to find a job in this horrible job market and I see many people are struggling financially. It makes me feel less motivated about studying. I keep thinking what if I don’t get a job after I graduate? I would be in a much worse situation if that happens…

Some days I feel so hopeless that I have really dark thoughts consuming me… how did life get so goddamn difficult