Guide to adulthood?

Hi lains. I have decided to try to research more about living independently despite being very dependent on my mother still in life. For background, I am in the middle of my first year at college, and although I've grown to have a good distance from my relatives I still need them for some things. I would like to create a bigger gap between us, but I have no idea for what I need to research. Since I live in the US, I have whored out the common government aid programs available (state insurance). Could any lains give advice for someone progressing to an independent lifestyle? Are there any government aid programs I should look into as a low income college student? I also know I need a driver's license still, but the town I go to college in has a good public transportation infrastructure, so it's not the top of my priority right now. I mainly spend money on autistic soykaf and food, but I am looking to gain / save more for some sudden medical bills that are coming up in the next few months.

>I am in the middle of my first year at college >I have whored out the common government aid programs >living independently Take it from another college student on the verge of graduation who took his entire time there figuring these things out: the only way you will become more independent while attending college is likely going to be in spite of being there. Getting yourself on government crutch programs is exactly what I'm talking about. It gives you a sense of "adulthood" because you have to jump through those hoops "independently", but ultimately you are allowing yourself to become dependent on these larger systems by doing so. And, on top of all that, college is not only a financial drain - it places you in a hierarchical mindset where you're always looking to appease those above you. As far as what would be a more effective route, I can't say for certain - I have a buddy who took the trade route and has done well for himself, but your results may vary. You've got your own journey - just please, for the love of lain avoid government handouts and becoming a debtor if you want to be truly independent.

>>10024 >Are there any government aid programs I should look into as a low income college student? Food stamps kicked ass when I was in college. Depending on your state, you may need to work part time to earn them. Your university may offer assistantships that allow you to qualify for them which might be your only option without a car. Your university should have a department that provides resources for financial aid (scholarships, grants). Use those resources exhaustively and apply for all of them that you can. The first couple years I was in college, this was enough for me to afford rent, food, tuition, and supplies without a job or student loans. I naively believed that since my scholarships covered more than tuition my first year, I would be in for a free ride every year unless tuition spiked (which it did), so I didn’t do this but you may also consider transferring to a cheap university for many of your general education requirements, then transferring to a good university for your in-major courses. Just make sure the credits are transferable. For general adult stuff, order a copy of your birth certificate, get a copy of your SSN card, and pay your taxes on time. Your university will probably have some medical resources and you should find out what those are and take advantage of them. Also, college is sort of like easy mode for adulthood. If you're at a decent university, you'll have resources on campus or nearby for everything, you'll get discounts at tons of other local businesses, university assistantship programs are easy work that will work with your class schedule, there's tons of cheap or free activities all the time, virtually everyone who works there is trying to help you succeed, and if soykaf hits the fan you can always take out student loans as a last resort. So it's easier to be poor and independent from your family while you're in it than it will be after you graduate, but with any luck you'll get a nice job after graduation and it won't be an issue. You mentioned a license. You should save up for a car as well. It may be difficult to make it to job interviews during your junior/senior year without one. On that note, start going to your university's career fairs now and talking with everyone, and find whatever department at your university is responsible for connecting students with employers and watch their postings and emails religiously. What do you rely on your family for besides money?

>>10025 It's a little too late for me to avoid any of that, I had to take out student loans in order to even dream of going to college. >>10026 I didn't get any scholarships before coming here because I was a very depressed student. Barely even made it out of highschool. I had to take out student loans. I'm waiting til the summer to try for food stamps because right now the state will not accept any application by someone who has housing at my college, it comes with a meal plan and that makes government think we don't need groceries for some reason. Based on your info I'm doing pretty good for myself right now. I rely on them for a place to stay during school breaks. That's about it aside from bringing me mail every so often & driving me to doctor's appointments, though I need to take the county bus in order to go to my next one. I kind of miss covid because of the fat food stamps not gonna lie, $200 for food each month was awesome. I thought about going on disability services for my tism but I kind of want a job so not gonna do that lol. Plus it doesn't really affect me to the point I can't live in a normal society, I'm just awfully outspoken which has always made my mother think of me as an embarrassment. My siblings have recommended staying far away from her in order to break the cycle of abuse, but they weren't able to fully disconnect until they were both in their early 20s. I'm hoping to make the first start by renting a room at a friend's place over the summer so I can take a summer course and keep going to my campus job. (And avoid the stress)

>>10028 Oh soykaf, yeah get out of the dorm and off the meal plan as soon as you can. College meal plans are a scam and so are the dorms in most places. If rooming with your friend doesn't work out, there are probably cheap apartment complexes within walking or biking distance. Being a bad student won't prevent funding as much as you think. File your taxes as independent if you can (check your state laws to confirm you're not considered dependent on your parents) and then when you apply for federal grants and your state's main scholarship, you'll count as being poor as fuarrrk which will get you a fair chunk of financial aid. You might be able to get some scholarships for autism. Set up an appointment with your college advisor and ask them for help with getting more financial aid. How much in student loans are you taking out and what's your major?

>>10029 Well I got in housing because I don't have internet in my house, and the ez access to a meal between classes is nice. I'll have to file taxes as independent next year because my mom already filed me as a dependent for this year. Ummm to be honest I have no idea how much my loans are, I know right now it says it's at 10k. I'm also a cs major with a bachelor's of arts (everyone I know who's doing a b.s. is suffering in theoretical math) I was going to look into the first gen student orgs on campus, but they would have only benefited me in the fall. I'll do it next semester.

I dont understand how paying taxes is supposed to work. The entire process seems broken and confusing. I don't think I'll ever do it

>>10048 The tax system in the US is intentionally confusing so that everyone is either forced to hire a professional tax preparer or let the government straight up steal their money (since almost everyone these days has taxes taken out of their paycheck before you get to apply deductions). Remember that government and businesses are on the same side on this, they're all predatory, and unfortunately there's no way to get out of it as long as you're an isolated individual and don't have a community you can fall back on.

>>10700 The downside is that even after getting the license, you are not a good driver and need to drive regular to build up routine to become a somewhat safe driver. Personally, I would recommend against getting the license if you don't need it in the foreseeable future and don't have the possibility to drive at least every other week for a short way -- a few kilometers through town to the grocery store is sufficient. If you don't build up routine, you may need new training again once you actually need a car. Car ownership or just regularly borrowing one of these carsharing cars is quite expensive on a student budget.

>>10816 unless you really can't trust yourself to know whether you're compotent, its still strictly better to have the license because it gives you more freedom, and probably looks better for i.e. insurance and other things if hypothetically in the future you do get a car. If you go without driving for a long time and think you're out of practice you can always take it easy to begin with, reread the regulations or get a friend to help you out till you're confident. This will be easier and faster than getting licensed and if you're not a moron your requirements for your own compotence will probably be better than whatever the government imposes. Maybe there are better ways you could be spending your time but there's extremely few drawbacks to having a drivers license if youre not a hardcorps off grid sort of person.

>>10817 Their eis also the fact that many basic services will be denied to you unless you can produce some form of governments issued ID

>>10025 what trade and what state/country? trades are memed to fuarrrk all proportion depending on location >avoid government handouts lol ancaps always make a chuckle. im guessing this lainon is an avid hiker since public roads,highways, and walkways are de facto government handouts.

>>10875 >"Find a way to make money." >HAHAHA WOOOOWW, WHAT A RETARDED ANCAP AMIRITE???????

>>10875 We should live a good guys life paying all the taxes and being informed citizens who always report the crime and suspicious citizens to the state. Letting anyone who call themselves an authority or an expert rule over us is the only way we can ascend to heaven.

>>10024 pick up an accounting book, learn to save money, consider if you really need something, and please do read that fine manual for appliances and vehicles.

On the same boat here, I would reccomend Lasance's Young Man's Guide or Tihamer Toth I think Angelus Press carries him, the first is public domain

>>10894 more like >refuse free money out of stubborn pride and ideology You are never becoming independent from society and the government and not maximizing your advantages is just playing the game wrong. The mature choice is to accept all handouts available, and invest those resources into getting closer to financial independence. Otherwise you're just putting yourself at a material disadvantage for no actual benefit.

It's important to take note of the following: >the more desensitized you get, the better >let empathy be a well reasoned tool, appliable when you actually need, instead of incorporating it as a trait of your personality >all content may be seen as things you will populate your mind somehow >a cynical mentality is far more useful than a stoic one >being resourceful means to have lived through stuff and properly integrated your experience >knowing when to quit is more important than knowing when to start, after you start paving your way of course >if you have accomplished nothing, the time to start doing something is literally now >wisdom>experience>gut feeling>general knowledge>specific knowledge >try to cast away all things that may interfere with your raw judgement >money is both different and better than power or influence >charisma can be positive or negative, you can be charismatic by being an asshole to people, your gut feeling will tell when it's necessary >charisma is what will make you earn more and deal with less people >guilt trips are the devil, fuarrrk them >never mindlessly give way to things just because it's what you usually do >never trust anyone or anything, not even yourself, but it doesn't mean you have to act like you don't trust anyone because that kills your magnetism >imageboards are bullshit, not worse than mainstream social media, but still bullshit And the most important one: you can only be relatively okay in real life if you build personas. You can be a real cringe retard indoors, but outside, you have to look like an adequate character for whatever the hell you intend to do. People only believe in what they see. If you can't predict their expectations, surpass it with looks when necessary. The art in this is to not let one instance interfere very deeply in another. In the end of the day, you won't have to care about what your persona does for a living, because it is just a thing you made up. You can and should be relatable to people without showing an inch of yourself.

>>11926 Amazing. That's almost textbook psychopathy, especially the part about not having empathy as a trait of your personality. What you describe can be successful in the short term (like robbing a bank), but is usually disastrous in the long term.

>>11926 >A short guide to getting kicked out of any meaningful friend circles