Oh, yes. I think mine actually did a few internships like that and passed them as college credits, but that wasn't really what I was referring to

I have no doubt that you'll be okay. Just take things as they go "Day by day".


Yes, it's illegal for internships not to be paid but there are some situations (Loopholes), especially with internship programs in which partnerships have been made between some colleges and some high profile "Fortune 500" corporations, where a student will only be "Reimbursed" with class credits (Read the section "Six-Part Test for Unpaid Internships" in the following article -> https://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/em...hip-rules.html). It kind of sucks with the college counselors telling the kids "You'll gain valuable experience that will give you an advantage over the rest of the other graduates" (Which on hindsight, is true) when both they and the students know that the given company is basically getting cheap labor while the college is probably getting a "kickback" donation from the given company (In their defense, the company can say that they're taking the risks of incurring the cost of any damages that might be caused by the student in their workplace [Like grinding down a small portion of their production as the intern adjusts to learning whatever work process(es) from the existing staff who are supervising the intern], so they need to minimize their costs from the start but many students will think that's a load of shit). If there were any paid internships in my Junior year (Even if it was only for minimum wage which it most likely would have been [Read the linked article]) when I went to college, I would have considered enrolling in one at the time but all of the ones that were available then were unpaid and being a kid without any hindsight back then, I balked at the idea of working for free (I didn't know any better then)! However, remember what I told you though about that fellow classmate who did perform the unpaid internship - She had a job lined up for her after she graduated (They must have been impressed with her work since there's no guarantee that an intern will have a job offer whether from the given company or any other company after he/she graduates) while I struggled to find a job for six months after graduating and worse, others were still out of work after a year, took sales jobs or tried to get into graduate school.

I think I'll be okay, but it will be a slow process for me. I thought about getting into an internship too... Thankfully it's illegal not to be paid for an internship here..

Well, maybe you could just start slowly by trying to rekindle your friendship with one of your other friends (Hey, Nothing has changed between the two of us, so that's already something positive for you as well as for me!) rather than with a lot of them at the same time. Afterwards, slowly reach out to another one and then, so forth (I'm not going to tell you whom to make contact with first but if I was in your position, I personally would start off with either Rukia~Chan or Liliel because either one of the two are both good natured and caring persons based on my previous VMs and PMs which I had between each of them. Zinnia Hime also has the same kind of personality based on my previous VMs and PMs with her but unfortunately, she hasn't been around here on a daily basis as the other two, though she tries her best to visit here - It's like what Xero said before "RL comes first before here."). After some time, you should be able to recover a good amount of your friends from before you took your break as well as make some new ones. Like the old saying goes "All in good time."


Yeah, I agree that it would be a good idea to return to school, especially in today's tough job market. The only other advice that I could pass onto you is for you to get into an internship program whether unpaid or paid, related to your major field of study, in some company so that you can gain some valuable work experience prior to graduating with a Bachelor's degree. I didn't and when I graduated, it took me six months to find a programming job as a "Programmer Trainee" (That was the title of the position that was offered - It was even below the level of an entry level programmer in terms of responsibilities and salary, though things changed for the better after my first year - By then I was promoted to a entry level programmer or "Programmer I". I was very lucky considering that I had no prior work experience as a programmer). Some of my friends were still out of work one year after graduating and had to take sales jobs or try to get into graduate school. A fellow classmate who was enrolled in some of the same programming classes as myself was smarter - She did an unpaid internship for two years and when she graduated, she already had a well paying, full-time programming job waiting for her in the company where she performed the internship.

A lot of them asked me to be friends over time. I just don't really like to bother people that much. I know it's silly in an online situation.. It takes me a little bit to warm up..

Mm well I just think going back to school would be better for me.

You, shy? How's that possible when you were able to have amassed one hundred friends?!? Granted some of them must have contacted you to initiate their friendship with you but I can't believe you didn't contact some of them first to start things off!


Even so, it's only a forum contact. It's not like you are talking to a person physically up-close (Offline) in the flesh and blood in a social setting offline, IRL. So, what do you have to be afraid of? Hell, You can accidentally fart while conversing with a person online and he or she wouldn't be any the wiser (They can't hear or smell you)! Besides, I've already guided you into the opening part of any initial conversation - You just have to continue the conversation with your own personal interests (e.g. - You're into the Touhou games and characters, especially Tewi) and also let the other person talk about their interests as well (Allow for some "Back and forth" in the VM/PM conversations). I believe that you can do it!


Ah, I see and hear you. I also want to go back to college but at a graduate level (I have a B.B.A. - Bachelors of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems) but the cost of taking the GMAT Exam ($250 every time you take it -> https://www.mba.com/us/frequently-as...aspx#question2) and the exam itself is daunting to me since I haven't been in college for more than fifteen years since I graduated and went to work as a programmer (I've forgotten a lot since then and graduate level college is inherently more difficult than undergraduate level college [Even more is expected from graduate students since the assumption is that they are now more mature adults and no longer kids]). Nowadays with the global economy and jobs (Especially IT ones) being outsourced overseas (A lot of the programming jobs are going to Pakistan while all the Help Desk/call Center jobs are going to India - Don't get me wrong. The peeps over there are just as educated and smart as us but they can work for one-third [Not one half] of our salaries because the cost of living there is considerably lower than it is here)! Things are bad now for IT workers in the US (Except for the higher ups like the IT mangers - They just have to juggle managing/coordinating the overseas workers who are on a near 24hr different time zone). I don't wish to scare or discourage you but nowadays, in the eyes of many hiring managers, today's Bachelors degree is now the equivalent of yesterday's High School Diploma (Read -> https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertf.../#73909b3a4b44). However, you should still at least pursue a Bachelor's degree. Without one, you don't even stand a chance for consideration for a halfway decent ($50,000 Not great) paying job (At least in the business field - There are some fields where a two year Associates degree is sufficient enough to land a person a well paying ($65,000) job, like Nursing - I would try it were it not for the fact that I don't like being near sick people and I can't get over the stigma of being a male nurse [They have to wear the same colored scrubs as the female nurses and that's usually something like burgundy or pink).


No problemo about you having to have left when you did. Like the old saying goes "When you gotta go, you gotta go." But it would have been nice if you would have told us beforehand that you were leaving us.

I don't know... I feel a bit weird doing it that way.. I'm a little shy. I have an associates in business but I want to go back to school again. I'm sorry for just up and leaving.. When I left I just needed a break from everything at the time.

Ah, I see. Well, I can only tell you that about the friends that we have in common who are still around, since I haven't personally met the other members here who are also your friends. You're going to either have to reach out to others for that kind of information or ask the person in question directly (e.g. - Hi! How are you? Do you remember me? I seem to remember that I knew you a while back but not with your current username. Did you change it? ...)!


BTW - I think that two years ago you said that you were trying to finish up college. When you left abruptly, I thought that it was because you wanted to concentrate on your studies. So, did you get your degree yet and if so, what kind of degree is it and in what field of study did it involve?

No no, I didn't mean those specific people got name changes, just that others I knew got name changes I think..

Well, as far as I know, Liliel is the only one of those mutual friends that I had mentioned who has changed her username as well as her avatar since you were gone (She did it multiple times in fact). When she was known as "Lazuli", her avatar was Android 18 aka "Lazuli" from DragonBall Z. Not to be crass, but if you don't remember her for that then you should at least remember that she is one of the few openly gay women here whom you have befriended (I don't know whether you have befriended any other lesbians who are here). Everyone else whom we mutually know, pretty much has the same online persona and of course, I haven't changed (For better or for worse - LOL)! Maybe you should "Look them up" again. After all, "A stranger is a friend that you haven't met [caught] up with yet."