Friendly Advice

Yesterday coming home from work, I overheard a great conversation between two friends. One girl sounded a lot like Jackie from That 70s Show, and her friend kind of looked like Jackie from That 70s Show in the reflection on the subway window (this is a decent way to spy on people if looking directly is too awkward).

The girl who looked like Jackie was planning to take a year off school to save money for her Master's degree. She was also planning to move out of her parents' house and split rent with her boyfriend in an apartment in the city.

The girl who sounded like Jackie thought this was unwise. "Why do you want to move out if you are taking this year off to save money? It's not as cheap as you think."

The girl who looked like Jackie tried to bluff her friend that she had really thought it through, she won't drive her car if she lives close to the subway (big savings), and she knows a guy who has a bachelor apartment downtown ("like, it's a really good neighbourhood") that only costs $800 a month.

The girl who sounds like Jackie mentioned that two people need more space than one person, EVEN IF they share the only bedroom (Matt and I found this to be true in our "awesome" first apartment that went bad, lol). She reminded her friend that a Master's degree could cost her $100 000. She reiterated that needlessly blowing $12 000 in a year that is intended to save as much money as possible doesn't make sense.

Jackie-face continued with her "yeah, but..."s.

By the time it was my stop, it was clear to me that the Jackie-look-alike is not as concerned about saving money on this "year off" as something else, perhaps establishing some independence and/or feeling adventurous about her life. I was glad for her that she has a friend who can tell her clearly and repeatedly, but lovingly, when her decisions don't make sense - that is rare! And always better coming from a friend than from parents (who might not like the boyfriend anyway).

Of course, I also think there is more to life than saving up money to buy degrees, and if this girl wants to waste a bunch of money living with a guy so she feels grown up, that year might teach her tons more about herself and about life than any time she spends at U of T. Bad decisions do that to us sometimes :)

I hope that Jackie-face and Jackie-voice continue their obviously strong friendship and love and support each other through whatever comes their way this year. I pray that I will also have people who can speak clearly to me when I am confused in my motives or losing my way.

Last note: I am scheduling this post ahead of time because of Change Conference! Yay for this conference, and I hope you are entertained by fresh new stuff to read :P