I remember being out on service with an elder when I was 17. He asked me what I plan on doing after high school. I told him I was thinking of going to college to be a teacher. He then asked me, "Do you think this system is going to be around that long"? I immediately felt guilty for even thinking about college. I decided to pioneer after high school instead and have never been able to find a decent job. Thankfully, I finally decided to go back. I don't really give a crap what anyone thinks anymore. I'm pursuing my education and it feels great. I just wish I had gone sooner. I probably would have had a better job and be out of the house and away from this crazy cult.
Did anyone in the congregation discourage you from going to college?
by Trapped in JW land 42 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cultBgone
Good for you, Trapped, keep moving forward and away...your life will continue to get better and better.
Instead of having my little kids count the number of times the speaker said "Jesus" during the talk, I should have been keeping lists of how many times things were stated about "not going to college" and "the end is sooooooo close".
(((hugs)))
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Phizzy
Way, way back, when I went on to Further Education, I learned second hand , by gossip, that there had been rumblings aginst my parent's decision to send me.
My parents apparently told the individuals criticising that it was none of their business, good for them. I am saddened that the Hypocritical Two-faced W.T still publicly spout their nonsense against further education, hoping to keep more poor, ignorant, low wage people trapped in the cult, whilst employing Graduates at Bethel etc.
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GoUnion
My parents certainly did, never offered any career advice besides pioneering actually. When I moved for my current job my parents and the hall could not fathom why I would move to have a good paying job with full benefits. Im still shaking my head.
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PaintedToeNail
Trapped-Good for you! Yes, the elders and others feel free to ask personal questions all the time. When my son got into his middle teens, the elders and pioneers would ask him that question. He came to me, saying he didn't know what to say. They would ask him also what his spiritual goals were. I told him to answer this way, "That is a personal question between me and Jehovah". If the personal questioning persisted, to reverse the questions and ask them what their spiritual goals were and were they planning on quitting their jobs to pioneer. If they answered him and he was still being pressed, to tell them once again, "It is a personal matter between me and Jehovah."
He once had an elder, who was an appliance repairman, press him for an answer, when he told the elder finally, what it was he wanted to do, the elder disapproved of his choice and asked him if he thought park rangers were going to be useful in the 'New System'. My son responded with, "Well, I don't think there will appliance repairmen needed there either." That ended the conversation.
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Heaven
Our Mother tried to dissuade me and my younger brother. This was almost 10 years after the 1975 failure of Armageddon to arrive. But she also wanted us to 'get good jobs at good companies'.
So I explained to her that in order to get good jobs we needed post-secondary school education. My brother and I went to College. We made sure to move out and go to the city where the College was and where the good jobs were (my parents had moved us to a farm in 1973).
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HeyThere
my h was raised a dub. he was not allowed to play sports and was discouraged from college. when we got together, he ended up going and getting a degree.
they are already making comments to my daughter. even my husband. to the point where i have told her that i will always have her back amd she can go to school to be whatever she wants.
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Band on the Run
Well, my mom knew about four dates for Armageddon. Family friends sold their assets. They were ruined. I was raised not to take the KH seriously. My aunt and gm would say nasty stuff about college when I was a college student. It was not directed at me. Once I looked at them directly and asked if they were mocking me or believed that I was Satanic. No. I do believe they did not mean me. They just knew Witness talk. Discussing the weather was difficult for them. As I gazed around the KH, I saw numerous reasons why I must go to college. My teachers had my respect. They cared about me. I was not just a number.
I went through several career ideas, though. Nursing interested me. Women did not become mds then. I read so many teen nursing books. The issue of blood transfusions came up. We knew no Witness RNs to ask for help. They were all lpns or aides. I just gave up. Next, I was going to be a secretary at Bethel. My mom said "NO!" I never told my teachers but I planned to go to Kelly Girl and move to London to be a secretary for the Beatles. I knew nothing about visa and national borders. My teachers refused to let me take secretarial courses. No matter what I wanted to do, the Witnesses objected.
Sometimes at college I cried b/c my mom had no idea what the experience was like. I suffered a lot when if I just had a mentor.....When you working so intensely and your gm laughs at college students.....The Rockefeller and Kennedy kids don't have to put up with this crap. Profs would call on me. I would say I was not prepared even though I had studied for 7-8 hours the night before class. It was hard to make complete sentences. I was so used to people controlling me and shutting me up. Unless I could answer in one or two words, I refused to answer. My classmates could not stop talking.
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donuthole
My parents wouldn't allow it. My dad suggested that I wouldn't even be allowed to pass the mics if I went to University.
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Vidiot
No, my otherwise deout JW parents put me through in the early 90s, when the WTS eased up a bit on the rhetoric.
Interestingly, my Mom has a Master's degree in education, and she was occasionally snubbed by a few of the elderettes over the years, but she never put up with that shit.
In fact, since her loyalty to the WTS was otherwise unquestionable (and because she's really, really smart), it always seemed to bite them on the ass in the end.