I'm in my late twenties and I've been thinking about my life and future and feeling kind of depressed. I went to a top university for undergrad but while I was there I got into the game of poker. Since then, I've been a "professional gambler" for the last 4 years and I've been fairly successful at it. I set my own hours, I have tons of freedom, and I make okay money (average ~$50/hour). However, I know my parents are ashamed of me, and people I meet seem to mock, judge, or look down on me. To be clear, there's nothing illegal about what I do. I simply go to the casino and play a game in which I am better than most people at, and I make money from that. I don't cheat, hustle, or do anything shady. I pay my taxes, I live sensibly (I consider myself a good, honest person and I don't party, do drugs, have promiscuous sex) and I've been saving money. Yet I often look back on my life with regret and wish I'd done something more meaningful and respected. I think my main issue is feeling like I don't have a place in society and that others don't respect me because of what I do. I grew up with some kind of an inferiority complex and had wanted to be something prestigious to compensate, until I got sidetracked.
I guess the point of my post is to see if anyone here can relate or offer a new perspective. I really don't know what kind of responses I will get because my situation seems unusual. Sometimes I feel like I can relate to a stripper due to the fact that we both have jobs that are looked down on that involves being around seedy places (casinos, strips clubs) at late hours. Except that I use my brain/skills to make money, so it's probably viewed more positively. I worry that a nice, decent man will not want to be with me because of what I do.
Perhaps to broaden the scope of the discussion how do you cope with feeling like you are not respected in society, or to be in a job you are stuck in? That is how I have been feeling, and it makes me feel inadequate and depressed. I know if I'd work hard when I was in college, I could have become what I wanted (doctor, vet, etc.) but now that I am almost 30 I feel stuck.
I guess the point of my post is to see if anyone here can relate or offer a new perspective. I really don't know what kind of responses I will get because my situation seems unusual. Sometimes I feel like I can relate to a stripper due to the fact that we both have jobs that are looked down on that involves being around seedy places (casinos, strips clubs) at late hours. Except that I use my brain/skills to make money, so it's probably viewed more positively. I worry that a nice, decent man will not want to be with me because of what I do.
Perhaps to broaden the scope of the discussion how do you cope with feeling like you are not respected in society, or to be in a job you are stuck in? That is how I have been feeling, and it makes me feel inadequate and depressed. I know if I'd work hard when I was in college, I could have become what I wanted (doctor, vet, etc.) but now that I am almost 30 I feel stuck.