Storytime, kid.<br /><br />Once upon a time, I lived with my parents in a ~1800 sq.ft house with a nice backyard, a living room with a large-ish TV, a fridge that never went empty, and a workshop in the garage where I could build put fins on a rocket or rebuild a carburetor. Oh, I remember that day well, when we fired up that engine for the first time. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for a '75 Civic." A historic occasion, that, almost as important as its
suborbital flight.<br /><br />Now I live in a
dorm room the size of a large shoebox, with 3 shower stalls between 20 floormates. We have four stoves but only one microwave, and the microwave hasn't worked right since that girl cremated a yam in it (you never thought a yam could make that much smoke, but it can). I can't afford car insurance while I'm going to school, and it's illegal to drive without, so my beloved Civic is parked back at my parents' house.<br /><br />"OMFG!!!!1! I just don't understand how you would dent your pride like that and settle for less than you had before"<br /><br />First, short term, I live on campus. That saves me two and a half hours of transit every day. But most importantly, I'm working towards something better. When I've got my Bachelor's degree... well, then I can apply for grad school. But after THAT, well, I'll have improved my 'mission capability' significantly. More and better challenges.<br /><br />I used to have this idea that I'd be the first psychologist on Mars. I'm not going to get to Mars by living in my parents' house.