Trying to move from bad Illinois town to Overland Park, KS [Archive]

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 12:57 AM

My parents simply will NOT listen! I showed them statistics off of city-data.com and bestplaces.net to prove that the schools suck and there are a lot of sex offenders in this town of about 1,000, but they keep saying "There's nothing wrong with this place", "It's very safe here", and "The schools are fine", but even with the truth showing the exact opposite, they just will not listen.

I talked to them about wanting to move to Overland Park, Kansas. Even though it's a suburb of Kansas City, it's always had a very low crime rate, excellent schools, only 71 sex offenders (considering that the population is about 165,000), and affordable homes that cost about half of what they are on the coasts. It's also #6 on CNN Money's Best Places to Live 2006, and it's a reasonable distance away from the town we're in right now and other relatives. Even though I've proved to them that Overland Park is superior to this town in every conceivable way, they just keep making the same excuses.

It is critical to me that I get a good education, because I want to get straight A's in school, possibly go to Harvard or Yale, and do great things when I grow up. But if I keep living in this town, I will never end up doing those things. The drug problems here don't help, either -- about two-thirds of the high-schoolers here either drink, smoke, or do drugs. What do I do?

AlienAssKicker

07-21-2007, 01:15 AM

Go to boarding school?

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 01:19 AM

I don't want to be socially rejected. I want to go to a public school, just like I have my entire life.

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-21-2007, 01:31 AM

Well I imagine your parents enjoy living in whatever town you are in. The only way that most parents would move is for some sort of job improvement.. ie higher paying.

Anyway, you would probably have an easier time talking your parents into paying for private school. I imagine you have some sort of accredited private school near by. I did that for my senior year, drove 26 miles each way to school everyday.

But hey, if the kids in your school are really so bad... you shouldnt have that hard of time getting in the top 10 of your class. Just do well on your ACT's and SAT's... take a bunch of honors classes.

Edit... do a bunch of volunteer work / extracurricular activities if you want to get into a good uni (in addition to High GPA and test scores)

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 02:07 AM

But the quality of the education is awful. I'm unable to understand anything in the textbooks or in class, and the students talk too much in class, making it very difficult to concentrate. For some extremely strange reason, the people here who are smoking/drinking/doing drugs are the ones that get straight A's. For this reason, I think the school board here is corrupt.

Whatever I do, I am not going to a private school. Only 12% or so of kids go to private schools, and I don't want to be socially rejected. I want to go to public schools that have a good quality of education, like the ones in Overland Park.

Kansas is the second state west of Illinois. It can't be that hard to move there, can it?

Mr.Fibbles

07-21-2007, 02:10 AM

If you want to get into Harvard or Yale, you need more than straight A's. You need straight A's and connections in some way to the school. (like, say a father who went there). I only know one guy who is at Harvard and he wasn't even the kid with the highest GPA in my class at a selective private high school. He did get a 36 on his ACT (after like 3 times) and I imagine he did outstanding on his SAT (but no perfect score). He was NHS (National Honor Society) and did all sorts of other things too.
You cannot say you want to go to a public school and want to go to Harvard. Harvard is not a public school. Illinois State is a public school.
I got into a good college (Xavier U) and have a decent scholarship/financial aid, but I am in a selective program which is very small (Classics) and has proven difficult at times. Harvard and Yale are not the end all be all of Universities; it depends on what you are looking for.

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-21-2007, 02:11 AM

Why would you be socially rejected for going to private school? And it is probably a much higher quality of education than what you are receiving now.

After you are in college no one cares where you went to highschool.

NutWrench

07-21-2007, 08:42 AM

I don't want to be socially rejected. I want to go to a public school, just like I have my entire life.

You care about wanting to have to have a good education.
You're ALREADY going to be socially rejected. :D

And you'll encounter the same crap in college that you get in public school, but the idiots will be of a higher quality, since you have to pay to go there.

NutWrench

07-21-2007, 08:50 AM

Dave-ros

07-21-2007, 08:54 AM

I went to private school from 12 onwards, and I'm completely KILL KILL KILL YOU ALL!!! normal and socially adjusted ;)

NutWrench is right, there are idiots in private schools and university too... in fact, I never got a decent night's sleep in my freshman year, because of course the drinking age in the UK is 18, so everyone in the whole university was drinking and shouting all night, every night :doh:

Sang

07-21-2007, 11:29 AM

It's great that you want to have a good education and such but your reasons for moving/going to another school sound like nonsense.

For some extremely strange reason, the people here who are smoking/drinking/doing drugs are the ones that get straight A's. For this reason, I think the school board here is corrupt.

Just because they're doing that stuff doesn't mean they aren't studying, and studying is how you get your grades, regardless of intelligence :p

And of course it's your parents' decision, not yours, so if for some reason they want/have to stick around then bad luck.

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 12:02 PM

A little more seriously though, Spartan. Saying "let's just move" sounds easy but it's a hell of a tall order. Your folks may still have a mortgage on the house and have jobs and other ties to the community that makes it a lot harder to move.

But that's not why they won't move. They keep making the same excuses that there's nothing wrong with the town, even though the truth is the exact opposite.

On second thought, I don't think it's because they don't understand the truth. I think they're purposely trying to make me unsafe by living in this town. The problem is, I don't know who else can take care of me. After watching that movie The Glass House, I'm extremely suspicious of foster parents.

It's great that you want to have a good education and such but your reasons for moving/going to another school sound like nonsense.

Just because they're doing that stuff doesn't mean they aren't studying, and studying is how you get your grades, regardless of intelligence :p

And of course it's your parents' decision, not yours, so if for some reason they want/have to stick around then bad luck.

I do too study. I study very hard for tests and quizzes, but still end up getting poor grades in the class because of all the problems with the students and the quality of the education. The standardized test scores at this school (from all the students) are among the lowest in the state.

And yes, they will move. The town is unsafe, uneducated, and the people suck (with a few exceptions). I told them that if we still live here by the middle of August, then my life has been ruined forever. They're still not taking this seriously. They think it's no big deal, when it's an absolutely critical issue. Poor grades and a poor education will completely ruin my chance at any kind of college education (not just Harvard or Yale), and if I don't go to college, I'll end up being an uneducated, unproductive, and poor adult.

Sang

07-21-2007, 12:04 PM

if I don't go to college, I'll end up being an uneducated, unproductive, and poor adult.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Also I think you're seeing a lot of ghosts in that you're thinking people are deliberately conspiring against you.. I'm not quite 'getting' your logic.

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 12:18 PM

Because any logical parent would understand that a town like this is totally unsafe, and they must move. My parents think that it's no big deal, but I know that they're not that dumb. That's why I think they're doing this on purpose.

Normally, parents who do this to their children would have criminal charges bought against them, but the police here don't do anything.

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-21-2007, 12:18 PM

Ok, let me hazard a guess as to your situation.

You just finished your freshman year of highschool... you did not like it / didnt fit in. More than likely you made few if any friends. You probably have some sort of learning disability. So you blame the school and want to physically move because you somehow got it your head that overland is somehow a magical place.

I am going to tell you right now that you will never talk your parents into moving. You reasoning is very poor. Private school would be your best bet for an improved education... and no you will not be socially shunned for going to a private school.

Sang

07-21-2007, 01:08 PM

Because any logical parent would understand that a town like this is totally unsafe

Uh-huh. Did anything ever happen to you?

Normally, parents who do this to their children would have criminal charges bought against them, but the police here don't do anything.

Ah of course. Parents can be sentenced to jail time for not listening to kids who are overexaggerating about stuff.

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 01:21 PM

Uh-huh. Did anything ever happen to you?

Ah of course. Parents can be sentenced to jail time for not listening to kids who are overexaggerating about stuff.

No, parents can be arrested for not paying attention to the truth.

Let's put it this way: In a town with a high crime rate, it is extremely likely that something will happen to you. If I end up getting shot, molested, raped, or whatever, it'll be nobody's fault but my parents for failing to listen. But then again, at least I should be glad I don't live in East St. Louis. :mryuck:

And sure, crime happens in cities like Overland Park, but it's less likely that it'll happen to you because the number of incidents per a certain number of people is much lower.

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-21-2007, 01:24 PM

Dude anything can happen anywhere... your reasoning is beyond flawed.

Phait

07-21-2007, 01:27 PM

No, parents cannot get arrested for that. They can get arrested for negligence, and even that has it's gamut.

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 01:29 PM

I said that crime happens everywhere, but it's less likely to happen to you in certain cities/towns than it is in other cities/towns. Just look at how many incidents there are per a certain number of people.

No, parents cannot get arrested for that. They can get arrested for negligence, and even that has it's gamut.

That's what I meant. They're not giving a shit about what could happen to me...or them.

Phait

07-21-2007, 01:38 PM

That likely wouldn't qualify. What would qualify is not feeding you or locking you up. But then that extends to child abuse...

Sang

07-21-2007, 01:39 PM

Well, whatever, bottom line is your reasoning is quite flawed and the chances of you convincing anyone of your "point" is close to zero.

Damien_Azreal

07-21-2007, 01:40 PM

I know where Overland Park is. It's only a few hours drive from where I live, I think three hours.

Bon's sister lives up around there with her family. It's a good are.

But you have to be realistic, moving anywhere is a huge thing. From finding a home, jobs, paying for it... leaving your friends and other family behind, plus a list of other reasons.
Yes there are safer places out there, but you should sit down and without any distractions just communicate your concerns with your parents. Explain to them why your worried, why you think moving would be a good move... and listen to their reasons for staying.

Sang

07-21-2007, 02:06 PM

Well it sounds like he already put effort into convincing them with statistics and the likes. But maybe he didn't bring it forward well.. with the right skillz you might even convince your parents to live in a turd ;)

Damien_Azreal

07-21-2007, 02:08 PM

Yep, tone and how you approach a discussion can change everything.

I've been told I can be very manipulative, I'm good at reading people, finding out what they want to hear and phrasing it so it's even more appealing. :p

Scream

07-21-2007, 02:08 PM

And yes, they will move. The town is unsafe, uneducated, and the people suck (with a few exceptions). I told them that if we still live here by the middle of August, then my life has been ruined forever. They're still not taking this seriously. They think it's no big deal, when it's an absolutely critical issue. Poor grades and a poor education will completely ruin my chance at any kind of college education (not just Harvard or Yale), and if I don't go to college, I'll end up being an uneducated, unproductive, and poor adult.

Your posts in this thread sound very immature, and increasingly irrational ("if we still live here by the middle of August, then my life has been ruined forever" - I mean, c'mon, could you be any more melodramatic?)

While your environment can have a profound affect on the type of person you become, it guarantees nothing. Stop blaming everything and everyone for your situation, and look at realistic means to improve it.

Why don't you approach your parents about the idea of a tutor for the subjects you're having trouble in? That's certainly more realistic than saying "we have to move", and accusing your parents of child abuse because they won't uproot their lives to accomodate your sense of entitlement.

Mr.Fibbles

07-21-2007, 02:55 PM

They think it's no big deal, when it's an absolutely critical issue. Poor grades and a poor education will completely ruin my chance at any kind of college education (not just Harvard or Yale), and if I don't go to college, I'll end up being an uneducated, unproductive, and poor adult.

I know many very successful people who never went to college. Many of them are tradesmen but there are a few who have good jobs because they got experience. My uncle never went to college but is now an administrator for Parks and Recreation in University City (Nelly grew up there) and lives in a very nice neighborhood (about 25 miles away from where he works). He got a job working there when his parents were living there while he was in high school and stayed on and moved up the ladder. My dad could have had the same deal and could be an administrator of Sanitation (you'd be surprised how much money there is in picking up people's trash) but he decided to go to college instead. My dad is now a manager for an insurance company but he is basically paid on commission. Compare my dad to his brother, and I say that my uncle is better off than my dad economically and perhaps in other ways too.

And East St. Louis isn't as bad as you may think. I think you are just paranoid. Many successful people have grown out of East St. Louis and St. Louis City and other various slums. Not just people like Nelly and Jackie Joyner Kersee; but there are Senators and other intelligent people who managed to break the cycle of poverty and failure.

Private schools are not taboo, in fact, the people at private schools tend to be the more successful and often go to college. Many public schools don't have the graduate to college rate that most private schools do. The school I graduated from has a 99% rate of students who go to college; that 1% is more often than not guys going to the armed forces.

DavoX

07-21-2007, 05:24 PM

Yes, you're being paranoid, and i guess your avatar just confirms why you're making all this fuss :p.

Seriously, I really fail to see how you can be socially rejected, i mean...you hate the guys that are doing a mess all the time and you spend all day studying... I mean...if you really wanted to be socially accepted you would do the same as them, not the opposite :p.

Don't worry about the school, it's not about that if you want to be sucessful, it's all about yourself, if you are really commited to something, you'll get it. All those people that you see being unhappy and that failed in their lives are just lazy people that won't get up their butts to actually do something.

Seriously, just calm down, you won't convince anyone about moving and much less by showing stupid statistics (seriously, when i read that i was like "WTF?").
Try to see what's wrong with your grades, if the kids have the fault, if the teachers have the fault or if you have the fault, instead of making paranoic assumptions, just ask your teacher what was wrong with your answers or a certain test or something, instead of sitting there like an idiot with a C in your test (I know someone here that does that :p ) .

Try to be most sucessful on the environment you're at right now, because moving away is just unrealistic and a serious waste of time. If you really want to speed up things and be sucessful, be good there first.

And get out of your head that stupid, paranoic and overlydramatic crap.

EDIT: sex offenders? lol .

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 05:59 PM

But I try the absolute best I can, and cannot succeed due to the poor quality of the teachers and textbooks.

It is the school's fault. The teachers won't help me, the textbooks are extremely unclear, and the excessive talking in the classroom doesn't help.

And goddamn it, I am not being paranoid. I am sticking up for the truth, and do not want anything bad to happen to my family. It is not paranoia when I really am in an unsafe environment where it's almost impossible to learn.

And DavoX, what in the world is so funny about sex offenders? They're the people that are raping and molesting innocent people as we speak.

Seriously, I really fail to see how you can be socially rejected, i mean...you hate the guys that are doing a mess all the time and you spend all day studying... I mean...if you really wanted to be socially accepted you would do the same as them, not the opposite.

I want to be socially accepted by the people who aren't smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and/or purposely failing in school.

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-21-2007, 06:57 PM

I assume your school has honors/AP classes? So why are you not in them?

Also, yes you are being paranoid.

If you failed classes or received poor grades there is no one to blame but yourself. You should have tried harder / sought help.

Sang

07-21-2007, 07:00 PM

The teachers won't help me, the textbooks are extremely unclear, and the excessive talking in the classroom doesn't help.

Oh believe me, I've had the same problem for the past few years but I managed to pass my subjects anyway. Not by an overly large margin, but at least I passed them. It's called "effort" and "not just sticking to what's in the textbook but look stuff up on the intarwebz if it's unclear".

I want to be socially accepted by the people who aren't smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and/or purposely failing in school.

I know guys like that and even though I don't do any of that they're still friends.

what in the world is so funny about sex offenders?

Don't worry, if you whine as much at them as you do to your parents and on this forum, you'll probably scare them all away ;)

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 07:46 PM

The thing I hate the most about these forums is having to repeat myself like a broken record. I am trying my absolute hardest in school, but cannot achieve decent grades.

Destructor

07-21-2007, 08:49 PM

The thing I hate the most about these forums is having to repeat myself like a broken record. I am trying my absolute hardest in school, but cannot achieve decent grades.

Maybe you are trying too hard. Chill out, man. Do your best without all the unproductive whinging and resistance to your surroundings, and you should do alright. Of course, you shouldn't go for those things everyone else is doing like alcohol and drugs, and you don't have to. Just let that shit pass through you with the knowledge that your 'soul' remains clean and move on.

Poor grades and a poor education will completely ruin my chance at any kind of college education (not just Harvard or Yale), and if I don't go to college, I'll end up being an uneducated, unproductive, and poor adult.

Rubbish. School just makes up a small part of your life. Even if you do have a really successful education your still going to have to probably put a good deal of effort into getting employed and crafting out a satisfying and successful career. Dare I say it, doing that may be actually harder than studying. It certainly seems that way for me. Also, try to find what you might enjoy most doing for a living. To your surprise, it may not require a master's degree to get into.

DavoX

07-21-2007, 09:54 PM

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/962/offenderrw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Spartan_234

07-21-2007, 10:20 PM

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/962/offenderrw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

LMFAO!!!

Destroyer

07-22-2007, 01:45 AM

how far are you from college?

twelvepaws

07-22-2007, 06:07 AM

I was born and raised in the Kansas City area and can remember when I was your age (15-16?) wishing that my parents would move back to the small town in MO that my Dad was born and raised in. I remember thinking that they didn't care about me and even planned how I would get away to another part of the country with money I had saved from summer jobs. Years later, I was glad that I never carried out that insane plan. I may be wrong in seeing myself in you now, but I'm hoping that you can manage where you are now. It's impossible to advise you without knowing more about you, and you probably don't want to reveal any more than you already have. In my case, I put up with what I thought was an intolerable situation, graduated from high school, went on to college and THEN was free to live where I wanted. And now I realize that my parents did care for me and that I had more advantages living right where I was when I was growing up.

I'm not going to pretend that my method of coping with the problem would work for anyone else. I'm just remembering all the horrors of my teenage years, feeling rejected, not fitting in with the "in" crowd, etc., and I can identify with you.

Overland Park is a nice area but extremely class conscious with societal pressures to conform so strong that you can almost feel it just visiting the area. And a story in the Kansas City Star reported recently that in Overland Park, tobacco use was down but drug use was up among high school students. Not only that, there have been several abductions leading to rape and murder right there in Overland Park in the last couple of years.
I live in a northern suburb of Kansas City, MO, and those kinds of crimes go on up here, too.

When I finished college, I moved to New Mexico and I really loved it there, but crime was a serious problem there, too. Both my daughters went to public school there. One of them used to go all day w/o going to the bathroom because that's where the dealers were trying to force stuff on students. When she came home she made a beeline for the bathroom! (I always made sure I wasn't in her way!) In the other daughter's junior high school, there was a stabbing on the playground at recess: a seventh grade girl stabbed a seventh grade boy for no reason.

How did they manage? They stuck with kids who didn't do drugs, didn't belong to gangs, etc. and as a group they were strong enough to avoid trouble.

I'm going to be thinking of you and praying some solution will arise in time to help. And I hope you can find a trusted professional to help you through this ordeal. (They weren't around, or at least not so accessible when I was growing up; school counselors dealt with behavior problems and grade averages and I never would have thought of going to one of them. Maybe I should have.)

Nessus

07-22-2007, 09:31 PM

Can we get a little more detail on why you think school is dangerous? People are dismissing you but some high schools really are a hazard. Is there a gang situation? Do kids bring guns and knives to school? People get shaken down and beaten beyond what is normal high school fooling around? Lay it out, tell us the deal.

Damien_Azreal

07-22-2007, 10:00 PM

Yes, more details could enlighten those around you.

But, just because Kansas has low records for violence doesn't mean anything. Sometimes these small, nice towns are worse than the big cities.

We had a fight when I was in high school... some girl ripped out a huge chunk of the other girls hair, broke her nose, jaw and dislocated her shoulder. Not to mention the bruising and other regular "fight" injuries. :p It was a fun day.

But just because statistics show a place to be better than another, doesn't always make it so.

DavoX

07-22-2007, 10:50 PM

Exactly. If you're so scared of sex offenders then start doing karate or something, there will be always sex offenders everywhere. But i wouldn't mind if the sex offender was female and good looking :p .

Damien_Azreal

07-22-2007, 11:03 PM

Yep.

Just because there are only 70 some registered offenders, that doesn't tell you anything about how many unregistered there are.

BillyD

07-23-2007, 02:49 AM

The thing I hate the most about these forums is having to repeat myself like a broken record. I am trying my absolute hardest in school, but cannot achieve decent grades.
Yet the smokers/boozers/druggies can? This is not your fault how? It's not the other kids taking your quizzes and tests for you. Don't start with the corrupt school board crap. You think they do a survey on who smokes or drinks and then subsequently gives those kids better grades than you because the school secretly hates you?

In this entire thread all I've heard is "Blah blah bitch whine, it's everyone's fault but mine." You seriously think you have a shot at an Ivy league school? You have the reasoning abilities of a five year old girl throwing a temper tantrum over her mom not buying her that barbie doll she has to have so bad. Your logic is nonexistant. You have no sense of personal responsibility or maturity. You have a lot to learn outside of school before you're ready for any kind of college, top or bottom tier.

You expect your parents to quit their jobs and move two states over because you've found some magical city you think is going to make or break your entire future? Do you think they can just pick up where they left off at the new city? By the way, your parents can't be arrested for anything so don't pick up your phone and dial 911. They could move you to the worst area of the worst city in the entire country and they still couldn't be brought up on negligence charges by any police department. Your parents aren't trying to harm you by keeping you there, don't be stupid.

Here's some advice for you: Grow the hell up, leave your parents alone, study two or three times harder than you have been until you make the grades you want, and learn personal responsibility.

ShakeItBaby

07-23-2007, 03:28 AM

To the topic poster: suck it up, study harder and socialize more. Quit whining for magic bullets to fix your deeper problems and quit trying to point the finger to excuse your own failings. Be grateful for the life you do have. While you're eating your Big Mac and reading your boring textbook, all no doubt paid for by your parents, you should get down on your knees and thank whatever deity you pray to for the fact that you don't live in third world poverty where such luxuries don't exist.

The world does not revolve around you, no matter how much emo exaggeration you spout or how many statistics you pull out of town comparison studies. Your parents have lives and feelings too, they're not mere money robots designed to serve your whims. They have friends, they have careers, they have debts and desires and stresses and other factors that are all part of the decision, and the fact that you don't like your school or town does not suddenly wash all those factors aside. Be grateful that they've been patient enough to listen to you at all.

You owe your parents a huge apology for taking them for granted so selfishly and then emotionally abusing them with guilt talk about ruining your life just because you don't like their adult decisions. Grow up and take responsibility for yourself with the opportunities that you do have, and cut out this disgusting childish tantrum-tossing of "Waaah! I want a better life! Mummy and Daddy are mean for not giving it to me!" :rolleyes:

Dave-ros

07-23-2007, 03:46 AM

Might be worth pointing out that when I was 14-15, my family moved away from the town in which we'd lived for half my life, where I went to a school I was happy at and had some good friends, to the miserable south coast town of Worthing, where I was never very happy and had a LOT of problems at the school. That first term in 1992 was so bad, with pretty much everyone sneering at me and mocking me like some freaky outsider, there were times I just wanted to curl up and die. However, I never resented my folks, who knew what a lousy time I was having but could do nothing except support me... and hey, it got better, very slowly -- by mid-1993 I only wanted to kill a few people in my yeargroup :p

To the topic poster: suck it up, study harder and socialize more.
Surely "Suck it down"? :dopefish:

mysteryperfecta

07-23-2007, 01:06 PM

But, just because Kansas has low records for violence doesn't mean anything. Sometimes these small, nice towns are worse than the big cities.

Sometimes, but not most of the time. You're just being contrary.

Overland Park is about two hours east of me, and it is a nice town. But I just don't think it's reasonable to demand that your parents uproot and move to a place of your choosing. We all have obstacles; overcoming them builds character. Do the best that you can, and you'll suceed.

Good luck. :)

Joe Siegler

07-23-2007, 01:51 PM

The thing I hate the most about these forums is having to repeat myself like a broken record. I am trying my absolute hardest in school, but cannot achieve decent grades.

Not only trying to report people when they don't agree with you.

The people in this thread have a point. You are not even attempting to see this discussion from your parents side of things. Most of your discussions are melodramatic (If we don't move by August, my life is over). Come on. Nobody is going to take you seriously if you make statements like that. NOBODY will.

If you persist in making them, yeah, you're gonna get mocked. When asking for people's opinions on the Internet, don't go getting bent out of shape when people don't agree with you.

Not only that, I doubt your claim of "hardest you can", because you have time to come here and do this. If you were truly trying as hard as you can, every second of your free time would be spent trying to do better - not complain about it on a GAME COMPANY'S FORUM. Get it?

To the topic poster: suck it up, study harder and socialize more. Quit whining for magic bullets to fix your deeper problems and quit trying to point the finger to excuse your own failings. Be grateful for the life you do have. While you're eating your Big Mac and reading your boring textbook, all no doubt paid for by your parents, you should get down on your knees and thank whatever deity you pray to for the fact that you don't live in third world poverty where such luxuries don't exist.

The world does not revolve around you, no matter how much emo exaggeration you spout or how many statistics you pull out of town comparison studies. Your parents have lives and feelings too, they're not mere money robots designed to serve your whims. They have friends, they have careers, they have debts and desires and stresses and other factors that are all part of the decision, and the fact that you don't like your school or town does not suddenly wash all those factors aside. Be grateful that they've been patient enough to listen to you at all.

You owe your parents a huge apology for taking them for granted so selfishly and then emotionally abusing them with guilt talk about ruining your life just because you don't like their adult decisions. Grow up and take responsibility for yourself with the opportunities that you do have, and cut out this disgusting childish tantrum-tossing of "Waaah! I want a better life! Mummy and Daddy are mean for not giving it to me!" :rolleyes:

Bravo. Well said.

Spartan_234

07-23-2007, 11:53 PM

Not only trying to report people when they don't agree with you.

I was reporting people for making completely false statements and assumptions about me, not because they didn't agree with me.

The people in this thread have a point. You are not even attempting to see this discussion from your parents side of things. Most of your discussions are melodramatic (If we don't move by August, my life is over). Come on. Nobody is going to take you seriously if you make statements like that. NOBODY will.

If you persist in making them, yeah, you're gonna get mocked. When asking for people's opinions on the Internet, don't go getting bent out of shape when people don't agree with you.

Seriously, if you go move to East St. Louis or any of those other cities with high crime rates and abysmal schools, you'll feel like your life is over too.

Not only that, I doubt your claim of "hardest you can", because you have time to come here and do this. If you were truly trying as hard as you can, every second of your free time would be spent trying to do better - not complain about it on a GAME COMPANY'S FORUM. Get it?

I have time to come here and do this because it's summer vacation. If you're complaining about this thread being on a game company's forum, then why do you have a section reserved for general messages?

Inanimate Carbon Rod

07-24-2007, 02:16 AM

Ever hear about getting a jump start on the new year? You can study before school starts...

ADM

07-24-2007, 05:04 AM

Holy crap I seriously can't believe some of the stuff you have written Spartan. Damn I can't wait to you have kids and realise and ****ing tough it is, you've got it easy and yet you're only making your parents' lives harder by bitching about your life.

"I want to go to Harvard" -- the fact that you're saying that means you have it much better then a larger majority of people your age, who are either living in a third world country or can't afford even the bare essentials to LIVE.

If you really wanted to you would do like ICR said and go and do extra curricular activities and actually go out there and improve your life rather than point blame onto others for your failings.

My brother-in-law was KICKED OUT of his home when he was 14. He managed to live on the streets and still get a good education and now earns over 6 figures a year as a orthodontist in his own practice.

No matter where you live, if you really want something you can achieve it.. but if you bitch and whine then it means you're not trying and that the whole problem is with YOU not anyone else.

DavoX

07-24-2007, 08:04 AM

I think it's worthless to talk to him, he won't change. He came here hoping that we all agreed with him to make him feel better, Well i'm sorry spartan but that isn't going to happen, THIS IS REALITY. I mean, look at how many people are telling you the facts, yet you're still in denial.

I really hope that "I was reporting people for making completely false statements and assumptions about me, not because they didn't agree with me." doesn't mean that you actually PM'd some moderator because people "made false statements" about you in this thread...because that just goes showing how immature you are. And you really expect to go to Harvard? Come on. Grow up first, be more social, people aren't monsters. You're getting bad grades because you worry too much about it. If you face your studies with a cool attitude and with selfconfidence, you'll make it, instead of "I KNOW I'M GOING TO GET A BAD GRADE BECAUSE THEY ALL HATE ME!". Seriously, if you whined like this in real life, i would just give you an F just for fun.

Sang

07-24-2007, 09:08 AM

Seriously, if you whined like this in real life, i would just give you an F just for fun.

The consequences of that wouldn't be as fun (for you) though ;)

Joe Siegler

07-24-2007, 10:32 AM

I have time to come here and do this because it's summer vacation. If you're complaining about this thread being on a game company's forum, then why do you have a section reserved for general messages?

So? Think that time can't be used to better yourself, instead of coming here and whining about how evil your parents are for having supported you their whole life?

The reasons have already been explained here as to why your stance is incorrect. You fail (or just don't care) to see them, depsite several well written, non inflammatory messages telling you about it.

I don't think anything is going to change - I predict this thread will need closure soon.

avatar_58

07-24-2007, 10:43 AM

I have time to come here and do this because it's summer vacation.

Just so you know friend - summer vacation ends after you leave your safe haven of high school. There is NO summer vacation for those of us who work or attend college. In the real world you earn your vacations, you aren't owed them. So you know what? Instead of lashing out at the people here who are trying to help you, maybe you should think about your future and start studying now.

When I attended summer school back in high school I originally thought it was drab and boring. After a few weeks I suddenly realized - it's much easier to get good grades if you do work on your own terms. So instead of bitching and moaning you can actually better yourself by studying after school and taking your work seriously.

No one here is against you, they're trying to convince you that your stance is wrong. When everyone disagrees with you perhaps it's time to consider that it's the truth. Don't take your life for granted - it doesn't last forever.

God what I wouldn't give to go back in time and tell myself that 5 years ago. You should be thankful you are hearing it now and not later.

Sang

07-24-2007, 10:48 AM

In his defense though - He can't know what to study for his next year because he doesn't know what he will be teached. Unless he already has his books. Over here you can either buy your books from someone else (second hand) but I couldn't find anyone so I had to order them from school, so I'll receive my stuff when the new schoolyear starts. Of course for some subjects you can estimate what you'll learn (mostly languages) but for a lot of things I have no idea.. Maths, Chemistry, Physics, seriously I really don't know what I'll be teached next year.

avatar_58

07-24-2007, 11:35 AM

Thats no excuse, he already said he was having difficulties in his classes. So I would think that using his old notes/assignments he could go over them and see what he did wrong. Now that we have this thing called the internet he can conveniently lookup lessons and howto's on the various things he's had trouble with.

Sang

07-24-2007, 11:48 AM

That's true.

peoplessi

07-24-2007, 12:06 PM

This thread is bit amusing for me, too bad I don't live in the US.

ShakeItBaby

07-24-2007, 01:00 PM

DavoX

07-24-2007, 01:04 PM

depsite several well written...

Heh :D.

But seriously spartan, there's no way in hell a teacher can tell you that you're wrong when you're clearly right. I mean if you do this 2+2=4, the teacher can't tell you that you're wrong, period. So that only means that it's you the only one having a problem. SOMETIMES the kind of attitude you have towards the teachers DO have an influence on your grade, that's why the only thing that pops out on my mind is that you're whining or bothering them like you do in this thread, believe me, it's annoying and noone wants to deal with someone with that kind of attitude, so if you haven't already, respect your teachers, show them your dedication, and study,study,study. You're NOT going to move, forget it. So you can only concentrate on your studies. Don't forget to get some rest sometimes of course, overloading your head will only give you the opposite result. Distract yourself sometimes with a hobby as well, no one is aiming a gun at you. And no one (hopefully) is offending you sexually right now :p

Sang

07-24-2007, 01:13 PM

SOMETIMES the kind of attitude you have towards the teachers DO have an influence on your grade

That is true, let me just confirm that. In the second trimester my total result for my Latin exam was JUST below 50% but on my report card it was above it.. So I guess they gave me a couple extra points.

However I think teachers give extra points rather than subtract (sp?) them - and even then it's only a small amount (but in my case it made the difference between flunk and pass)

Phait

07-24-2007, 01:16 PM

You can't usually convince someone like Spartan with all these posts, he'll just have to come into his own realisation.

I speak from experience.

DavoX

07-24-2007, 01:24 PM

Yes, the same thing happens when you're giving "dating advice" to someone, they will only realize their mistakes when they already lost that "special" person :p.

Dave-ros

07-24-2007, 01:59 PM

There's something missing from this thread, and that's warnings about buying obscure budget games that no-one's going to buy anyway :o

Sang

07-24-2007, 02:07 PM

You can't usually convince someone like Spartan with all these posts, he'll just have to come into his own realisation.

Maybe.. But that's not always a bad thing. I mean it can't be a bad thing to know what a shitty situation is and what it feels like, right? If it doesn't kill you or break your bones it can only make you stronger :p

Yes, the same thing happens when you're giving "dating advice" to someone, they will only realize their mistakes when they already lost that "special" person.

lol plz weren't those 10 pages at AMC enough ;)

DavoX

07-24-2007, 02:16 PM

You'll see...in the future...you'll see...

thefly

08-07-2007, 02:03 AM

[COLOR=White]My parents simply will NOT listen!

Oh, they probably are listening, but they think you're being unreasonable and irrational like most of us here seem to think you guilty of. And for this forum to agree on anything is pretty rare, so there's another strike against you buddy. :p

Whatever I do, I am not going to a private school. Only 12% or so of kids go to private schools, and I don't want to be socially rejected. I want to go to public schools that have a good quality of education, like the ones in Overland Park.

So you don't want to go to a private high school, but aspire to go to a private college? :confused::doh: You know, private high schools will more than likely not have smaller classes with less noise, more concentrated studies, and more help available to those who wish it? But you don't won't to go to a private school because you don't want to be a social outcast to those 2/3's of fellow students you already don't want to associate with? :doh:

So obviously, time for mom and dad to pack up and move because it is so simple to you. I hope this is a joke thread.

System Specs: Pentium 4 dual core at 3.2 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, ATI Radeon X1300 Pro with 256 MB of video memory, Realtek HD audio, Windows Vista Home Premium

Hard life you're living there. :rolleyes: I will agree with you to some extent that your parents are to blame. They must have helped turn you into the soft sponge you are.

Threads like this make me wish I had beat up a few kids back when I was an early teen, because it would be so very illegal for me to do it now at this age. Choking on my own rage here!

It is critical to me that I get a good education,

You can obviously read, so if your text books at school suck, research stuff for yourself. I don't know like using the uh...INTERNET? Or, dare I say, a library? Insane, isn't it?

because I want to get straight A's in school, possibly go to Harvard or Yale, and do great things when I grow up.

That is such a unrealistic thought pattern. Straight A's=free ride to Ivy League=great things! Anything else= :(:(:(

Living in the USA is so easy; relying on oneself is the hard part, blaming others for lack of success is now second nature.

DavoX

08-07-2007, 02:24 AM

Heh, that's a nice comp, not even i have it and i'm pretty damn loaded :D

Spartan_234

08-11-2007, 07:16 PM

Destructor

08-11-2007, 07:47 PM

What, you gave in to what all these losers said?! Are you crazy?! :rolleyes:

;)

ShakeItBaby

08-11-2007, 08:38 PM

Posting this thread on the forums was a huge and terrible mistake that I should never have made. All it did was make me look stupid. I said many things that I shouldn't have (like "If we don't move out of here by mid-August, then my life will be ruined forever"). Knowing that my parents can't afford to move to another city (Overland Park or not), I've decided to stay in this town while hoping that I will go to a good university once I get out of school.

Things were getting better here at the time I posted that stupid thread, but I was too impatient to believe that it would make that much of a difference. Police have a much bigger presence in the town now to take care of the crime and drug/alcohol problems. Some of the sex offenders moved out of town. Our school district was merged into a much better school district that is aiming to improve our schools.

I request that a moderator please delete (not lock) this entire thread.

Before it gets deleted, I want to commend you on your improved mature attitude. You sound as though you've thought through your situation more carefully since then and have made positive and realistic decisions as a result. So I'm happy for you and you have my respect.

And don't feel bad for having posted the thread, everyone's entitled to a rant now and then, and you're young and nobody will hold it against you. The important thing is that you've deepened your insight into the world and gained a new level of maturity. Those will be solid first steps towards achieving the goals of success and university ambitions you're looking for. :)