not_a_homeless_phd

I'm sorry to hear that your post-graduate experience hasn't been positive. It's a struggle to find employment, and I honestly hope things start to look up for you. I'm sure you'll be able to find something that you love!

Personally, I do have a fair amount of debt. I have over $40,000 from my undergraduate degree. Thankfully, grad school is covered 100% by my university so I am not paying for my PhD. But I've heard horror stories of folks who have $200k+ in student debt.

Have you looked towards community colleges in the area to adjunct teach? It's not anything glamorous that comes with remarkable benefits, but it can give you a decent chunk of change depending on how many classes you can pick up.

This is why I'm using a throwaway account. Nothing is off limits now!

The relationship with my mom is extremely strained. She was not a great parent towards me in many regards that go beyond the financial struggles, which is the main source of our distance now. I truly don't blame her for the financial hardship, but I do feel disappointed in how she treated me as a consequence.

My success now is challenging. As my education and career grows, so does the distance between us. It is hard for us to relate now because of the changes I've gone through since leaving home. But I'm trying to establish something civil between us for the time being.

I would say my experiences with poverty and homelessness shaped my research interests within psychology. I study resilience through trauma, which is no doubt in part because of my experiences.

As for psychology as a field, I would ask questions about the human mind ever since I was a little kid. Once I hit high school and learned that the sort of questions I'd ponder were within psychology, I was hooked in studying more about it.

Not intentionally, at least as far as I know.

Does sushi count? If so, then yes.