Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with runaway

Adjusting my Sails

Rubbstone — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:32:47 -0800

Do I give in to wanderlust? Or go back to school for a grad degree in Comp. Engr with an eye to robotics? I'm a graduate of Morehouse College with A Physics Degree. I'm kind of pigeonholed in the current economy and unsure of what the next step would be. I had a full scholarship when I went to school but since then I've under achieved to a 2.99 which would be a 3.25+ minus leadership and art classes. I like my job in customer service most of the time but its draining for the introvert. I don't want to be around people that bore me right now. My family is recomending me for grad school at this point and their right, if I'm going now is the time. But,should I. I'm not even sure what I would want to be a good outcome. I'm smart a problem solver and a fast worker who knows how to work with difficult situations. I want to be my own boss and I like designing things, thinking aobut what people need and occassionally being with people. Do you have any ideas for me? Any places I should look or go. I've been thinking military but I'm already chaffing at my jo,bs rules I think that would be worse. Half the time I feel like I should blow all my money and skip town

How do I help a runaway?

symbollocks — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 08:25:52 -0800

A 17 year old I know is on the verge of running away from home. How can I help him without getting in legal trouble? He lives in Muncie, IN. I live in Indianapolis, IN. He is having a hard time at home getting along with his legal guardian (his grandmother), but there is no physical abuse. His legal guardian insults him by calling him names. She yells at him a lot. He is confined to the house and not allowed go anywhere except school. He is not allowed to use the phone. Every 3 weeks he visits his biological mother in Indianapolis for the weekend, which is the only way I've been in contact with him for the past few months. He's had a history of depression and suicide.

The situation is very quickly approaching a boiling point... he says he will run away at the end of the school year if things keep going as they have been.

His grandma will do everything in her power to make him come back home when he leaves, including pressing charges. Of this I am sure. She is very litigious and will not listen to anyone about how she is treating him.

What are the legal ramifications of harboring a runaway in Indiana? What else can I do to help him? What can he do to help himself? Is he stuck in this situation until he turns 18?

I wanna go home! follow follow I wanna go home! "Uh, why are you following me?"

curagea — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:36:02 -0800

Bipolar force of gravity - how to stop shaking and feeling like I got to run away, or feeling like I got to be someone all the time Sometimes when I'm conversing with friends or acquaintances, I get the sudden feeling to just run away and get away from the talking scene. Just leave without saying a word and go home. I'm not sure why. It doesn't happen as often with family and close friends, but it still happens with them, nevertheless.

Usually the feeling is accomplished with a sudden rush of exasperation and maybe some nervous shaking. The nervous shaking doesn't surprise me, since I always was nervous and shy since childhood, and my friends or colleagues would often crack me up enough for the shaking to go away. It's the run-away feeling that bothers me.

What stinks is that it can happen even in interesting conversations, ones that I love to talk more about and gain a deeper understanding of. It's like my mind is divided in half: one loves the subject and talks about it, the other wants to curl up by herself and shut up.

What double stinks, though, is sometimes I get the opposite: I want to be someone, tag along, and never go home, ignoring the fact that hey, people have private lives too. It's like the tag-along kid habit. There were occasions where I almost followed my friends or my brother into the bathroom, like I don't want to leave them alone.

In this case, my mind acts differently: One side says, "Ok, c'mon, homework time." The other says, "No, I wanna be with my fwiends *whine whine whine*!" This condition worsens the more interesting a conversation or a hangout with friends gets to be.

So what could be behind this? Some obsessive-compulsive symptom (I admit I am somewhat OC, though not officially diagnosed)? Social anxiety? Desire for social interaction? ???

Can you steer a runaway car with the engine turned off?

chrismear — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 05:43:38 -0800

Runaway cars: After reading this recent story about a BMW that got stuck in gear with the accelerator jammed down, I don't understand why he didn't just turn the ignition off. Is it true that he'd have been left unable to steer? It's not mentioned in that article, but I heard elsewhere that he didn't turn the engine off because the car had power steering, and he'd have been unable to steer the car.

I always thought that power steering was just a bit of assistance. The steering wheel is still physically connected to the wheels, isn't it? What am I missing here?

Should I keep this office job or make a Fresh New Start?

lychee — Thu, 10 Jun 2004 19:31:39 -0800

So, I want to run away from home. No, I'm not a disaffected teenager, I'm a disaffected twenty-something who needs to decide My Future. (More is to be found on the inside for your convenience.) I'm 23 years old and six months out of college. I'm presently working full time on a temporary basis for my university, and it looks more likely than not that the job will become permanent at some point within the year. The job would provide a good basis for a starting a stable life here in Austin. But....

I've never lived outside of Texas. I haven't travelled much, nor did I live an exciting college student life whil I had the chance. I want to eventually go to grad school, but I'm not really motivated to do so right away. The smart thing to do would be to stick around for a few years at the job and save enough money for either grad school or a move to another state. The stiffled young woman inside me says to seize the day and run off with wild abandon to the Pacific Northwest.

I guess I just need some advice and stories from the the wise members of Metafilter; am I wasting away my youth at an office job or should I be an adult about it and plan to someday fulfill my desire for a Fresh New Start, even if it could take years?

Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with runaway

Adjusting my Sails

How do I help a runaway?

I wanna go home! *follow follow* I wanna go home! "Uh, why are you following me?"

Can you steer a runaway car with the engine turned off?

Should I keep this office job or make a Fresh New Start?

I wanna go home! follow follow I wanna go home! "Uh, why are you following me?"