I had the same problem. My depression had been latent since early HS but it really manifested when I began college, and my grades were horrible as a result despite having been a model student until then(well, until the last year of HS; college only hastened its development). I'm 29 and I've since gotten treatment but the effect on my professional development has been incredibly damaging. It's less a stumble out of the gate than a foot shot.
I know intellectually that I've achieved as much - or possibly more - than my typical peer because I've worked through my problems and traumas and come out the other end alive and healthy, but they're still the ones with the comparatively advanced careers, living in nicer cities, and taking care of their young families while I'm still working saw jobs in the midwest and living, alone, in a studio apartment.
But I'm alive, and I'm able to finally live a normal life, which is priceless.
Comparing yourself to others is an easy way to think negatively and possibly even descend into depression. It's important to accept who you are and what got you there and not think that your life would be so much better "if only things had been different". Things weren't different. You were given the genes you were given from parents who you didn't choose and countless other variables influenced you to become depressed and then recover at the time you did. No need to feel bad about it.
I don't mean for this to sound like a personal attack. I'm in a similar position to you and I've found it incredibly rewarding to realize that it is useless to worry about the past and what could have happened.
Cannot edit anymore, so what I wanted to say (I was not very clear) is : The lives they have is not necessarily as nice as you picture it, nor yours as bleak as you think. In the end, I would not really think too much (even if I know it's hard) about them. After all, they might had enormous advantage, or actually a shitty live, because everything is too perfect or maybe they struggled so much to be where they are and so, are exhausted intellectually and depressed.
You achieved an incredible feat by controlling your depression, I'd be proud of it.
This isn't just true for women's shoes, but women's clothing in general. I don't understand the reasons, but men's clothing tends to be made with less design and more durability.
A fashioner designer once told me he made the men's clothing first, then crafted the women's clothing out of its leftovers + some embellishments.
Women's fashion changes quickly, so if she keeps up she may only be wearing whatever it is for a single season. It doesn't make sense to make something durable if it's only going to be worn a handful of times.
Men's fashions change much more slowly, and within much narrower parameters. It actually makes sense to spend a few grand on a suit that you're going to wear to work every week for a couple years, and it has to be pretty well made to last that long.
The hipster doofus stuff is as shoddy as women's wear and for the same reasons.
This is so true. My SO purchases clothes that are made from terrible materials, with stitching that falls apart.
Womens shoes exclusively seem capable on only lasting 6 months of regular wear. Everything from straps, buckles, soles and innersoles seem to fall apart.
The ultimate insult in all this is that they always cost more than the equivalent male version. The only exceptions to this are where the two items are equivalent (ie mens/womens levis, mens/womens running shoes).
I don't like buying clothes unless they're made from natural fibres/materials. It's cotton, wool + leather for me. For a woman, it's virtually impossible to stick to a rule like this.
I guess it's all about the fashion and style, and they aren't expected to last due to the built-in obsolescence of womens fashion.
For an easy anecdote, just walk into any Forever 21. The clothes are extremely thin, with bad stitching, and made from materials that aren't durable at all.
Stereotypically, because men tend to care less about clothing, fashion and the like, and so want clothes they can wear for a long time, while women worry more about changing fashion trends and wear clothes for relatively shorter periods of time.
I've considered writing something similar but I wasn't sure if there'd be any demand. I want an online collaborative editor whose paradigm is more LaTeX than Word. My original motivation was for collaborative academic writing in my old lab, but I think it could be useful for a broader technical audience, as well.
I agree that participation should be limited. I understand the desire for open posting but, in my opinion, it's been shown to be a failure by its inability to deal with content decay(both in posts and comments). It's time to experiment with new social designs.
