Anyone else get annoyed by this?

[HowIMetYourPet]

So, I was trying to have a nice, relaxing Sunday afternoon, just doing my thing, my applications almost done; I have one more essay to write for a supplemental, then its just waiting on GRE scores and LORs. I was trying to-for once- have a vet-school-free afternoon.... nope. My brother brings his kids over to our house to swim, so my mom brother and I are in the pool talking....and the conversation switches to back up plans....then turns to "why are you going to vet school, you should just go to medical school instead, you'll make so much more money, you're being an idiot, this isn't the decision you should be making", etc, etc, etc, etc...... I got so sick of hearing about it and defending myself I just got out of the pool (and am now here ranting)

Now, I know my brother is a "special kind of special"... he has little to no compassion for animals, and what a person desires to do is irrelevant to him, he thinks you should just get a job that makes you the most money possible.....but fighting him about this is incredibly stressful...to the point I don't even want to see/talk to him anymore because he's so obnoxious about it.....he just wont let it go.... I know what I'm getting myself into... I know the financial side of it....but he's killing me man...

So, how do you guys deal with people like this? If it was some joe shmoe I'd just ignore him and avoid him....but its my brother....

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[deleted498041]

I went home this summer to stay with my parents, and we went out to dinner one night with some of their long time friends and coworkers as well as some of my friends. One thing that came up is the amount I've debt I'm in, and will be in when I graduate. One of their friends has a wife who went to medical school somewhere in the Caribbean, so she has pretty significant debt but makes a lot more money than I'll make for a very long time... They all kind of took turns telling me that it wasn't too late to drop out of vet school and become a human doctor instead citing facts about how I'd spend less money and make more in the long run.
I think having people tell you this kind of stuff, particularly family members, never really goes away. Over time, I've learned to just smile and change the subject. Over time, people figure out that those kinds of comments either produce a not-so-nice response from me or removal of my presence.

 

[that redhead]

I try to be a straight up kind of person. I'd probably look him in the eye and say something like, "You've said this to me many times before and it really hurts my feelings when you bash the career path I've taken. It makes me want to not talk to you anymore." Then let him figure that out on his own.

 

[Vet_Squared80]

I hear ya! I get the "Oh. That's a lot of work/debt/time away from your kids" comments. Thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who supports me and doesn't let me say "if I get in" - he corrects me to "when I get in". Most of the time, I let him do the talking, and the problem takes care of itself. For the times he isn't there, I just simply state that life is too short to not do something you incredibly love, regardless of how much money you make or don't make. That's how I feel and I wish more people took money out of the equation and pursued their passions.

 

[Lissarae06]

Vet med, because humans are gross.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I usually tell people "yeah, you have to be kind of stupid and special to choose this path, but I mean unfortunately that's what I am..."

 

[that redhead]

Vet med, because humans are gross.

There was a picture of a human with trich on a zuku review sheet...I had to scroll away because it was so gross.

 

[Felixor90]

I get a bit aggressive when responding to this. It's usually the *****s that have nothing more than a liberal arts degree that choose to lecture me about my decision about going to vet school. I rarely get anyone with a science background (especially pre-meds) asking me about it because they're usually the type of person that knows that your career path should be about passion instead of just how many zeros you have on your paycheck. It reaaaaaaallly grinds my gears.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I rarely get anyone with a science background (especially pre-meds) asking me about it because they're usually the type of person that knows that your career path should be about passion instead of just how many zeros you have on your paycheck. It reaaaaaaallly grinds my gears.

Wait wut? You and I must know very different sets of pre-meds...

 

[Felixor90]

Wait wut? You and I must know very different sets of pre-meds...

I guess we do. I usually get the "awww how cute" response from them. It's a bit emasculating, but not as annoying as the response being discussed here.