Forgive me if this post appears to ramble. At a really low point and not sure what my next step is. For context I’ve added as much background as I think is necessary. As the title suggests I’m open to advice.

I graduated a couple years ago with a B.A. in Economics from an Ivy League school. Uni itself wasn’t that great of an experience for me. I actually enrolled in fall of 2010 but I was forced to withdraw a couple of times so the process itself took a lot longer than it should have (~6 years total as opposed to 3 as originally planned). Added to that I spent my first year in and out of hospital, so I never really felt immersed in that environment or socialized as most other students do. Add to that the fact that my field of study was not really targeted toward anything, the end result was a delayed, and barely passable graduation with mediocre grades and a distaste of the entire experience.

Since then I’ve worked service and retail trying to work my way to being eligible for permanent residence (I’m an immigrant). After graduating I still had no idea what to do so I took whichever work I could get hence the work experience. I’m close to satisfying the criteria to begin the application but, as things stand I cannot legally work due to a work permit issue (which I’m hoping will be resolved soon but can’t say). Beyond my PR, I have no real concrete aim or goal in life and it’s causing me a lot of anxiety.

Right now, I spend most of my day at the gym or at home. Poor spending habits when i had a job meant that what savings I had were meagre and I’m close to running out of them soon. Apart from the odd deal with some contacts I have, I don’t have much disposable income which adds to my anxiety and my reluctance to do activities that will result in expenditure. I’ve asked my parents for help (which they’re going to give) but it pains me to accept it because I’ve been able to support myself for the last few years and have been proud of that. Also to be totally honest I took the path I did out of obligation to their desire for me to get a degree, and not because I had a concrete idea of what i wanted to pursue.

I’m really at a loss on what to do next with my life. I’m currently looking for work under the table but pickings are slim. I’m supposed to meet with a friend of a friend this week about an opportunity but even that will be temporary and so I need to start working to secure something more long term ASAP. If anyone has been in this position I’d really be grateful for some advice. I don’t want to feel like a failure in my 20s and need some sort of fulfillment to feel as though all of this has been worth. Open to any suggestions.