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It was the 20th of February that I traveled across the street to my neighbor’s house. It was a house that had been there for as many years as I could remember, though the current occupants had been there just the past ten. A large house by any standards, it had four bedrooms, three bathrooms, several living areas and a basement, where the first of the cats I was to take care of resided on a small couch reserved especially for her. I was given a quick tour by a stressed and very grateful mother of two of the proceedings for feeding the cats, the fish, cleaning up, where everything would go, and promised a knickknack from their vacation in return for my services while I attempted to offer my hand to the cats for a sniff. A pair of 20 year old cats, one about to be euthanized upon their return, who looked at me with some suspicion were my charges, along with a single gold fish that required a few flakes of food a day.
An easy enough task, just go over twice a day in the morning and at night and make sure to empty out the litter box, feed the animals, and make sure nothing is dead, and it was for some time. I would go over, check on the cats, they would run under beds, I would feed them, hang out for fifteen minutes reading a book, and leave. But of course, as many of us who have had cats know, feed one for a week and they will overwhelmingly treat you in much more friendly manner. So it was then that my seventh day a small brown and black striped feline with white mittens gave a hoarse meow, and accepted my invitation up onto my lap. As a sat there stroking this wonderful creature sentenced to die within the week, mind wandering as she purred incessantly, I couldn’t help but think what she must think of me, if more than a passing thought, and as she extended her head towards mine for a second, our eyes met, and I could only think “I am way too old for this shit”.
Note about the Author:
+ Show Spoiler + Growing up in Southwest Michigan as the youngest of three children in a reasonably well off suburb, he was a natural introvert with these tendencies only deepened by relationships with his siblings and peers, as well as the premature death of his father at the age of seven. Called naturally intelligent by his teachers, he made it through his compulsory education with minimal effort and good enough marks to make it into his school of choice. During this time making two close friends he would keep and eat lunch with every day, as well as involvement in several clubs and a few acquaintances from classes. After a stellar first year in college, making friends through an anime club and his floor mates, as well as succeeding academically, through some combination of lack of interest, motivation, forethought, and too much time on SC 2, he managed to fail almost half his classes and drop his overall GPA down to a 3.1. Although he was still technically a student in good standing after this, he was dragged home for a semester after this and is currently taking a couple classes at a local community college, looking for work, not going out much out of a sense of shame over his situation, and most recently deciding to write a blog to help him figure out what he wants to do with his life. He hopes that all of you don't hate it, and welcomes questions and comments below.
 
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Protip: Don't petsit animals that are on the verge of kicking the bucket, if they die while the people are gone (even if you are in no way at fault) it does not lead to fun times for you.
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Your situation sounds similair to mine. I had a 4.3gpa coming out of high school (AP/honors were on a 5.0 scale) and went to college out of town. I did alright my first semester, but the second semester I lost complete interest in it (coupled with a strong desire to just play WoW non stop). Instead of doing the smart thing and dropping all my classes, I just stopped going and didn't do the tests or homework...and promptly failed 12 credit hours, eventually leading to being kicked out on "academic probation."
I found myself moving back home (though not with parents) and feeling like I was at rock bottom. How could I go from an academically successful individual to what I felt like was the utter bottom? Anyways, I eventually put things back together by getting a crappy minimum wage job in the mall and starting college again by taking out student loans and making a commitment to myself to get it done. Even started doing summer courses to get caught back up, and now I'm a semester away from graduating and currently work full time making 40k/year (will be even more when I graduate).
It took me close to a year to finally start turning things around. After I got kicked out I bummed around for the better part of 6 months then slowly got back into the swing of things. It's really difficult and I still hate myself for pissing away time like that, but you live and learn. Just make sure that eventually you learn from your mistake and use it to drive you forward.
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I love your text. It's elegantly written, has a beautiful title and an absolutely adorable storyline. I can't wait for the sequel. Seriously, if you don't post one, I'll call your Mom and force her to e-mail it to me. You got yourself a fanclub-founder right here. <3
Now for the note about the author:
You make one single mistake, and it's a fundamental one. You romanticize yourself and your life by talking about yourself in the third person. It seems odd, comparing the first beautiful, genuine piece of writing to this pompous and distanced self-description. Now take a deep breath and ask yourself why you do this.
Are you afraid of saying "I am not going out much out of a sense of shame over my situation" instead of "He is not going out much out of a sense of shame over his situation"? To admit that you, excuse my words, f***ed it up yourself and are on your own getting back on track?
I've been through more or less the same shit two years ago; I wasn't thrown out of medschool, but was rather near to it, and damn close to moving back in with parents (thank god I didn't) if I hadn't met my boyfriend around that time who got me to think about why I was behaving like that. It's now two years later, and I can honestly say that now I'm fit to become a good doctor. And even more important: I'm looking forward to it.
The reasons were more or less the same, and I just know how you feel - being in that boat sucks. Feel hugged and at the same time encouraged to do whatever is necessary to find out what you really want to do with your life.
And if you become a great writer one day - I so want an autograph 
Edit: Fixed typos.
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The fact the cats were twenty is a feat in itself. =[
I only wish mine lived to be that old. I would have a really hard time putting any of them down. Couldn't do it. The last one to go was really sad too, but that isn't your problem.
Not bad.
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Thank you for your stories and feedback everyone. I'm honestly surprised anyone found it that well written that they'd be willing to form a fanclub for me. I think there's a lot I could've done better to set the scene, correct run-on sentences, and have a better build-up, but I appreciate the support. I've had to put down a cat who was only eight before, and I'm really sorry you had to lose any of your pets before they were wrinkled up and old, Starstruck.
missefficiency, I assure you I was fully aware of the implications of writing my note about the author in third person, it made it easier to write objectively and not feel bad about it, as well as following the standard formula for those kinds of things in literature. You can think it makes it pompous, romanticizing, and distanced all you want, but at the end of day it was no mistake and I perfectly intended for it be distanced from myself. As someone who's always been more interested in sciences, I doubt I'll ever be a writer, but if I do I'll be sure to mail you 20 copies of it if you want.
I understand my blog was not the easiest thing to read or respond to, but I greatly appreciate the time you took to do so, and the words of encouragement. I will probably write another at some point next week, though it may not be quite what you're expecting as a follow-up, and I hope it will be as well received. Thank you.
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EPT
