From Paris, With Love

Hi Judge Josh,

Thank you for what you’re doing, it always helps me a lot to hear your advice and now I must ask my own question in this great time of need.

Well thank you for reading – and I hope I can help!
Here’s the statement:

I’m 25, working on my bachelor’s, and I hate my school. I’d rather be out working (I own my own business) but I know I’d like to be a teacher one day so that keeps me going.

While I was living in Paris for a few months (I needed to flee the country for awhile) I met a girl I really liked. When I came back to the states we decided to try to make the extremely long distance thing work. It’s been a little bit over a year and things are going great (We met up in NYC a month ago).

WHOA – hold up, now!  You can’t just gloss over the whole “I needed to flee the country for awhile” bit.  You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!

Now I can hurry up and I think I will finish within a year, but I also have an opportunity to study abroad in Paris which is something I always wanted to do. But I think this might add another semester to the long and arduous education process.

Also my business is really picking up and it kills me to be in school. I want out already! But I also have business contacts in Paris and it might be a great opportunity to work with them while I’m in France for a year. So I’m not sure what to do.

Should I hurry up and finish school in a year or be with my lady in Paris while I handle business out there? HA! I think I just answered my own question. Thanks Judge Josh! You are the best ^^

-c

Thanks, C.

You know, sometimes you just have to go with your heart.   Only, however, if your head is in the right place as well.  It’s obvious what you want to do – you want to get this school thing over with ASAP so you can get on living life with your Parisian queen.  There’s nothing wrong with that…IF it’s not a rash decision that would leave you in a bad place should there be trouble in paradise.

If you go ahead and finish school, you have your backup in place should that cruel bastard called “real life” come rearing its ugly head and either a) your business goes belly up and/or b) the clock strikes midnight on your fairy tale with Ms. Paris (sorry for the cynicism – I’m a little grizzled at this stage of my life).

If you don’t and either of these things happen, you’ll be right back to where we are now.  If your love with your French beauty is true – and I really hope it is – then she’ll be there at the end of the year for your pomp & circumstance – so I say go ahead and get it done.  You’ll be happier in the end.

What say you?  Is romance truly alive in 2014?  Should C finish school ASAP, or should he live a page from a romance novel and take to Paris sooner?