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1. Life lessons from a two-time college dropout by JustASmalltownBoy

   Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

   • Mature
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Gen, M/M
   • Work in Progress

   06 Jul 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
   • Mike Wheeler
   • Will Byers
   • The Party (Stranger Things)
   • Alternate Universe - College/University
   • Social Media
   • Depressed Mike Wheeler
   • Angst with a Happy Ending
   • Multimedia
   • I'm Bad at Tagging
   • Other Additional Tags to Be Added
   • Mental Health Issues
   • Suicide Attempt
   • Self-Discovery
   • Coming of Age
   • Friendship/Love
   • Streamer Mike Wheeler
   • Existential Angst
   • Gay Mike Wheeler
   • Will Byers is a Sweetheart
   • Period-Typical Homophobia
   • Reunions
   • Mike Wheeler Has a Sexuality Crisis
   • Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
   • Alternate Universe - No Upside Down (Stranger Things)
   • 2010s
   • Recreational Drug Use

   Summary

   After high school everyone is moving on and living life, but this time it's Mike Wheeler who is falling behind.

   Now a two-time college dropout, Mike is barely holding it all together. He has to learn for himself it means to be alive even when he feels like he has nothing left to fight for, and he turns to social media to help. What he doesn't know is that the decision to post his first ever video diary on YouTube will be the thing that changes his life forever. It all starts with a sudden bout of unexpected internet fame and a friend request from a familiar name from his childhood: William Byers.

   This work is not tied to canon; set in the 2010s with no Upside Down. A story of loss, love, friendship, acceptance, and finding one's own identity, based loosely on my own personal experience (so be kind).

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   1,559

   Chapters:

   1/?

   Kudos:

   4

   Bookmarks:

   1

   Hits:

   49