<p>I wonder how you did in high school? Were you a scatterbrained, unmotivated student there too?</p>
<p>Honestly, college is not for everybody. I never went, and I made a successful life and career. It was the harder way to do it, for sure, and if you can do college you should - but it is not impossible to have a great life if you don’t go. </p>
<p>I was not “college material” (except I had the brains.) I wasn’t the kind who could sit in a classroom and study; I just don’t learn that way. I needed a lot more freedom than traditional schools offer. I’m a reader and always have five books open - been that way my whole life. As soon as somebody starts to lecture? I mentally drift away. It didn’t help that I always knew a lot of the stuff they were teaching, and so I got very bored and never got to the stuff I didn’t know. (They didn’t have gifted programs back in my day and location, which is what I needed.) I wasn’t able to sit there and do projects I wasn’t interested in, even when I tried. Ultimately, I was the definition of unmotivated, and haven’t changed that much mentally. That, by the way, is not a quality I’m proud of and as I’ve gotten older I’ve been able to manage it better, but it’s never gone away entirely.</p>
<p>My older son takes after me and didn’t go to college, he went to trade school and it took him a couple years after high school graduation to go. My younger son is a Jr in HS with a 4.6 GPA and Ivy dreams. People are different, and people learn differently.</p>
<p>So if this is a pattern with you - if you were like this in high school too, than maybe this method of learning is not for you. No shame in that. If it’s not a pattern, look further.</p>
<p>As for your plans, they seem unrealistic to me, a little. If you are having trouble in an American college, you are unlikely to have an easier time at a Japanese one. The novelty will wear off quick and then it’s going to be very difficult surrounded by a foreign culture, with a language you don’t know well and expectations that would be difficult for everybody. But I am not sure what the program is so take it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>The Navy is a valid career choice but you haven’t said what you are interested in or why. What would your major in college be and how does that translate to the Navy? Why do you think the Navy is something you want to do? Are you patriotic, interested in mechanics… or just like the ocean? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In 20? Think about these things as they will lead you to the right path.</p>
<p>It is impossible to say how your parents are going to react. I promise that they know you and it may not be as much of a surprise to them as you think it will be. The fact that you are coming up with a plan is a good idea but maybe your plan is not so realistic. How about a job? Where are you going to live? Are you thinking you’ll stay with them? For how long? Until when? What if they say no? What would your ideal situation look like, and what would your worst case look like? </p>
<p>You owe it to your parents to tell them what is going on - college isn’t cheap and they are not getting value for their money. First, go talk to your college counselor, immediately. See if you can get those grades up until the semester is open. Those who said you should leave things so you can come back later are right. Prove to yourself that you can do this, even if unmotivated, because I promise you, life is full of things you must do that you won’t feel motivated to do.</p>
<p>Maybe counseling can test you for a learning disability (only if you think that is an issue - I certainly don’t agree with the poster who suggested “manic depression,” but if you were an A student in high school and suddenly can’t go to class or make decent grades, that is indicative of a problem, whether it be lack of interest, depression, immaturity or just boredom. It doesn’t have to be a major mental illness; maybe a typical college is just not the way you learn.</p>
<p>Once you talk to your counselor at school and find out specifics about leaving, sit down and tell your parents what is going on and what you are going to do. Be as specific as possible: “I am dropping out of college for the near future because XXX. I hope you will let me stay with you for X months until I get on my feet. I will pay you rent/cook dinner/do my own cleaning/follow your rules. I plan to get a job, save my money and then apply to the Japanese school. If they reject me, I will join the Navy and become a XXX. In X months, I should have enough money for an apartment and be able to support myself. If you won’t let me stay, I will sleep on X’s couch. I’m sorry I didn’t finish college and I know you are disappointed; my counselor said xxx. I am not giving up college dreams forever, just right now, I am unmotivated and uninterested and doing poorly and I don’t want to waste anymore money. I wish to try a different path.”</p>
<p>Of course, fill that in with your own plans and what you learn from what you hope to do - but you can’t expect that they will be happy. But if you talk to them with a plan, with maturity, letting them know that you have thought about it carefully and won’t put too much of a burden on them, they will be more accepting. </p>
<p>It is much easier to support yourself and make money with a college education. But, truthfully, it is not the ONLY way, just the most valued, and many of us forget that. That, of course, depends on your major - you don’t want a physician without college. 
It’s possible that six months doing some stupid job might make college look good and motivate you. But, I think something is missing - either the way you learn or perhaps what you are studying, and you should think long and hard about what that is. </p>
<p>At this point, it’s no longer about what your parents think. It’s about how you are going to manage your future, which is, of course, what they are concerned about.</p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>