<p>Hi! I just created an account on College Confidential and really did it for this purpose only. I really (and by I, I mean my parents really) want to figure out what I'm going to study in college and basically, what I'm going to do with my life. I was slightly joking by that last comment, I really do want to figure out, not just my parents. I've thought about the different things I could major in, things I'm interested in now, things I may want to try... And I just can't decide. I don't know what to do. So I thought some random opinions would be useful. By the way, I'm a sophomore in a public high school, and I know it's a little early to be trying to figure this out... But even if you guys don't have any definite ideas on what i could major in, any suggestions on how to figure that out would be great too!</p>
<p>The facts:
Sophomore
Classes taken in HS (including this year): Biology, Geometry, 2 English courses, World History, US History I (taking II next year), Spanish II + III (I was taken in Jr. High), Chemistry, Algebra II... 2 years of chorus if that counts.
Of these classes I enjoyed Geometry a lot, freshman english was fun also, and I've been pretty interested in both World and US History. Though I've noticed, that this really is because of my teachers. I like the courses that I like my teachers in... Subject-wise? I don't know... But I guess I would like Geometry even if I didn't have my teacher. History would be dull though without the fun teachers. English, I really don't know, because I enjoy reading, but the literature in school... ehhhh. I've always enjoyed music and singing. Been singing for like 10 years, I'm in chamber choir in my school (highest auditioned level), and in a separate acapella group as well.</p>
<p>Other interests:
Magic - I am a professional magician. Yeah. I have been doing magic for more than 4 years now, and I perform public shows at my local kids museum. I also do private birthday shows at the museum, as well as at people's houses. I think of myself pretty good at what I do, and I've performed for audiences over 500 people in size. This could be my silver lining on my application when it comes to the good colleges. My grades are good, so this would be the difference between me and the others. Does anyone know how well this would work?
Acting - I've always loved acting. I did many plays/musicals with my own... cultural school when I was young. I'm Indian, we had Indian sunday school. Anyways, in Jr High, I also participated in a school musical, getting a (singing) lead. In high school however, plays and musicals are very time consuming and I simply wouldn't be able to handle them without a drop in grades or class levels (or sleep).
Speech and Debate - Technically I do speech, but since this is not very recognizable just by itself, I put both. For anyone who knows the intricacies of S+D, I do prose and play reading. Basically this is my alternative to plays in high school. I act out pieces of prose or plays, taking on multiple characters in one scene. I go to competitions, in regional, state, and national levels. I only started this year, however this can lead to great achievements that could be put on applications.</p>
<p>From the above 3 interests (plus my singing interest mentioned earlier), it is pretty clear I enjoy performing arts. However I really am not considering a performing arts career or major at all. I really do not wish to enter a career pathway of such. However, if you guys could find qualities in these interests that could point to a career, that would be great.</p>
<p>More specific interests:
One thing people have told me to do when trying to find a career/major/etc., is to make sure it is something you will enjoy. Something people have told me to think about is to recall things that I have done by myself out of my own interest and had fun with it. A clear example that immediately comes to mind is magic. I started that by myself, and had no instruction with it. However, as I mentioned earlier, I do not intend to make magic a full-on career. It does show creativity, I guess. However, as I thought more about these self inspired activities, I came across these things:
Video editing/Movie making - This really started off with a video I made with my uncle when I was bored. It was basically a puppet sort of thing, but what really mattered was at the end, when I used iMovie to cut and edit the shots together. It was very simple, but fun nonetheless. I later continued with video editing when I created a YouTube channel for my magic. I uploaded videos of my tricks, and I always had to add little intros before, and credits after. It was simple, but I got into self learning software, first simply with iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, but then learning more complicated things such as Sony Vegas, a professional grade (well not professional but looks very) movie editor. I learned about how to add transitions and effects to clips, how to string them together nicely, panning, zooming, etc. This was on my own time, and I had lots of fun with it.
Photo editing - Around the same time, I also messed around with GIMP, a free photo editing software that is very similar to photoshop. I learned to manipulate existing photos, create original content, and even now my dad occasionally tells me to make banners for his webpages. Once again, I learned this software out of my own interests, and I had plenty of fun with it.
3D modeling - This came about a little differently. I was part of this group in a business plan competition, and our product was a projector. We were making different designs and such, hand-drawn and simple computer diagrams, when I thought it would be cool to make a real 3D model of our projector. So I literally spent 2 days, ALL day in my bed with my laptop, learning how to use a 3D modeling program, Blender. I learned how to generate objects, apply colors, textures, cameras, lighting, etc. It was all very cool, and once again, I had fun learning it.
Video Special Effects - I saw videos on youtube with fireballs, explosions, etc, and thought, why don't I try this. So I did. I learned how to use AfterFX, a software in which I created clones, stopped myself in time, made my own lightsaber video, etc.</p>
<p>OK that was all probably pretty repetitive. But I'm trying to show something I noticed about myself. I learned how to use these random programs, just because usually I was bored. And I had lots of fun learning it. It's something I enjoy. In fact I am planning on exploring another 3D modeling program. Why? Because it's fun. Obviously, using computer design programs, movie makers, etc... It's all something I really enjoy. And I think maybe this could be something I could use in a career. But I can't identify what it is. Do any of you know what this could be?</p>
<p>All right I think that's enough for now. I probably forgot some other interests I have, but I'll add more in the comments as I go. I really hope some of you guys can help me. Thanks!</p>