<p>I just finished my freshman year at Cal (UCB) and to be honest it went over very badly. For personal reasons I spent my first year in an apartment and so I didn't make any friends at all. I pretty much failed my whole year (although my GPA didn't tank too badly since I took most of them P/NP). I feel like I either chose the wrong college or I just went because everyone else in high school was going to college even without knowing what the hell I want to do with my life. I'm in a major I don't want to be in, I didn't take to the environment very well and the thought of going back next year makes me so stressed out. I know I got very lucky to be accepted to a prestigious school, but I've felt multiple times throughout this whole year that it's just wrong for me. I was thinking of dropping out before my sophomore year and doing some internship, foreign exchange, working abroad, getting a temporary job for experience, etc. before maybe applying to another college that is more laid back.</p>
<p>I was restricted a lot during high school, my parents had total control over all the classes and extracurricular activities I did, and pretty much all my life I was forced to study inside 24/7. Now I don't know what I want to do because I never had the chance to really explore my passions - to be honest sometimes I don't even know what I'm passionate about. I tend to lean toward the creative side (music, art, film, etc.) but I've never really developed skills in that area, and as a lot of people know, it's extremely hard to make a living in any creative industry. The only other area I might consider besides those listed would be some type of Asian/Asian American studies/languages. </p>
<p>A lot of people scoff at me when I say I want to take some time off to discover who I am. I've been advised to just suck it up and choose any "tolerable" major so I can just get a job afterwards. But I feel like I'll be wasting my time/money if I just continue to torture myself through something I just can't stand. It's gotten to the point that I have zero motivation to study or finish my work at all, when usually I can get things done very fast and thoroughly if I have a genuine interest in it. As silly as it sounds I want to do something that I love, I just haven't found it yet.</p>
<p>However I'm having problems as to HOW I am going to spend this "gap year" before applying to another college when I still don't know what I want to do. Should I just go back to my local CC and complete the GEs? I want to go traveling and such, study/work abroad but not many places will take you with only a HS diploma right? Are there any ideas of what I should do after dropping out? I feel like I wouldn't accomplish anything taking another year of college if I don't know what I want to do and my parents have been pressuring me about our financial situation. I want to get out there and do things instead of studying something just to "get by."</p>
<p>Research jobs. Don’t just stay in one area, expand. You may find jobs you never thought existed, and find out they might be exactly what you want. Try internships, if possible. I like art, but after having it as a job this summer, I discovered I probably would hate it as a job!</p>
<p>Ask for a leave of absence at UCB, and take a semester or year off. Don’t worry just yet about the “right way” to use your time. You are too burned out to do that. Get a job, go to work every day, make some money, do fun things in your free time, and think about your longer-range options. If you aren’t ready to go back to college somewhere for fall 2013 that is OK. Keep working and thinking and observing, and you will start to get good ideas about how to create your own best future.</p>
<p>I second both quotes above. I took a job before I started college mainly because I needed to make the money. It was a job that when applying to it I was merely remotely interested in it because I knew it was something I could do without completely failing at and wow! I’ve learned of other jobs in this particular agency that I would have never thought existed before I worked here and they’re all extremely interesting to me. Now I’m going to college so that I can apply for those other interesting jobs. I too didn’t know exactly what kind of career I wanted, though I knew things I was interested in. Working a bit before school allowed me to really discover things I can see myself doing for a career.</p>
<p>Work a bit, maybe a year or so. Do something different and talk to co-workers that have other jobs in that company or agency. I found my co-workers as an invaluable resource in giving direct insight to not just their current jobs and careers, but their past jobs as well because they were a little more experienced and farther in their career track than I.</p>
<p>The most important thing is that you step away from school since it’s really stressing you out. Even if you don’t land a traditional job or internship soon you can still make it your daily “job” to research different types of opportunities. Walk around business locations and if you see an industry you like (a law firm just as an example), then stop in and ask if someone would have a minute to talk to you about the career that led them to that particular industry or position. Look up businesses’ websites (like Apple just as an example)and view their current openings and what the requirements for those kinds of positions are. Talk to family - do any of them have interesting careers you’d be able to ask them about? Maybe you can try to get in touch with a local alumni chapter and see what those graduates are doing or did for work and life so far? There’s so many ways to research and get an inside scoop on options and opportunities for your future.</p>
<p>take a leave and do a semester at a cc or ayear or 2. i think the max leave is 2 yrs? depending on where you are in CA cc’s have some great study abroad options that are half the price than ucs and the ones cc offers are almost always GEs that transfer. honestly i wouldnt take the work route, its a world you can get sucked into. the new ‘independence’ from your job and money becomes distracting. so at least go to a cc. maybe visit some other colleges, if you didnt visit a lot before you enrolled at ucb. its amazing how just being on a campus can make you feel so many things.</p>