How does an underachiever succeed? How does she get an internship or job? (rant)

Career Opportunities & Internships
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<p>This has been a conundrum in my life since high school. I drown in my procrastination and lack of motivation (likely stemming from other issues that I don’t care to divulge) and it definitely takes a toll on my grades. As a junior now, I have a whopping 2.4 GPA and it’s definitely kind of tragic. GPA follows me everywhere. I couldn’t study abroad this year because it is too low, so I might try for fall of my senior year. I’m still not completely sold on the idea though considering it is senior year and I have yet to get an internship. Even with internships, my underachieving behavior holds me back. If an internship I like isn’t ridiculously competitive and holding standards that I know I just can’t meet, then it demands the ability to earn college credit which my GPA also prevents me from doing at the moment. I can get an internship, but not for college credit. My major is Political Science and my minor is Journalism. I would like an internship in either, but I know for a Journalism internship I don’t have any clips because I haven’t been involved in my school newspaper at all. (There goes that lovely laziness I was telling you about.) Ideally, I would find an internship for either the spring or the summer and then another internship in spring of senior year, or the fall if my GPA holds me back from studying abroad. Any tips on pulling this off with my GPA and situation?</p>

<p>This has been something I have struggled with for a long time, my habitual laziness, but now the reality of what may never be is finally settling in. I may never get into graduate and/or law school. I may never succeed in life. I may never accomplish anything close to what I dream of. My parents may never be proud of me. I may never have a nice, comfortable life. My future looks rather bleak from this view. </p>

<p>Sometimes I think a part of me has already given up. I always say I can’t focus but that isn’t entirely true. I find myself looking for things to distract me when it comes to homework. It’s almost as if my subconscious self doesn’t WANT to change. I think, as much as I do want it, my subconscious is comfortable with this complacency. My own psyche is working against me for christ sake. Which scares me. Well, she needs to get her **** together unless she wants to be a prostitute or something. Oh god, I can totally see that too - me trying to talk politics with my pimp. Ugh fml.</p>

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<p>The fact that you posted this shows that you have the motivation to succeed. Success doesn’t necessarily have to come through GPA or finding a dream internship. Besides, what does a dream internship really mean? If you can’t get a “real” one, use the interests you have to start your own project and call that your internship - it shows a lot of initiative. For a friend, this was starting an online business over the summer. For you this could be a political blog or starting a journalism “company” writing freelance articles.</p>

<p>But, it seems like you really want a “real” internship. Go out there and do some networking. Call up newspapers, journals, whatever, and find a way to speak to the people at the top. Have a good pitch ready and sell yourself (no pun intended). Build experience with these and leverage it later on. Don’t get caught up in how you think others define success for you. Pave your own path.</p>

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<p>What post did you read? Because I just read a post about someone who blamed their laziness on past experiences, thinks their subconscious is causing their failures, and thinks study abroad is the most important thing. What in that post shows ANY motivation? It is literally all about how she is NOT motivated and how depressed that makes her. </p>

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<p>Boo-hoo. You CHOOSE to surf facebook instead of studying. Laziness is a choice, not a condition.</p>

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<p>Tragic? Why? Because you can’t go do things (like study abroad) that people who have made the most out of their educational opportunities can do? What would be tragic is if universities didn’t restrict privileges like this to students who have succeeded.</p>

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<p>Yeah a grad/law school that would actually be worth the tens of thousands of dollars it would cost to complete is out of the question so that’s one less thing to worry about.</p>

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<p>Your entire post consists of skating around the most obvious fact: You’re immature. It’s time to grow up and except the mistakes you have made instead of doing the childish thing and seeking for ways to explain why you did these things. I mean, your “subconscious” is the reason you’re half way done with college and have done nothing meaningul? My goodness, this sounds like something I would have conjured up to cover my ass when I was getting in trouble in HS.</p>

<p>My final advice. Do what every other underachieving college student is doing. Get diagnosed with ADHD (I think drive-thru diagnosis centers are starting to pop up) and start taking amphetamines. You’ll be motivated after you take an Adderall XR 30 mg.</p>

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<p>Hey plscatamacchia, you *******, learn the difference between accept and except, buy yourself some compassion, and then maybe people will take you seriously.</p>

<p>To the OP - I completely understand what you mean. Though my GPA was not a 2.4, it was nowhere near as high as I would have liked it to be. Much of it was due to laziness and procrastination. And I’ve also had that feeling of hopelessness where I think I will never amount to anything in the future - but that’s bullsh1t. From your post I can tell you can at least express yourself clearly through writing - which is already more than what a lot of people can do. When you begin your job search post graduation, most of the time your GPA will NOT matter. Employers won’t even ask for it. In fact, I had three internships while I was still in school and only one of them asked for my GPA (and I lied about it lol). My point is: your undergrad GPA is only important if you want to pursue graduate school immediately after your undergraduate studies. Relevant work experience looks REALLY good on a grad school app.</p>

<p>Also, the ******* above me mentioned amphetamines. I agree it is totally a quick way to get motivated - just make sure you’re careful and don’t become dependent because it’s soooo easy to get hooked on that stuff. If you want a milder form of it I suggest buying some good old sudafed. It helps keep me awake. </p>

<p>Keep your head up! :)</p>

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<p>^^Well, I don’t see anything wrong with his post. </p>

<p>Personally, I agree with him. It seems she is blaming everything BUT herself for her problems which is what gets so many people in to trouble. </p>

<p>EDIT: Don’t you think it’s kind of sad that you joined a message board just to correct some grammar and give encouraging advice to someone who needs a kick to the ass, rather than symphathy?</p>

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<p>From your post, you already know what your problems are and you already know the solution. Stop being lazy.</p>

<p>If you are unable to get an internship because of your grades, then volunteer and start from the bottom. Your GPA is low, so you need to make up for it with perseverance. No one is going to hand you a job or pave the way for you in the working world. A lot of people who have much more experience, much more drive, and not lazy are competing for the same job you are trying to get while slacking off. You either go out and grab it yourself or stay the way you are and live a very mediocre life.</p>

<p>GPA is a way of screening applicants. I wouldn’t lie about your GPA. You can get blacklisted in certain job communities if they catch you. It costs 10 dollars to do a background check and find out what your GPA is. Not worth the trouble.</p>

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<p>@ plscatamacchia:</p>

<p>Wow. Clearly you have no insight or expertise or even basic knowledge on human behavior or psychology so I’ll let like half of your comment go. </p>

<p>I don’t know, I could’ve sworn this entire post was me admitting to (or <em>accepting</em>) my failures. And what do you mean thinking about why you do things is childish? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. If you don’t identify what is causing your actions or what is wrong with you, then how is it going to change? </p>

<p>(@big4bound as well) I Also fail to see how I’m blaming anything other than myself in this post. Subconscious is part of myself genius. I think maybe you should look it up so you understand exactly what the subconscious is. Or not. NO big deal I cant concern myself with every single person’s ignorance. </p>

<p>Still, I appreciate your blunt honesty even if it does reflect a lack of depth and perception. It’s still your honesty and I appreciate that. This is the real world and no one is going to coddle me anymore. At one point people like me just joke around about not doing our work and how lazy we are. “It’s just part of being in college,” we say to each other. Honestly though it’s a joke that’s not funny anymore and I’m just worried about my future. That’s all. Thanks for the advice to take drugs. lol I’ll consider it.</p>

<p>Just curious, are you a guy in college right now or are you in grad school, have you already established your career, etc.?</p>

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<p>I didn’t realize 2 days was a long time for responding to posts. lol Sorry cyberland.</p>

<p>You know what though, perhaps in this respect I am immature. I do kind of feel like taking responsibility for myself is one of the most scary things I’ll ever have to do. I’m so used to my family being there to support me and being seen as a kid who has tons of time to make up for lost time that being a mature adult who makes responsible choices in terms of doing my work seems like it will be an extremely hard thing to do. I mean, I am just so incredibly lazy that I don’t even know where to start sometimes. I’m overwhelmed by life in general I would say. A big difficult task is appealing to me but when I realize I have to actually do the work, I just walk away and ignore it. Even small tasks for that matter. lol I’m just a very pathetic case right now. </p>

<p>Okay I need to stop with the pity party. lol</p>

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<p>Yeah, stop with the pity party and go do your work. Pronto. At least you’re not waiting until senior year to have this light bulb moment.</p>

<p>I graduated last year and I got a job three months later working in the editorial department of a national magazine. I had a 3.78 GPA, three internships and three years of professional work experience. I worked my ass off to get where I am.</p>

<p>You’re a journalism minor? If you’re looking to go into media, go out tomorrow and talk to the editor-in-chief or managing editor of your school’s newspaper and start getting some experience. Next semester, call up a local paper and see if they have room for an intern. In this industry, you have to have experience to get a job. Have to. If you’re having trouble with laziness, though, I’m not sure you’re cut out for the work. If you’re not pulling your weight, you’ll be gone and another eager start up will be rarin’ to take your place.</p>

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<p>yeah I agree. Ive been looking for internships lately and hopefully I’ll find something.</p>

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<p>DooWahDiddy–have you thought about seeing an academic advisor or taking advantage of any free counseling services your school might offer? It sounds like you think your problem is deeper than just laziness, and it might be good for you to talk to someone who might give advice more thoughtful and warm-hearted than, “just quit being lazy and stop whining.” </p>

<p>I know you’re particularly interested in jobs and internships, but I’m going to focus more on school stuff–your GPA. It sounds like these things are very tied for you (both in your own mind and in the minds of recruiters). As someone who has dealt with my own personal ambivalence but has also been very successful, I have a few questions (all of which you may take with a grain of salt):</p>

<p>–What are your friends like? Underachievers or overachievers? Spending time with people who have goals and work hard can be really motivating. </p>

<p>–Why did you want to come to college in the first place? What kinds of experiences did you want to have? What are your goals upon graduating? Having clear goals and reminding yourself of those goals might be important - you might write a list of things you want to have accomplished before you graduate and post it somewhere in your room. You might put a picture of the country you want to visit over your desk to remind you that you can’t go to Paris (or wherever) if you spend too much time on Facebook. </p>

<p>–Do you tell yourself you’re lazy? Quit saying that your actions are indicative of some innate characteristic within yourself. You aren’t lazy. You’re ACTING lazy. You have that choice, and it’s not a label that needs to stick with you. You might start using more active language about yourself: instead of just saying, “I want to write that paper tonight,” say (outloud, and to someone else if possible, because then it makes you responsible to something,) “I WILL write that essay tonight.” </p>

<p>–What are your study strategies? Part of doing well and being a good student is just building “good student” habits. You might read up that…Although, honestly, it’s a pretty personal thing. I know I am much more interested and happy to do work when I know I get to use pretty highlighters. Silly? Yes. Effective? Yes. </p>

<p>This could be wrong, but it sounds to me like you just kind of assumed you could have certain experiences (getting an internship, going abroad) without putting in the time and effort to gain those things. However, even recognizing the problem, you feel kind of defeated, or at least ambivalent about doing the work. Why is that? </p>

<p>It also sounds to me like you’re not quite being active in your own life–like you think it’s easier to just zone out rather than face the work. That might because you honestly don’t like (or don’t care about) the things you’re studying, or it might be something a little deeper. I mean, could it be something like you’re not trying because you think if you did, you’d fail? </p>

<p>I think you need to address for yourself (or with the help of a counselor or a parent or a good friend) why you don’t feel motivated to do work even if you know it will lead to things you want. If it’s not medical (ADHD, depression, etc.,) then understanding yourself might help you get over it. Besides, you’re going to have to explain these things to potential employers and internship advisors in the future. Saying that your GPA wasn’t that great because “you’re lazy” is not the best answer in the world. Even saying in those interviews, “I came to a certain point in my college career where I realized that I wasn’t doing as well as I could have been. I realized then that I hadn’t really fully connected my school work to my outside goals, and I hadn’t fully committed to being a student. Since then I have done…to change that” shows that you’re a smarter, more reflective student than “I have a 2.4 because I’m lazy.” </p>

<p>Also, please don’t just get yourself diagnosed with ADHD and start using medication if that medication is not appropriate to you. It’s an irresponsible reaction, and it misuses the medical establishment. Taking that kind of stuff is not going to change your personal motivation anyway. Believe it or not, motivation has to come from inside you, not inside a bottle.</p>