I don’t want to be in college anymore

I know there’s tons of these forums with this topic, but I just feel so lost.

I’m currently in my second year of college, and practically done with my general courses. However, I still haven’t found a single subject that interests me, and I completely dread my classes. This isn’t to say that I hate learning, I still learn things on my own, and am doing very well in terms of grades, but I have zero drive for my classes. The only thing stopping me from dropping out is that I have no idea what I’d do afterwards, and I’m worried I’d never return to college.
Any advice?

Are you back at school now? Does your school have a career center? Some career centers have counselors who can help you through career exploration activities. Finding a way to focus your academic plan toward something might help your decision making.

What things do you “learn on your own”? Whatever they are, consider whether there isn’t some related area you could turn into a career. School is drudgery when you don’t see the point to it - spending some time finding your direction will pay off and hopefully help you become more vested in your education.

@completelylost1 Lots of students have no idea what they want to be or what to major in. Some students change their major 2 or 3 times before settling in on the right one for them. College can be exploration. Obviously this semester’s exploration is not what interests you. Think about what career you would do even if you weren’t getting paid for it. Then take that interest and see if you can pursue it. Are there any of the classes at all from last year that were somewhat interesting? See if you can dig deeper into those. Talk to adults about what they do for a living when you see them. Think would I like that or no? It will make you hone in on what you want and don’t want. College degrees are good for many career paths even when in a subject not related to their degree. Continuing your college will benefit you, don’t drop out. You are done with the general eds almost

I’ve been there. It seemed like my 4 years as an undergrad were a constant struggle against the urge to drop out. The future seemed uncertain, I wasn’t particularly good at my major subject, and writing term papers was torture. Here are some things that kept me going:

–I had quit a sports team in 8th grade, & later regretted it. We so often look at things from the perspective of “now.” Yeah, it sucks NOW, but if we expand that perspective to a week or month or a year, we can often see that the current pain is worth enduring for the later payoff.

–I had had several summer jobs before & during college. All were a pain…hot, sweaty, boring work. But you know was worse than working? NOT working. Sitting around doing nothing, making no progress, THAT was far more painful than the jobs I had. I suspect that however bad your life is as a student, it would be far worse as a dropout.

–The awareness that one’s major isn’t a life sentence. LOTS of people end up in jobs unrelated to their major. Get you degree…sociology, mechanical engineering, music, marketing, whatever. You will feel a great sense of pride & satisfaction, & you will be ready for the next stage of your life.

I kept telling myself that there are a thousand reasons to quit college, but almost none of them are good reasons.

Later in life, my retired 72-year-old father decided he wanted to finish the bachelor’s degree he had started 52 years previously. So he found a college that would take him, & he plodded through, semester after semester. At least 5 times he got discouraged & called me and said, "That’s it. I’m done. I gave it a try, and I just can’t do it (or don’t want it/can’t stand studying/ don’t have time to study/ whatever). " And each time I would give him a pep talk & get him back on track. He eventually graduated at age 78–the proudest graduate you have ever seen. He died a few years later, & when we buried his ashes, the only memento I included in the urn was the tassle from his graduation cap.

Thank you all for responding
I’m kind of unexperienced with these forums so I apologize if I addressed true replies wrong.

@NorthernMom61 I tried out the career center, and I’m not sure if it was just the person who assisted me, but they didn’t do much to guide me aside from listing some careers that existed.

@CaMom13 I like to sometimes read up on things relating to psychology, philosophy, technology, medicine, and economics/ business. For example, I keep myself updated with the market, or read about things such as psychological techniques that businesses use. Initially, I was set on being a psychology major, but I’ve lost interest in that. I do really enjoy learning about the latest smartphones and gadgets, and also spend quite some time fixing broken computers at home.

@readthetealeaves , @moooop
I understand what you guys mean, and appreciate the replies. The thought of regret in the future is practically what’s motivating me to try in my classes. It’s just that I have to push myself hard to go to class and sometimes question if it’s worth it.

Actually sounds like you might be interested in Industrial Psychology. It is an exciting field that does require a graduate degree. One thing about an undergraduate degree in psychology is that it is usually flexible enough to allow you to take other interesting classes.

Also don’t underestimate the reality of the sophomore slump. I think it is very real for many.