I have no particular interests... Please help?

Applying to College
21

I’ll admit something. When I’m sad, or depressed… I eat food. I just eat. But it isn’t just any food I eat, It has to be extremely good. I don’t know why, but I enjoy food. Food defines me, besides math and science. When I cook, I cook very well. I don’t even need to use a measuring cup to determine how much of the ingredients I need for fried eggs or sugar. I just use my instincts to my sensitive taste. And it works out fine; It tastes amazing, just like how my mom makes it. My mom is an expert cook. I watch cooking shows all the time with my mom… My mom is an expert cook. She gives me the family recipes passed down for generations. Sorry I scared you guys and forgot to post about that. I was thinking throughout the night about that… My favorite shows are Food Fighters and watching Andrew Zimmerman traveling around. For some reasons, I view them cool people in a positive way, not some good old EC people.

Because cooking is like the only other useful activity out there! I hate McDonalds, why don’t I go and make french fries myself (which i did one, they taste pretty good)? I love barbecue.

I’m particularly good at baking. I want to learn more about culinary skills… But how do I prove to colleges that I do culinary as an EC?

I guess I’m good at the creative ECs. I write fanfiction and people actually liked it… I guess I’m good with words… I’m really good at singing, but im too nervous to sing in front of people.

Three things I actually do like then:
Cooking, singing, and writing.

But… I don’t know where to start.

22

*Zimmern

23

You sound far better off than you view yourself to be. You have so many things you’re passionate about and that’s a great start. You like math, science, culinary, and writing. There are writing clubs, there are culinary schools, culinary classes, you can go to a restaurant and work there (of course i mean an actual restaurant. Not the fast food ones). If they won’t give you a job then ask them for an internship. Sure, you won’t be doing too much cooking but it’ll show colleges that you’re passionate about it and you’ll also learn from it. Grab the opportunities, don’t wait for them to come to you. Like said before, there are academic teams and because you love learning maybe you’ll love teaching so you should join future educators of america if your school has that. There’s also the math team. Also write about these passions in your essays. If anything, colleges are looking for passionate students. If you enjoy helping people why not help cook at a local shelter or something? How about creating a culinary club? Don’t be afraid of rejection. If they reject you, move on. You can look to famous people in history about that. They’ll have been rejected 52 times but then became a billionare when someone said yes.

24

Since you spend a lot of time online consider starting a blog that combines math and cooking. Seriously.

25

Why is everyone mad at he/she?

26

Okay, now you are getting somewhere. You do have lots of interests, so you are not apathetic about everything, but caring. This is a bit of a change.

You like math and science and philosophy and cooking and writing and singing (and possibly other music but not the orchestra you were most recently in)!
Where do you start?
Chose one and do it a bit each day. Blogs, journal, kitchen time, sing and cook, join a choir somewhere.
Good luck!

27

Another point for clarification-When I was talking about people who can trust, I was really referring to people you already know who you feel comfortable being yourself with and not people who make you feel insecure because you want to be like them. I suggest you find people you admire and like specifically because you do NOT feel like you have to put on airs or that you have to have lots of EC’s or accomplishments just to be with them Friends who like your cooking or your writing style or your singing voice or who also enjoy math and science are the ones who you might find some commonality.

28

“Professional help is such a waste of money and time. I can’t find any interest, that’s it. I find ECs such a waste of time because I see absolutely no point in them. I know that this feeling will eventually pass away. How can a therapist, who I barely know, change my perception?”

How can a bunch of strangers on a college prep forum change your perception?

“I read a lot of books about psychology. I’m pretty sure that I can overcome this myself. I don’t need any counselor to help me. I know all the tricks and twists the that counselors do, and they DON’T help. I’m no fool.”

If you’re so smart, why are you here? I don’t mean to sound like a jerk, but I honestly don’t know what you’re looking for. No one here can help you unless you’re willing to help yourself. It’s great that you’ve read about Freud or whatever, but if you really are that knowledgeable, you should be able to realize that depression is an actual illness, and that there are medications and treatments for it beyond what you can access on your own.

If the issue was that your parents won’t give you access to treatment, then my response would be very different. But what you’ve written leads me to think that this isn’t the case. The issue is that you’re unwilling to admit that what you’re dealing with isn’t a normal feeling to have.

If you want to just sit around and wait for this to pass, well, that’s your prerogative. You can cook more. Keep writing. If those things make you happy, then by all means, you should indulge them. They’re good skills to have. But (and yes, I am saying this from experience), that’s only going to last so long. You’re going to end up in this same place sooner or later, because even those activities will stop having meaning.

Finally, you should really reconsider your attitude toward ~EC People~. They’re probably not as arrogant as you think they are. Maybe they’re not giving you their time because they don’t owe you anything, and they genuinely have other things, besides studying, to do. Kids that enjoy extracurriculars aren’t any better, or worse, than you, and the chip on your shoulder that you have about them won’t make things any easier for you.

I truly don’t mean to sound harsh, but in all honesty, none of the advice that you’re going to get here will mean anything until you admit that you might have a problem beyond what you can deal with yourself. Please, please, please consider talking to your parents, to a teacher, or to a guidance counselor, not a bunch of people on the internet. From what you’ve said, what you’re dealing with runs much deeper than not having enough ECs for an application.

29

Do you truly love cooking and baking? If so, set a challenge or goal of some sort that you can write an essay or blog about a year from now. It can be tackling every recipe in a particular cookbook, or mastering French patisserie, Or learning about various culinary traditions. All but a tiny handful of ultra-selective colleges will care much about your extracurriculars if you have outstanding scores and grades. As long as you do not have your heart set on one of them, you will be fine. Unfortunately, the total absence of extracurricular activities can send up some red flags regarding your socialization and ability to adapt to an unfamiliar setting, and your posts here certainly validate those concerns. Have you spent time away from home in residential situations like summer camps? Could your family afford for you to try something out next summer, if you haven’t spent time in that sort of setting? There are some great culinary programs out there, but they’re not cheap.

Large public universities are usually very stats-focused in admissions, simply because they cannot (despite claims to the contrary) invest a lot of time weighing activities apart from high-level varsity sports. McGill, in Montreal, is a popular choice among American students who have excellent stats, but lack the rock-star resumes that Ivy League and similarly selective colleges here prefer.

30

Ok I think that’s enough posts. Thank you all. I guess I’ll use my innovations to my advantage.

31

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Please help me out… The only thing that’s keeping me alive is my passion >of math and science. I absolutely love it. Math and its complexity, science >and its unique nature, and learning… I love learning. But…
Last year I had a science fair. I didn’t have any ideas on what to do. I >couldn’t do research because I had no idea on what to do. I had a concussion >at the same time. I was so scared, I quit honors science and moved down to >regular science because of that.

[/QUOTE]

If you’re passionate about something, you will want to do it. You say that “Last year I had a science fair.” but “I didn’t have any ideas on what to do.” My guess is that you didn’t want to take the time to do research and get a project going, which is a big part of what science is about.

Your English is quite good, based on your post. My guess is that you tend to procrastinate or stop when something gets difficult, which is not a marker of success. You have the intelligence, but if something gets boring or is brand new, you’ll get lazy and shut it down.

I’d rehash and have a chat with your parents to see what your interests are. Pursuing something without interest is like trying to drive a car with a very powerful engine but no transmission. Come back and post after you’ve given your desires a good think.