<p>the counseling suggestions are good
but in the interim, Smithieandproud offered some very sound and practical advice and is something you can follow up on too: go to the writing center if there is one.
Writing English papers in college is very difficult, even for smart, articulate students; don’t underestimate how hard it is for everyone to come up with a strong thesis that is well organized and clear about a work of literature. It is not the same thing as creative writing, so your skills in high school or in college applications-writing may not be all you need for putting together an analytical paper; it’s likely that “whipping out” a paper will only work sometimes - when you have a clear idea and you can easily map it out in your head and follow through. Being able to do that when you have an open-ended assignment is probably harder than when you have a set topic. English is probably the most challenging major for writing.
It is much easier to write papers in social science courses - have you taken any?</p>
<p>Re: #39
busdriver11 (and of course umcp):Thanks for writing this. And having a mild depression at umcp’s age does not mean that you are stuck with it the rest of your life. Neither is it a must that there are serious underlying problems (physical issues, ADD, traumatic experiences, etc.). A medical doctor is the first person to go to when things like this happen.</p>
<p>umcp, I know it is hard to see this right now, but you are SO YOUNG. Please follow the excellent advice that has been offered … in the meantime, though, please try to understand that having a 2.5 in college is far from a deal-breaker in life. You have PLENTY of time to get your act together & figure out how to get to wherever you want to go in life. You can take a few wrong turns and still end up at the end of the right path. </p>
<p>If you can possibly take a little time to explore life outside of school, it might not be a bad idea. Can you take a semester off? Could you use that time to travel? It doesn’t need to be anything fancy/expensive. Sometimes taking time to experience life and be alone with yourself can uncover things you never knew about yourself. It’s worth considering.</p>