<p>I've been here at Berkeley for a couple of years now and I just feel like leaving and getting out of here. Although, I don't want to completely leave the city because I have my friends here and no one at home, but academically, it's just been nuts. I no longer wake up in the morning and get excited for the day like I used to in high school sometimes. It's not because of the major that I'm in because I've taken classes that are interesting but I still do not care to put in the time. Am I just burnt out or what?? What should I do? I figured I'd ask on here because either people are feeling the same way or know what the problem is since we are all students in the same university and maybe this common. </p>
<p>I feel like I'm kind of trapped in a way too because obviously, being asian, it doesn't exactly make it any easier to leave school for a semester or all together (not that I would do that, and if I did, I would eventually come back). But it's like your family and everyone else finds out and thinks your crazy. Then again, what other people think doesn't matter right?</p>
<p>This happened to me last year and I stopped going to some classes. I ended up failing a couple of midterms and barely passed in the end and the world came back to me after seeing the grades over winter break.</p>
<p>It’s normal. This place is hell on Earth… and yet we all secretly love it. It’s Week 11!! This is the final stretch so hang in there. Before you know it, it’ll be Winter Break and then we can all get away from this horrible horrible place.</p>
<p>lmao It was pretty funny actually, I was in a decal and we had a guest speaker (former berkeley student 10 years ago, asian if that matters lol) whose words were “you guys can always email me if you want to know anything or if you want a hug just let me know” and I remember thinking aww I want to go hug him. lol anyways, </p>
<p>upmagic…i’ll pm u.</p>
<p>and that’s good to hear, that some other people have barely passed too. It seems like everyone is doing so well (even though no one talks about their grades much), but whether or not other people are doing well doesn’t really make a difference for my future.</p>
<p>I am consistently tired + depressed, especially this year… I don’t know whether to worry more about my grades or getting an internship. I just came out of a 6 week midterm season (one midterm every week for 6 weeks). I have this week “off” but then I have 2 midterms next week so I am spending this whole week studying. Then the week after I have a 10 page research paper due. On top of all this, there are networking and info sessions to go to everyday until Thanksgiving. While they can be fun, they still take up 2-3 hours of your night, preventing you from studying. I feel so f<strong>ked. **</strong><em>, *</em><strong><em>, *</em></strong><em>ity, *</em><strong><em>. </em></strong> me.</p>
<p>Phew, it was good to get that off my chest…</p>
<p>Yeah this is how I feel now. Previously in college, I’d get out of bed and it wouldn’t even be a question if I would go to every single class. I loved the subjects I was studying and I remember wanting to learn more about them. </p>
<p>Now it feels like I’m dragging my feet to get through all the minutia. </p>
<p>This school is sucking the life out of me.</p>
<p>Whatever, Undergrad —> Grad School —> High Paying Job ----> Bat cave and Ironman suit —> Retirement ----> Death, is my motivation.</p>
<p>That is one hell of a post for your 1000th one demoz!</p>
<p>On another note, if ever you’re feeling down and burnt out, just know that there are 20,000+ people out there feeling the same thing. Hell, I’d imagine even a lot of the professors are burnt out as **** right now and can’t wait for the semester to end lol. If we were on the quarter system, we’d be done like last week…</p>
<p>I think it’s perfectly normal…it’s the time of year where sometimes I wake up and don’t give a **** about the day. I feel like November is the month to have your mental breakdowns and December is the final home stretch before freedom.</p>
<p>Totally normal. Try to take a road trip or get a night out partying. That usually does the trick. …or go volunteer at a shelter or pantry. It makes you feel good for helping & grateful that you are in school.</p>
<p>i know how you feel man. i’m stressed out here so much. i feel if i went to another school, i probably could have done much better, gradewise. my grades are floundering here, and it is stressing me out…will i get into grad school? will i even get a good job? it seems like a lot of people have awesome grades. i feel it helps to talk to someone. i just called my parents about this, and they said not to worry and that a lot of people feel the same way. and that most people probably don’t have great grades as well. it made me feel better…but meh, the feeling comes back again.</p>
<p>Eh . . . I tell myself that I could have ended up at much harder schools. Just be grateful for how “easy” your classes are and ogle at the Math 55 problem sets at Harvard, or problem sets from Chicago or Caltech.</p>
<p>if it makes you feel better i changed a major prereq to p/np b/c i seriously just stopped giving a ***** about the class… so i will have to retake it sometime in the future… whatever. f this. a lot of the time although the stuff if interesting in and of itself (learning for the sake of learning), i sometimes sit down and think to myself: god d<em>mn, this </em>** is useless in the real world. suuuure it’s teaching you how to “think” and being a creative problem solver yada yada yada, but wow some of the stuff i learn in class is just so arbitrarily pointless to the world as a whole (if you’re not going to get a phd, i guess) and frankly, 99% of the world really doesn’t care about college level math. it’s kind of sad to think about sometimes.</p>
<p>Or you could compare Cal’s problem sets with those of crappy state colleges in the south/midwest and marvel at how much you’re actually learning xD</p>
<p>PS: I’m just specifically saying south/midwest because that’s where I’ve lived and those are the only other colleges I know about. It’s not all of them, of course, but the ones that I know…It’s kinda sad to know that that’s considered a “college” education, in those places. I’ve seriously had the same problem sets early on in high school.</p>
<p>If you need time off, I suggest you take it, think about your life, reflect, and organize your thoughts. I kind of felt like that last year which is why my grades also slipped, but after a summer working as an intern and hating the work environment, it made me realize that I should use time in college wisely and enjoy my youth while I still can. So I don’t take the class that is 20 hrs a week of work etc… I take easier classes and relax… I spend so much time partying to keep myself sane.</p>
<p>I’m withdrawing this semester, officially am going today to ls advising to do it. 3rd year here. W/ the semester out rule, that means next semester too. I figure a break will be good.</p>
<p>It was tough with the family. Sister was unsupportive, as was my mom. I didn’t talk to my dad much, but everyone was worried about me and thinking I was going crazy and that I was depressed. I am asian too btw. My dad came to visit me the monday after I told them everything and I was refusing phone calls from them. He was actually very supportive of what decisions I wanted to make, said that if i didn’t want to, then I shouldn’t be forced to.</p>
<p>I am going to travel a bit and take the time off and see how that goes for me. Hopefully, it ignites an interest in school and in a subject. Currently just in an econ path for the money.</p>
<p>it is important to find something that ignites some passion and interest on top of the money considerations, otherwise you will have a loooong time to hate what you do for a living - 40+ years even with advanced education time thrown in .</p>
<p>This. So much. Only in my second year here and I already feel like this. In high school, I used to love going to my classes and discussing the material (and arguably some of my classes were more difficult–though I had much less reading to do), even if I sometimes got tired of the same routine. But at Berkeley, I’m feeling much less motivated to go to my classes and do the work (SO MUCH READING. HATE HUMANITIES) <em>despite</em> the fact that it’s interesting. It’s like, in high school, yeah, hopefully you enjoyed your classes–and I did, don’t get me wrong–but the end goal for me was that all this work would be worth it once I got into a good college. Now that I’m here, it’s like, I have so many readings and so many obligations that I get burned out and end up thinking "What am I doing this for? To get into a good grad/law school and then get a high paying salary? So I can then go get a PhD? I mean, I used to love learning, but now the thought of getting a PhD and staying school for 8+ years makes me want to projectile vomit. It’s like that someone posted earlier: high school–>college–>grad school–>work in a career you hate until you die. Obviously this a super cynical view to take, but I’m feeling more like that now, especially as I see college grads who have been working at a job they’ve hated for 30+ years.</p>
<p>I only can only suggest one thing: find a really good friend or family member to vent to. One that won’t offer any judgment, or maybe even try to give you meaningless platitudes about ‘working hard will all pay off someday’ or shallow advice, but someone who just listen to you and care about your problems. That makes things a little easier for me. Hope you all don’t get too burned out. If we’re all stressed out, then at least we’re in it together (though it still sucks ;))</p>
<p>Also, I’m in the process of really not caring whether my college education leads to high-paying 100k salary. I see so so many college grads who are unable to find decent-paying jobs, and end up working at Target alongside 17-year-old high-school seniors. Especially with the economy being as dismal as it is, I’m really trying to just do what college is supposed to do for you first and foremost: NOT to get you a job with Apple or Goldman Sachs or get you into the top med school, but provide an enriching learning experience and teach you about the world. Is this irresponsible and naive? Maybe. But this is my one life. I want to enjoy it, not be ridiculously stressed out. Hence why I put one of my non-major classes on pass/not pass and am skipping the lecture for it now, instead studying for my quiz and watching youtube. Life is good at the moment.</p>
<p>This is why I’m glad I chose to go to a big public school…you’re never alone in anything. And wow. Definitely did not expect these types of posts! Lol I was expecting “suck it up. just make it through or get out” or something lol. I wanted to hit reply on every post haha</p>
<p>But yeah, I mean even if I do go out and party once in a while, life is still the same and I’m still going to have deal with what’s happening. And why does it have to be that way? Why do we have to use substances just to make the bad things go away? When I used to think of trying stuff, I always went back to thinking…well if you don’t like your life, then fix it. So I don’t want to be having to live uncomfortably and just trying to suppress the bad things. It only works for so long.</p>
<p>That’s the other thing, even if I do graduate from here WITH better grades, the job I’m going to get isn’t really going to be such a high paying job. So if I go for my real passion (which would require leaving or spending less time on my back up) then well nvm. The point is that I came to college to experience what it is like and all that. But it ended up being just about school (and yeah, I try to fit social life in but it’s hard to be yourself around friends when you’re stressed because things aren’t going the way you expected). </p>
<p>“Also, I’m in the process of really not caring whether my college education leads to high-paying 100k salary.” Neither do I. It has gone so bad that I really don’t care anymore of all the hopes and dreams I used to have. </p>
<p>Chango…I’ll PM u. We have a lot to talk about lol.</p>
<p>insertname…you’re lucky you have parents like that. If i tell anyone who doesn’t go to Berkeley, they don’t understand. </p>
<p>So if all of you are feeling the same way about school like this, then what are you doing it about it or going to do? Like are you making it through with avg grades, taking a semester+ off, or are are you just wanting to graduate? See, for me, I see no point in just getting a Bachelors of Science and then graduating and that’s it. So I really wanted the to go to grad school and everything and never thought I would feel this way. 8 years of college didn’t seem like such a big deal to me, until I came here, and everything stopped going right. I completely forgot everything I wanted to talk about lol so that’s what i came up with right now.</p>