<p>I'm a sophomore and all summer I was dreading starting this semester. Now that it's here, I feel the same way... I just want to get out. </p>
<p>I'm tired of sitting through boring classes and dealing with stupid classmates and annoying professors. I don't have any motivation to do my work and I'm tired of doing pointless stuff and forcing myself to "learn" (read: memorize) random **** that won't help me in any way once the course is over. I can't focus in class, I can't focus on homework or readings. I always wake up in the morning and consider skipping all my classes.</p>
<p>I guess the question is why am I in college in the first place. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for a while, and I didn't want to go to college right after high school, but I did because my parents wanted me to and I wasn't having any luck finding a job. </p>
<p>Well this summer I got a job that I love, working at an animal hospital. I would do it full time if I could, but they aren't hiring full time, and the pay is decent, but not enough to live on my own. So I decided I want to be a vet tech. I found a program close to me, but I need to take a bunch of prereqs before I can get accepted, so that's what I'm doing now. And I'm hating every minute of it.</p>
<p>I'm taking three science courses that are 2.5 hours long twice a week. It's almost unbearable... my attention span just isn't that long. Also taking 2 online classes. It's hard to force myself to do the work for those, but I wouldn't be able to work if I wasn't taking online classes. I can't drop any of these classes if I want to get into the program next semester. I wasted last year with useless classes.</p>
<p>So I have to take these classes, but I just don't want to and I don't have motivation for any of them. I don't know what to do.</p>
<p>I think you are experiencing burn out. If possibly, switch your classes. You will hate taking that many science classes at once, you need to go see your advisor ASAP.
Maybe after this semester you can look for a job doing what you love and do that for a little while and then go back to school. In the meantime, apply for jobs at vets’ offices or find an animal geared organization to volunteer with. Both will make taking classes this semester a little more bearable.</p>
<p>I actually wouldn’t advise taking a break to work full time because if you are feeling like this, chances are, you won’t go back to school (note: all of my coworkers, past coworkers, and some cousins have been through this – they are 23+ and have no plans on going back). This is because if you lack the motivation to even attend classes now, taking a break probably wont change anything and it is hard to go back to school because of changes youll have to make regarding work/money. </p>
<p>Anyway, I think you should keep your focus in the end-game. These pre-reqs will soon be over and after that you’ll be admitted into a program that’s a lot more hands-on and focused in what you want to do! Also agreed with above poster that it could be related to being burnt out – five science classes is just whoa, a bit repetitive! But since you can’t drop it right now, I think the only thing you can do is just really focus on your future and get to the vet tech program that’ll probably bring you less misery! Just power through it this semester. That’s it – it’s only a few months.</p>
<p>Are there any animal hospitals or similar organizations near you? Could you work or volunteer there part time? Doing something you really enjoy that is related to your future career may help remind you on why you’re in school and what the purpose of this is. Or perhaps, the animal hospital you worked at over the summer might be willing to take you back during school breaks or holidays and that way you can help build up some of that excitement about why you’re doing this.</p>
<p>Maybe by spending more time in the environment that you’d like to work in, you could find areas where the classes you’re taking are useful or helpful for your future career. That might help make the work feel more relevant to what you want to do.</p>
<p>Could you record the lectures? That might allow you to go back and relisten to parts that you missed the first time. You could do it manageable chunks outside of the classroom, and that might make it more bearable.</p>
<p>I would recommend powering through. You know why you’re in school, and you have a specific goal that you’re working towards. Even if it seems like you’ll never use this material again, there is a reason that it is a prerequisite. The program you are looking at feels that this is material students need to know to be successful, and you just have to trust their judgement. If nothing else, you know exactly what the purpose of all of this studying is–to get the career that you want.</p>
<p>Your choices aren’t that difficult to figure out: stay in school, suck it up, and do well so that you will be accepted to the vet tech program you want to attend, or, quit, find a job that will hire full time, and work for a while and then hope that you find the motivation to attend school later. Of course, the second option will mean you probably don’t get a job you really love, and you probably won’t do any better at a job you hate than you are doing in classes you hate. Achieving an end goal sometimes means putting up with some crap first to get to the good stuff. Nothing of real value comes easily or quickly; it’s persevering to get to the good stuff that shows you have what it takes to really be successful…So, the question is, how badly do you want to be successful, live on your own, afford things you want, have a job you really enjoy, etc?</p>