School has never been my thing but I was always expected to go to college and I never stopped to think if that’s what I wanted. Now I’m in my second year and I’m dragging myself to get it done. I feel like I’m wasting money and time. The thing is I never gave a thought about doing anything else and I don’t want to disappoint my family. I feel stuck, please help.
We all have those moments in college. It’s normal. The best thing to do is to look at what you’re passionate about. Then map out what it would take to make a career out of it. The first place to look is the school you’re at. See what majors interest you. There are also good careers that don’t require college, like an aircraft mechanic, or even a pilot. Electricians can do well also. These trades are generally still going to require at least some schooling.
Make sure you have a direction. If you drop out without a plan in order to “find yourself,” then you’re simply setting yourself up for failure. Also, this could be a sign of depression. You might want to make an appointment with the health center. That can make a world of difference.
Agree with @coolguy40. Also, military is a great option to becoming successful and you can get academic or other type of training there, take classes while in the military or get the GI Bill to go back later, and get great benefits but it may not be for you.
So stop to think what you want in life. How will you get there? Go see the academic advisor at your college and go to the career center to investigate options.
Maybe you can consider trade school or the military instead. Or maybe take a year off to work and consider your options.
College is a choice. Are your parents funding your education? Are they open to you taking an exploratory approach? If so, take @Lindagaf’s recommendation to see an advisor and do career exploring at your school’s career center. Take classes that you think will interest you, try stuff. Do the very best that you can academically while you are there because that keeps future options open.
If you come out the other end deciding that college isn’t for you, then develop a plan that you can articulate to your parents regarding what the alternative plan might look like. Your parents want you to make good choices and end up with the foundation you need to have a satisfying life. Yeah, they might be disappointed at first, but if you handle it in an adult manner with a plan that you stick to, they just might end up proud. Life is grey and fuzzy and messy, not black and white with clear lines about what is supposed to be your path. You don’t have to go to college if it isn’t right for you.
College isn’t a destination, it is a method to help you on your journey. So if your journey is to become an engineer, say, then college will only last 2.5 more years for you.
But where are you headed?
College graduates generally make more money than non graduates.
So you want to make sure that you don’t take the easy way out now just because college is hard.
But if your goal is to do something else…what is that? How do you get there?