It can’t be just me, right? On CC there are some extremely focused people who have known they wanted to be a doctor or an engineer or whatever practically forever and have worked hard toward that goal for years. I can’t even imagine that, haha. I feel like I’m always jumping between ideas.
For example, yesterday I spent a lot of the day researching stuff about the chemistry olympiad and was planning to study for it and do a ton of practice problems and then try to ace the local exam and I was all pumped for this and looking at textbooks and online courses and my state of mind was basically “LEARN ALL THE CHEMISTRY!” until I finally had a moment of clarity just before I went to bed-- I’m in regular, non-honors and non-AP chem and have absolutely no idea what half the local exam questions are even asking. I decided maybe I’d been just a little unrealistic with my goals of doing notably well in the exams this year-- maybe another year.
My main interest at the moment is math, and I tend to not do any math outside of school for anywhere from a week up to a couple months until one day I finally stop being so lazy and spend like 5 hours (literally, I’m not exaggerating) doing math. And I’m not just procrastinating when I do this, because it has no due date or timeframe and I have no end goal. I really hope that my interest in math doesn’t fade out entirely because that’s an interest with actual job potential. I was a lot more into it last year compared to this year, but hopefully next year I’ll get back into it when I have a math class that I actually learn stuff in.
So, my fellow CCers, who can relate? And if you can, what are some of your short-lived obsessions?
Eh… I’d say I’m more in conflicted interests. I’ve always wanted to be an animator/filmmaker my entire life. Only thing is how hard the job market is. So I found out I’m really good at Physics (despite my sort of uninterest in it) and I liked to draw and design. So I went with Engineering as a nice little niche topic and I love it. I still have a yearning for filmmaking and every blue moon, I make a film, but I’d like a job that I like and I make decent money. I’ll save up and may pursue my interests.
And yeah, I do dabble with other interests that also come and go. Right now, I’m sorta in a folk song mood, so I’ve been writing and making folk music for myself. I’m also writing a space rock opera and building a watch. Yeah, I have a lot of free time (thankfully all my AP teachers are chillax on homework).
I also had a bit of a ‘summer fling’ with Math (pure math, not Physics math) but it never blossomed. Never wanted to be an accountant or actuarial. Sounds like a terrible life. Physics and Film are my true loves. Eventually, I’m gonna have to let one of them go.
Yeah, I used to have some fairly conflicted interests when I was younger (at one point I wanted to be a dog groomer, haha) but typically one would be fading out as another interest took over so they never truly conflicted.
I’m not really into animation or anything but it was definitely fun to work on when I took a computer graphics class in middle school, I liked working on the movement part of animation but I was pretty lazy on the artwork I was animating since I’m not really into that sort of art.
People have been suggesting I consider actuarial as a career but I’m not a big fan of stats so far, in my admittedly little experience. I guess I’ll just wait and see where that goes.
Used to be sure I wanted to go into journalism, but then a guidance counselor told me I’d be homeless so I had like an identity crisis lmao. I used to never want to be a teacher, but now I’m playing with the idea of being a high school English teacher. Of course, my dream has always been to become an author, but I’m trying to think realistically.
So I have a set general interest…I just always flip flop within it, haha.
For years, I was absolutely certain that I wanted to go into scientific research. Last year, I actually did a research project and made it to my state science fair and then I spent the summer interning at a lab at the state flagship university. The experience made me realize I hate, hate, hate research!
So, now I’m totally lost with actual career plans. I have delusions of grandeur, but none of my interests, such as politics or international affairs, seem to have any practical applications. But who knows what will change in the next year…