Worried about the rest of my life

[scottyy]

SO first time poster here, been lurking around, but the reason I made this account was to see what others think about my situation. Not really a life threatening issue (well maybe) but it seems to be pretty bad. My GPA is currently not where is should be. At 83.4668 I really will not get accepted into most colleges. I'm from the U.S. and I know most people on these forums are a mix of all different nations and define college/universities differently. I'm just worried that a) I have no clue as to what I want to do in life and b) just don't see the use in trying. I'm extremely hedonistic and believe that life should not be spent working and doing things you really do not want to do. Why put yourself through all of the stress and effort into anything not enjoyable when, in the end it will never matter, and that it will end eventually. Depressing, I know and don't get me confused with a nihilist, I very much value life and the things that I enjoy. But back on topic, I take one IB course (International Baccalaureate) and a few AP classes that are weighted. I just can't seem to care enough to accelerate in them. Actually except for my AP English which I really love and currently is my highest grade at 100% not even my gym grade is that good. I don't know where to go from here though, and my parents are stressing the fact that I NEED to go to college or that I'll end up being a garbage man. I do play lacrosse when I have the time, and work 2 jobs, I also do a lot of community service and went on a month trip with 12 other students to Nicaragua and Costa Rica through a company called World Challenge.

[Lisaara]

Says you made 83 posts so...definitely not your first time posting on the forum I'm afraid. ^^;

It sounds to me you are the cause of your own stress. You're doing way too much at once. 2 jobs, lacross, community service, etc.? Thats way over the top. To me, it sounds like you need to take a step back and BREATHE. Relax a little. You're overworking yourself and that's not very healthy. As for your parents, I hate to say it but...they're wrong. There's a lot of wonderful jobs out there that pay well without a college degree. I haven't gone to college yet myself and I'm 22. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I dipped my toes a little by going into the Airline Academy(it's only a month long) to see if I'd like it. I found while it is very exciting, it's not the lifestyle for me. But I still finished the month long term. I recommend you just do your best in your classes then possibly take a break. Though....maybe you can try looking into being an English Teacher if you love English that much.

[Worba]

As far as your view on life - you can choose to view it as too short / too bleak / etc or you can view it as a very long chain of possibilities. Who would you like to spend time with, what would you like to do, where would you like to go, etc etc. It's all up to you.

In re: grades - unless it gives you a huge amount of pleasure or your college mandates it, drop sports asap. Some people manage to balance sports and academics, but if you're struggling with grades, something's got to give and that's an obvious first cut.

Otherwise if as you say you prefer a hedonistic lifestyle then that is the second thing working against you - as you have probably discovered by now college is full of all kinds of distractions, and is the perfect place to indulge that kind of interest. Of course doing so is not going to help your grades unless you can keep it in check.

And as someone else said - 2 jobs is also not very compatible with courses.

Bottom line if it continues to feel like your grades are not improving, you should talk to your parents about taking some time off and going back once you've had a chance to get out on your own and figure out what you want.

[Miraga]

First, just outta curiosity, what kind of GPA scale is that? It's typically out of 4. Do you mean your average in percent?

Anyway, sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do in order to succeed and thrive later. College and education is one of those things. You can be hedonistic now and do whatever you want but it will definitely catch up to you in the end.

College paired with ANYTHING is stressful [same goes for high school, especially with 2 jobs!] so I would definitely start reconsidering what you're doing with your free time. If you feel your grades are suffering then it's time to buckle down and study. Maybe cut down some community service and work by a few hours a week and see how it goes. I know it's no fun reading textbooks and studying [trust me, after 4 years in college I'm pretty burned out! lol] but you just... You just gotta suck it up and do it. I know it sounds harsh and I don't MEAN for it to but it's the truth. A college degree may not guarantee you a job but it says a LOT about you. You show a future employer that you have a degree and you know what it says to them? "This person is dedicated to their education and is able to commit and apply themselves to something very serious."

I wouldn't give up on college just because you have a lower GPA. You would be surprised what most colleges will accept. Sure, you might not get into Harvard, but most people don't!

As far as not knowing what you want to do with your life? That's okay! You can't just decide your future overnight. It can take months of research, interning and studying to find out what you want to do. You could decide to take some courses at your local community college before applying to a university, also. Give yourself a chance to get used to classes and things that you like to do.

tl;dr Being stressed out is totally understandable but sometimes school needs to come first. Good luck with everything!

EDIT [also, i r bad at speling]: Something else you may want to look into is talking with your guidance counselor. They can be a really great resource! Also, maybe make some appointments for tours with local universities. Most of the advisers are more than happy to answer your questions.

[Lisaara]

Definitely agreed with the above two and also curious about the GPA cause its on a scale of 1 - 4. When I graduated highschool, I was 3.5.

[scottyy]

Yea sorry also posted on MMO, thanks guys going to consider these suggestions.

[CrystalKitten]

If it is percentage based.. 83 is actually REALLY good, as is getting 100% in ANY class. Here, that can get you into almost any school you want, and will generally get you on your highschool's honour list. I would suggest (and I don't mean to sound harsh, only that it could be a possibility) that perhaps your parent's expectations are a little too high for you. Yes, they want the best for you, but it's your life. Only you know what's best.

As an example, I dropped out in grade 12 due to SEVERE depression issues. So I never even graduated. I went to college as a mature student a little while later, decided that program wasn't for me, and then spent a little time working (no, I didn't like service jobs, but SOME people do) and figuring out what I wanted to do. Now I'm back in university taking biology, with a major in wildlife bio. And, just for some perspective, it's considered an "honours program", and I only need to keep a 60 overall average.

In short, it's your life. After highschool is about doing what YOU want. Trying to please others will only lead to you being miserable, and possibly wasting a LOT of money, and time on an education path that you don't want. If this is your own push, talk to admissions at other schools, or your own councilors. If 83 isn't good enough (And if it IS percentage based, I can't see how that's possible, unless you have one really low mark in a key course to whatever field you want to enter), then what IS good enough? Once you know, you can focus on targeted improvement. Other than that, pretty much what everything else said.

[Sukurachi]

Definitely agreed with the above two and also curious about the GPA cause its on a scale of 1
- 4. When I graduated highschool, I was 3.5.

GPA 1 to 4 is in schools that do not have the mark "A+".

my university did, and the GPA goes to 4.3 in that case.
I graduated with a GPA of 4.1.

there are formulae for converting from one to the other.

just saying.

[scottyy]

83% out of 100%, 100% being a 4.0 SO it would land me close to a 3.0, and the grades that I need to get into a college of my choice (let's say UMD in this case) are looking for are around a 93%. *Also a Junior in High School 16 y.o.

[Novikova]

For what it's worth, SAT scores and the admissions essay can nudge a lowish GPA into admission territory. I'm sweating the same issue, just put grad school in. x_x

[Lisaara]

83% out of 100%, 100% being a 4.0 SO it would land me close to a 3.0, and the grades that I need to get into a college of my choice (let's say UMD in this case) are looking for are around a 93%. *Also a Junior in High School 16 y.o.

Thats a perfectly fine score then. Sure you may not get into the college of your choice but theres others too.

You're a junior in high school? They tend to look more at Senior Year.

[Gumballs]

It just sounds to me like you are stressing way too much. Take some time to relax, you're too young to be stressing about everything so bad! Take a step back and give yourself room to breathe.

[Nahale]

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[Teigan]

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[cowmuflage]

It all depends on what you want to do in life no point training in a skill you wont end up likeing.

[scottyy]

Yea thanks guys I know I love English but more of the reading aspect not writing aspect. I don't know that many job openings that require you to just read. haha I do also like the tech aspect of many things, but not the really geeky stuff (sorry if anyone is offended) like building your own computers and such. In every class I'm widely know as the guy that can make things work to my teachers, I usually set things up for them and fix things or help by finding programs and such. I don't like getting "dirty" with computers however, too confusing. XD

[CrystalKitten]

If you just like reading, you could always look into being an editor or something along those lines. Yes, you still have to know grammar and all that really well, but you wouldn't have to be overly creative. You would just have to find errors, inconsistencies, etc etc.

[Novikova]

Don't forget technical writing. A lot of people need people who can translate technical speak into a manual or documentation. You do a lot of reading and writing in that one.