What to do with life?
 

I have no idea what I am going to do when I get out of highschool. I'm a freshman and I have great grades (4.4 GPA, ranked 1 in freshman class)...but that doesn't really mean much to me. Where do I want to go? I don't really know. I love movies, music ,and art, but when I think about a career in any of those, I am afraid that there isn't anything for me. Maybe it is just an anxiety about the future, but whatever...I am also afraid that I maybe I won't make it in that industry. I want to be a screen writer. I got to go to film school. What do I need to do in highschool to get there? Maybe it'd be a waste to go after something I might not be able to do well in. It is a big risk. A waste of education? Money? Maybe I should do something safe. Go to medical school and become a pharmacist. But maybe I won't be happy there. The whole aspect of becoming a working adult, scares me.

Any help for me, for those of you that are adults?

What are your nightmares about becoming an adult, for those of you that are young like me?

I know what you're saying.

i am in the exact same place. i want to do something in the arts, directing or writing, but i'm afraid i'm not as good as people have said i am. i don't want to be a waste. i'm a grade above you, and i'm in the same position grades-wise, i'm in the top percentile of my class. i have no idea what i'm really going to do once it's college time or college graduation time.

my goal in life is to get my ph.ds in psychology and something artsy if i can, but.. gah. i've considered just getting a degree in writing and becoming a flight attendant.

Just wait until you start picking classes for your senior year, it sux.

it was socrates who said something to the effect of
"pick something, and do it well"

i like that theory, i just have no idea what to pick.

I like it too...but what do I pick? How do I get there? What if I mess it up?

dude, it might not be of help but i "majored" (because it's not the same as in the us) in marketing and ended up hating it, but if hadn't studied that, i would still be in the dark about that stuff, so i'm grateful i did.

and it doesn't matter what you study, the thing you should go after is what you like, and that figures itself out by itself. i've heard stories of people who majored in philosophy and now the develop advertising campaigns, or people who studied sociology and now they are research execs at multinational companies, or architects who end up doing administrative work on other places. you also hear of people who majored in computer programing or physics who are hardcore painters or poets doing part time jobs to sustain themselves, and they couldn't be any happier

and dude, i finished college and i don't know what the hell am i going to do!!

Yeah....I still have no idea about what the fuck I am doing (I finally graduated after 5 years in Aug). I'd just try and have fun, but try and keep relatively focused if you do plan on going to school. I don't think you really need any concrete plans right now. The dream will soon die anyway.....jk. Or am I?

Oh great, now I am even more scared about starting highschool next year

Damn, I always thought I was the youngest here. Don't worry about starting highschool...it is easy in and of itself.

sellouteater- dude, don't worry. first year is just like an extension of middle school.

the sad thing about being young is that the only reason i know sonic youth is nirvana and i have only been a fan for 3 years

I've been a fan for about 2...

that's not sad. at least you've found sonic youth. i've only been a fan the same amount of time.

I guess its really a matter of your attitude. Like is the cup half full or half empty. What is sad is how many people cant appreciate sonic youth.

I got into through Nirvana too.....sure it was 1993, but I mean you gotta get into a band somehow right?:D I heard that Kurt liked them and saw Krist with a Goo shirt (I think) on. Both bands changed my life for sure.

I have a piture of Krist with that shirt on my wall.

I have a picture of Krist on my wall flipping the bird and he's kind of fat and all scruffy looking. The caption says, "I am not bitter." Ha ha I love it.

that sounds really cool where did you find it

It was in Rolling Stone magazine like a year ago....I'm sure it's online somewhere.

I love rolling stone magizine it has the best pictures.

Yeah, my girlfriend's sister majored in anthropology and now she's a fashion stylist. What I'd recommend is this: decide what yr ideal line of work would be (you mentioned screen writer). Do all of the research you can on the subject, try to see what you can contribute to the industry in general. While yr in school for a whatever degree (something that can make you money, which really is any college degree), and spend yr spare time developing skills in something you enjoy. College will teach you how to put up with the bullshit that yr going to have to deal with in everyday life, and how to convince others that yr worth spending money on. At the end of college you'll have a good idea of how to make money doing what you want to do, and whether or not yr capable of doing it. If you can't, you'll at least have a piece of paper that tells fortune 500 companys that yr willing to spend the time figuring out how to function inside a particular system/authority structure, and you'll have a better chance of making 50 thousand dollars or more a year doing something you hate than someone who hasn't gone through college, who will make half that doing something they hate. To sum it up: learn how to enjoy yrself, learn how to make money, and try to unite the two. If you can't, at least you'll have both of them covered.

Thanks guys, thanks for listening and helping.

travel, travel, travel. thats the advice i can give you.

I work for a hardware/software company. When I'm not doing the corporate thing I like to listen to music and rock out on my guitar.

Don't feel that you are obligated to go into a certain profession because you have good SATs, GPA, etc. Do what you want.

Yeah that is true. But I don't want to end up in a bad place...not after all of the hardwork I put into school.

well if you're just a freshman i wouldn't hurry, you have time to decide.

it is a problem when you can do pretty much anything because it confuses your sense of direction. i mean i had troubles w/ vocational counselors who tested me and told me "yeah, you can do pretty much anything you want". gee thanks...

anyway my advice is to use your highschool years to try out things you like. maybe start a band or work on video or become a science geek, up to you, follow your inclinations.

one thing i'll tell you is that college degrees are not the end of your career, but can help place you around certain people & give you certain skills.

if you say want to be a painter but study accounting, you just won't be in a place that is congenial and supportive.

now, about travel, i've done quite a bit, and it's both useful and overrated. i know people who were so obsessed with traveling they've fucked themselves out of developing roots in a place or having a fulfilling career.

though i would advice anybody to take a year off between high school and college, or between college & work, or maybe take a leave of absence, & bum around the world.

israelis have this system where every high school graduate goes to the army. it's a pain in the ass i guess but it allows people to do all their drinking and fucking while they are there. once they are out they go to college & won't you believe it, they don't waste time at frat parties & finish fast.

where was i going with this? im not sure, i was interrupted, but anyway, don't rush it, follow your affinities, do the best you can & things will work themselves out. too much thinking about these things sometimes interferes with the common sense of one's natural inclinations. find those...

Yeah, I do horrible with a lot of options. It is hard for me to spend 100 bucks without worrying that it won't be good, or I will want something else. I'm weird... You can imagine how I might be when I am thinking about careers...

I am just gonna force myself to buy some stuff tomorrow though.

do not "play it safe". don't even consider it. search your interests further and see if you can cultivate a genuine passion for something. if you have that, you will be successful--maybe not commercially, but you'll become a more adept filmmaker or whatever you decide to be.

even if you did fail, it would be a greater waste to never pursue something you're truly interested in.

thats kinda what i plan to do, i have to get out of this town and country, i feel stuck in a rut.
Alex's Trip your lucky to have the great grades to fall back on, im just as clueless and directionless but i dont have the good grades. so i dont have as many doors open to me as you do, pluss ive narrowed my choices down hugely by leaving school and studying photography at college instead.

i'm a grade above you, but i'm in the exact same delema

That's my advice too. Just get a job work,work,work get a big pile of money than go onto travelling. A few of my freinds do it and i'll be doing it too once i'm out if this apprentiship i'm doing now.

Europe,north america,south america, australia, asia, africa theres so many places in the world that needs to be seen.

To be stuck in an office job isn't getting anything done.

To be honest, nobody knows what to do with their life job wise.

I'm a freshman too with good grades though they don't compare with yours haha. I feel the same way and it seems by the looks of it so does alot of other people. I mean atleast you have a little bit of an idea of what you want to do. I have none. NONE. I guess the future is my only one fear. Like when people give you the subject to write about or the question of "What do you want to do when you get older? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" Its freaks me out to no end. I can't even see myself. BLANK. I feel like I'm gonna die or something haha. The one thing I think about though is the fact that I see nothing, is optimistic. Then there's so many options and I'm not constrained. Also, some kids have to follow their parent's dreams and I'm grateful I'm not put in that position. Advice? I can give you none because I'm trying to figure it out as you are. If I come up with anything useful I'll let you know but it seems like everyones stuck in the same boat here.

P.S The majority of people who go into college and go in for a certain degree, don't usually even use it. We are forced to "pick" our future when really no one ever really knows.

that describes me exactly, and i'm 20.

at any rate, you're not supposed to know what to do with your life by the time you're 15. DO NOT listen to your guidance counselors about such things; my experience is that they're scaremongers who pressure you into thinking you know more than you actually do know about yourself at a precarious age when you're only beginning to come into your own. ultimately the best way to determine such things is thru experience; take a bunch of classes in various disciplines, do some work, travel if you can . . . and most of all talk to older people you trust and who know you well (family, teachers, etc.). you'll have a better idea of who you are and what you want to do with your life in 5 years . . . it may not be fully formed and concrete, but you'll at least know better than you do now.

...Whoa...old thread...

...thansk again, guys

i'm a junior with not so great grades (like 2.2 or something) and i'm scared shitless that i won't get into the college i want to go to.

i think i'll study something art related at college; music, drawing or something. i've thought about becoming an English teacher.

I don't know what I'm going to do, and I'm not real worried about it.
I guess it could be stressful, always being expected to know what you want to be, but when faced with that question, shrug it off.
I personally would like to own a used book store, or a music store, or both. I've also thought anthropology is pretty interesting.
All in all, I'm not to worried, I'm sure I can figure something out when the time comes and if not, well, there's always the rails.