I'm going to bold the important parts, because I really want feedback and I understand that not everyone has the time to read through the Great Wall that follows. Please respond if you have time.
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Look, I'm going to be honest here, I have no (solid) idea what I'm doing.
High school senior, I just got accepted into UC Berkeley. I've tried talking with my friends and some of my older friends who are in college now about future college life and possible career paths. None of the people I know are any higher than sophomore or junior level in college at the moment, so I'm pretty shot out of luck in terms of real talk advice. Therefore, I've turned to the internet, and here we are.
Everyone I know seems to have their path clear cut for them, which I frankly think is a little ridiculous. Going by memory, I must know at least five future engineers and another five architects and businessmen/women. Every time the topic of career path or major comes up, they all look at me like I have leprosy or something when I tell them I want to keep my options open until I find something that's reliable and moderately enjoyable. I'm not even old enough to buy cigarettes yet, how am I supposed to take myself seriously enough to pick what's going to become (hopefully) a stable career path that will support me and my family for years to come?
From what I've been told, and information I have meticulously gathered (read: found here, on reddit, and through friends of friends...) apparently I'm headed for a life of failing all my classes miserably no matter how hard I work, smashing my GPA so low that the only 4.0 I'll see is a (4.0 * 10^-1.) The goal of college is to pound my spirit into a fine red paste and serve it to me for dinner on top of some noodles.
I'm not cool with that. It sounds unpleasant, and if I can prevent it, I will do everything in my power to do so.
So, let me tell you a little bit about myself, and I'm going to ask that you give me a rough estimate of how hard I'm going to fall when I enter college, and what I can do to soften that fall.
I'm good with science, I'm actually considering a science-related major, preferably biology or something similar, but nothing set in stone. It just comes to me naturally, there's no real anecdote or joke here. I wouldn't say I'd pick an afternoon of poring over scientific journals for fun over going out with friends, but I do enjoy biology, chemistry, and the like. It's fascinating, simple and clear. Not life changing, bug eyed passionate, but I do like it. Maybe in time I'll grow to love it, but not yet.
I know the basics of working hard. I know I'm not entitled to good grades and the adoration of all my professors and supervisors. I'm not the kid who sailed through classes with phone in hand, skipping classes once a week but still setting curves on tests. I'm not going to fake-humble my way out of saying it, I'm reasonably good, on the "above" side of average. However, I'm not some miraculous genius. I'm not ashamed to ask for help, I'm not scared to admit that I might fail, because I have before and I will again. That's why I'm here.
I'm used to working alone and teaching myself. Like any teenager, I've got procrastination issues, but the work gets done no matter what. Apparently, time management and studying become somewhat (just a little) important in college, so I'm hoping that my past forever-alone-ness comes to be a benefit here. Not much else to say here other than hoping for more friends in college, but I'm not going to cry black tears of sorrow if I end up eating lunch alone.
I suppose, additionally, I should mention that I'm not creepily antisocial and socially hopeless. I'm bollocks at small talk, but I'm friendly, smile a lot, and I'm usually genuinely interested in what people have to say about themselves. Reasons for being interested, however, may vary. I enjoy volunteering and do it often. Social butterfly I am not, but I'm not going to build a wall of top ramen between myself and my roommate next year. I've heard about something called "networking." I have no idea what this is, but I assume it's going to involve some small amount of smiling at people I would rather dismember. I can do that!
On the bad side, and you may have already figured it out, I can have an overconfident streak. Sometimes I think I'm better than others based on assumptions I make that have no real logical foundation. I'm somewhat naive, I'm young, and I get upset easily. I have a temper, and I can be disrespectful when it gets the better of me. I'm not great with mathematics (at the moment.)
I'm out of steam now, so have at me. Am I going to die doing my laundry? Feedback be positive or negative, I'm not going to do something rash like switch to underwater basket weaving major so I can discover my true path in life while backpacking for 2 years in Europe wtf.
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Look, I'm going to be honest here, I have no (solid) idea what I'm doing.
High school senior, I just got accepted into UC Berkeley. I've tried talking with my friends and some of my older friends who are in college now about future college life and possible career paths. None of the people I know are any higher than sophomore or junior level in college at the moment, so I'm pretty shot out of luck in terms of real talk advice. Therefore, I've turned to the internet, and here we are.
Everyone I know seems to have their path clear cut for them, which I frankly think is a little ridiculous. Going by memory, I must know at least five future engineers and another five architects and businessmen/women. Every time the topic of career path or major comes up, they all look at me like I have leprosy or something when I tell them I want to keep my options open until I find something that's reliable and moderately enjoyable. I'm not even old enough to buy cigarettes yet, how am I supposed to take myself seriously enough to pick what's going to become (hopefully) a stable career path that will support me and my family for years to come?
From what I've been told, and information I have meticulously gathered (read: found here, on reddit, and through friends of friends...) apparently I'm headed for a life of failing all my classes miserably no matter how hard I work, smashing my GPA so low that the only 4.0 I'll see is a (4.0 * 10^-1.) The goal of college is to pound my spirit into a fine red paste and serve it to me for dinner on top of some noodles.
I'm not cool with that. It sounds unpleasant, and if I can prevent it, I will do everything in my power to do so.
So, let me tell you a little bit about myself, and I'm going to ask that you give me a rough estimate of how hard I'm going to fall when I enter college, and what I can do to soften that fall.
I'm good with science, I'm actually considering a science-related major, preferably biology or something similar, but nothing set in stone. It just comes to me naturally, there's no real anecdote or joke here. I wouldn't say I'd pick an afternoon of poring over scientific journals for fun over going out with friends, but I do enjoy biology, chemistry, and the like. It's fascinating, simple and clear. Not life changing, bug eyed passionate, but I do like it. Maybe in time I'll grow to love it, but not yet.
I know the basics of working hard. I know I'm not entitled to good grades and the adoration of all my professors and supervisors. I'm not the kid who sailed through classes with phone in hand, skipping classes once a week but still setting curves on tests. I'm not going to fake-humble my way out of saying it, I'm reasonably good, on the "above" side of average. However, I'm not some miraculous genius. I'm not ashamed to ask for help, I'm not scared to admit that I might fail, because I have before and I will again. That's why I'm here.
I'm used to working alone and teaching myself. Like any teenager, I've got procrastination issues, but the work gets done no matter what. Apparently, time management and studying become somewhat (just a little) important in college, so I'm hoping that my past forever-alone-ness comes to be a benefit here. Not much else to say here other than hoping for more friends in college, but I'm not going to cry black tears of sorrow if I end up eating lunch alone.
I suppose, additionally, I should mention that I'm not creepily antisocial and socially hopeless. I'm bollocks at small talk, but I'm friendly, smile a lot, and I'm usually genuinely interested in what people have to say about themselves. Reasons for being interested, however, may vary. I enjoy volunteering and do it often. Social butterfly I am not, but I'm not going to build a wall of top ramen between myself and my roommate next year. I've heard about something called "networking." I have no idea what this is, but I assume it's going to involve some small amount of smiling at people I would rather dismember. I can do that!
On the bad side, and you may have already figured it out, I can have an overconfident streak. Sometimes I think I'm better than others based on assumptions I make that have no real logical foundation. I'm somewhat naive, I'm young, and I get upset easily. I have a temper, and I can be disrespectful when it gets the better of me. I'm not great with mathematics (at the moment.)
I'm out of steam now, so have at me. Am I going to die doing my laundry? Feedback be positive or negative, I'm not going to do something rash like switch to underwater basket weaving major so I can discover my true path in life while backpacking for 2 years in Europe wtf.
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Yeah, I'm not paying all this money per year to go party. I can do that for almost-free now. I will definitely keep that in mind though, who knows what might happen later.
