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Posted: Apr 05 2009 11:05 pm

I think I am starting to get the college burnouts, I will be a senior next semester but I seriously am just needing a break so bad from school it isn't even funny. I know the semester is about over and summer is near but I still feel I need a year off or something.

The problem is that I don't have that luxury, I owe student loans and you can only be out of school for 6 semester before you have to start paying it back so that is a no go.

I believe the main problem is that I am about to be 26, finishing my undergrad in a city where I don't know anybody and surrounded by kids who are like 18 and 19 who have years to keep fucking up their life so they party every night and bomb out of college.

I thought about the military, but I would only wanna go in if I had my degree so I could go in as an officer, so we are back to square one.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I should do and what I shouldn't do, I don't want to let my emotions get the best of me, but I no longer enjoy my life anymore, all my life is school (I have a 3.6 GPA) but I feel like their is more to life than just school and I feel enclosed in an academic bubble.

Posted: Apr 05 2009 11:41 pm

Well I'd say finish school if you are a senior. Then just see where the tide takes you so to speak. That is all I can really offer for advice.

Posted: Apr 06 2009 12:05 am

www.goarmy.com

Very Happy

Title: Titlating Joined: Dec 17 2007 Posts: 5042

there is always the peace corps i hear helps put shit in perspective

Posted: Apr 06 2009 04:13 am

Nobody can make you like school, and I certainly didn't like it all that much when I was there. However, in retrospect, you will realize how much fun it really was, at least I did, and you will long for the days when you get spring break and summer vacation. Aint no fucking spring breaks when your working full time for the rest of your life. I get a measly 3 weeks a year off, and the catch 22 is that my job is deadline based so there is no fucking way I can ever take more than a week off at a time. Even then, I'm all anxious halfway through my vacation wondering what kind of god awful work load I'm going to have piled on my desk when I get back.

In other words, it sucks, but your almost done. Just finish it out. You will be glad you did. I got an offer for a job in my field when i was one semester (2 classes specifically) from graduating, and I never went back. I really wish I did. Need to get off my lazy ass and finish.

Posted: Apr 06 2009 07:50 am

I understand your pain and feelings, but you really can't stick it out another 9 months and graduate? Quitting now would just be retarded, ludicrous, and a total waste of time.

Take it from someone who quit a free ride through college just because I was bored, and now, at 29, I need to go back and start all over again on my own dime in order to provide for my family. Don't do that.

Posted: Apr 06 2009 08:25 am

Finish school, then travel the world.

Joined: Jun 10 2008 Posts: 172

welcome to the quarter life crisis man, time to work out some shit. First thing fist though, You GOTTA finish school. Thats non negotiable, you are too close to stop now. You will be able to do whatever you want afterwards, you can find a job your passionate about. give yourself something to look forward to and make those things happen. You have to find out what works man. I'm not going to give you concrete advice because I don't know you and its different strokes for different folks but jsut hang in there it gets easier, sorta.

Joined: Dec 06 2007 Location: Connecticut Posts: 11244

Ermac wrote:

I think I am starting to get the college burnouts, I will be a senior next semester but I seriously am just needing a break so bad from school it isn't even funny. I know the semester is about over and summer is near but I still feel I need a year off or something.

The problem is that I don't have that luxury, I owe student loans and you can only be out of school for 6 semester before you have to start paying it back so that is a no go.

I believe the main problem is that I am about to be 26, finishing my undergrad in a city where I don't know anybody and surrounded by kids who are like 18 and 19 who have years to keep fucking up their life so they party every night and bomb out of college.

I thought about the military, but I would only wanna go in if I had my degree so I could go in as an officer, so we are back to square one.

Anybody have any suggestions on what I should do and what I shouldn't do, I don't want to let my emotions get the best of me, but I no longer enjoy my life anymore, all my life is school (I have a 3.6 GPA) but I feel like their is more to life than just school and I feel enclosed in an academic bubble.

With only an academic year left to go, you should try as hard as you can to finish school.

I get it, it is hard, it is painful. Trust me, work life will get that way too.

Blah blah blah... you have heard this part before.

Here is the part that doesn't suck.

Figure out what you think you would enjoy doing. Find an internship/part time job working in that industry. No matter how entry level, you will find that having a job while in college that is related to the field you wish to enter is a golden ticket. Best of all, you will be earning money and doing something you know matters.

Save that money up as best as you can so that you can move away to a place where you want to be. Don't worry about the debt, you'll pay it off eventually.

Posted: Apr 06 2009 01:42 pm

GPFontaine wrote:

With only an academic year left to go, you should try as hard as you can to finish school.

I get it, it is hard, it is painful. Trust me, work life will get that way too.

Blah blah blah... you have heard this part before.

Here is the part that doesn't suck.

Figure out what you think you would enjoy doing. Find an internship/part time job working in that industry. No matter how entry level, you will find that having a job while in college that is related to the field you wish to enter is a golden ticket. Best of all, you will be earning money and doing something you know matters.

Save that money up as best as you can so that you can move away to a place where you want to be. Don't worry about the debt, you'll pay it off eventually.

Now that I'm in a more serious mood than I was before, let me throw my two cents behind what GP said here. There's almost zero way that leaving school at this point is the right option, unless you get the job offer of a life time but I would hesitate even then. The college degree is just something you gotta have in today's world, and you're almost there. Don't quit now.

GP's advice about a job in the field you want is golden, but let me add that having ANY sort of job or hobby as an escape worked wonders. My job in college was as a film archivist for our library. It had nothing to do with anything I wanted career wise, but it was peaceful, I liked the people I worked with, and liked the job. It was like a little oasis of calm in a sea of "ohshitimlateihavehomeworkandwhatthefuckdoidowhenigraduate." Ditto playing ice hockey (which is how I vented my frustration.) Anything like that can do wonders for your mental health.

EDIT: I should also add, if you ARE considering the military, you are 100% right to get your degree and go officer. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with working your way through the Service as an NCO (oftentimes they are far more respected than officers, even if they don't get the salutes), but you're so close to your degree now that screwing yourself out of officer's pay (not to mention management experience on your resume) would be a huge mistake. There IS the option of going in now and finishing your degree and going to OCS later...but no matter what your recruiter says, think hard before doing that. Once you go in Enlisted, its up to the whims of the Service if and when you ever get to go officer, even if you finish your degree on your own time. Fair warning.

Posted: Apr 07 2009 05:23 pm

Thanks for all the input, especially SoliderHawk

I talked to my best friend and he is also in the same boat I am, he is about to graduate and he is 90 percent sure he wants to be an officer and has about the same time left on his undergrad as I do.

I think the main problem is that school has changed me in a good way but also I feel like I have had to give up something to be a good student.

Its hard for me to relax on the weekends even when I have my stuff done, I always know there is more stuff to do if I really wanted to do it, thats the problem.

I miss the days when I could just could come home to my studio apartment and just relax and play video games and go to sleep knowing I had done my responsibilites, with school your mind is never totally clear if your a student trying to graduate with honors.

And everyone is right, I need to finish, I am not going to quit. I think from now on I am just going to go in the Summer and Fall and take the Spring off to take online classes or CLEP tests.

Posted: Apr 07 2009 07:26 pm

Ermac wrote:

Thanks for all the input, especially SoliderHawk

I talked to my best friend and he is also in the same boat I am, he is about to graduate and he is 90 percent sure he wants to be an officer and has about the same time left on his undergrad as I do.

I think the main problem is that school has changed me in a good way but also I feel like I have had to give up something to be a good student.

Its hard for me to relax on the weekends even when I have my stuff done, I always know there is more stuff to do if I really wanted to do it, thats the problem.

I miss the days when I could just could come home to my studio apartment and just relax and play video games and go to sleep knowing I had done my responsibilites, with school your mind is never totally clear if your a student trying to graduate with honors.

And everyone is right, I need to finish, I am not going to quit. I think from now on I am just going to go in the Summer and Fall and take the Spring off to take online classes or CLEP tests.

Welcome.

I hear you on the unable to relax thing. Good god in heaven do I ever. I'm glad you're not quitting though; that's a good thing. (Although, sometimes its a relief even to THINK about the option of getting away from everything, so I hope it helped in that regard.)

Posted: Apr 07 2009 09:32 pm

Don't worry about student loans man, my Mom and Dad never finished college and never payed their loans, they can't touch you.

Posted: Apr 08 2009 11:45 am

Ermac wrote:

I miss the days when I could just could come home to my studio apartment and just relax and play video games and go to sleep knowing I had done my responsibilites, with school your mind is never totally clear if your a student trying to graduate with honors.

Whatever you do, don't get married and have a kid if freedom is your goal in life. School constraints are nothing compared to the 24 hour job of childcare. At least now, you get to go to bed when you want to.

Posted: Apr 08 2009 12:18 pm

Pandajuice wrote:

Ermac wrote:

I miss the days when I could just could come home to my studio apartment and just relax and play video games and go to sleep knowing I had done my responsibilites, with school your mind is never totally clear if your a student trying to graduate with honors.

Whatever you do, don't get married and have a kid if freedom is your goal in life. School constraints are nothing compared to the 24 hour job of childcare. At least now, you get to go to bed when you want to.

Excellent point ftw lol.

Posted: Apr 08 2009 05:15 pm

I feel your pain, brah. The whole "find out what you like and try to get paid for it" thing is well-meaning advice, but it simply doesn't work that way for a lot of people. I have a business degreee. Who likes business? No one. I've pretty much resigned to the fact that I'm never going to like what I do for a living. The most I can hope for is to not hate what I'm doing, and like the people I work with.

Having said all that, you've got to go out and find something else that makes you happy. Join sports teams, travel, competitive eating, whatever. When you enter the workforce and school is behind you, it's on you to live your life.

Posted: Apr 11 2009 02:17 pm

eh, i find my lack of ambition confounds people. they cant understand the concept of not wanting a house, or a family, or making 6 figures a year.

i used to have a house and i used to make $60k a year, but i got tired of that BS. now i just want to go volunteer international. unfortunately, that plan is on hold until some other things are taken care of.

'take care of her?' *points finger at head*

Posted: Apr 14 2009 02:23 pm

dude, finish school first, mos def.and if you have 3.6 GPA (unless you obsess over these kinda things) slack a bit, i mean come on you'll have plenty of time to be old and boring later on in life and its totally possible to slack and still keep a 3.0 (unless your my bro who magically has had a 4.0 straight through college, they made him stop before he got his doctorate saying he needs time in the field before he can become Dr. but have fun while you can once you get family and kids you WILL BE TIED DOWN don't fall victim to the lies of females