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...is it too late? Why is eduacation after HS so important??


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I've been thinking about the reality of this problem for a long time. Coming this September I will have been out of school for two years. My original plan was to go to college after taking just a year off. Things worked out a lot differentl because I wasn't able to keep a job steady for long enough. A few barista and café jobs here and there but nothing that lasted more than a few months.

 

3 months after I graduated from highschool I met my ex - which lead into an 8½ month relationship. To me she was the best thing that ever happened to me and I was already getting really stressed ot about life after highschool and needed a shoulder to lean on. Ok, I realize I needed to lean on some other things instead of how mich I leant on her but life wasn't presenting me with many alternatives. in a lot of ways I wish she would have leant on me more

 

I'm at a library right now waiting for a study group to begin for an exam I am preparing to fail. I dropped out two-weeks before it was over - missin and entire unti of notes, and two exams, including the final. I took it as a prerequisite to final get some post-secondary education in my system. A tech school caught my eye because I have always been interested in computers and I know that being a programmer can open up opportunity for good salary.

But they really didn't have what I wanted. Not exactly. In fact, I didn't even KNOW what I wanted. I still don't. Programming and doing WEb/graphics development is more interesting to me but that school doesn't offer anythign even close. in fact - i don;t even NEED that stupid class to take it. It's all extra curricular anyways. My ex broke it off with me for reasons i still don't understand (See my day-by-day journal) casing me to go into a rather strong depression. I couldn't take the loss of my first love. not now. not when life was already dishing out it's hardest.

 

but here's where i get that knife twisting in my gut...

 

 

otherwise, you WILL meet the woman of your dreams... and you WILL fall for her hard. And she WILL have ALL the qualities that make up everything you've ever appreciated and wanted in a woman/significant other...

 

but when she gets to know you, the fact that you haven't got your career, your education, your goals, and maybe your personal strength of character well developed... she won't stay long, my friend.

 

Well, darn. Now what?

I don't have an education because I didn't leave high-school with the grades for university. (remember the 150-IQ theory?) though i'm capable. ZERO motivation. So damn, if I had that quote right there on my wall I would have aced EVERYTHING. I never figured that out on my own - as obvious as it may appear now. Alright, so now that I'm here I've planned somethign else.

 

2 years in England via. SWAP. Will that gain me anything? No career no education but hell I'll have some world experience. It's even more confusing when I talk to people who are 20-25 and they think I've already BEEN through colledge with the education I've already manageed to pulll off. (Ah, ok maybe there is proof for the IQ theory, lol).

 

So I don't know. Should I dump the England Idea an pray I can get into college with my grades or what? What's more imporatnt?

 

 

THanks in advance guys! I NEED HELP!

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I really think that the most important thing to do is follow your heart.

 

Don't do things because thats what you think OTHER people will want from you. Look at yourself, and do what YOU want for yourself.

 

If you feel like going to England, GO! In the end, I think its your own motivation that will keep you going, not anyone elses wishes. What else is the best time to travel, when you have no obligations to anyone/anything except yourself? Do what you think and more importantly FEEL is right.

 

I'm sure you have a picture of what you want to look like in 5 yrs? 10 yrs? 2 yrs? Pick a goal and work towards it. And if your goals change, thats O.K. As long as your working towards something you can't go wrong.

 

And btw, as a female, to me right now, its not the job/money/postion someone has that is sexy to me, its the passion that the man has in what he's doing thats sexy. I think alot of people go through life doing stuff cause they think they should. There's not alot of people doing what they really WANT to be doing, and being excited about it along the way.

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It's never too late to boost your education. However if you don't feel you will be motivated enough to enroll in a program right now, then it's probably a waste of money.

 

If England is truly what you want to do, then go. Who knows, maybe you'll get motivated while you are over there. Or you can enroll in a program when you get back. Or maybe you'll even find the career of your dreams before then.

 

DN is right - post secondary school will give you more options. But make sure you do it because it fits in with YOUR goals. If you do it in a half-hearted way, you really won't get anything out of it.

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If you can't get into a top university, try a community college and then transfer. It's never too late to start fresh. Or you can open your own business (takes some starting capital), or make some personal connections and get a good paying job through them.

 

You sound like a smart kid and there's more than one way for you to succeed, but nobody here can tell you anything that's going to make you want to go and get it. You're going to have to want it from inside. I was college grad in 2000 with a garbage degree, worked in a collections agency till this year, now going into law school. It took me 5 years to figure things out. But don't rush your decision, just realize it's your decision to make.

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Also, it is a decision that should be made based on good information. Not when you are sweating out exams and thinking that you may not do very well. It is too easy to justify not working hard to try and pass the exams by thinking that it doesn't matter anyway because you have decided not to go to college. Make a final decision when you can think clearly.

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Life can get us all down. ESSPECIALLY when we loose our first love and still dont understand why. That in itself is hard to deal with, then add all the other stresses of life that come around the same time and you are going to be a mess!

 

Be patient and dont fall into your old patterns. I dont know the 150 IQ theory, but if you are un modvated dont jump into anything, youll get nothing out of it. Listen to what you want as best you can and make do. Just keep learning about what you want. Eventually youll end up someplace not too bad

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It might be good for you to go overseas and have some experience and then come back hopefully feeling more serious about school then.

 

I was nowhere near ready to attend college when I graduated high school at age 17...I took 6 years off before going to college the first time and I am back in college a second time at 29, pursing a degree in Nursing.

 

You can go when you feel ready, and truthfully, if your high school grades stink, waiting a few years will make them mean less to the university, as you have life under your belt and maturity as well.

 

My HS grades were terrible.... and I am a 3.98 student now and was a 4.0 student my first time in college at 23.

 

Do what you need to do, my friend. It is never too late to go to college.

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My advice is this when it comes to post HS education: If you don't really want to do it, don't. I racked up 1 year of course fees for nothing because I went to university purely because it was the expected thing to do and everyone was pressuring me to. The whole time I was there I was miserable. So if you really deep down want to do it, then do it, but dont do it for any other reason.

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I think post-secondary is great, and gives you a lot more options in life, and also really is great for your development. However, don't do it if you are not ready yet for it...research your options.

 

Also, look into other forms of postsecondary as what fits one might not fit another...liberal arts college may suit someone, but for someone else they may prefer to do a structured 2-year college program in electrical engineering for example. There are also options such as applying for the police force, or doing an undergraduate before pursuing a graduate degree.

 

I went to university right after HS, and did very well. But I got burned out and after I graduated with an undergrad degree, I went onto the job market tired of school. However, 5 years later, I am now studying to write my LSAT and apply to Law school for the 2006-2007 year. Meaning if I get accepted, I won't be done school until I am 30/31. But I KNOW I want to do this now, I hate my current options with what I have, and Law is something I always had interest in and originally intended on before I got burnt out.

 

But I do not regret going and getting my degree, it was valuable for me in giving me some options, and now of course because I have it, I CAN make choice to go back and enter Law since I have that undergrad and did well in it to qualify.

 

It is never too late is what I am saying if you are not sure yet.

 

What I do recommend though is go to England for a while, you might be recharged to pursue something more. But also look into taking one or two uni courses to "wet your feet" so to speak and see if there is anything out there for you, or even talk to a career counsellor at one of the colleges/unis to help guide you.

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I second what RayKay said. My elder daughter couldn't be bothered with university, had two kids and is married with a farly well paying job that she doesn't much like. Now, she wants to go to university and, although she now has the desire, it will be much more difficult for her.

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I commend you for going after your dream Ray kay.

 

I know a woman who went back to law school to pursue law. Then after graduation, she managed to start her own law firm at age 52? Can you believe it?

 

Two grown children and owning her own law firm! Wow! Even she thinks it was a late gig for her. I explained to her that it is never too late to fulfill your dreams!

 

I don't know about you, but I think that story should inspire anyone to go after their dream.

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That's a pretty amazing little story fantasia, thanks for sharing...gives me some more hope after all

 

It is very stressful for me knowing how much it will change a lot of things to go back, but it is something I do know I need to do, but that story helps me even more find that motivation!

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