I know, I am totally useless in polls. XD But as other are already saying, the most important thing is to not stress and be happy.
However, I will mention this from what I've heard from other people: if you are going to study abroad, doing your junior year gives you a time cushion to make sure that everything transfers and all the paperwork is in order. Because school offices are sometimes silly and you have to go harrass them to get your paperwork right. Doing a set major programme is kinda nice, since they pretty much hand you a checklist, and usually they have study abroad options kinda built-in.
And also? It is okay to take as much time as you need to figure out what you want and what is a managable stress level. I am starting my fifth year of college, and will probably need another two to finish, and one of the hardest things for me was accepting that it is okay to take time and figure out what I actually want to do.
I know, I know. >_< And I have a nice little religion checklist that I like, but the reason my advisor is encouraging me to do a made-up major is because our religion programme is for academic religion, and I'm interested in ministry; so he thinks I should take fewer academic religious classes and add in some sociology and psychology classes in their place. Which is very reasonable.
A. 17 credits + job = lack of sleep + stress of job. B. Lack of sleep = cranky Soujin. C. Stress of job = cranky Soujin. D. Lack of sleep + stress of job = nervous breakdown + cranky Soujin. E. Nervous breakdown + cranky Soujin = sadface.
Logically, we can assume that: A=(B+C) (B+C)=D A=D If A=D and D=E, then A=E; or, in other words, A=(T_T)
Here is a big hug for enthusiasm, but enthusiasm can only take you so far. I would advise you to drop a course or drop the job, because srsly, you try to do too much. And you know it; you've told me as much. I won't tell you to stop worrying because a) you won't and b) it doesn't work that way, but I will say that what you can do is to cut down on the things you have to worry about. *shrugs* But, as always, you must do what you feel is best.
I'm rilly rilly confused about the major vs program of emphasis thing and I have no idea what it means. :D So I chose at random/slightly based on MY school system. Which is probably entirely different. Color me confused, anyway.
Do whatever makes YOU HAPPY NOW, whatever you enjoy doing in this moment, don't think of it as "THIS IS IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE." If you follow the doctor route and some time down the line decide that it ISN'T for you, IT'S NOT TOO LATE. REALLY. I SWEAR.
All of my mom's family kept going back and getting other degrees and things... in their 40s/50s, one of my aunts has just finished one... seriously, don't decide "I am choosing Route A because it's more prudent for the future even though I hate it right now and it's making my current life less pleasant and joyful"! Choose what fills your life with joy and light NOW. If that changes in the future, it changes. But things WILL change. So if you pick Miserable Route A, things will still change and it could end up being that you decided to be miserable during your collegey youthful life for no reason.
Can I say it again? I can't repeat this enough-- Do what makes you happy and joyful, NOW.
... on a related note, knowing you, what will make you happy and fill your life with joy now is probably not 17 credits + job. Also related to this is the study abroad thing.
Here's the thing: There is no shame or sin in taking your time to figure things out. There is no virtue or actual benefit to speeding through college. I have been taking classes at my local community college from the age of 14 to 21. I will be starting at "Real University" the day after I turn 22. Because of my double major, along with the fact that I want to experience everything I possibly can - extra classes outside of my majors if I can get them, sorority life, doing lots n lots of theatre, having a social life of some kind, a job on campus, the drama dept New York Satellite program, as much/many of UCI's study abroad programs as I can afford, &c. - I will likely end up spending more than the theoretically typical 2 years (as a transfer) I "should" be taking. So...what? How does that adversely affect me? Who is standing around judging me for being at UCI for THREE years instead of TWO? College isn't a race, and if you need to take your time to mush around and try things out and experiment with different areas of study to figure out What You Want To Be When You Grow Up... that's okay, you're okay, and your life will probably be better for it. And also, if you decide one thing now, and then change your mind, it's okay too! If anyone DOES judge you for that, they're stupid! :D
For instance-- in theatre, there's this whole weird connotation of "giving up", when you stop trying to get a break as an actor and you start doing a different job full time, that it's copping out, giving up, etc. (This is, in fact, what the entire Alternatives scene in A Chorus Line is about. I could start quoting it, but, no.) So I have this friend, who has been heading blithely towards the goal of Musical Theatre Performer most of her (very young - she's only 18) life. She recently got accepted into a pretty rockin' conservatory (against all the odds and, frankly, everyone's expectations)... and decided, at very much the last minute, to turn it down, to stay at the community college for a year or so, get her AA, work towards her certification in ASL interpretation (her original ideas was that interpreting would be better than waiting tables while trying to get work as an actor - somewhere along the line, she realized maybe it'd be better just to interpret, full stop), go to a Cal State and get a BA - maybe! - and whatever other certification she needs for interpretation. And, you know, get married, have kids, and raise a family. WHICH IS ALL A GREAT PLAN FOR HER. But she feels like she can't just come out and say "I don't really want to try to be an actor as a career anymore, I want to pursue interpretation as a career and along the line, be a homeschooling mother" because that would mean Giving Up and Changing Her Mind and she can't admit that.
But she hints at it, and we all get it, and what's more, everyone I know that she's spoken to about it thinks it's a wonderful idea for her and probably the best choice she could make right now, in her life.
My point is- if you go whole hog down the medical route, and then realize it's not for you, you can change your mind. It's allowed. The people who love you will want you to be happy, that's sort of part of the definition of loving you.
That "giving up" thing is very present in pre-health too, which is part of the reason I'm uncomfortable with the idea of doing something else. But at the same time I don't think I want to give up all of the medical stuff either, because I do like it, I love it, I just don't like the pressure and the frenetic KNOW EXACTLY EVERYTHING YOU WANT EVER attitude that goes along with it, and that's why I switched to a religion major; but I don't know how to do pre-health without having that pressure hanging around all the time anyway.
Anyway--you're right. And I'm trying to get to a place where I know you're right in my heart as well as my head. You know how it is. Thank you.
Ohh, okay. Cause AA degrees at our community colleges have this whole Area of Emphasis/Major setup that's just basically backwards, completely reversed from what it is in the Cal State or UC system. Or, like, any sensible system. so I'm prepared to be confused on all things that use the word emphasis. XD
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(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-25 03:23 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-26 02:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-25 06:03 am (UTC)I tried that and it damn near killed me.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-26 02:41 pm (UTC)also it's 18 credits now.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-25 06:27 am (UTC)However, I will mention this from what I've heard from other people: if you are going to study abroad, doing your junior year gives you a time cushion to make sure that everything transfers and all the paperwork is in order. Because school offices are sometimes silly and you have to go harrass them to get your paperwork right. Doing a set major programme is kinda nice, since they pretty much hand you a checklist, and usually they have study abroad options kinda built-in.
And also? It is okay to take as much time as you need to figure out what you want and what is a managable stress level. I am starting my fifth year of college, and will probably need another two to finish, and one of the hardest things for me was accepting that it is okay to take time and figure out what I actually want to do.
Love you!
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-28 06:21 pm (UTC)<3333
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-25 07:37 pm (UTC)B. Lack of sleep = cranky Soujin.
C. Stress of job = cranky Soujin.
D. Lack of sleep + stress of job = nervous breakdown + cranky Soujin.
E. Nervous breakdown + cranky Soujin = sadface.
Logically, we can assume that:
A=(B+C)
(B+C)=D
A=D
If A=D and D=E, then A=E; or, in other words, A=(T_T)
Here is a big hug for enthusiasm, but enthusiasm can only take you so far. I would advise you to drop a course or drop the job, because srsly, you try to do too much. And you know it; you've told me as much. I won't tell you to stop worrying because a) you won't and b) it doesn't work that way, but I will say that what you can do is to cut down on the things you have to worry about. *shrugs* But, as always, you must do what you feel is best.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-28 06:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-27 01:57 am (UTC)Do whatever makes YOU HAPPY NOW, whatever you enjoy doing in this moment, don't think of it as "THIS IS IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE." If you follow the doctor route and some time down the line decide that it ISN'T for you, IT'S NOT TOO LATE. REALLY. I SWEAR.
All of my mom's family kept going back and getting other degrees and things... in their 40s/50s, one of my aunts has just finished one... seriously, don't decide "I am choosing Route A because it's more prudent for the future even though I hate it right now and it's making my current life less pleasant and joyful"! Choose what fills your life with joy and light NOW. If that changes in the future, it changes. But things WILL change. So if you pick Miserable Route A, things will still change and it could end up being that you decided to be miserable during your collegey youthful life for no reason.
Can I say it again? I can't repeat this enough-- Do what makes you happy and joyful, NOW.
... on a related note, knowing you, what will make you happy and fill your life with joy now is probably not 17 credits + job. Also related to this is the study abroad thing.
(to be continued...)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-27 01:57 am (UTC)Here's the thing: There is no shame or sin in taking your time to figure things out. There is no virtue or actual benefit to speeding through college. I have been taking classes at my local community college from the age of 14 to 21. I will be starting at "Real University" the day after I turn 22. Because of my double major, along with the fact that I want to experience everything I possibly can - extra classes outside of my majors if I can get them, sorority life, doing lots n lots of theatre, having a social life of some kind, a job on campus, the drama dept New York Satellite program, as much/many of UCI's study abroad programs as I can afford, &c. - I will likely end up spending more than the theoretically typical 2 years (as a transfer) I "should" be taking. So...what? How does that adversely affect me? Who is standing around judging me for being at UCI for THREE years instead of TWO? College isn't a race, and if you need to take your time to mush around and try things out and experiment with different areas of study to figure out What You Want To Be When You Grow Up... that's okay, you're okay, and your life will probably be better for it. And also, if you decide one thing now, and then change your mind, it's okay too! If anyone DOES judge you for that, they're stupid! :D
For instance-- in theatre, there's this whole weird connotation of "giving up", when you stop trying to get a break as an actor and you start doing a different job full time, that it's copping out, giving up, etc. (This is, in fact, what the entire Alternatives scene in A Chorus Line is about. I could start quoting it, but, no.) So I have this friend, who has been heading blithely towards the goal of Musical Theatre Performer most of her (very young - she's only 18) life. She recently got accepted into a pretty rockin' conservatory (against all the odds and, frankly, everyone's expectations)... and decided, at very much the last minute, to turn it down, to stay at the community college for a year or so, get her AA, work towards her certification in ASL interpretation (her original ideas was that interpreting would be better than waiting tables while trying to get work as an actor - somewhere along the line, she realized maybe it'd be better just to interpret, full stop), go to a Cal State and get a BA - maybe! - and whatever other certification she needs for interpretation. And, you know, get married, have kids, and raise a family. WHICH IS ALL A GREAT PLAN FOR HER. But she feels like she can't just come out and say "I don't really want to try to be an actor as a career anymore, I want to pursue interpretation as a career and along the line, be a homeschooling mother" because that would mean Giving Up and Changing Her Mind and she can't admit that.
But she hints at it, and we all get it, and what's more, everyone I know that she's spoken to about it thinks it's a wonderful idea for her and probably the best choice she could make right now, in her life.
My point is- if you go whole hog down the medical route, and then realize it's not for you, you can change your mind. It's allowed. The people who love you will want you to be happy, that's sort of part of the definition of loving you.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-28 06:19 pm (UTC)Anyway--you're right. And I'm trying to get to a place where I know you're right in my heart as well as my head. You know how it is. Thank you.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-28 06:16 pm (UTC)My immediate family kind of has a history of that too. I'm slowly working myself to a place where I am okay with that.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-28 06:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-08-29 07:08 pm (UTC)