Growing Up: Scared and Lost - Gareth's Story

[gazzo]

Gah! I'm scared of going to college.

I'm leaving high-school a year early to enter a liberal arts degree (cough) because i didn't get into the BSc. - doing Mathematics and Computer Science (although it's called Logic & Computation in Arts), and a touch of Philosophy for fun -- where my grades have to be good so they'll let me switch to a BSc., after a semester or a year or something.

Is it all worth it ? Should I just go back to high-school and be in the safe surroundings of friends and familiar faces, shielded from real life?

Moan.

Do you think a professional academic career is really worth it?

Everyone around me is doing really pracitcal subjects such as Medacine, Engineering, Law, Art, etc. Is pursuing a doctorate in some-random-thing-99%-of-people-don't-appreciate worth it?

I guess, Hardy best puts it - in his apology; 'the scale of the universe is large and, if we are wasting our time, the waste of the lives of a few university dons is no such overwhelming catastrophe'.

Ack! I miss the days when our clothes didn't match and the opposite sex had cooties!

Kind lost regards,
Gareth.

 

[HallsofIvy]

It could be worse. What if you were graduating from high school and had to get a job and support yourself? Going to college, your parents are still supporting you and the college is setting up a good environment while you are given just enough "space" to learn how to be an adult. It's the best possible environment.

 

[Norman]

Gazzo,

I was in a very similar situation to you. One of my best friends was also going off to school at the same time I was, though he was going to a different school. About 2 weeks before we left we were both really scared. The unknown, the new freedom, and the responsibility all sounded so great until you were faced with moving somewhere without family and friends. It can seem very scary. The weird thing was, I chose the school I chose because I wouldn't know anyone there and I could make a fresh start. Anyways, once I got to my school and got settled in, I slowly began to really like it. The nice thing about it is, you are thrown in with a whole bunch of people who are in the same boat. Sure some of them might know each other already, but not everyone will. Everyone will be a little scared, a little excited and a little anxious. But that is ok. Just realize that most of the people around you will be feeling the same way you do. And most school realize that the change can be a little traumatic. Depending on what the campus is like and if you are living in a dorm, the school usually has a ton of activities the week before classes start. These are great chances to have some fun, blow off some steam, and meet some people who will probably become very close friends of yours.

As far as the Ph.D. thing is concerned, that is not a decision you have to make right now. Take some classes, find out what you really want to do, what really interests you. But if you are worried about whether or not it is worth it in the long run, that is getting a Ph.D., I think it is. I am finishing my 2nd year of Grad. School in Physics. Yes, it is hard, it is tiring, and can be frustrating. But it is also fun and exciting working your tail off to learn stuff and feeling on top of the world once you really understand something. And it sure beats working in the paper mill I worked in summers during undergrad!
I really hope all goes well for you Gareth and good luck sorting thing out. Hope I helped.
Cheers!

 

[Moonbear]

Everyone has to leave home sooner or later. It's always a little scary to think about leaving all your friends behind to go off to college, but it's also an opportunity to meet new friends and begin to expand your horizons.

As for choosing a career, it's really too soon to do that. Most of those people who think they know what they want to do will find themselves changing their minds sometime while in college. If you go in striving to obtain good grades in the sciences, you will also be qualified to apply to medical school or law school if you decide not to go on to graduate school. Obtaining a PhD also doesn't mean you have to work in academics, so there are plenty steps along the way when you can stop and make a decision to change direction.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Ack! I miss the days when our clothes didn't match and the opposite sex had cooties!

Gareth, I know a little bit of how you feel. I am still going through my quarter-life crisis. However, time isn't going to stop because you want it to. College can be an amazing time in your life, just wait till your about to graduate, now that is scary! Take care and keep moving forward, you won't regret it.

 

[gazzo]

Thanks everyone