Overcoming Self-Doubt: A Teen's Story of Succeeding Against the Odds

[RedLine]

Note: my English is terrible so please don't correct me.
I am a 18 yo male from Lebanon a Francophone contry (you probably never heard of it) . Ithat was bullied since childhood ,so I have no self confidence .
I never cared about school so my language skills are bad, indont know some basic math stuff and so on...
I am in what they call 'bac' here it's equivalent to grade 11 in the US.
Bac is divided into 3 categories . science , sociologie et economies and humanities .
Last year I did the science one (main subjects are math and physics) but I didn't study anything and rarely payed attention in class ect...so of course I failed .this year I changed schools and was forced to do the economy and sociology bac (science bac is harder and they dident trust me doing it to preserve school reputation I guess).
My dream is to learn Astrophysics I was always fascinated how the universe works .
It's only until now that I began to be serious and realized how important is education .
I have a few opstacles tho...
I am learning in school something I don't really like and stuck in the economy and sociologie so if I wanted to do the science bac I'll have to loose a year and I feel too old
( i feel already too oId I have this year to continue and the next one so I'll graduate at 19 1/2 yea old so if I decide to redo the science bac I'll graduate at 20.5 yo ..)
(in here if your average score is below 50% you redo the year and in the French system you can't get big grades maximum is like 80% ,average is about 60 or 70)
I am a bit slow it takes me some time to understand jokes ,I did an online IQ test and my score is 100 but I think my actual IQ is like 90)
I have a few solutions :
Continue in the sociology et economie but do math and physics of the science bac and in the summer be a big math nerd and practice the SAT ( my math is bad ATM)
But I fear if I encounter a problem panic and don't survive since I don't trust myself .

So do you guys think I can do physics in the university with all my problems? Because even if practice math and physics I fear my low brain potential will be a problem later.

 

[Serena]

Dear RedLine,
You will make it if you change your attitude. I am confident in saying that having an high IQ in not the main requirement for pursuing your life goals. Motivation and flexibility are. Additionally, do not rely on IQ tests too much.
Why do you ask people not to correct your language? It is a good way to learn. Why do you think "loosing" some years of studies is so dramatic? Spending your whole life in doing something you don't like is. It is very hard to succeed in fields you are not passionate for.

 

[Arceus74]

I was said to be gifted by many but in reality the truth is there is many different problems each and every person has and can be solved by him alone and cannot be compared with others.For instance some years in my life i was boasting with overconfidence of my talents which was my drawback which led me to not meet my expectations and become failures.The man with the most IQ is now a leading a average life far below what other people expect him to be.As i said people have various problems that he knows and living a life what others expect is useless.Find your talent and dream and do your best.
I'm a 19 year old and an aspiring astrophysicist who has a communication problem that 90% people don't have.This problem made me braver,stronger and wiser.So its up to us to change our negatives to positives so we can be examples to others.All the best for your journey.

 

[Choppy]

I recommend working on one problem at a time.

It's a long road towards astrophysics from where you are, and from a statistical point of view, it's unlikely you'll end up working as an astrophysicist. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

First though, you have to get through high school and qualify for university. I don't know how the baccalaureate system works, but the bottom line seems to be that you need to qualify for university with a strong foundation in mathematics, physics and general science. If this means that you have to spend an extra year to accomplish this, then you have to do that. In the grand scheme of your life, an extra year to get where you want to be is not that big of a deal.

As others have said, don't worry about IQ. It's not effective for predicting success in life. What will help you is to develop something that's called a growth mindset. This is an outlook where you believe that you improve and grow through experience, as opposed to a believe that skill is innate.