Burned out?
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Well, first post here, been lurking for awhile and I think I had an account awhile back that I don't remember the login info to :(.
So, I'm feeling a little disillusioned/unmotivated. Not sure if its just being burned out or if I should try to make some changes in life. The story so far is:
My parents have always stressed the importance of an education to me so throughout most of my school life, I did most everything the "right" way. Not to say that I didn't enjoy doing these things, I did. Got good grades, joined/lead lots of clubs, started a few organizations, etc. Back then, I enjoyed learning and challenging myself so I was fine with the way my life was.
Around senior year of high school, I started getting burned out with university applications, etc going on. Applied to an ivy, got in, rest of the year went by pretty quickly. I was in a magnet program and we all took the same classes together everyday so the community was pretty strong. Those days were quite fun :D.
So now I'm in college. Studying at a top school, yada yada thought it would be great but Im feeling increasingly disillusioned with everything. Relationships here feel kinda superficial and the academic calibre of students here isn't what I thought it was. Too much reliance on connections for my taste. So now I feel kinda unmotivated to continue my previous career path (investment banking), with the 120 hour weeks and rather unhealthy culture (no one actually cares to learn anything, just get ahead). Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoy learning but I'm a bit disillusioned with this system. So, need some advice. Should I stick it, change majors or schools, find some other interesting things to do or what?
Anyone have any similar situations before and willing to share how they got through it?
So, I'm feeling a little disillusioned/unmotivated. Not sure if its just being burned out or if I should try to make some changes in life. The story so far is:
My parents have always stressed the importance of an education to me so throughout most of my school life, I did most everything the "right" way. Not to say that I didn't enjoy doing these things, I did. Got good grades, joined/lead lots of clubs, started a few organizations, etc. Back then, I enjoyed learning and challenging myself so I was fine with the way my life was.
Around senior year of high school, I started getting burned out with university applications, etc going on. Applied to an ivy, got in, rest of the year went by pretty quickly. I was in a magnet program and we all took the same classes together everyday so the community was pretty strong. Those days were quite fun :D.
So now I'm in college. Studying at a top school, yada yada thought it would be great but Im feeling increasingly disillusioned with everything. Relationships here feel kinda superficial and the academic calibre of students here isn't what I thought it was. Too much reliance on connections for my taste. So now I feel kinda unmotivated to continue my previous career path (investment banking), with the 120 hour weeks and rather unhealthy culture (no one actually cares to learn anything, just get ahead). Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoy learning but I'm a bit disillusioned with this system. So, need some advice. Should I stick it, change majors or schools, find some other interesting things to do or what?
Anyone have any similar situations before and willing to share how they got through it?
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i wouldnt say burned out. maybe a bit lost out there.
school was always quite fun for me. cos i really did like what i learnt, like all about compunds and stuff like in chemistry lessons. I got pretty decent grades back in middle school ( year 9,year 10), so i did went up to high school.
going up to high school really did tires me a lot. all of the sudden teachers start urging you to get portfolios, preparing you for university entrances, SATs, A levels.
the stress is tremendous. My grades kept slipping and teachers came around demanding me to improve.
It was halfway through this year, that i started asking myself : where's the fun in learning anymore?
school was always quite fun for me. cos i really did like what i learnt, like all about compunds and stuff like in chemistry lessons. I got pretty decent grades back in middle school ( year 9,year 10), so i did went up to high school.
going up to high school really did tires me a lot. all of the sudden teachers start urging you to get portfolios, preparing you for university entrances, SATs, A levels.
the stress is tremendous. My grades kept slipping and teachers came around demanding me to improve.
It was halfway through this year, that i started asking myself : where's the fun in learning anymore?
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Kind of Important
A ray of Tsunlight.
Honestly, just do what you want to. Fuck what everyone else thinks you should do. If you don't enjoy what you're going to school for (and thus will probably be doing for a number of years) then you are just wasting time.
I myself chose not to go to college, despite my lackluster grades (due to laziness not lack of ability) I had scored very well on ACTs and SAT practice tests I had taken, but chose instead to do something I wanted to. (Enlisted in the military) now, obviously I didn't do it for the money, as folk in the military aren't exactly known for their large wallets.
Anyway, point of that is that choosing something I wanted to do, even if I won't be as well off monetarily, is really what helps me enjoy it. Sure it may get hard from time to time, but I chose to do it, and won't take that back.
So, case in point, do what you want to, regardless of why, you gotta enjoy what you do.
I myself chose not to go to college, despite my lackluster grades (due to laziness not lack of ability) I had scored very well on ACTs and SAT practice tests I had taken, but chose instead to do something I wanted to. (Enlisted in the military) now, obviously I didn't do it for the money, as folk in the military aren't exactly known for their large wallets.
Anyway, point of that is that choosing something I wanted to do, even if I won't be as well off monetarily, is really what helps me enjoy it. Sure it may get hard from time to time, but I chose to do it, and won't take that back.
So, case in point, do what you want to, regardless of why, you gotta enjoy what you do.
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Depends what you want to do.
I don't think you should change schools, because you are in an ivy league school, and what is waiting outside of an ivy league school? there might be a community you would better fit in, but then again you don't want to get carried away in the party scene of a large school (or maybe you do, that is fine)
However, explore different classes that you might like. I for myself, am mostly undecided in my major, but I right now I hope to get an MD when I get out of undergraduate school. Don't be tunnel visioned, keep your options open, be open to different things and classes. At my school, they say its normal to change your major 4-5 times during your time at the university. Explore some classes like Hebrew, engineering classes, history of music, Greek mythology.... anything that sounds interesting. One class I decided to take this term was History 195: Witches, Alchemy, & the Golem, which was a really interesting writing course which we studied about the roots of each of the myths. Explore, and be optimistic. You will find something you never knew you liked.
I felt similar to the way you feel now. I felt filled with a certain melancholy. I began to believe that things at the University were not what I originally thought they would be. I was disillusioned like you were, but one day, I remembered how psyched I was to go to the university of my dreams, how I could make so many new friends, and get a feel for college life. Remember your aspirations that you had prior to college, and rekindle the fire of possibilities. Don't give up on your pre-college ideas of success and happiness.
I don't think you should change schools, because you are in an ivy league school, and what is waiting outside of an ivy league school? there might be a community you would better fit in, but then again you don't want to get carried away in the party scene of a large school (or maybe you do, that is fine)
However, explore different classes that you might like. I for myself, am mostly undecided in my major, but I right now I hope to get an MD when I get out of undergraduate school. Don't be tunnel visioned, keep your options open, be open to different things and classes. At my school, they say its normal to change your major 4-5 times during your time at the university. Explore some classes like Hebrew, engineering classes, history of music, Greek mythology.... anything that sounds interesting. One class I decided to take this term was History 195: Witches, Alchemy, & the Golem, which was a really interesting writing course which we studied about the roots of each of the myths. Explore, and be optimistic. You will find something you never knew you liked.
I felt similar to the way you feel now. I felt filled with a certain melancholy. I began to believe that things at the University were not what I originally thought they would be. I was disillusioned like you were, but one day, I remembered how psyched I was to go to the university of my dreams, how I could make so many new friends, and get a feel for college life. Remember your aspirations that you had prior to college, and rekindle the fire of possibilities. Don't give up on your pre-college ideas of success and happiness.