College?

[Cocolove]

I'm going to be a junior in high school, and have about a year to figure out if I'm going to college or not.  I have no idea what my life purpose could be. Any advice on how I should figure this out in my time frame.

[dude]

try everything you can think of.

and

Visit the actual workplace you will enter after college if you have a idea. College is a very different experience than the work you will actually do after it. I highly recommend trying to visit the place where you will be working after it. Maybe it's shit and then you know this is not for you. Maybe the workplace is great and you have a vision to work for while in college.

[Wyatt]

@TripleNipple I suggest starting your own small business first. This was the BEST decision I ever made. Take the thing that gets you excited in the morning and figure out how to make money doing it. It doesn't have to be perfect, just something that's relatively attainable in a year or 2. Find people who are also pursuing that path and learn from them. Ask deep questions of clients and potential customers of what they're looking for in a product/service. Get clear on your mission statement for what you're doing and why you do what you do (What impact does it have on the individual level, on the level of direct service to the customer, on the level of your community, on the level of your country/world). Read books on topics that interest you. You'll get so much experience in business and life, you'll have a much better understanding of what your path could/should be. 

[zoey101]

My advise is to just think of what you would be doing, if you could do literally anything. If there was nothing holding you back (financially, or other reasons) what would you do?

Also, keep in mind that college is not for everyone. If your dream career is something that does not necessarily require a degree, then I wouldn't waste the time and money on college. 

And if you don't know, then I would suggest to avoid college until you do know. The last thing you want is to go to college and then discover your dream halfway through and realize that you didn't need to go to college for that career. I did that, and now I have a nice stack of student loans for a degree that I didn't really need. 

You are young, you have time (people live till their 80's now). I know that schools stress further education a lot, but your dream career may only require a trade school at the most. 

First step is to figure out the dream. If you could start tomorrow, what would you be doing? Music, law, mechanic, anything.

[denydritz]

I would say postpone college for the time being, because college takes time and money. Like @zoey101 says, you don't want to get stuck in a long-term commitment that you don't want to keep. Unless you have parents who are asking you to go to college, then that's a different condition ...

There is a good book you may want to read, it's "Start With Why" written by Simon Sinek. Or you can search the TEDx talk with the same topic that gives the brief version about what is passion. Searching for your life purpose isn't something I would give a time limit (since people living long lives still search for their life purpose). But Simon Sinek's book/talk can be a good foothold.

Cheers!

[d0ornokey]

It's very tempting to go to school because that's what everyone else is doing and you don't know what to do. Following the herd and not being an independent thinker and doing things the standard and safe path is so much easier and comfortable

You have a lot more potential than what school can offer you

Go to school as a strategic choice 

 

Strategic choice means doing it because it's RIGHT for you. 

There's hundreds if not thousands of routes of life you can go! Why are we going down a route that costs $100k with a promise of a 9-5 job in a cubicle with an average starting pay of less than $50,000?

You go to school for 4 years then work for 2 then you'll break-even. You'll start your 7th year with 50k in a job you barely enjoy.

6 years is waaaay more than enough time for you to find out what you love to do and find a large part of yourself.

In that time you can build a freelancing career, online small business around something you love, or maybe become a coach, learn business skills to make money out of a creative art endeavor. So many things! 

You'll also be doing things you WANT to be doing. You'll be much more inclined to do them and you will see that you're doing important things instead of feeling like you're wasting your life as a slave. 

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2018 by d0ornokey

[zoey101]

7 hours ago, d0ornokey said:

It's very tempting to go to school because that's what everyone else is doing and you don't know what to do. Following the herd and not being an independent thinker and doing things the not standard and safe path is so much easier and comfortable

You have a lot more potential than what school can offer you

Go to school as a strategic choice 

 

Strategic choice means doing it because it's RIGHT for you. 

There's hundreds if not thousands of routes of life you can go! Why are we going down a route that costs $100k with a promise of a 9-5 job in a cubicle with an average starting pay of less than $50,000?

You go to school for 4 years then work for 2 then you'll break-even. You'll start your 7th year with 50k in a job you barely enjoy.

6 years is waaaay more than enough time for you to find out what you love to do and find a large part of yourself.

In that time you can build a freelancing career, online small business around something you love, or maybe become a coach, learn business skills to make money out of a creative art endeavor. So many things! 

You'll also be doing things you WANT to be doing. You'll be much more inclined to do them and you will see that you're doing important things instead of feeling like you're wasting your life as a slave. 

 

 

 

Totally agree

@TripleNipple Gain some life experience! There is so much to see and do. Focus on what makes you happy and just go with it. Travel to gain some cultural experience. It doesn't have to be anything big or out of the country.

One thing I used to love doing as a teen was taking of with some of my friends and just getting lost in a new place. The rule was no gps till the end of the day, when we were ready to go home. All it cost was some gas money, but it was some of the best fun I had  

Through your experiences, I do believe you could find a passion. Once you find it, then you can figure out the best course of action to take. It may be college, or it may not be. Just remember that no matter what path you go down, it is YOUR path and you don't have to answer to anyone  If it's what you love, skrew what anyone else thinks! (unless you love to hurt people.... don't do that!!!) lol

[JDoni7]

On 20.06.2018 at 6:33 AM, TripleNipple said:

I'm going to be a junior in high school, and have about a year to figure out if I'm going to college or not.  I have no idea what my life purpose could be. Any advice on how I should figure this out in my time frame.

Don't be scared of a new experience, college is an interesting place for young people and you should find new friends there. It's not only about doing homework assignments and writing essays, you know, everything in your life will changes, in a better side, I mean. And it's not as hard as you think, really, It's much easier! There're lots of useful programs for students, which is really helpful, especially, we live in 21st century, dude! Or you can take a gap year and think better about everything... but truly I don't recommend you to act like this, don't waste your time! As for me, I also use a site for students, there're tons of articles with interesting bits of advice.

My conclusion: Studying is always a good idea!

[Guest Quanty]

Meditation.

Train yourself with what inspires you, there are millions of books.

Then start a business.

College is the status ladder, brainwashing, approval, survival of the fittest (in mind terms speaking), and only at the end comes the money. 

[Revolutionary Think]

@TripleNipple Depends on what you like. What do you see yourself doing as a career what is your passion and what do you do for a hobby.