Ok, so a lot has happened in the last few years for me. Since it’ll take a bit of explaining ill start at the beginning. The troubles started back in the holiday season of 2015, I worked in the cafe of a book store and I was incredibly happy with my job but as the holidays approached things went badly. Basically I bit off more than I could chew. I was working a lot, doing college, and I was in charge of thanksgiving dinner. So I fried my brain accidentally, a bunch of little things stacked onto each other until I broke. So, Thanksgiving came I cooked the meal, and my grandmother accidentally poured scalding turkey broth on my dads foot, giving him 2nd degree burns, I then got up the next day, went to work at 7am and ran a 9 hour shift on black Friday with only new employees to help. I kept going the next few weeks studying for school and working more hours than I should have because I was the only one available, there was not a single day where I could rest. 2 weeks before Christmas my mother and sister got into a huge argument about sis going to Florida to visit her fiances family, I got roped in and had to deal with my mother calling me at work and at home so she could scream and complain about how “Horrible” my sister was. Said calls got me in trouble with my boss too. https://kintsugi.seebs.net/threads/my-life-was-a-rapunzel-allegory.3904/#post-296199 <some background on my mom -_- By the end of the year I was a mess. The culmination being an inability to do my job at a satisfactory level and my grades being completely trashed (I was on the honor society before) I ended up having to ask for an extended leave of absence from work to try and recover, as well as having to drop out of school. This rant post shows my mental state at the time.>https://kintsugi.seebs.net/threads/...g-a-functioning-human-being.2870/#post-175521 In the end I did have to quit my job in may of 2016 when my leave was up. So long story short here I am in 2017 with no job and still not in school. But here’s the thing: I finally feel recovered enough to grab life by the metaphorical balls again. But I need some help. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what I want out of life and what I want to accomplish with my time. I’ve narrowed it down to 4 basic chunks: -School -Job -Creativity -Mental Heath Mental health is in the works and handled for now, I’m currently looking for a psychologist that will actually help, and diagnose, my issues (the one I see right now has known me since I was 8 and does not seem to grasp that I’m an adult now) The other 3 are where I need help. Job and school go hand in hand. Before I dropped out I was very close to completing me AA. And seeing as I plan on returning to school that will be done soon after that. Problem #1 I have no idea what i’m going to major in, nor do I know what 4 year school to attend, nor do I know how to choose a school (I attended a nearby community college) a lot of people said to reverse engineer the problem: telling me to choose a job, and then find out what major that job requires, then finding the colleges with that major. Problem #2 I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I used to want to be an author. Writing was one of the things that could make me happy without fail. But I don’t think its likely I could be a professional author, nor do I think I’d like to be one anymore. More like I’d like to write in some of my spare time and if I publish something I publish something. Does that make sense? A creative outlet is necessary in my life and creativity may need to stay in my free time. So what should I do for a job? I do know what I don’t want from my life, and I do know in general what id like to pursue; but I don’t know enough details. “And so she made another list”: -I do not want to be a lawyer or work in law -I do not want to be a doctor or a nurse -I am interested languages (Modern and ancient) -I am interested in myths, folklore, and fairy tales -I am interested in History and lifestyles of the past -I would very much like to see the world, and work and live in other countries -I love learning~ -I enjoy both working with people and working alone (I’m an ambivert and require both) -I am very precise and am detail oriented -I am very creative and enjoy making things Any ideas on a job like this? :( So the order of business stands: -pick job (learn job market of who hires then etc) -choose corresponding major -learn how to choose a college and find one that fits and -revel in the knowledge of knowing ones goal ….I’m freaking weird.
I don't know if it necessarily fits, but would being some sort of educator interest you? I have some limited experience with teaching (I'm in grad school and I'm a TA), and there's a good mix of working alone (e.g. grading and making assignments, planning presentations and what to do in class) and working with others (professors, other TAs, and of course students). If you're interested in writing/history/language/something in that field, maybe you could major in X and minor in education? Some schools may have "X Education" majors as well, I'm not really sure how it works, and it's probably different at different colleges/universities. Also, there's a possibility for teaching in other places if you have education experience, which might help you travel. Translating might be good too, but I have no idea what the job market for that is like. I would imagine it's not very large, so might be hard to get into... As for picking a college, I think it's good to find a school that has the courses/majors you want for your goal (once you've got that established) and that fits other criteria (feels good, is in X location, doesn't cost too much, has good financial aid programs, lots of housing, good for commuting, great community, lots of support, whatever is important to you). If you want to go to a school that's in another state (if you're in the US), it might be good to try to move there beforehand and establish residency to reduce tuition costs. (I had a huge fight with my undergraduate university about that, so be sure you know what's required for the specific place you're going to, if that's the plan.) Visiting schools is also good to do before choosing, but can be spendy, so if you can visit one or two, try to narrow down your list first and focus on the ones you're most interested in. If you're really stuck on finding options in the first place, I'd just start with searching for "four year schools in X" and finding a list, then looking at where they are, choosing ones in places you can imagine living, and then diving in for more details about their courses/requirements/whatever. I think it's totally reasonable to want to write in your spare time and to have it be something you enjoy that may or may not result in publication. I do the same thing because I like to write and it's fun; I don't really expect anything to come out of it, and that's okay. If it becomes a problem, like you're pressuring yourself and it becomes a chore or something, maybe then it would be good to step back and reevaluate things, but otherwise I don't think there's any problem with it. Or if it starts interfering with work or something.
