I honestly don't know what to do.

[joereact]

Hi guys,

So I wanted to talk to you guys about my issue. I seriously don't know what I'm doing in my life.

I first wanted to be a surgeon but I got very discouraged and felt like I wasn't going to become a surgeon, I was put off when I saw real nerds striving to become doctors (they were like studying and getting sevens). I'm more of the outgoing type, I can't put myself to work. Then I wanted to study economics, but dropped the subject because I found it in no way appealing to me. Therefore, I'm stuck and I don't know what to do in my life.

I'm in 11th grade.

My confidence is very low nowadays, (sorry for being too personal), after my father's passing, 10 months ago, everything changed for me and I don't know what to do. I don't know what he wanted me to become when I grow up. All I know is that he wanted me to be successful and happy.

Can you guys please help me?

Edited March 16, 2012 by joereact

[timtamboy63]

Most people your (our?) age don't know what they want to do. My advice: go to a good university in the states, pick random classes and just do whatever you find fun. Alternatively take a liberal arts course/go to a liberal arts college.

[Rakika]

You should study what you are interested in. If you do the job that you like, you won't have to work any day of your life

[citizenoftheuniverse]

I know many people who are successful in their current careers, who weren't that great at school when they were younger. My dad for example. He was never "bad" in school, he was around average, also in the sciences. However, he applied to university for the engineering course because it interested him, and now he is a successful engineer. If you for example want to be a doctor, it does not matter if you do not get all sevens, as long as eventually you get into uni. And for example in the US people go to some random college course and THEN go study medicine and then how you did in highshool becomes irrelevant. Highschool is not an accurate measure of your worth or potential or even your success at your career. Social skills for example are VERY important, but they are not measured in school, though they will significantly affect your overall success in life. You say you are outgoing, that is great! If you do not know what you want to become, you can always become a salesman or something that needs outgoing people. Also your career is not your life, and if you make the wrong choice, you can always change careers. Nowadays people are staying at the same jobs for less and less time, and instead for example short term employment contracts are common.

Also, if you feel like your fathers death is the reason you feel down and it has affected your schooling, you could always take a break. Stop going to school and repeat the year next year. You can spend the extra time at a job, or having very many hobbies and try to discover yourself and contemplate life. Focus on trying to heal from your fathers death and take a break. Enjoy the moment and stop worrying about the future for sometime.

[joereact]

Even if I decide to become a doctor at the end, I'm not even taking the minimum subject requirements! I'm only taking Biology SL. So I'm pretty lost and I don't know how being a surgeon would be possible!! It's annoying how you have to make decisions that will determine the course of your life at our age!

Thanks everyone, and especially you "citizenoftheuniverse"

Edited March 16, 2012 by Capt'n Marth

[Surrideo]

Even if I decide to become a doctor at the end, I'm not even taking the minimum subject requirements! I'm only taking Biology SL. So I'm pretty lost and I don't know how being a surgeon would be possible!! It's annoying how you have to make decisions that will determine the course of your life at our age!

In regards to the bolded phrase, you do not have to take the required classes during high school. In fact, you take them during your undergrad years and then you ship yourself off to medical school.

[Taj Pereira]

If you want to become a surgeon, make you sure understand full well what it entails .

A surgeon is one of the most stressful jobs out there. You're always on call for surgery, which means you could be messaged to do a surgery in the middle of the night.... on consecutive days. Furthermore, once you get into surgery it's not over. You have to memorize, or in some cases, teach yourself (again) the surgery prior to operation and after the very first incision, the clock starts running.

What many people overlook, when they perceive a surgeon's work, is the amount of pressure involved in the surgery. Not so much about having a sturdy hand (although that's very important), it's also about precision and SPEED. After the very first incision, the patient starts losing blood. If he/she loses too much, side effects will inevitably ensue, which you will need to take responsibility for.

Sure, they may have signed a waiver before the surgery, but it doesn't do the soul any good for causing a stroke in someone because of your malpractice.

Maybe I'm overplaying the difficulties involved in becoming a surgeon, but remember that it entails with a lot of stress, which you may become accustomed too. But otherwise, you'll have to deal with it day in and day out.

[billy113094]

Your point is very valid and understandable. I would advise you, if you really wanna do medicine but dont want too much time and really hard work yet have an awesome degree and a great income in the future, then do dentistry. This is exactly why im doing Dentistry. Honestly it is less time consuming than Medicine and your considered a Doctor and have a really high income plus you wont have to study WAYY extra. =)

Thats because becoming a surgeon is something that requires you to go an extra mile. It is very time consuming. Plus with dentistry there are a lot of other jobs aspected, such as; you could after doing BDS do any other degree and do both careers together. Dentists have a very flexible time, they can balance their personal life with their professional life. So you can be outgoing in order to be a dentist! =)

Gud Luk with your decision.

[krusader]

joereact: you don't need 7's to be a surgeon. Focus on doing something remarkable related to your field of interest, in this case surgery. Maybe you can do experiments, or even publish research paper. To get into med school, you have to remarkable. Many, many students in my school have 7's, they are in student council, in the band and even a sports team, but the thing is there are literally thousands like them. But a high school student even with 5 or 4 who published a successful research paper, that the type of students university want in their schools. The students that inspire, and make us scratch our head asking: "How did (s)he do that?" (Just to clarify, you don't have to write a research paper, just an example).

To give you a more personal example this is what I am doing to be remarkable in my efforts to get into an engineering school:

• Helped to create a FIRST robotics high school team
  
• Talked to potential engineering sponsors like HATCH( a big national company) and others to give us 20, 000 dollars in sponsorship.
  
• Gave presentations to engineering groups like Professional Engineers of Ontario, and in the future to Canadian Institute of Mining
  

My rhetoric is terrible but I hope you understand what I am trying to convey here: focus on being remarkable, and don't focus too much on the mundane like high marks, dime a dozen teams.

I stress that you don't try to do the near impossible just to be remarkable, but do it since you have a passion for it.

These ideas I have got from Cal Newport he has a blog which has an refreshing take on success, I suggest you check him out:

http://calnewport.co...-stretch-churn/

EDIT: If you are worried about not having enough time, I did the above in my 12th grade.

EDIT#2: Don't worry about taking the right decision. The decision you are about to make is entirely reversible, so don't dwell on it too much.

Hope I helped. Feel free to ask me more questions.

Edited March 16, 2012 by krusader

[Forester]

do what you love. if you don't know what you love yet, try everything, make mistakes, find answers, get lost, stay young, stay foolish

on a more serious/practical note, just work hard now in the subjects you are taking (even if you do not particularly enjoy them), do not concern yourself too much about the future, everything will work out later.

[Gaby]

Even if I decide to become a doctor at the end, I'm not even taking the minimum subject requirements! I'm only taking Biology SL. So I'm pretty lost and I don't know how being a surgeon would be possible!! It's annoying how you have to make decisions that will determine the course of your life at our age!

In regards to the bolded phrase, you do not have to take the required classes during high school. In fact, you take them during your undergrad years and then you ship yourself off to medical school.

Actually, it depends on the country you want to go to university in. In some places, Medicine is actually an undergraduate degree.

[Danbo]

Don't stress too much about it. I know how it feels having the fear of having your life go without direction but it's only a phase. I assure you, if you force yourself to focus on something now you will probably regret it later on. Try out new things and see if they appeal to you when you go to University. Or you could try out different fields of a subject that you've already taken a liking for and see if they interest you.

Things have a way of working themselves out What subjects do you like?

[Hakeem]

You arent alone in this one. Just relax and try to clear your mind, and then try imagining yourself in the future. Also there are many questtionaires and tests you can do online, that might not neccesarily but will give you a direction to start heading. A good website for that is www.fastomato.com

Hope this helps

[Rtothea]

Lots of people don't know what they want to do. Some people in college don't even know what they want to do yet. Just choose something that interests you at this time, and do it. If you lack interest in it, just do something else. Life is short, you should try doing what YOU love. Don't be something because it's successful, or whatever. If you truly want to be a surgeon, then become one ! The only one stopping you is you. It may sound cheesy, but it's so true. You should learn to do what you love, and what is interesting to you.