What to do with a life?

[TeleMang]

Go to college if possible. It will be the most fun you have ever had. If you are confused you midas well be confused while having fun. Oh, and this may be a given, but go somewhere with snow. And most importantly, lighten up.

[fridge]

I'm going to use this thread to vent since it saves me from starting another "WWMD" thread:

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do when I was younger, I always thought I would be a cop (from watching Beverly Hills cop too many times). My Dad suggested Engineering. Went straight to university from HS, 5 years later I have a degree in Industrial Systems Engineering.

I've been working for a machine design company for the past year. The industry is kind of cool, but I really don't like how the company treats me or the work they give me sometimes.

People in this thread have said "follow your passion or whatever interests you." Pretty much the only thing that keeps my interest is sports, namely waterskiing, skiing, hockey, & football. I've sent out some resumes & stuff for engineering positions in this field, but not much luck. Lately I've also become really interested in sports training, and have watched a ton of Peter Twist dvd's. I'm considering going back to school to get some kind of masters in biomechanics to get into the industry from that direction.

I have no idea what I want to do right now, and feel that I almost need to take a year off to get my head straight. I've saved quite a bit of money and have no debt right now, but I guess I'm worried because I don't know if that money should go towards school or travelling.

Sorry for the long post, just needed to get some things off my belly.

[filthyfrenchbum]

I hesitated posting this as after all, this is just people on the internet, but I'm sure glad I did, and I really appreciate the responses I got.

I think you're all right, I cannot quite waste my time whatever I learn and whether I pursue a carreer in it or not, so I may as well stick with it and try to find the right branch.

There's just no rush at all...
By the way, I'm not worried about what my life is going to come to and that kind of stuff, just lost as of now. I'm only 18, and not a worry wart. I've got friends that have it all planned already and worry way too much.

[Cliff Huckable]

I went to university to for one reason: to "get an education". So, I took all the courses I found interesting - it wasn't an easy fit for a "major" and in the end the university declared me a "divisional major". I'm glad I did that. It worked well for me, though it was a lot more work because there was little or no direct "cross-studying" involved.
After I graduated I took off to live overseas. I did that several times and think it might be the kind of thing you're looking for. Spend some time in a different world.
As I always say: don't go with a friend or girlfriend. Go on your own. And when you get wherever it is, don't hang out with a bunch of people from your home country.

WHAT drove me to do my first degree the way I did: My parents always emphasized a "pure" education, and encouraged me to learn about the things that interested me, whether or not it would lead to an easily defined degree, higher GPA, whatever. Having that kind of goal was never any part of the way I pursued my education. I know that doesn't suit everyone, but it suited me - and that's why I did it. Other members of my own family chose very different paths. My motivation to live in different places and do different things was borne out of that, too - and reinforced by much of what I had read throughout my life.

So many great minds emphasize contemplation and discovery, and so few seem to see much true value in ensconcing yourself in as secure a situation as possible...so I took the "advice" of the all the great minds of history I had read and went off to "do my own thing".

Later, I'd meet up with old friends and acquaintances and they'd ask what I'd been up to, I'd tell them, then they'd tell me that it was so great that I was doing that instead of car/house/mortgage. I'd ask them why they didn't go off and write a novel if that's what they "really" wanted to do, and the reason was always basically that they wanted security. I didn't care much for material security, and that was the difference.

I used to think that the difference between us was that they knew what they wanted, and I didn't. The truth is that they knew what they wanted (material comfort and security) and I knew what I wanted (freedom to explore places, situations, thoughts).
As it turned out, the thing I "do" now is something I've always done. Not something very many people would advise someone to go into to make a living, but it's who I am, so it's what I do. I sure as hell wasn't going to sit in an office all day denying who I am, and maybe trying it as a hobby now and then.

If you want to know what you should do career-wise, just answer this: WHAT "JOB" WOULD YOU CONTINUE TO DO IF YOU DIDN'T GET PAID?
A musician, for example, would certainly continue to play music, as he has done all his life. A mathematician would continue to screw around with numbers, as she had her whole life...and so on.

[Cliff Huckable]

Two other "influences"...

1. A high school teacher who was filling in for a year. Very cool guy. We bumped into him in a bar the summer we graduated and he invited us for a drink. His message for us was basically, "Go out and travel the world as much as you can. Get a little bit of money, then go to another country and work there."

2. A very uncool super-straight vice-principal in high school. He was a lot like Principal Skinner from the Simpsons. I got in some trouble for the hundreth time and had to see him. We ended up talking for a while and he told me how, as a young man, he'd gone over to Europe on ship. (Maybe a tramp steamer?) He worked on the ship to pay his way across, and then worked in Europe, here and there, often walking between cities. He had no money but didn't let that get in the way of seeing the world.