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I am so confused about what I want with my life. Well, I know a little. For one, I want to finish high school (of course). After that I just don't know. I LOVE romance languages, and want to become fluent in all of them (Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian, Latin, Portuguese) as well as German and Arabic. Languages are like my hobby, my life. So maybe I can become a professional translator or something.
College is a big factor though. My life has really changed this year, along with my thoughts. I don't know if I want to go to college. I've taken some AP classes, and if college is anything like them, then that's just too much stress to deal with as well as maintaining relationships and keeping a steady job. I know that college is worth it because it opens up a lot of career opportunities, but I don't know..writing numerous papers, reading a number of pages/books, and having multiple tests all in one week just seems too much for me.
I am sure of one thing though: I want to move to Europe and become fluent in the listed languages above. That is my dream. I also want to be successful, though, which might contradict the possibility of my not going to college.
So a few questions:
1. Am I making the right decision about college? If not what should I do?
2. How much planning and preparation does it take to move to Europe?
Thank you. (link)
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First, let me start off by saying I think it's amazing that you've really found something that you love. Not everyone has found something they can really say that about.
Second, as far as AP classes go, I remember how hard they were. I also remember that once my friends and I actually went to college, whether it was a community college, technical school, private school, or big-time public university, we all had one thing to say about those high school AP classes: they were harder and more time-consuming then the actual college courses were. Don't let some AP classes with an overload of paperwork scare you. Many college courses do not have alot of paperwork. There are essays and tests, but they're not super-frequent usually.
Third, If you love the romance languages, study the romance languages. Maybe you'll be a professional translator, but there are a whole array of careers you can pursue with a degree associated with language. You can work with people that are trying to learn english, you can work for major businesses/corporations to help them communicate with other countries. The list goes on. The possibilities are truly endless.
Lastly, about your dream to move to Europe. I don't know how much it costs to move there, but I would never say it's far from your reach. Just about all colleges/universites have internships all around the world. Many also have study abroad programs, where they send you to another country to study at one of their colleges/universities for a semester or two. If that's not enough, colleges/universities even have travel/vacation packages all around the world with special discount group rates for their students. Eventually, you can even transfer and continue your education over there. Many you will get accepted to go to school there now? The possibilities are endless!!!!!! Don't let fear, or other people ever hold you back from your dreams and what you were made to pursue! :)
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what are typically the required classes of college? (like how many maths, histories, englishes, and sciences do you have to take to graduate?)
also, does college care if you "skip around" with your classes? for example, taking only a math class and 2 electives one semester? basically can you take any class whenever you want lol (link)
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Required classes really depend on what you want to study. I will tell you though, no matter what you study, most colleges and universities do make you take a certain amount of each of the classes you listed (general education classes). It really all depends, every college/university is different as far as how many of each.
As for your second question, (you're going to really love this), they really do not care if you "skip around". In college, you can basically do whatever you want as far as taking classes, when, how many, with what teacher, etc. It's all up to you. You can even skip an entire semester if you want to! (this comes in handy if 'things', like a family emergency, turn up in your life and you really need the semester to concentrate on other aspects of your life) I don't recommend skipping entire semesters unless really necessary though (otherwise it will take a long time to get any degrees)
Alot of people do not realize how flexible college can be. Many force themselves to take a lot of classes non-stop to the point of burn-out and exhaustion. Eventually, sometimes, they realize they don't even like their major.
To make college even easier, most are providing night-time and weekend courses in case you work. They even have tele courses (you can watch the instructor from a tv at home) or online classes (you submit homework/tests/quizzes as easily as you submit questions on this site! The possibilities and flexibility of higher education is endless!
I do need to warm you though, if you are getting some financial aid or scholarships, they sometimes require you to take a certain amount each semester. For example, I had a scholarship that required me to take a certain amount of classes each fall and each spring semester without skipping any fall or spring semesters. Once I skipped a semester or did not take the right amount of classes, they could drop my scholarship money.
I would say, truly evaluate every option fully before making decisions. Get as much information as you can about everything. Every college/university has different particular little rules and guidelines they stick in there. Once you're interested in a specific place, try and find current students to ask questions to get more info.
As far as majors go, I would evauluate every option there too, keeping an open mind and then start narrowing down to the things that spark your interest. Contact people who have successful careers in each of the professions to help you get more of a taste of what you might be getting yourself into.
Remember, do what you love, and enjoy it!
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