But not with art, unfortunately. :( My life's been kind of all over the place right now, and I've been having a hard time trying to keep my head on straight (mostly because I think too much. I really need to stop that)

I think the biggest thing that's been consuming me lately is school. I take my grades very seriously, but I can't say I've been doing as well as I want to - particularly in Chemistry. It's not my teacher's fault - he's a great guy and all, and I don't want to blame him - I'm aware that it's mine but I can't seem to change my grade at all (It's only a C, but it's a low C and I don't like the direction it's heading in). Chem's really hard, and I can't seem to get my brain around it.

But not only that, I think I need to start thinking about college. I'm a Junior here in high school, and I don't even know what's really out there as far as higher education goes. I'm...not even sure I know what I want to do yet. Is that bad?

And of course, here on PD, I know I'm not doing as much Mod work as I should be, and I'm also aware that C.R.I.T isn't being entirely productive (which I blame myself for. :( I AM in charge, after all). I've been thinking maybe now would be a good time to resign from Jr. Modding for a little while (or maybe permenantly, I don't know) and perhaps hire some extra help on my C.R.I.T team so something can get done now that I know I'm probably not going to be around as much as I used to.

It really sucks. :( I used to be able to dedicate so much time here, and now that I finally feel like I have ideas that might benefit I'm starting to lose all of that time I had. You have no idea how much I don't like being here as much as I used to. :cries: I love it here.

Well...I guess the entire purpose of this was for me to whine a lot. ;-; Which...is really out of character for me. xD;; Comments anyone?

similair problem here... School is eten my schedual also im in my kast year of middle school and that's pretty tough.. but look at the bright side, once its over you can relax... at least that's what I do

Not exactly. I still have a lot of things ahead of me to worry about. :( College, jobs, etc. I dunno. I guess I'm kind of hoping for guidance at this point. Maybe friendly advice pertaining to where I should at least turn to look.

That, and I may have to leave the staff here, because I don't feel I've been very productive (and I'm sure the other mods will vouch for that). :( I dunno yet. My head's been in this perpetual fog, and it's been really hard to think straight.

Hi Dollmaker. I know, school is tough. Transitioning from high school to college and college to work life are both challenging times in our lives.

It is not at all unusual for a young person to not know what they want to major in when they start college. When I started college like half of the freshmen at my school hadn't declared a major yet. The best thing to do is take your SATs as soon as possible because you'll need your score to apply to colleges. During the second half of the school year of your Junior year its time to start looking and applying to colleges. Since you aren't sure what you want to major in yet, it might be best to go to a jr college or a state college. You can start by getting those pesky general education classes out of the way first while you are figuring out what it is you want to do. You can always transfer to another school later.

However, I have heard from fellow art students that it can be a real bad idea doing general ed first if you plan to have a studio art major. I can explain that in more detail if you're interested.

At stressful times like this the best thing to do is probably to remove yourself from any unnecessary responsibilities. So maybe someone else can take over the C.R.I.T. group for a while and you can always come back to it when life is less hectic. Same goes for being a Jr Mod.

As for chemistry, I dont know much about it. Is it possible you could talk to the teacher about getting a tutor so you can get some help? I had a tutor while in college and it helped me a lot with the tougher subjects.

Hey there Dollmaker,

We have missed you around here! But I know what you're going through; I had much the same fears and concerns as you do when I was in highschool. It feels like you should know exactly what you want when you head into college, right?

The only problem with that is that college, wherever you go, is going to open up new worlds of opportunity. You're going to be able to pursue your passions, any number of them, in any amount of detail you desire. You may find that something you had a general interest for is the something you want to make a career out of.

I'm a big proponent of taking a year of general ed. classes; I went into college thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and ended up hating it so badly I contemplated turning away from its field completely. Which, in the long run, has really done a number on the degree I'm after now. I'm having to take an extra year just to fill in all the classes I need to be able to apply for the degree program I want; it's as if a whole year of college was wasted because I focused so intensely on one thing.

You also need time to get your head on straight...I'm sure you hear from alot of your teachers in highschool that they're trying to teach you in ways to prepare you for college. Only problem is, highschool is fundamentally different from college, so no amount of brain teasing is going to do the trick. You'll have no bell to ring to tell you to change classes, no hallways in one specific building to get from one class room to another. If you attend a large university, many classes are a bus ride away, which is something you're going to have be responsible for.

Needless to say, it's a lot to take in in just a year. I think having the basic classes (English comp., college algebra, history, etc.) under your belt will not only get you headed in the right direction (because many associate and bachelor programs require them) but will allow the time necessary to figure out how you're going to approach college. Everyone has a different way of approaching it, and you have to find the way that works for you.

As far as your Chem. class is concerned, I would go along with what BR said; try to find yourself a tutor. This is the kind of resource you're going to have available to you in college which can prove to be absolutely invaluable to your career. There's no reason to hide the muffin, you're going to be there to get a degree, and getting the grade will be the only way to do that.

I hope you can find your balance! We all have our days and weeks, months and years when things are just too much and we need a little help. You know your PD community is always here to give you a hand, so keep on truckin'. We're all rooting for you!

Thanks guys. :) It means a lot that I'm missed. xD Well, it feels cool, anyway.

I think I'm starting to get a better insight of what I want to do as far as college goes. :) But the idea of dealing with general ed. sounds pretty good, too.

On Nov 8, 2007 4:32 pm, BogusRed said:
[quote]

However, I have heard from fellow art students that it can be a real bad idea doing general ed first if you plan to have a studio art major. I can explain that in more detail if you're interested...

[/quote]

Good idea. :lol: Elaboration sounds great.

On Nov 8, 2007 4:32 pm, BogusRed said:
[quote]

...At stressful times like this the best thing to do is probably to remove yourself from any unnecessary responsibilities. So maybe someone else can take over the C.R.I.T. group for a while and you can always come back to it when life is less hectic. Same goes for being a Jr Mod.

[/quote]

Well, I sent out an announcement for C.R.I.T, so I think I got that covered.

As far as my mod status goes...would that be okay? o.O I haven't really been much of a hand, anyway. Ah, man. xD I'm gonna have to go clean out my inbox, big time, I'll bet. It's just full of junk.