I made a In the Moment decision to go back to college after getting kicked out for failing last year. It burned me pretty hard and I had no desire to go back ever again. But… the course is what I REALLY wanna do in life. I’m just so concerned I’ll fail again and will be the family fuck up once again.
I’m so worried. I’m having a million doubts right now.
4 comments
I screwed up in college. I never graduated, but I picked up a trade, so, things worked out. However, not going to college has fucked me over through the years. I applied to the Peace Corp (digging wells and latrines for people who don’t even have a grade school education), but because I didn’t have a degree, they didn’t want me. I’ve been passed over in the workforce and not hired for positions I could have done because of no college degree. The college degree doesn’t make you any smarter or capable, but it’s the ‘key’ to get into the club.
Also, when I was in school I didn’t really know how to study. There are techniques to effective studying. Probably all over the internet now, but back in my day, maybe I should have gotten a tutor? Get a tutor, get help studying. It’s worth the effort.
I really understand what you’re saying. That’s something that I’ve been drilling into my head that I NEED to go. I’m just so stubborn and hard headed.
Who cares if you’re the family fuck up if you are following your dream? Or at least taking those steps to follow the dream career of your choice. Things are tough at first, but you got to go through the shit to get to the good stuff. If your familys opinions matter that much to you then you have to go back, to prove them wrong and turn there cheeks. Nothing is easy, but you know how to prepare yourself for this now, since youve done it before. I have full confidence in you, even if you don’t, and Ill lend you an open ear and mind anytime to help you get through it if youd like.
This may be one of the few areas I have a little qualification to give advice, since I also got thrown out of college the first time but then went to another college and graduated. It’s normal to have doubts. My suggestion is to analyze just what the problem was last time. Was there something distracting you and keeping you from concentrating? Were you just not putting enough time in? Were there specific problems you had understanding the material? Whatever the problem was, take steps to try to keep it from happening again.
Try not to put off reading/homework. It’s important to keep up from the very beginning. Talk to your instructors, let them know you care about learning, tell them that you’re really interested in what they’re teaching. Ask questions about things you don’t understand. Show up at their office hours. It can even make a difference where you sit in the classroom–up front is usually better.
Talk to the other students. Some classes are more oriented towards group study than others, but it’s always worth getting some input from your fellow students.
Depending on where you are and what you’re studying, there may be all sorts of extra resources available. Free tutoring for math, writing centers that can look over drafts of papers, etc. Ask around to see what’s available, and take advantage of it.
If you get a bad grade on a test or something, that won’t necessarily be a disaster that destroys your college career. It’s important not to give up after something like that happens. Instead, try to figure out what went wrong and how you can do better next time. I recommend talking to your instructor in that situation–not so much to complain about your grade, but to say “what should I do differently to do better in the future?”
In a lot of classes, you’ll be given a ton of information to deal with. It’s important to sift through that information and figure out what’s most important and what’s less important. You might even write out two pages or so and say “these are what seem to be the central points of the material.” Don’t ignore the rest, of course, but it really helps to know what the key points are.
I’ve known several other people like me who did better the second time around. So, yes, it’s possible.