Should I go to college or

[Cocolove]

or get some fun job to work 3 months a year so I can save enough money to live and eat healthy, and spend the other 9 months meditating/traveling/working on a life purpose. Then do that for maybe a decade or 5 years, before finding a long term life purpose. I'm 17 and really don't think I can figure out my life purpose yet, it's too soon. I like psychology but I don't need to go to college for 8 years and get into a bunch of debt to learn it, information is free. The only thing that would get me is a place as a professor or a clinical license, aka safety nets and not my full potential.

thoughts?

[Wyatt]

Good luck finding a job that you only have to work 3 months and still pay for all your survival needs for the year, let alone traveling and anything else enjoyable. Most people work their ass off every weekday of the year and still barely have enough. 

You don’t have to find your one true life purpose at this very moment. It’s like thinking that you’re going to find your soul-mate next week. Even if you did, you’d probably be too inexperienced and ignorant to realize it. You need more experience and practice to see what relationships and people work well with you and which ones don’t, and you’ll evolve along the way. Same exact thing with your life purpose. Give something a try that seems like it fits you well and feels right, and readjust your course if it’s not.

Hope this helps!

[mandyjw]

Which option makes you feel lighter and freer? Pretend that you already picked one and judge the feeling of each. What can't you try the option to take a year for yourself and see how it goes by the end? You can always go to college after that year. College is a huge investment and it's one you want to make when you are 100% sure it's what you want. There's a lot of societal pressure to go to college and it can be easier to go rather than answer to all the questions and judgement of others. That's the wrong reason to go. Laziness and apathy are the wrong reasons not to go. Make sure that whichever option you choose, you choose it because it makes your soul feel lighter.

[Girzo]

On 10.04.2019 at 2:56 AM, Cocolove said:

thoughts?

Very similar to yours. 

On 10.04.2019 at 2:56 AM, Cocolove said:

some fun job to work 3 months a year so I can save enough money to live

I have done some research and calculation into that, it turns out to be more like 6 months to earn enough. Good work opportunities are in a summer-resort type of cities or big ones where you can find an easy night job. Those pay better and sometimes allow you to read books, listen to audiobooks, etc.

[Elisabeth]

@Cocolove Any other fields of study besides psychology you would consider?

My thoughts are, if you are 17 and healthy, do challenge yourself. Absolutely don't go for the easy option. Good colleges are very much a challenge and it's worth doing it. But maybe traveling, starting a business, meditation retreats etc. are an equal or bigger challenge.

It's healthy to put all your energy into a worthwhile endeavor, even if that doesn't turn out to be your life purpose. 

In the 5 years that are ahead of you, you're pretty much the best shape you'll ever be to master something difficult. That's why people are being put through an INTENSE training in college to become doctors or mathematicians or actors with high levels of expertise. 

It's ok to take a gap year, but don't throw away those formative years. Teach your brain to think and work at it's best, even under duress. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Elisabeth