4 years wasted?

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Hahaha, well it seems that after four years of high school I just might not make it out with a diploma after all this year! This is pretty depressing, because I've always done just enough to get by. However, this year I'm crashing in every aspect of school for some reason. Most distressing is the fact that my IQ suggests that I should be getting something around Valedictorian! I can't bear the thought of my friends graduating without me, the whole thing is just going to be one big shame spiral! I honestly have no idea what to do, bad stuff, truly bad stuff.

This is pretty much what happened to me, although being from the UK our education systems are slightly different.

It doesn't mean the end. Calm down. All of my friends are going off to University whilst I won't be able to for about 2 years or so, it's okay to be behind your friends.

Think about it rationally and look at alternative education options.

Ultimately, you should do what makes you happy rather than just what everyone else is doing.

Summer school could get you the credits to pass. That way, you'd just waste 3 months of your life instead of 4 years.

Well, the thing is that my parents are trying pretty hard to get me into the military now, and I just don't think that's right for me.

I recommend trusting your gut.

To avoid or reduce or shorten arguments with your parents, perhaps shift the focus to what you are interested in doing. 'I'm thinking about community college, then four-year college.'

Please make a reasonable effort these last couple of months, take some reasonable chances, and you might pass. As a fallback position, are you good at standardized tests and is the GED a possibility?

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And straight up, please give yourself the gift of considering medical school. Yes, really! For example, I could easily say, 'Okay, take this [Tamiflu]. Now, if you start to have trouble breathing, please come back and see me right away.' That's how you treat a patient with flu. Piece of cake, right? Flu is usually no big deal, but occasionally, occasionally it can lead to pneumonia. So just tell this to the patient.

Yes, you can do community college and then transfer to a four-year college. And any professional program, medicine, law, engineering, architecture, your high school grades hardly matter at all. It is your most recent grades in your last level of education.

Working at H&R Block was perhaps my most recent experience that helped me further develop appreciation of people. Now, it's an unethical company in that they don't really disclose the negatives of their financial products. But me working there, it was less unethical because I did disclose! The job also taught me to focus on the essentials, streamline, be open to real conversation that ping pongs back and forth.
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt114422.html
http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt147123.html
(Here are some of the other negatives. Realistically, a new person won't get the bonus and his or her job will last about four weeks. But it is real face-to-face interaction with a client. And if you don't inform the client that it is a loan application and that there is a risk of "cross-collection," he or she won't know. And if you don't do Earned Income Credit right or the new credit for homebuyers, it won't get done right. The job matters to real people.)

Other good experiences of mine are legitimate sales jobs and political activism.

Good luck. You're seventeen. There will be future upswings in the economy.


Note: NOT A DOCTOR. Am interested in medical journalism.

High school diplomas are pretty worthless with community colleges around.

you need a high school diploma to enter a community college though.


And no, OP you wont have wasted 4 years.. you WILL waste the rest of your life if you do not get it though.

Stop worrying about what your 'friends' will think... when high school is over chances are you will never see them again so really, why freak out over that? Worry about yourself; that means focus on getting that diploma and then focus on getting into university.

Aardvark, that was some solid advice. Thanks a lot for that, I'm feeling a bit better about this.