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noodle654

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jun 2, 2005
2,070
22
Never Ender
Im turning 17 in September and I just started to notice where I am heading. I am going to be a Junior this year and I was just thinking that I have to take the SAT, the ACT, HSPA, and PSAT. On top of that I have to look at colleges. It really makes me wonder where my early teens went. I think the best times I had were when I was 15 and 16. Now being almost 17 and driving, it just seems like time flew by. I really am not looking forward to being a Junior and I am worried, I feel like I am not going to have a life. I am getting tutoring from Kaplan, I have school work, I am in my schools Jazz band which competes all over the US, and I just want to relax. I feel like I wont have time to do anything and it seems like I am throwing my life away with school.

Does anybody else feel this way with school?
 

MacGeek7

macrumors 6502a
Aug 25, 2007
766
14
Yeah - I felt that way before...but as you keep going the feeling kinda eases. Now I look back and regret not taking advantage of the opportunities in life. Recently my grandfather unexpectedly passed away and that has shown me how fragile life really is.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
 

DeaconGraves

macrumors 65816
Apr 25, 2007
1,289
2
Dallas, TX
Trust me, if, at the end of your days, you look back and your high schools days were the best of your life, you probably missed out on a lot (granted, that doesn't mean they can't rank highly, but that just there's much more out there as well).

Responsibility is a bitch, and you're only going to encounter more (says the law student who should be studying for a final as opposed to posting on MR all night), but with those obligations come a lot more opportunities in life. Embrace them.
 

iToaster

macrumors 68000
May 3, 2007
1,742
0
In front of my MacBook Pro
I know how you feel. I just turned 17 recently and have been thinking about what happens next. At least I'm not wondering where all those years went while I'm laying on my death bed... yet :D.
 

insanepilot

macrumors newbie
Jul 18, 2008
18
0
Mt. City, TN
at least go to college! i'm just a year older than you, 18, and going to Pensacola Christian. i sort of had those type of feelings. sometimes still do. I feel like everything is going crazy, trying to get a job and work college, but if you put your mind to it, you can do most anything. so my advice is to grit you teeth, study hard for the tests, take em, and pass them with flying colors, and rewards like scholarships and a better chance at a job via better resume will follow. oh, and enjoy your junior and senior years. they are like no other!
 

ErikCLDR

macrumors 68000
Jan 14, 2007
1,795
0
Yea, I am 17 too.

Seriously I miss the days of innocence and never having to worry about anything. Looking back I really wished I had cherished moments more.

Now everyones all grown up, busy, working, tons of drama, lots of stress, and there is still many many years of life to live.
 

dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,414
5,137
NYC
Yea, I am 17 too.

Seriously I miss the days of innocence and never having to worry about anything. Looking back I really wished I had cherished moments more.

Heh - just wait. It gets worse. LOTS worse! :)

I turn 30 on Sunday. Someone kill me now.
 

jsm4182

macrumors 6502
Apr 3, 2006
346
12
Beacon, NY
Right now I feel how you're gonna feel 4 years from now which is also gonna be very similar. About 2 hours ago I turned 21. And exactly 10 months, 1 day, and 12 hours from now I will be graduating from college.

From where you are now until past where I am now its all about making choices, you just gotta hope you've made the right ones. I think I've made some very good choices so far and am just trying not to screw it up.
 

cycocelica

macrumors 68000
Apr 28, 2005
1,801
4
Redmond, WA
The SAT and ACT didnt take up much of my time. I guess it depends on how much you put into them.

I would say do what you love. These are your best years and ones you dont want to look back on and think, why didnt I do that? Seriously, if you are enjoying high school now, when you go off to college you will miss it. Like I said, do what makes you happy because like you said, these years will be gone before you know it.

College is a whole other story though.
 

vniow

macrumors G4
Jul 18, 2002
10,266
1
I accidentally my whole location.
Does anybody else feel this way with school?


Yes. I ****ing hate school. Always have. I'm a very hands on kind of learner and don't do well with studying or theory and whatever else school threw at me. I'm going to community college right now to either a) get enough credits to transfer to a 4 year university or b) get my associates and quit. I'm not worried about not having a bachelor's if I want to make a decent living, I'm already doing that and have the potential to go further in this direction.

I would echo above and go to college, although don't be pressured to go right away. I know from my own experience that going to college right after HS would have been a complete disaster. I simply was not ready for the commitment to really be into school as much as I needed to be. I would have dropped out within several months. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

I'm 24 and while I see a lot of people my age who have already graduated or going to grad school, I know of a lot who are doing something completely different than what they have a degree in and feel that a lot of the time spent there was a waste. Whenever I feel inadequate due to my lack of a bachelor's compared to much if my peer group, I then realise that I'm happy with my career and outlook on life, not all of my friends are.
 

iShater

macrumors 604
Aug 13, 2002
7,025
464
Chicagoland
Heh - just wait. It gets worse. LOTS worse! :)

I turn 30 on Sunday. Someone kill me now.
It isn't that bad, it is all mental ;)

When I was in my late 20's my mom said that my 30's would be much better. I am now 34 and wow was she correct! Happy birthday and welcome 30 with open arms! :)
The club isn't bad is it? :p


OP, don't skimp on your education, you need it to ensure that you compete in the work place and get a decent job. I actually loved HS and my college days. I went to my college reunion a little over a month ago, and I sure do miss those days. But, now that I am back to my "normal" life, sure like being married and having a home :eek:
 

Silver-Fox

macrumors 65816
Jan 8, 2007
1,091
2
England
Yea, I am 17 too.

Seriously I miss the days of innocence and never having to worry about anything. Looking back I really wished I had cherished moments more.

Now everyones all grown up, busy, working, tons of drama, lots of stress, and there is still many many years of life to live.

Lots of stress at 17????

Im 18 its pretty damn good
 

dukebound85

macrumors Core
Jul 17, 2005
19,118
4,096
5045 feet above sea level
Yea, I am 17 too.

Seriously I miss the days of innocence and never having to worry about anything. Looking back I really wished I had cherished moments more.

Now everyones all grown up, busy, working, tons of drama, lots of stress, and there is still many many years of life to live.

lol you guys havent even been to college yet!

by the way, 17 is still pretty young. people say that about 23 too and its true haha
 

iDAG

macrumors 65816
Sep 9, 2007
1,064
0
Athens, Ohio
Im turning 17 in September and I just started to notice where I am heading. I am going to be a Junior this year and I was just thinking that I have to take the SAT, the ACT, HSPA, and PSAT. On top of that I have to look at colleges. It really makes me wonder where my early teens went. I think the best times I had were when I was 15 and 16. Now being almost 17 and driving, it just seems like time flew by. I really am not looking forward to being a Junior and I am worried, I feel like I am not going to have a life. I am getting tutoring from Kaplan, I have school work, I am in my schools Jazz band which competes all over the US, and I just want to relax. I feel like I wont have time to do anything and it seems like I am throwing my life away with school.

Does anybody else feel this way with school?

I've been thinking about my future somewhat lately. I'm also going to be a junior this year in high school. First are all of those tests that you talk about that I do worry about being way to hard for anyone to take. Also college is coming up, but I think that college visits are a waste of time. Then there is my girlfriend of over eight months. I've never had a relationship last this long and we are both happy together and have no reason to break up so I need to figure out how to keep that going if it does last high school.
 

themadchemist

macrumors 68030
Jan 31, 2003
2,820
0
Chi Town
Embrace it. Embrace the work, embrace the stress, embrace the times to relax. Throw yourself into things you love and throw yourself into things you have to do. Go crazy. It feels good. :p

(I couldn't decide whether this post was facetious or serious. It's a little bit of both. I suggest you go watch Batman instead of letting these things overwhelm you. You'll manage them as they come--take them one at a time).
 

Killyp

macrumors 68040
Jun 14, 2006
3,859
7
Yeh I feel the same way, and always have while I'm at school.

I hate school, I've always done badly because there are few or no people there who have much in common with me, and also because I'm not a 'sit down and learn from repetition' kinda person. I only manage to grasp things by getting hands on, and school doesn't give you that capability.

My parents say school is about showing you can apply yourself, but from what I can tell, the industry I'm going into doesn't really care about being able to apply yourself when it comes to describing the flow of chemicals inside a plant. Fat lot of use school has turned out to be...
 

Melrose

Suspended
Dec 12, 2007
7,806
399
I was home schooled and dropped out early. No diploma, no GED... I don't consider myself all that stunted.

I can see your point about 'throwing your life away at school,' and while I agree some education is necessary, it's not mandatory to invest so much to get a good job. I think there's a balance to be struck in education of all sorts.

It's cool getting a textbook and learning something new, though. I just ordered a book on Flash Video production and am looking forward to digging into AS a bit. The feeling of having your brain hop with new stuff is great, but wearing if it's too much.. obv. Maybe it's just the feeling of learning, not necessarily what I'm learning about that does it..
 

me_94501

macrumors 65816
Jan 6, 2003
1,009
0
Im turning 17 in September and I just started to notice where I am heading. I am going to be a Junior this year and I was just thinking that I have to take the SAT, the ACT, HSPA, and PSAT. On top of that I have to look at colleges. It really makes me wonder where my early teens went. I think the best times I had were when I was 15 and 16. Now being almost 17 and driving, it just seems like time flew by. I really am not looking forward to being a Junior and I am worried, I feel like I am not going to have a life. I am getting tutoring from Kaplan, I have school work, I am in my schools Jazz band which competes all over the US, and I just want to relax. I feel like I wont have time to do anything and it seems like I am throwing my life away with school.

Does anybody else feel this way with school?

I felt that way too. High school wasn't too bad for me. It wasn't until college that I really began to dread school.

Moderation is the key, I think. I took 2 AP classes in my junior year while others I knew took 4 or 5. I joined maybe 2 clubs while some I knew joined 5 or 6. As for extracurriculars, I think it's better to get really involved in a few activities than padding your résumé. Which do you think looks better to admissions officers? You will want to make yourself stand out in some way, and I honestly don't think solely a large number of activities is the answer, especially when thousands of other applicants are doing the same thing. Also, find activities you enjoy, not ones you're doing just because they look good on a sheet of paper.

I was a good student, but I refused to join the rat race. I had a GPA in the 3.6-3.7 range, as opposed to 4.0+. I took the SAT only once, and scored OK, but not great. I didn't get into the school I wanted to go to right away, but instead I was enrolled into a program where if I maintained a certain GPA in junior college I would be guaranteed admission. Two years later, I got admitted. I graduated in Fall 2006 with a BA in English.

So i guess the take-away message here is to make your education a priority, but not to over-burden yourself (which it sounds like you're doing). What I did may not work for everyone, so listen to what your parents have to say. Listen to what your teachers and counselors have to say. And then listen to yourself. Somewhere in there you'll figure out what's best for you.

And you're only 17. You're still young. You'll have the rest of your life to stress out about work, bills, the mortgage, traffic, maintaining a home, kids, and so on. Why start any earlier than you have to?

Anyway, that's my take. I think education is by far the most important component of our society, but what some people demand from kids these days is obscene and just plain wrong IMHO.
 
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