Is college an answer?

Question

I was an over acheiver in highschool I have dotted every "i" and crossed every "t". I have gone through hell (worse) to do so, and it almost cost me my life (overworked by highschool). Knowing this I took comunity college and failed misrirably at it. (take me 10 hours per assignment, however it was easier than highschool which I had way too many assignments in one night).I have never taken the full SAT (took psat 4 times and did very horrible everytime, so why waste money) I have ADHD and dyslexia and it takes me hours beyond hours more time to finish what the average person does. Half of the bad habbits I have picked up (drinking,meds for stress,smoking) all were the product of my stress in highschool. My best friends want me to apply at a college they are going to. Should I apply? I dont wana be working low budget jobs all my life, but I feel if I get that same stress again I may even retort violently( in highschool I resorted to suicide as a solution for being less than perfect)

Answer 1

Have you found a hobby or some other pastime that you excel at? If you have, stick with it. I have not been in your specific situation, but I know that it helps a whole lot to know that you are good at at least one thing -- especially when it seems as though you might not be good at anything else. So if you haven't found anything to excel at, I would suggest finding that out before heading to college. Have you tried painting? Theater? Photography? Cooking? Taking care of children? The list goes on.
Universities are usually more stress, more work, and more distraction than community college. Take a break, find some hobbies, and then when you feel like you have a bit more experience, head to college. If you want to be near your friends, consider moving with them to the same town as the college, so you can still hang out with them and perhaps even take one class a semester or something (at some universities, you can "audit" a course -- you get no credit and you aren't graded, but you learn and sometimes it is even free. It might give you an idea of what college is like.). Whatever happens, don't give up. Plenty of history's most famous "smart people" had learning disabilities.

I'm sorry you have struggled with suicide. If you haven't seen a counselor about it, I suggest you do, they are trained with how to help you see alternate ways of dealing with stress.

Good luck and I wish you the best!

Answer 2

First: Like another answer said, make sure you are getting the professional help you need, no matter what you decide to do. You have people who want to help you be happy, too. Know who they are and call them whenever you need to.

About college, now:

Do you have a good understanding, not only of what went wrong in high school, but in community college, too? Are you confident that you are beyond those issues now, or that you can deal with them and be successful?

If not, I say do NOT go back to school yet. You don't want to put yourself back into that situation until you've gained the skills and self-esteem to handle it. Keep working on yourself, and do it when you're ready.

My situation was very, very similar to yours. (ADHD, horrible first college experience, even the suicide attempt.) I worked for several years after dropping out of college. I actually gained lots of really valuable skills, progressed and even developed a pretty good career over the next few years.

When I returned to college at age 25, I was a completely different person. Several years in the real world had made me much more emotionally stable, and all that work experience gave me the drive and even study skills I hadn't had when I was younger. It's been a great experience.

DISCLAIMER: Just because it worked for me, doesn't mean it will work for you! Too many people put off going back to college, and never get around to doing it.

If you do decide not to go to college with your friends: are these your friends from high school? Do you also have friends who are doing what you're doing right now, working instead of college? For me, it's a really important support system. Having friends on the same "life track" helps me remember that a different path isn't better or worse...it's just different.

Answer 3

The clear resonance of emotional misery you express without doubt calls for you to seek professional medical and/or psychiatric help. I cannot fathom the misery you've gone through, but I do hope you find positive safe relief from it all and begin enjoying life very soon.

Only after a given period of productive positive professional therapy in addressing your mind and heart's innermost misery would I even then ponder on higher education.

Your issues are not unique; I've known many envied "super students", who for their personal reasons hid and carried painful emotional torments that only grew worse with time unattended professionally.

Please bear in mind too I know two college degreed people- who earned impressive degree(s) and GPA, but to this day are stuck in aimless jobs far worse than my own--where I earn a larger salary than they do with my humble BA degree.

And I can tell you this: ANY college degree does NOT guarantee comfortable enjoyed personal / financial success. One's success comes from their enjoyed passion of their life's work; for them, such happiness far outshines large materialistic wealth.

That city bus driver may never come home to a mansion set in an exclusive high-scale neighborhood, millions of $$$$ in his bank account--enjoying all the fun perks and trimmngs of such wealth. But he or she truly enjoys the impressive skill they have handling a big rig transport bus because they're the best among their fellow bus drivers--and they know it. Meeting all sorts of people during their workday addresses that need they've had for years prior to meet, interact and study how people carry on.

Through their humble work, they may get more from an average workday driving a bus than any dedicated Ph.D sociologist--studying people in an college setting.

Answer 4

Apply to college. And there are MANY programs -- free ones -- that specialize in ADHD students. Don't give up, and don't expect perfection from yourself. Give yourself some credit for even thinking about college, and get some FREE community help for your self-esteem issues. You'll do fine. Truly. Don't ever give up on education -- it can truly take you places.