How can I help a person find themselves?

Question

I am from the Philadelphia area and someone close to me is approaching college age. They are about 90% certain that they are going to college, but have no interest in putting forth any academic effort. This has largely been the result of the friends that this person keeps; they are not interested in anything, and their attitude has started to rub off. Thankfully the individual in question will not be seeing them anymore for the time being, and I want to use this time to help this person explore academic areas that might interest this person.

I do not want to force this individual into any field, but I want this person to have an idea of what each academic major offers. Perhaps this person has great interests in a particular field that went unexpressed while with this group of friends (or as I think of them- thugs). I cannot say, but I want this to be done in a way that seems nonchalant, ie- going to a museum.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Good for you for wanting to do this for this individual! You just have to be careful not to push too hard, so that they end up resenting your interference. You can't really provide them with a whole range of possible majors without doing this, so the main point is to make them realize the advantages of going to college. For one thing, the more people they meet who have gone to college and been successful, especially if those people are of similar age to this person and from a similar background, the better. I used to be a Big Sister in Philadelphia, and I found that often my Littles thought that only White people like me could benefit from college, so I made sure I introduced them to my friends who had backgrounds more in line with their own. Unfortunately, when someone has been involved in a thug life, it is often things which seem most important initially. They will look up to someone who is driving a fancy car or wearing name brand clothing, and probably won't think much of the nice person who went to college to become an elementary school teacher and is struggling financially.

Answer 2

best thing you can do is just be encouraging and supportive. Alot of people enter college with only a vague idea of what they want to do with their time there.

Suggest to your friend that he register for classes that interest him, once he starts classes and gets a feel for college, he might have a better idea of what he would like to pursue.