Choosing a career path.

I'm not even sure if I made a post like this before, but I'm having so much trouble. I'm a freshman in college (just started a month back). I cry a lot because all my friends (whom I just met) know what they're doing. And 1 friend keeps saying he's known what he wants to do his whole life, and the other 2 did too. 1 says it's a waste of money if I don't know and only STEM careers matter, and that I should know by now. However, I feel like my lack of quality schooling (detroit schools...), and my sheltered home life (never able to go anywhere) didn't expose me to enough so now I'm confused. I even lack basic knowledge of what most things are because of it. I feel stupid because everyone knows.

My major is media. I wanna be an animator for things like vid. games, or television. But I know I'm never confident in my skills, and feel like I never will gain any confidence. Or work somewhere like College Humor- some company like that. So I think I should pick something knowlege based rather than skills/creativity I guess? I don't know. I hate this. It really makes me believe I have no future and I rly hate living already.

Sorry if this is jumbled.

Being determined is one thing. But eventually, we all go through similar phases - you all go through college.
You seem to have passion for things which most people you met don't. Yet interesting to see you connect with people who study a parallel subject from what you learn.
But what's important is you have passion and a drive for what you want to do, and that's great for a career.
I'd give the year some time to see how I can fit in if I were you. And, since you've connected with STEM-driven people, you could gather information and learn about their world, too.

There is nothing wrong with Media, nor is there anything wrong with not being sure what you want to do at this point in time. The key right now is to do well at your current classes and explore other ideas. Talk to your advisor, talk to a career counselor, take some online assessments. Get involved in the community. I'll bet it will come to you, and if you decide that your current path is the wrong one, then shift. It will be ok, and don't let other people tell you that it's not or what you're doing is a waste of time or money.

Best of luck!

Hey tumblr,

I'm in my 30's and didn't know what I wanted to do until then so don't sweat it. My career ideas shifted a lot and I procrastinated whether to take the plunge. Seeing as how you are already in school for something, if you feel like Media really is not your thing and does not drive you you can always switch and explore other ideas. Perhaps taking a brief break from school to collect your thoughts about your career path could be beneficial for you.

It happens with many of us. We tend to have multiple options in our head when it comes to career. I think one must consult a career counselor or at least do a thorough research on what will be best career for him.

Hi tumblr.

I picked wrong major in my university time. My parents forced me. I never like my major. I ended up becoming a designer, something that I always wanted.

I think you should listen to both your head and heart.

Hope you can find it soon

I understand how you're feeling. I felt similar my freshman year. My first year of college was actually pretty awful. In addition to it being a big move (I went to school far away from home), it was just a rough transition in general - taking on harder material, having to meet new people, etc. It's only been a little while. It's normal to feel a little bit lost. It sucks, but my best advice is to give it some time.

Also - while it may seem like everyone knows what they want to do, I can pretty much guarantee you that isn't true. I had a lot of friends who were adamant that they were going to go to medical school, or they were going to vet school, or whatever. Do you know how many actually ended up continuing down that route? Like one. Almost all of them changed their majors at least once, and some even switched to an entirely different discipline (i.e. STEM to liberal arts). This time in your college career is time when you have the flexibility to try stuff out - see what you like, what you don't like. I went into college in love with biology. I took the first class of the general bio series at my university and hated it.

I know that it can be stressful to feel like you are the only one who doesn't have your life figured out. But you're not the only one who feels that way. As for picking a major for which you already have skills/knowledge, what would be the point of going to school if that were the case? College is the time when you can try new things, as I said. You're going to be one who completes all of the work. You might as well spend that effort and time doing something you enjoy. Any diploma you earn is going to require hard work, regardless of how much previous knowledge you bring to the table.