I don't know what to do with my life (HELP)

You hiring?

 

I have a 15 year old. He doesn't know what he wants to do yet, but his interests are baseball and music.

The jury is out on whether or not baseball can get him an education, so I don't discourage it. He is learning to be part of a team and the competition will toughen him up a bit. He has natural raw talent and is far more athletic than most of his peers. He is almost 6 feet tall and weighs 165 lbs.

As a freshman in high school, he is most accomplished in music. He was one of the top saxophone players in the region last year. Many of the upper classmen are upset that he made the top band as a freshman. He sleeps with his saxophone and practices at least 2 hrs/day. He is already learning to play songs he hears on the radio by ear. He has learned to play 3 different saxophones and wants to learn flute this Summer using his mom's flute. His goal is to be 1st chair during his sophomore year. He is considering being a music major and ultimately, a band director. It doesn't pay great, but it is a steady, respectable job with Summers and holidays off. Texas teachers can opt out of social security here and choose the Teachers Retirement System instead. It pays far better than S.S..

He may not pursue a career in either discipline, but scholarships can be had with either skill and he can use them to pursue whatever career field he decides. He still has 3 1/2 years before college.



My oldest is 23. He is very smart, but couldn't decide on what to study in college. Because he didn't know, he attended junior college for 2 years. He still didn't know what he wanted to do, so he went into the military. He is learning job skills, discipline, and office politics. He has educational benefits that he can use to finish his college in whatever field he decides. It's not the easiest way to finish college, but it's what I also did 23 years ago. I can't complain. I finished my B.S. degree 2 weeks after my oldest son was born while I was in the military. I'm not rich, but my wife has not needed to work outside the home since we married in 1991.

My 20 year old doesn't want any part of college. I told him that he would be happier with an education and have a better job, but he doesn't want it. He works hard on a ranch.(cowboy) He loves the outdoors and working with the animals. It doesn't pay well, but he likes it and is saving his money. I wanted him to work smart, but am happy that at least he works hard and honestly.

Here is my family about 18 months ago. My youngest(in the middle) is now 4 inches taller.


Good luck with whatever you chose to do and study hard. Very few have so much talent that they don't need to work at it. Those that don't work at it end up unhappy.

 

Go with German and English as your language studies...

... Latin and French, while being the romantic languages...

... are not as demanded in the marketplace.

Economics is a good field of study...

... and applicable in the marketplace...

... no matter what your political leanings.

 

Sup gal. Not sure if you're still reading this forum, and you definitely have a big decision ahead of you. It's hard for me to really weigh in because these are college-level decisions you're making and our education system over here didn't really put it in those stark terms until we were 18(and even then, personally I only entered college at age 20. Nothing holding me back really, I just needed a break.)

I will say from personal experience that doing too much, too soon literally fries your brain and ends up making you make mistakes. It'll also cut into free time and you'll surely want to have some of that. Everyone needs a break in life. So yeah, if I were you I'd only major in one category, maybe two if you feel up to that but whatever you feel your limits are, don't exceed them. It's not worth it.

Now then honestly, which one? Major caveat: I'm not you. So in the end, all I can give is my opinion. Your smarts, quirks and versatility lets you choose any one of them but with my own bias: Economics. Why? Because nothing is more important than knowing the financial system, knowing how to budget and prioritize in your life(as well as how to make money.)

All of that other stuff? It can be learned in time. But to have a head start on our financial system(whether it's the European one or the US one) is a huge advantage. And as far as bilingual languages are concerned, I'd say to learn the ones that give you that edge. Some might say English, but I'm going to go on a curve ball: Latin. How many can truly speak Latin? If you learn that, it'll be a unique skill for you personally and that'll be huge on the market.

Again, you can learn English any time. Hell, if you want me to be your personal teacher(LOL), I'd do it for free. But Latin? Rare opportunity that'll give you more opportunities to make more money. I know it sucks, and probably doesn't fit in with your philosophy but to live in this world: Money talks. So I'm just giving the advice with the highest probability of making the most cash.

Of course, I could be wrong but those are my two cents from if I could do my own education all over again. Pick a topic you love, pick a topic that you can make a profitable career off of, and go from there.

 

Cosmology's a good thing to get into these days.

 

See my post #14 again.....Good Luck

 

I have gotten the impression from your writing that you could do a great job as
a video journalist or any type of writer that you wish to become.

If you can get people to ask better questions........
it is amazing how this can inspire a group of people
to go off in a direction that benefits their life as well as the lives of many others impacted by their beliefs and views.

I am convinced that the world is going to transition over to truly green sources of energy over the next
century. Your impact on hundreds and later thousands and even millions of people could be extremely helpful in the facilitation of this trend.

You could do this as a hobby that fitted in with whichever field of study you finally decide on.

I should leave you with an alternative theory on climate change that I keep promoting
all over the internet since I first read this.


http://www.politicalforum.com/envir...847-drought-california-how-solve-problem.html

Drought in California, how to solve the problem?

.....
I believe that people in California should begin to think a bit outside the box and
consider a theory put forward by a New Mexico biology teacher and coach
Carl Cantrell:

 

It might be some consolation to read our friend AboveAlpha's theories on Multiverse.....
because one of the probable implications is that over the next ten time lines that branch out of the years
2017 - 2020 you could well choose five very different directions to go in those possible futures......

alternate time lines.......

I think that it is therapeutic to realize that the old adage....." You only live once!" is quite likely incorrect.......
a panorama of choices ahead of you...... each of which has true and eternal value is more probable.....

and rather encouraging in many ways.


http://www.politicalforum.com/relig...osophical-implications-multiverse-theory.html
The Philosophical implications of Multiverse Theory?
I have suspected for about fifteen years that that time is not limited to being one straight line but instead branches.

Over in another thread I just received a very specific and pretty amazing explanation for this that is in the language spoken by high level theoretical physicists.

If........ you and I have been thinking seriously about changing our diet, becoming more physically active, well now we have another possible motivator?!

The new and improved version of you and I may well get to live out life over and over and over again many times over nearly infinite time in the future, for each time that a moment within our lifetime is recreated and time is spun off in a new possible direction based on different choices that we are all free to make?!

Many near death experiencers verify non-linear time.......

http://www.near-death.com/experiences/notable/howard-storm.html#a06