Best thing I ever did! Feb 04 '00    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet College is a stressful time in anyones life. The lack of money and increase in responsibilities can really get to you. Add to that the fact that you are living in an entirely different environment and you have to make choices that will effect the rest of your life. For me, I started college at 17. I had wanted to be a Dr since birth and I saw college as the true start of that goal. I was so excited to go! I was leaving home and making my own life! For me, there was a lot to that. For my parents, females didn't get and education. The job of a female was to stay at home and serve her man in any way she was needed. Thus, I had to do college on my own-no financial or emotional support at all. This is a huge thing when you are 17. Added onto that, when I hit college I realized I really didn't fit in with other freshman (and of course I was in the freshman dorm.) I came from a very poor family and my only way out was through educating myself. Thus, I put a lot of energy into my own education. It was more important to me than drinking or having a relationship. This really didn't earn me any friends. The cost of college nearly knocked me over. When I had to by a calculator for $125 my freshman year I just about cried. Add that on to tuition and room and board and I was broke. I had three part time jobs along with a full class load. I never slept. I never ate because I could never make it to the dining area in time for meals. I lost 40# in the first two months of school-making me a whole 100#. When I did get a chance to eat I usually ended up getting sick due to an upset stomach due to stress. I was fanatical about keeping my grades up. I did get a part scholarship that helped with my tuition, but I had to maintain a 3.5 GPA to keep it. This was very hard to do since I had all those jobs and was taking pre-med classes. Well, this went on for three years. I developed an eating disorder and put myself through severe sleep deprivation. I started having seizures due to the stress I was putting on my body. It was then that I hit a point were I couldn't take it any more. I had to take time off (in part to make money for more school.) That year off was the best thing I had ever done. I got married to a wonderful man, which took some of the financial burden off me. I worked through the eating disorder thing. I really sat down and decided if I wanted to do the Dr thing or if I could be happy doing something else (I am currently a dietitian with the option of applying to med school later on if I want). Most importantly, the year off really put things in perspective for me. When I left college I hated it. I no longer appreciated it and felt it was a prison that trapped me (I had a lot of student loans at that point as well). I had no life and school had just taken me over. In that year I found that I really enjoyed learning, I just couldn't handle the situation I was in. I needed to remind myself of this joy I got from learning to truly get through another two years of school. When I went back, things were so much better. I still maintained the grades I had before leaving, but it was almost effortless. I enjoyed just the entire process so much more. Thus, it is my advice to those who are truly burned out by school to take a year off. Try not to take more than that off, but a year is the perfect time to refresh yourself.

Read all comments (1)|Write your own comment

Write an essay on this topic.