Is it normal i'm having an identity crisis at 21?

Let me explain.

I'm 21 and have always been a good student (honors from the time they started awarding that title to graduation from high school). But when I got to college, I all of a sudden realized how many other people there are in the same place as I am all trying to do the same thing, the same way. It drives me nuts and angers me and saddens me and makes me feel hopeless all at once. My school has 15,000 students and it truly is like I am a little fish in a huge pond.

So going in freshmen year, I was too focused on engineering and ROTC to really notice all the other people and I was happy sort of. I did things and went out and felt proud to be ROTC because that set me apart from 99.9% of the rest of the population. I flunked 2 out of 4 classes (got Ds in the other 2) and was suspended until the next Fall.

I came back and did okay. It is now 2 years later, and I am getting more and more frustrated with being at school. Not only because I should be graduating in a couple months but also because I have NO idea what I want to do. To make it worse, I am just one of those students with a BULLSHIT Liberal Arts degree. On top of this is the fact that I am only taking 2 classes right now when I should be taking 4 and I have not attended either all year.

I blame this partially due to working 4 days a week back home which is a couple hours drive (the pay is worth it) but mainly because I am sick of being like every other goddamn college student just trying to get that fucking piece of shit paper that SOMEHOW entitles me to a job that I wasn't able to previously do before. I mean come the fuck on.

I believe the college system to be a system that just wants to make money and nothing else. The more kids with college degrees equals more money and this all equals a degree that is getting watered down.

So I am sick of everyone else and have become a recluse at school (something I have NEVER been before) where I leave my room to eat and go to the bathroom as well as leave to go home on the weekends. I still have 2 months to fix my class issue but I have NO motivation to do so just because I think it is bullshit that I need a degree to prove to employers I am worthy of a job.

I am considering just dropping out or probably better yet delaying my enrollment for up to a year so I can nix this semester and come back in the Fall.

My biggest worry is that should I drop out/fail out my parents would disown me and I would have nowhere to go even though I have never ever given them a tough time and have been a GOLDEN child for them. They just wouldn't understand.

What should I do and have others felt this way?

Voting Results
85% Normal
Based on 47 votes (40 yes)
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Comments ( 12 )
  • Avant-Garde

    The American higher education system does seem to be for profit more so than actually giving a shit about middle and lower class people. This is partially why I have been looking into Canadian Universities.

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  • Jfdp

    "College taking money" Dead f8cking right! ive known dozens of people who would make great undergrad, honours and even masters students but who have to stick with a job at the local supermarket because their parents don't have the money and they cant apply for a scholarship because they don't meet the exact right criteria

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  • Gspyder

    'm 21 and had the same "crisis" you described before this semester. I literally dropped all my classes and planned to take off for a while and try to find a job. Then with some counsel from others this is what i decided and what I recommend for you:

    Find out what you like to do and aim for the degree that will make you good money doing it. Then go for it and don't look back. Once you have an education it can never be taken from you.

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  • semenandgarspunkel

    nice

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    • RoseIsabella

      Indeed.

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  • pixie_dust

    21? puh-leez ur a baby

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  • Naughty_rascal

    Perfectly normal, You settle at 25 and think you got a handle on it. Then you hit 30 and it all falls apart again. By around 38 your sure you got it all figured out. You know what you want. Then 41 hits and you realize your on a downward count now. Here comes that crisis again, we call this one 'mid-life'. Leave your wife, go traveling, live in the woods, whatever. When you get to this end of the spectrum life is nothing but Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock. We are running out of time. There is no escape, logic or reason. Welcome to the world of 'grown ups'
    Wanna know a secret? Non of the 'grown ups' know what they are doing either. They just look like they do, it's an illusion. Sshhh!

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  • thegypsysailor

    Funny, this is often how star high school athletes feel when they get to college, too.
    You ARE just a little fish in a big pond now, as you most likely will be for the rest of your life in the REAL world, especially if you don't complete your education.
    High school was EASY compared to life.
    Grow a back bone and do what must be done, or look back at the first time you quit when things got tough, as the beginning of all your REAL problems.

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    • Karmasbitch

      This guy knows for sure

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      • thegypsysailor

        I've seen it SO many times. Down and out, no money, no trade, no education, coming down to the docks looking for work on a boat, because there's usually something to eat and someplace to sleep on the boat, if you work there.

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        • Karmasbitch

          One of my worst fears laid out in a couple of sentences

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  • GiveMeAFuckingNameAlready!

    Normal and it lasts the rest of your life. Welcome to adulthood.

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