Quitting School Is Not The End Of The World
When I was 20 years old I did the unthinkable. I quit school.
I had been attending university for 2 years and I did not know what I was doing. I had ideas. I had a lot of ideas in the 2 years I was in academia. I was going to be a teacher, a child psychiatrist, an anthropologist, a nutritionist, and the list goes on and on. Ultimately, I did not know what I wanted and until I figured that out school was getting me nowhere. At the end of my 2 year sample of everything university had to offer I quit.
I faced the usual throwback from family and friends. I was told that quitting school would ruin my life, that I would never make above minimum wage, that I would never return to school again, that I would have goblin children, etc. None of this turned out to be true.
After quitting school I began working at a call center and quickly became a supervisor. This helped me realize that I was really interested in business, particularly human resources. It was also while I was working there that many of my friends started graduating. They were graduating with huge debts and no jobs. I decided then that I would return to university, but not until I could afford it on my own.
I am now 3 years into a double major in Business Commerce and Religious Studies. I eventually decided on Marketing as opposed to Human Resources but it was in working that I found direction. While quitting school isn’t the path for everyone it is definitely what I needed to find the right career for me. I am now on my work term and I am more certain than ever that I made the right decision. My life wasn’t ruined, I always made above minimum wage, I did return to school, and I never had goblin children (but that remains to be seen).
Tags: internship, marketing, seo, social media, Work term, workterm
March 18th, 2009 at 6:16 am
I wish I had goblin chilren …..
March 18th, 2009 at 6:18 am
You’re doing Religious Studies too? Now it’s all starting to make sense to me… lol. Nice post, good encouragement for people who are confused and afraid to step back and take time to get their life into perspective. Cheerz!
March 18th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Someday Alex. Just have regular children and force them to live under a bridge. You’ll see a transformation after a few years.
March 18th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
This is inspirationally Kelly especially now in 2009 with all the talk of a recession, so many people have this enormous resume of credentials , huge debt and a job they could of gotten without all the education. It really doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do something and if you enjoy it that’s a bonus :O) I’m going to get Ashley and Kim to visit your page. Keep up the blogging, I can’t wait to read more.
March 18th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Thank you Tina. Education does do a lot to get your foot in the door, but if you don’t like your career choice then it will ultimately show in your work.
March 19th, 2009 at 9:24 am
Hey Kelly. It is hard to know what you want to do for the rest of your life when you get out of high school. But the only way you’re going to find out is if you get out and try a few things out and see what’s the best fit. Doing this at a university, although sometimes enlightening, can be expensive and time consuming. Besides, you’re only limited to what the school offers. It’s good that you got out.
I mean, why not get paid to experiment with different lines of work instead paying to be told what to learn?
“Find something you love to do and get people to pay you for it.” -anon-
All the best
March 19th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Great Quote Paul! Thank you. I couldn’t agree more. Especially when you are young and receiving loans, it’s hard to understand how much you will have to pay back when it’s all over.
March 19th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
You needs to post more luh,
March 21st, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Great post Kelly… I couldn’t agree more. I’m also a university drop-out and I think it was one of the better decisions I’ve made. If you are really passionate about what you want to do you will do whatever it takes to learn that, on your own, via the internet or through whatever means necessary. Often times it’s something that doesn’t even fit one of the traditional job descriptions, or perhaps you want to specialize in something that isn’t even taught at most universities/colleges. Not to mention careers naturally evolve over the years so a couple of years into your career you could be doing something completely different from what you learned in school. What people need is the confidence and drive to learn things on their own and augment that with school/courses/certifications/etc.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Hi Kelly! Thanks for the great post! I know exactly what you’re saying, I quit school after 3 terms in ‘99, then as you know, went back in 2007 for two terms. I QUIT AGAIN! I’m now gainfully self-employed and living happily ever-after…the funniest part is that when I told my mom I was going back to have a crack at MUN for the second time she had this pearl of wisdom for me “you’re just wasting your money, don’t bother!”. I actually got a lot out of university the last time around: I learned about communication and that’s a huge huge part of my world now.
I’ll be blog-stalking you from now on
March 29th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Hi Kelly, Way to go. Usually when teens graduate high school and go right into university, they rarely know what they want to do with their life. You were very smart in the choices you made, and wanting to work to pay for your education instead of getting student loans is a wise choice. My grand-daughter did the same thing, worked,and saved her money for college. She didn’t want to be paying back student loans either,and she knew more of what she wanted to do with her life. I am very proud of her. You know what you want and you are going after it. Really enjoyed reading your blog, keep up the good work.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
I was going to be a teacher, a […….
Замечательно, это весьма ценное мнение…
April 11th, 2010 at 11:28 am
очень даже нечего . . . ….
I was going to be a teacher, a […….
May 3rd, 2010 at 11:14 am
На мой взгляд тема весьма интересна. Предлагаю всем активнее принять участие в обсуждении….
I was going to be a teacher, a […….
July 4th, 2010 at 12:14 am
Buy:Zovirax.Lumigan.Retin-A.Synthroid.Accutane.Nexium.Arimidex.100% Pure Okinawan Coral Calcium.Prednisolone.Prevacid.Zyban.Petcam (Metacam) Oral Suspension.Actos.Mega Hoodia.Human Growth Hormone.Valtrex….