The Future

b3t4

The Future.

Ok, currently I'm a student but I am in my final year. Thing is that everything is starting to hit me all at once. I've a couple of interviews lined up, my final year project is getting no where fast, i've exam results hanging over my head, I've a meeting with my supervisor for my final year project next week and he is expecting a lot to be completed on my project which there isn't (I appear to be going around and around in circles with it). Basically my future is starting to pan out before me and I'm starting to feel like I'm loosing control. I'm also worrying about, god damn, everything, I do this anyways but I'm worse than usual.

Gah, basically I'm panicing and not sure what to do. Sorry if this doesn't make any sense. Can someone who was in a similar situation tell me how they coped? I know I'm over reacting and that everything will be fine but right now I feel awful.

OH and also, I've lost all passion for everything in my life. I don't like nor care for my course anymore when I used to love it. I don't have a passion for anything it seems apart from freaking myself out and panicing.

A.

Imposter

I think you're just panicking/stressing over the amount of work you have to do. Write a list of what you need to do in the next month say. Plan how much time you need to spend doing everything and make a timetable for yourself. Then try and stick to it. Don't forget to include relaxation time be that sports or trips to the pub. This will help you get stuff done rather than having you panicking about what needs to be done. Slowly but surely you'll see yourself getting on top of it all.

yossarin

Somthing that i didn't realise until later that would have helped me is the realisation that my final year project was not worth anything except the grade i got from it.

I know that sounds harsh to someone working on one, but try to think about it - is this work going to change the world in any way? no. it *might* result in some other work being done by someone else, but will probably just sit on a shelf untill its pulped and the paper recycled. You're not writing for the ages, you're trying to boost your overall grade. Its like the exams themselves, study like mad and do the exam, then forget about it. fire and forget, and do the best you can. don't analyse it afterwards.

Exam results will take care of themselves. you can't change them now, so try not to worry about them. hard i know.

>I don't like nor care for my course anymore when I used to love it
for obvious reasons i think. you'll probably feel differently afterwards.

oh, and stop staying up until 2 in the morning. you need your sleep.


edit: Imposter and I were in college together, so we both know

Imposter

yossarin wrote:

... but will probably just sit on a shelf untill its pulped and the paper recycled.

edit: Imposter and I were in college together, so we both know

I bet my project was pulped first, lol.

memphis

Stop stressing yourself out, simply take one day at a time. Keep your aims/goals/targets as short term a possible, but be sure to make them realistic and achievable.

At the end of the day you can only do your best, stop worrying, you'll do fine!

Fysh

This happened to me when I was in college. So far the advice has all been sound : in particular, making lists of what needs to be done. Depending on how much time you have until exams, make either lists of all topics or lists of core topics that you need to know.

I'd suggest starting by taking a few hours per module, going through past papers and analysing the questions that come up, to find out what material keeps coming up. If you have time, you can try and guess at what sort of stuff is likely to come up this year that hasn't been covered recently, and gear your revision around this.

Once you've got that, build your new leaner curriculum. Based on this, make yourself a study timetable which is realistic (meaning you can't say you're going to put in 12 hours of academic work a day as well as lectures, and expect to stick to it), include time to relax and stick to it. Harder than it sounds, but it pays off quite quickly.

With regard to your project...it depends on your subject material, unfortunately. Mine was a follow-on from an old experiment investigating properties of lasers (I did physics), and there were problems with the equipment from day one. After most of my time was up, I'd only gotten a couple of days worth of useful results and was panicking. My solution involved talking to supervisor honestly about the problems I'd had and subsequently discussing them extensively with one of the older lab assistants, who then helped me cobble together an alternative method that I could use to finish my work - took about another 2 days, all told. The lesson here is to read up as much as you an on any work that's gone before you, and talk to your supervisor or anyone else in a position to help you. Nothing's quite as bad as that feeling that you can't talk to people about it, and that's what these people are paid to do.

As for other stuff....well, I realised far too late I was doing the wrong course fo me (physics) but found out there wasn't a lot I could do about it so I stuck with it. Since my final result wasn't exactly great, I then found out about a post-grad computer science course which was more like what I wanted to do, and got onto that course. It's worth bearing in mind you might not yet be ready to go out and get a job - if your circumstances allow it, find out about follow-on courses you could take or what options you have if you decide you want to completely change track with your chosen subject.

In the position you're in, it's not surprising you can't relax or enjoy any of your hobbies - so many people have indoctrinated you into believing that these exams are THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU'LL EVER DO AND IF YOU FAIL NOW YOU'LL BE LETTING EVERYONE DOWN! that when the real world overlaps and things start getting a bit hairy, your natural reaction is to panic. If you follow the advice given and start to get back in control, you'll soon find that you can enjoy your free time again.

PS as for projects pulped...I'm pretty sure my supervisor had a shredder by his office desk, and I bet mine wasn't the only project that went straight from being read (and reluctantly accepted as being passable) to that bin, with only a short "BZZZZRT!" noise to remember it by...

[Jackass]

You're stressed, this is why you've lost passion, stress give you a narrow focus, if you don't relax, stand back for a second and look at everything logically, it will lead to panic. My word of the day: Calm .....Relax, your project is just a matter of settling into a routine of work you've been able to do for years...if you weren't able for all this, you wouldn't have got yourself this far already. Don't worry what everyone else is doing, just have confidence in yourself, and realise you're on the home straight now, all the years of hardwork will finish on the other side of this project and exams. You'll finaly be able to begin a career, that once you get there, will be easier because a new aspect of life is introduced to you...money...and lots of it! As for interviews...don't worry about it...people can go through hundreds of interviews, the last one has no baring what so ever on the next.
You'll be fine your just freakin out a little bit...relax, put it in perspective, you're almost finished....just give it one last push!

solas

OH and also, I've lost all passion for everything in my life. I don't like nor care for my course anymore when I used to love it. I don't have a passion for anything it seems apart from freaking myself out and panicing.

from experience, this is like a natural defense mechanism, it's like conserving energy. It will be there when you need it.
no worries.

b3t4

Thanks everyone for yeer responses, they've really helped me to take a deep breath and realise that I am capable of this and that well it can all work out.

I'm a little calmer today. Not by much, mind. I've made some lists and I'm starting to enlist the help on anyone and everyone.

Thing is that I'm extremely lucky and have a lot of wonderful oppurtunities ahead of me but I let myself get stressed out.

I'm glad to hear that the whole passion thing is pretty normal as that had begun to worry me (along with everything else but sure who's keeping count ) And it's even better to hear that I'm not the only one who gets so het up about these things.

Thanks all,
A.

Sleepy

Breathe, try getting a bit more exercise, it'll all be fine in the end!

CathyMoran

It is normal to feel that you are loosing control in your final year in college - I felt that I did not know where I was heading next and was nervous about what was ahead and did not know how it would be like not being in contact with my friends 24/7. In terms of the exams/final year project/job interviews it might be a good idea to get a flexible plan of action together. Things will come together... PM me if you want to talk.