(no subject)

[baphijmm]

I am at an impasse.

On the one hand, I think majoring in astrophysics would be fun, and I would enjoy doing research and writing in that field. I would like to get to know those in that field, and study alongside them.

On the other hand, I don't want to major in astrophysics. Majoring in astrophysics is a waste of time, because I know enough of the material to be happy, and could really get a job in the field if I were just given a chance. I'm not even sure I want a job in that field anyway.

On the other other hand, we live in a society where you need a degree (or an insane amount of luck) to have income enough to live. Problem is, you also need the money up front to get said degree anymore. Oh sure, financial aid looks nice enough, but all it does is make it look tantalizingly close, then rip it out from under you like a dollar bill on a string in those old cartoons.

I want to change society. I want to start a complete and total revolution. I want to reduce this planet to nothingness, to show everyone that nothing is worth it.

At the same time, all I want to do is live.

I'm tired of this. I've probably shut down again. Yeah, I hate that, but hey, I'm fucked anyway.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Comments

[rexar.livejournal.com]

Well, why is it a waste of time?

You do not do astrophysics because the degree earns money from employers. You study astrophysics because you want to understand the workings of the cosmos. There's better money to be had elsewhere, for sure. But that is not why you do it. Do you think Edwin Hubble and Stephen Hawking were trying to make a million dollars?

Not to be mean or anything, but financial aid favors people who come to class. That's what's really getting you. I'm serious. If you fixed that, you'd probably do great, like you did your first semester, in Dr. Raymond's class.

[procyonid.livejournal.com]

Well... you have to do what you enjoy. If you like what you're studying (if not necessarily the studying itself, of course, but the feeling you get from learning the material and the subject in general) you should stick with it - the long term rewards of self-satisfaction of completing it, and the career options having a degree, will be worth it. (Physics has plenty of applications outside basic research - it is a very employable field, from what I undersand.) Of course, you don't like it, then it's a purely economical decision of whether putting up with classes and tuition is worth the degree.

And... yikes! You didn't seem like the maniacal supervillain type...