No more papers!

November 26, 2008 6:41 PM

As a college student taking time off, what can I do for a semester that won't involve writing long papers?

My grades have been getting progressively worse each semester, and my happiness and self-esteem are taking a heavy blow. I love learning, and I'm pretty bright, but I just won't mentally wrap my mind around the tasks of writing essays. I'm in counseling now for anxiety (which I'm starting to think is mostly a mask for depression) and my therapist also firmly believes I have ADD (inattentive--which I will be getting more official tests for in the very near future). Anyway, I'm feeling very lost and pretty discouraged about my future. I can probably get prescriptions for meds, more therapy, etc., but I'm not sure I can get the full turn around I'd like by next semester, considering I'm so discouraged about myself and about school. I actually love learning and my classes; I just struggle getting to class on time, completing assignments, etc. and that gets me down. I'd really like to find something else to do for a bit that I could feel proud of or that could give me a change of perspective so I don’t feel completely defined by the struggles I’m having with school. Do you have any ideas that could help me accomplish that during a semester off? Ideas that don’t involve spending huge amounts of money are a plus.

posted by anonymous to grab bag (12 comments total)

What about the Cvilian Community Corps? An Americorps program--so you get paid--that involves travel and different assignments--so you have variety?
posted by liketitanic at 6:53 PM on November 26, 2008

The cliched suggestion would be "travel!," but it's a cliche for a reason. It could be the experience of a lifetime. Now that I'm over 30, I really wish I had traveled more when I was younger and had less commitments. I never really sit around feeling proud of how quickly I finished college or how great my GPA was (it wasn't that great anyway). To be totally honest, I sometimes feel maybe college was a waste of time for me. Not saying that's the case for you, but who knows, you may even decide not to go back. Finishing college is by no means a requirement for a happy or fulfilling life.

Pick somewhere and go. Doesn't have to be pricey- there's always hostels or couchsurfing!
posted by drjimmy11 at 7:06 PM on November 26, 2008

I always got summer jobs as a software developer, which bored me after two months, so I was always incredibly happy getting back to math & science in the fall. I'm guessing you don't have that skill set.

You could take language classes in Spain, France, or Germany. You'd learn to speak in one semester. You won't have any papers or exams but you'll make lots of friends. But you must apply for a student visa immediately if you want to stay for more than 3 months, especially if you want the sort of visa that'll let you work part time.

A semester long intensive course at La Sorbonne in Paris will run about $3200, but you need like $700-1000 per month in rent, plus money for fun. I'd recommend the Alliance Francais de Lyon if you're into French but want to save money. Btw, La Sorbonne is the best place to learn French, and Paris is well Paris, but you might be forced to learn more French in Lyon. I don't know about language schools in Spain or Germany, but Berlin isn't too expensive and all the cool kids go there these days.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:30 PM on November 26, 2008

How about getting a job?
posted by Class Goat at 7:34 PM on November 26, 2008

You can also arrange an au-pair position abroad, essentially a live in babysitter who helps the kids learn English. Au-pair jobs mitigate the housing & food costs and provide some minimal salary, but maybe easier to get if you're female. AF Lyon has 12 hour per week courses for about $280 per month for au-pairs.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:39 PM on November 26, 2008

One experience that gave me a change in perspective was becoming a volunteer tutor \ to teach literacy; training was only a few hours and then you were assigned someone to work with once a week for an hour or two per session/one time per week. I worked with a woman who really wanted to learn basic literacy skills, and it was very rewarding seeing the differences it made in her life and the progress she made even from week to week.

Or, are there other things that you are very passionate about such as animals, homelessness, etc.? Volunteer with that organization. Honestly, volunteering helps you see things from another perspective and step outside yourself.

Although I love to travel and would recommend that to other people, from your description, it may be better to stay in your town and receive further treatment (eg, stabilize medication for ADD if you do have that; receive additional evaluations, etc ).
posted by Wolfster at 7:40 PM on November 26, 2008

I don't think the general "travel!" idea is a big problem for ADD. But you might be warry & ask your shrink first if you also suffer from depression. I suppose you should ask your doctor if he's going to be playing around with the ADD meds much regardless.

Btw : You might get more out of a language course if you're ADD was under control, but honestly few people take these things too seriously. Most learn by bruit force of hours in class plus cultural immersion. You'd be top of the class if you actually sit down & do the 10 min of homework per day.

Argentina might be an interesting place to learn Spanish. You can also take classes for a Celta ESL certificate, either in the U.S. or even in a non-English speaking country.
posted by jeffburdges at 8:01 PM on November 26, 2008

Exercise.
posted by Menomena at 9:14 PM on November 26, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you can snag a job you're interested in, I recommend that. I have trouble with long papers too, and it helps me in various ways to have had experience in a work environment that rewards a very different set of skills - being a good member of a team, finding and doing different scattered tasks aimed toward a goal, etc. Not burping out monoliths. See also this comment and others for that question.
posted by dreamyshade at 9:45 PM on November 26, 2008

I did this in college, so here's what are good ideas and bad ideas- if you are staying in any one spot, I'd recommend taking one interesting but not so difficult course at a local university/college. Community colleges usually don't run that much, especially if you don't actually want to take the course for credit, but it's not a bad idea to remember that you can do academics.

Jobs are good. I found someone else scheduling me helps me out (I have ADD too).

Travel is good, couch surf, stay with friends, stay in hostels. It's easiest to travel cheap when your college age- there are some discounts that you can't get after you're 25 or so.

Pick something and do it. Don't sit around your apartment or even worse your parents' house doing nothing. The less you imitate a lump on a log, the happier you'll be. Especially if you're facing depression. I'm speaking from experience here.

And I'll second Menomena's call to exercise. It's as effective as any ADD medication. (Aerobic exercise, a couple of times weekly for at least 30 minutes.)

I went through this myself in college, made it through, am in grad school now, so I did something right- feel free to drop me a line if you have more questions about managing the anxiety/depression/ADD.
posted by Hactar at 5:41 AM on November 27, 2008

Are you interested in art or music? Taking art or music classes can be a great way to challenge yourself, do really cool stuff (foundry! glassblowing! oil paints! pinhole cameras!), and to work a little on getting to class and getting things done without the pressure of your normal school situation. I took a semester off due to depression, and I took art classes plus one easy "real" class at a local community college, and it really helped rebuild my self-confidence.

I'd be a little cautious about going abroad for a term while you're trying to nail down ways to treat your anxiety/depression and potential ADD. While going abroad can be an incredible experience (I moved to Germany last fall!), it can also be a difficult and very isolating experience, and that can make dealing with mental stuff much, much more difficult - plus, you'd be unable to work with your usual doctor or therapist, so if you do have trouble, you'll have to find a temporary new doctor in a foreign country. Again, going abroad is a truly great thing, and you should definitely do it sometime, but going abroad specifically during a term when you're taking time off from school to work through mental health problems may be setting yourself up for, well, more problems.

Definitely do something, though. Job, classes, regular exercise, whatever. One of the most important things is to work on having a routine. You can rebuild your confidence in your ability to do things on time and get things done without all of the pressure of school.
posted by ubersturm at 7:30 AM on November 27, 2008

I spent a few semesters just... hanging out; reading a lot of articles and books about stuff that interested me. No papers. No discussions. No attendance. It was fun, I'm not gonna lie, but it's probably not for everybody.

Yep, I was "depressed" too when I decided to take time off. But looking back on it, I'm not so sure I was sick -- I just didn't like my life. It sucked. I didn't like what I was doing. If you don't like your life, change it.

If you choose to try this, I recommend keeping a notebook. That's one thing I wish I had started doing back then that I do now, and it definitely helps me with examining my perspective.
posted by Theloupgarou at 12:22 PM on November 27, 2008