Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Assess my scores for WISC-IV

space,

seems to me that you're a subtle thinker who's more interested in ideas and your values than what other people think. DON'T GIVE THAT UP!!!! Intelligence is different than "Achievement" by the world's standards. Feeding your soul is the ticket! Stay in touch with us here because there are a lot of us who've been there.

Space, you may not know at the moment what you want to do with your life, but that's fine and normal (most of the people who do think they know will change their minds later anyway!) It's clear you're interested in psychology, though, and even though you don't want to be a clinical psychologist, as you say, there are loads of other things you can do with academic qualifications in psychology. How about taking that as a direction, and not worrying about a goal?

ETA: for me it was maths, and some of the best advice I ever got was just to go and do maths at university and not worry too much about what I wanted to do afterwards. As it happened, the kind of maths I ended up being most interested in was not the same kind I had expected to be interested in, at all.

Space, I love your line of thinking. You seem to question everything. Nothing is black and white. I am going to guess multiple choice tests give you headaches trying to sort through all the possible answers and "What exactly are they asking in the question?" I think you would do well with a psychology major or science major. After all isn't that what they do? Question data and the universal truths? Think about the great philosophers. I'm sure their parents wished they would just conform. And wasn't it Winston Churchhill who was constantly in trouble in school?

Yeah, I read that Churchill was a High School dropout.

I am actually leaning on the arts; anthropology, criminology, philosophy, psychology and a little history.

Research psychology is pretty interesting. I have had some thought experiments. But I find it rather evil, using humans as lab rats.

I would throw some study in World Religions in there too. I think you would find the parallels and patterns fascinating.

Hi Space, I'm sorry your life is so difficult at the moment. I can relate to the effect your upbringing has had - my parents spoke similarly to my brother and I, although I think it was with the intention of motivating us to prove otherwise rather than believing we really were incapable of achieving. Rather counterproductive though.

I'm not sure if you've already come across it, but SENG has some articles that you might find helpful.

Re your comment about external validation - I disagree - I think it's important to get this from somewhere. You can spend an awful lot of time trying to reason out a solid rock of truth and meaning to anchor yourself to and measure yourself against, but never find one, particularly if you're heading far into existentialism. Then of course you have no way to confirm your worth, and it seems to me that you badly need some affirmation.

I second the advice that ColinsMum was given - just do it. Make a leap of faith - choose something you're interested in, head into the world, and see what happens. Absolute truth is hard to come by, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on discovery, excitement, love, beauty, hope, adventure.

I know it's easier said than done, especially when you're young and living with your parents. I wish you good luck.

I recently read 'The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science' by James H. Silberman

and am in the middle of Josh Watkin's Art of Learning and enjoying that very much.

I'd love to hear what you think of those 2 books, if you have read them.

Smiles,
Grinity