Confused...

[H85]

Hey everyone, I've been browsing this site for a while now and the forums just recently and I'm finding a lot of interesting topics and discussions. I figured I would post a topic myself and see what general advice people have on here.

So basically I am 22 years old and just graduated from university in the summer from a 4 year BA program (poli-sci) and now I just feel like I'm stuck 'in limbo' or just lost. I considered returning to school for my MA in either history or poli sci but I know inside that taking this path would just be a method of buying another year to figure out what I truly want to do. I have also considered law school as well. I am interested in academia but nothing I have studied really ignites that passion inside that this site discusses so often. So at the moment I am stuck in a transition phase. Finished school (for now?) not knowing whether to return, not knowing to look for a serious job or just to get something menial in the meantime, playing around with some ideas. I think because there are so many options and I'm not sure about any of them that it has resulted in a general lack of motivation where I awake each morning not really knowing what to do on a micro or macro level.

I've worked full time in the past and not enjoyed it. Not because I despised what I was doing but rather because the idea of repetitive, controlled, and uncreative work really gets to me to the point where I feel like a drone. I'm of the belief that people should be able to exercise their creative faculties on a daily basis, that we're not meant to be robotic. Given this, and the fact that I have a true passion for cars I thought about doing something creative in this regard such as writing or starting a blog(esque) website. However, to only rely on a project like this would be almost stupid and I think (maybe) I should just find a job for now and make that a side project.

Also, there is increasing pressure from the parents to do SOMETHING but I just can't seem to decide what that is. I think perhaps I spend way too much time thinking and not enough time doing...

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[Tayrak]

Well I'm a parent so I fully understand the get off your duff and do 'something'. An object in motion stays in motion, a stationary object stays stationary. You are stationary, with no driving force to get you moving. And as time goes by you'll be harder to move, that's a fact.
You just finished school, there is a window for getting a good job when you are out of school, don't blow it. Yes, we all want to do what fulfills us. Sometimes the harsh realities of life interfere with that, but that doesn't mean you're locked in forever you can get another job later.
Make a decision, any decision, if you get a job right now you can still plan to do whatever you would like but you are giving yourself a grace period to think it over. Going back to school locks you in for a semester or a year or whatever.
You can get a job and blog, just think how much more creative you will be each day trying your best to get out of that job you hate so much.
One of the hardest jobs is the one you are the boss at. You have to motivate yourself each and every day, you not anyone else. That is why so many, 95%, of home businesses fail, that's one of those harsh reality thingees. Light a fire under yourself.

[ixmatus]

Funny you should post this, I just got this email from the Abraham-Hicks bunch (their daily quote):

What is the definition of procrastination? It means: I can feel within
my center [Energy sensor] that this action is not in perfect alignment [with my intentions] at this time.

Usually to get myself out of a funk (which usually happens when I wake up late), I start by making my bed and cleaning my room; it gets me moving and doing something productive - which then makes me feel more energetic about reading that book or working on that project...

Get started with a job and slowly start working on ideas and setting up a home based business, that is how I am doing it right now. I work part time for a company doing web-development and have slowly been building up a client base for freelancing full time.

[JimOfferman]

H85,

To add to your confusion, I am going to give you the opposite advice of what Tayrak has given you: take your time doing 'nothing' until you have figured out what you really want. Figuring out what you want is actually very hard work - even if it may look like you aren't doing anything to the outside world.

I dropped out the Industrial Design course at the university, because I was really unhappy there and then caved in to my parent's wish to do "do something", so I ended up choosing another major only to drop out again after three months. What. A. Total. Waste.

The second major was doomed to failure from the get go, because it was not what I wanted at all. I didn't know what I wanted and I needed time to figure it out. Going back to school did nothing other than give my parents a false sense of my being on my way for a little while.

Figuring out what the heck you want to do with your life can be hard. No, it IS hard! Take your time for it. If you need some income, find an easy job that helps you get by. Don't believe it when people say there is only a limited window for finding jobs after college - it's not true. Don't believe it when people say that you have to start your career now and not later - it's not true.

You will find your way.

[Ilya]

To add to the previous posts, you may be simply lacking skill at the moment.
Long education teaches us how to be good at studying, or at least at living in the university environment. "Real life" is different. And it is perfectly fine to be uncomfortable around it for a while. Going back to school is not going to help.
Getting a job might help, but as you know, dangerous. So for a while allow yourself to play around with life. You might do some stupid things like getting a job, but not for the purpose of being proper. Not for the reason of having an income stream. Do that in order to familiarize yourself with life. Noone is doing "orientation" for life, so you have to do it yourself. It is a different task from finding out what you want to do in life. Like in the university, you need to know where is the library, the toilets, the dining hall, before you choose your major