I'm confused about my future? I dropped out of school last fall!?

Question

I'm 16 years old and I turn 17 in two months. I dropped out last fall in 9th grade because of social anxiety. I've had a h**l of a time with school my whole life. I barely have a 6th grade education but i'm not dumb. I can read great, spell great, and write great. I just think that school wasnt made for me.

I was hoping to get my GED instead of going back to school this fall. I just want to be out of school and go to college and take autobody collision repair or automotive technician courses. The only thing im interested in/good at is working on cars.

I found out that my school district has GED classes at this vocational school. So then I end up e-mailing the counselor at the vocational school and she tells me that shes also a GED test examineer. She tells me that the district doesnt offer GED classes for people under 20, but instead they have a high school completion program. Its a 3 year program and you can earn your diploma through the vocational school. She tells me that they have GED classes in my cities area. She says that she was going to look into GED classes for me though and then email me and tell me what shes found out. I really want to get my GED so I can just skip school and go to college. I'm a really smart person and I think with a little bit of studying, I will be able to pass the GED test. I hear that the HSC program is for people who have gotten suspended or expelled and I fear that I might have some of those kids in my classes and it will interfere with my anxiety. Its for people 16-19 who dropped out. She told me that my parents might need to sign for me to go GED.

So if she finds out that I can take GED classes if she has my parents sign for me, should I take them? Will the older students think im weird or think different of me because im younger? I really want to get my GED though and then get a job, then go to college! All I do is worry about school and fear that my future will be nothing but me being a bum!

Answer 1

At some point you're going to have to deal with the anxiety thing. And it's always better to do that kind of thing earlier rather than later. It only gets worse. If you're going to take a GED and then work on cars, who cares what people think of you? Do you want to be known as a good mechanic or a smart person? It seems from your question that you could use some help understanding who you really are and what you really want. Try the guidance counselor at school or the GED person you have already been talking to. And of course, parents always need to be involved with people your age.

Answer 2

All I can say is that it's your life, and if you let others affect what you do, you're missing out. If they think you're weird, so what. You're just trying to better yourself. They probably won't care. You won't know them afterwards, and they're not apart of your life, so stop caring what they think. Do what you want to do. I wish you could've heard that before you dropped out. Maybe you did hear that, and maybe your anxiety was just too bad, but seriously, and I know what's done is done, I think it would've been best if you just put up with school for FOUR years.

"I was hoping to get my GED instead of going back to school this fall."

Also, does that mean you have the opportunity to go back to regular high school? You should just go back and focus on academics.

Your future will be nothing if you let fear overcome it, and don't do anything to change it.