<p>I am currently a junior at a big university in a northeastern US city. Basically, I am feeling fed up and lost with the whole experience. </p>
<p>I came to college after doing very well in a relatively small, suburban high school. I was a top student in my graduating class, took lots of APs, had a group of friends, and had some involvement outside of the classroom. When it came time to apply for college, I got into many of the schools I applied to and chose to come where I am now after a tough decision between this school and another school.</p>
<p>I came here in fall 2008 and had high hopes that I would do very well here. And grade-wise, I have done fine. I was in the honors program for my college and have a 3.7 GPA. However, I have always been kind of shy and the only person I have really made friends with the entire time is my roommate, who I have roomed the past two years and still am this year. We get along perfectly and I have no complaints, but sometimes the fact that I don’t really know a single other person puts a damper on my mood. I never hang out with a group of friends and normally stay in on the weekends with my roommate and do work, watch tv, etc., which isn’t bad in itself but sometimes I wish for more.</p>
<p>Moreover, I haven’t gotten involved in any clubs or anything like that, which I guess is my own fault, but like I said, I am somewhat shy and tend not to enjoy those kinds of things even though some part of me wishes I did. I wouldn’t have a big problem with the fact that I don’t really participate in any activities aside from the fact that I feel like its hurting my chances of getting a job or going on to further education because I will look uninvolved and like I don’t care and wont have leadership experience. How important is this in employment/grad school?</p>
<p>On top of this, I don’t really know any of my professors very well. I am trying to change this by going to office hours more often with professors so they can get to know me, which I hope will turn out OK in case I need letters of recommendation in the future.</p>
<p>Finally, I don’t really know what I want to do with my life for a career. I am a history major, and I have a vague idea that maybe I would like to do some museum work or something like that, but I don’t hear very good things about the job market in that area. Even then, I am not sure if this is what I want to do. I have taken career tests and talked to career services, which didn’t really help that much. Maybe I need to do some soul-searching…?</p>
<p>All in all, college hasn’t turned out to be what I expected it to be. I feel like I came into this as a freshman expecting to distinguish myself and I have fallen to the bottom of the pack, remaining uninvolved and isolated. I understand part of this is my fault for not being more proactive, but at the same time its like, “What did I do wrong?” I feel like there was no guidance given to me as a student here. I am treated like a number, and I am lost.</p>
<p>So, any advice on my situation? I know I should probably get an internship to see if I like museum work in the first place, get to know my professors, and try to join a club or two. It will be difficult because I do work a work-study job and I find that my classwork takes up a lot of time in the first place, not to mention I am not very outgoing, but I need to be willing to try, I guess. Still, I feel like I haven’t competed with my peers and they are all ahead of me. Is my situation hopeless?</p>