<p>Okay, so my topic title doesn’t make much sense, but I hope this does.</p>
<p>I graduated a month ago, and I felt pretty burnt out over the entire course of my senior year. I had all the clubs/hard schedule/blahblahblah that most of you had, and now as the summer is going on it feels really weird not worrying about any of them. I work now about 20 hours per week and swim another 20 hours per week. </p>
<p>My problem is that I feel severely uninspired and that my life seemingly has no direction. Before, I would freak out all summer about swimming and summer reading and everything else, but this summer I’m a lot more nonchalant about it all. I regularly miss practices (1-2 per week) and sleep a lot. I still am doing a lot more than most of my peers are doing, but I feel extremely unproductive right now.</p>
<p>My question is, is any other graduated seniors experiencing what I am feeling? I can’t figure out whether or not I’m still simply burnt out and I just need a summer to feel lazy, or if this is all a sort of “withdrawals” from a formerly neurotic lifestyle.</p>
<p>Oh… well, I’m kind of experiencing the same things as you. After spending all my time on school and school-related things, all of a sudden I’ve been cut loose from all that and am really, really bored. Like, I have never spent so much time on CC (:rolleyes:) as I do now. At first I read a lot, but lately I haven’t been able to concentrate on my book. I feel very unproductive. </p>
<p>I figure it’s just a matter of willpower. If I really want to, I can make myself get up and do stuff… and really, in about a week I’ll be heading to Spain to be an au pair, so I won’t have to worry about keeping myself busy. That’s an easy out for me. You don’t seem to have anything like that in store. </p>
<p>I think it’s OK to have a lazy summer. If it drives you crazy, you can always come up with a project for yourself; I have a “teach yourself Norwegian” kit waiting in the wings for when I haven’t got anything better to do. </p>
<p>I don’t see the difference between withdrawal from a neurotic lifestyle and burn-out from… well, a neurotic lifestyle. Well, actually… Do you feel like you need to keep busy all the time? Then it’s probably withdrawal. Does it feel great to not have to worry about keeping pace with your commitments? Then it’s probably burn-out. Just from my understanding of the words.</p>
<p>when I’m not working (which will be all the time soon), I hardly do anything. I pretty much just sit around the house. I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with one summer spent not doing anything. </p>
<p>I’ll be starting a theatre thing in a couple weeks though, so I’ll have to get motivated again…</p>
<p>I’m kind of leaning towards the withdrawal when analyzing myself, because I felt pretty good in a tough work situation yesterday. There were supposed to be four bussers at our restaurant for the busy Saturday, two didn’t show up, and the other had to leave early, so I was working really hard for over nine hours (doesn’t sound like much, but you don’t get breaks or time to sit down). It sucked doing everyone’s outs, and bussing way more than I had planned, but it felt like I had a purpose again lol. And I get to pick up a big paycheck today :P</p>
<p>Thank GOD I’m not the only one, most of my friends and other people I know are doing SOMETHING while I’m at home waiting for each day to be over as soon as it starts because I know I don’t have anything planned. </p>
<p>It’s sad when you sign onto aim and no one else is on, lol…</p>
<p>You’re supposed to be bored. That’s what relaxation is. Just… revel in your simple schedule. Think about this: you don’t have to go to high school again. You don’t have to wake up at 7 every day and do busy work after school and chit chat with boring peers. You’re going to college. You will meet new people form around the world and take classes you actually respect. Perhaps not in every way, but it’s soo much better than high school. So… you have only goodthings to look forward to. Be unproductive. You going into college, ****<em>! I woke up at 9… PM last night. I slept 18 hours that… day. It’s the first day I haven’t woken up with an alarm clock in a long time. I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow… and the next day… n the next day… and then one of these days I might make it to the beach… to tan for 4 hours. I *might</em> open a book in the next 3 months… but I don’t have to. I might experiment with art or photography or whatever, but I don’t have to. I could think about <em>nothing</em> for the next 2 months and be as prepared for the first day of school as i’m supposed to be. <em>Nothing</em>.</p>
<p>btw, i’m a soph–>junior, not sr–>college… and i do plan on studying spanish/math, but right now i’m just sleeping.</p>
<p>I felt the exact same way my last year of high school, when most of my hard classes were over. Basically, all I did was play NetHack all day, and hang out here. I ascended three times. :D</p>
<p>The solution is to start doing new things. Check out a few books from the library, learn some new skill, help out random homeless people on the street. Get involved in some community group or other. Just keep busy, and try not to veg out all day. And for Ford’s sake, don’t think about the meaning of life.</p>
<p>If you feel unproductive, it’s quite easy to find stuff to do.</p>
That’s an easy out for me. You don’t seem to have anything like that in store. </p>