can’t speak much now, site is in five-alarm fire mode for obvious reasons. things are going good though, thank you for using the site, hopefully this week will chill a bit
I was on the same boat, man. I was doing really well in HS, always thought I was going to be a scientist, etc… college years hit me hard, not only in the materials difficulty and studying habits, but also had a nasty incident which gave me PTSD on top of that.
Long story short, I also dropped out of Physics after years of trying and pretending I could. I couldn’t. I also cried. First to myself and then others.
After that… it took many years but I eventually got back to college for that degree in Comp Sci. I am already working as a programmer, so it helps me focus in my path to follow.
If you’re following up with an engineering degree, that’s actually a solid choice. A lot of scientists are engineers too, both are STEM so there’s a lot of compatible subjects if you’re still eyeing on the physics path. You could get a bachelor’s in engineering and then a masters in physics or astronomy, for example, or simply follow where your heart or money is.
Don’t pressure yourself too much on dropping out. Yes, it’s a failure and it will serve well to retrace the steps and identify what made us fail, but it’s never the person themselves. You made a mistake, but you are not the mistake or the failure. That means you can and will be better.
Sorry for the long rant. Hope you get better man.
Thanks for the kind words stranger, your story rings so many bells to me too, I basically cried internally once I knew it was all over and then to my family, I am thankful that I have a lot of support at home so I was able to process it in peace.
I have been placing a lot of pressure on myself for this but it’s in the past all I can do is learn from it and do better which is what I am planning to do.
I hope you find a lot of success in your life my friend! Thank you for your words.
