No, I don't know what I'm going to do with my life. Stop asking!

The most basic question posed to us in our youth: what do we want to do with our lives?

Everyone else in my soon to be graduating class seems to know what to do with theirs. However, I do not. I also put off that big decision all through my high school years, figuring I didn’t know and I’d figure it out by the time it became neccesary.

But I’m graduating in 3 weeks, and I haven’t the foggiest idea what I plan on doing with the rest of my life, and the nagging questioning of family and friends isn’t helping my decision making process.

I’m just going to find a simple minimum wage job, work for awhile, and hope I can figure it out eventually.

Fuck it. I settled into this routine now I got to figure out a new one! :mad:

Blalron perhaps you were unaware but Congress just passed a new law. If you don’t have your whole life figured out by the time you finish high school, they figure it out for you. This basically means you taken to Area 51 were you are…um “gang probed”.

So, I don’t want to pressure you, but what are you going to do with the rest of your life?

Just start deadpanning entirely unrealistic answers.

“I’m hoping to race the first ever gerbil-pulled sled in this year’s Iditerod.”

“I was thinking of auditioning to be a backup dancer for Creed.”

“Thought I’d go around stealing candy from babies and kicking puppies.”

“Gonna overthrow the Canadian government.”

When I graduated from high school, I seriously considered making a t-shirt that read “No, I am not going to (Sister’s Alma Mater)! Why? Because they don’t have my major. Yes, really.”

Take the slice advice. Or scare people by saying things like, “Well, when they find out me/she is knocked up, that’s going to change a lot of things” or “The Lord had spoken, and said what I must do, but now is not the time to reveal his glorious plan.”

If you really want to scare them say:

You: You know how abortion is legal.
Them: Uh, yeah.
You: In a few months that won’t even matter.

Be sure to carry a Bible.

Tell them you are looking around for a good cult…

what slice said. Should at the very least shut them up for a while. I suffer from the same problem having to explain to x million people that I haven’t actually planned out everything yet. I think it’s because they can’t think of anything better to talk about.

slice really does have the key. As a senior in high school I was once asked what I was doing after graduation:

“I’m going to get an associates degree from Chattanooga State Technical Community College, then attend Harvard Law School”.

They just smiled and told me: “that’s fantastic! I’m glad to see you have a plan.”

During my senior year in college I finally decided what I wanted to do with my life.

None of it ever happened. As John Lennon once said, life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.

I turned fifty last year, and I still haven’t decided what else I want to do with the rest of my life. My only advice to you is [old geezer voice] decide what you’d be happy doing, figure out what you need to do to make that happen, then do what you can to make it happen. But don’t be surprised if along the way you change your mind.[/old geezer voice]

People, for whatever reason, are always asking the “surprisingly smart!” bartender this question.

I like to look slightly bewildered, throw in a pinch of pain, and say, “Well…this. What else is there?”

I’ve thought about busting out pie charts and color-coded graphs, just to give them something to do–kind of like coloring books–but I haven’t had the time yet b/c I’m too busy perfecting my craft. You know, cuz I wanna be a bartender 4-ever.

:rolleyes:

I don’t mind when people I know ask me this question, but when people get in the “Quiz The Barmaid!” mode, I just find it offensive. Particularly since the answer ain’t gonna be quick or clear-cut, and it’s none of their damn business anyway.

BTW, a very chirpy and blonde, “I have no idea! Isn’t that funny?” also works well in a pinch.

[sub]It throws them off the “intelligence” scent. And then they feel stupid for thinking I’m smart. So they order another beer and they move on.[/sub]

That used to really perturb me when I was a bartender, Audrey Levins.
“But you’re so smart-why are you tending bar?”
What, you’d prefer to talk to some one stupid while you’re sitting there?
“But you’d make so much more money if you were a dancer!”
Righto but I’m really not interested in gyrating around a pole to earn my living.

[sub]Not, repeat not that there’s anything wrong with being an exotic dancer-it’s just not my cuppa tea[/sub]

I used to throw them a Tom Robbins line just to shut 'em up:
“There is no word for what I’m going to be when I grow up.”

Oddly, I was asked this question for the fisrt time in years yesterday. Unfortunately, it was by a sort of college councilor, so I couldn’t give an adequate answer, such as “Get Drunk.”

'Course I did pretty much blow her off since she seemed to think I’m five years younger than I am. Oh well.

What am I going to do with my life?

Live it.

Most people who have an answer for that usually regret it or change their minds later anyway. Education is wasted on the young.

Hell, I’m 46, and I still don’t know what I’m going to do with my life.

Oh, few people really know at your stage of life. They’re just better liars than you.

You just need to prepare answers to shut people up.

You said you want to take a minimum wage job for a while? Say “I’m taking a year off before college.” Never mind if you want to go to college or not.

If people ask you what you want to major in, you can always say “business.” Everybody “approves” of business. Or you can say “liberal arts.” That’s another good one. And if you start college without a major, a business or liberal arts major isn’t a bad place to start. You can always switch later.

If they want specific career plans, you can say that you “are thinking of becoming a teacher, but I’m not sure.” I’m sure you thought of becoming a teacher at one point or another, even if you were just thinking “this teacher sucks! I could do a better job!”

I think people ask you this because they can’t think of anything else to say. Indulge the annoying grown-ups who want to make nice conversation with you.

Also, listen to people’s suggestions. Most will be crap, but one might just strike you. I inadvertently altered a person whom I barely knew’s whole life by making a suggestion to him when he was graduating from high school. He was a great artist and interested in pursuing a career in art, but didn’t really know where he wanted to go with it. At the time, I was graduating from college, and my best friend was graduating with a major in Industrial Design. So I told him about ID. He had never really heard of it, but thought it sounded really neat. He ended up going to school for it and is now working as a designer. Wow. I changed someone’s life! And I wasn’t even trying.

People who think you’re too smart to tend bar have actually suggested you go into stripping instead? :confused:

Sure, but what’re you gonna do next week?

I don’t think making a choice really matters I am not doing what I thought I would do at this point, I am not the person I thought I would become. I am working on my third career now, and i don’t regret any of them. The other careers were right at that time and place. As a suggestion though…While you are doing that minimum wage job pick up a course catalog from a local college or university or even one of those rec district catalogs. Try a couple classes here and there. You can find basket weaving or scuba diving or acting classes or history of beer classes whatever floats your boat. Don’t take with a career goal in mind if that is too much presure just take for fun and because they interest you. Eventualy something might really interest.

Heh. I think the answer is obvious, Ashtar: I will overthrow the French government. And then, later that afternoon, I will practice dancing for my Creed audition. I hear Blalron is pretty tough competition.

Well, Blalron, if you don’t go to college at some point* then you know what you’ll probably** be when you grow up? Poor.

*so, fine, take a year or two off, but at some point carry your ass off to college.

**the word “probably” indicates that I know there are some people that did not go to college and did not end up poor. If you are one of them, cheers to you–you are exceptional; but your experience doesn’t negate the fact that those who don’t go to college are generally poorer than those who do.