Picking my A Levels

 

Picking your A levels is really stressful. Period.

Like I am 16 (at the time) I don’t know what I want to do. And people make you seem soooo bad if you don’t know. People are constantly looking down at you. 

First of all, I am one of those people who don’t know what they want to do. Not that I hate school but there are no subjects that I can confidently say that a absolutely love. I go to school because legally I have to not because ‘i love seeing my teachers and education is so enriching’.(not to be ungrateful as I am aware that not all kids can get an education but no kid loves school) 

On top of that, I don't want to do something and be halfway through a degree (if I pass my A-levels) and decide I don’t want to do it anymore. Because that is money that will be going down the drain too.

It’s just stressful.

My school did a thing. Where we were in a hall and put in groups, then spread around the hall on different tables. Then people from different jobs came to our tables one by one and told us about what they do within these groups. Once their time was up, they would leave our table and go to the next. This was an attempt to show us that there are more jobs around than just being a doctor or pursuing law (not that there is anything wrong with that). To be fair, it was not bad, and I really recommend it. It was like speed dating, not that I have ever done that. But it had the same concept.

Anyways, we met people who had created their own business and people who worked for companies. My point is that most of them were not doing what they set out to do and you see it all the time. So why would I sit there waste my money and work hard for something I don’t even want. Or worse, I think I want it, and I get there, and I’m like ‘oh. I don’t want this’. It basically cancels out all the work that I just did.

However, I am not completely in the dark and I do have an idea. That’s why my A levels are quite open. For example, they are not a combination like Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology. They are just different subjects. If that makes sense.

I would like to know if other people felt like this or feel like this. Or if you just knew. 

The actual story of me picking my A levels was that I only had two options that I wanted to take. In year 11. They gave us a sheet and was like ‘this is the subjects in a fitted timetable. You have to pick subjects that fit the table.’ There was block A, B, C, D and a block of re-takes (I think block d and the re-take block were one but I can't remember). I, however, wanted subjects that were in the same block. I put those two subjects down and moved one with my life. Telling myself I would know what job I wanted in year 12 and it will all become clear.

When I got my results (the predicted grades). I had to have a meeting with a teacher and tell them what A levels I wanted to do. The teacher said that I couldn’t do those A levels and that I needed one more subject. I had to figure out what a level I wanted to do and what would determine the rest of my life by the next day.

I went home frustrated because I still didn’t know and my parents were trying to help me but I just was not interested in any of the subjects that they were offering. I went to school the next day and ended up picking one of the two subjects that I originally wanted and one of the highest subjects on my GCSE and a random one that I looked at.

I know that’s bad and that your ‘supposed to pick A levels that you will enjoy’. But I just wasn’t interested and was indifferent to the whole process.

My school did help as much as they could, I guess. I don’t know what more they could do. They gave me a careers meeting and I completed a quiz and it told me what job I would prefer but when I looked at them I did not actually like any of them. Then, they did A level taster lessons but they were boring too.

Anyways, I want to know how other people felt because I did have a standoffish attitude but it is hard.