Guest Polaris Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Hello all! I've recently moved back to Australia after spending the majority of my teenagehood in London. My formal education ended when I finished primary school, not going to secondary school for several reasons. I lived alone with my mother who was trying to homeschool me and keep a roof over our heads, a process she understandably found very taxing. At first my homeschooling plan was decent and structured enough; study alternating subjects every day from 8 to 3 with a test every Friday. It was certainly nothing special, but nonetheless it fell apart fairly quickly, mainly due to the fact that my mother had to work all day and I was left with my own frivolous, procrastination-infused way of life to guide me through the study plan. She would come home and muster up the rest of her mental energy to look over my writings for the day and give me a pseudo grade. That lasted about a year, and I've been a part-time, self-taught freelance student ever since, occasionally watching an interesting science video I found on youtube, or learning fancy songs on the piano with the rest of my time being spent either playing video games, reading fiction or getting lost on the internet. I was perfectly content with that life at the time, but somewhere I knew I'd come to regret what was essentially (for the most part) a waste of 4 years. Turns out I was right. After moving back to Australia and turning 17, the reality of the situation became apparent to me when I had an epiphany that slapped me in the face. I spent my birthday pondering what my life would've been like and how much more confidence I would've had, had I not "wasted" a large portion of my youth effectively being a hermit. The fear of becoming a faliure coupled with a great need of redemption has pushed me to saturate myself with knowlodge, and take up many different potential career ideas and prospects. I've become very interested pursuing a career in programming and computer science over the past couple of months, and I'm quite satisfied with my progress in coding. It's a bit ambitious, but I've also recently decided I want a PhD, perhaps in physics or chemistry which have both interested me for quite a while now, even just based on my limited knowlodge of the two. It's probably a bit far fetched, but for the time being it's giving me some good insentive to crack down on a serious education which could lead to a bachelor's and master's degree. I'm going to start TAFE (an Australian further education college) soon, so I can get my Year 12 and finally get my life properly started. I'm really quite nervous about it though, it will be a completely different pace to how I've accustomed myself to life. I'm sure it goes without saying that I'm quite the extreme introvert, it's never really interested me to make friends or go out and socialize over the years. My social inexperience certainly isn't helping my ever-present feeling of trepidation, and I'm sure it won't serve me well when I attempt to mingle with whatever social group I end up in. I want to get really prepared but I have no idea where to start. I am not familiar with the education system, I have no idea what most teens my age are supposed to know, hell I don't even know if I could be considered smart, let alone ever get a PhD. I fear that not going to secondary school and lazing about for 4 years at such a cruicial time like adolescence has crippled me intellectually. So I guess what I'm looking for is guidance. I've been essentially having a panic attack over the course of these months, frantically trying to cram as much into my brain as I can but I don't think it's really working out. I have no idea how to start on any of my career prospects, what I should really be studying right now and most importantly what I should know by my age. Any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read my little autobiography ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Welcome, you will find lots of introverts (parents and students) here. I'm not familiar with the Australian system, but I would see what you need for college entrance. Also there is a sticky at the top of this forum with threads on chemistry and biology. I know those with more wisdom will chime in, but I'd start by seeing where you need to be, examine where you are now - what subjects you've covered, not covered, and then find materials to fill in those gaps. This high school forum is a wealth of knowledge, don't be afraid to ask specific questions as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi mum Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 I think you are on the right track already. If your TAFE course is aimed at getting your year 12 cert then they should be able to take you from where you are now and get you there. Your biggest asset right now is that you are motivated and want to learn, so you should be able to see a lot of progress very quickly. A couple of positive things you can do before your TAFE course starts: 1. Use the next month or so to get yourself into some good habits which will set you up well for your studies. Regular bedtime and wake times, healthy diet, fresh air and exercise would all be helpful if you are not already in the habit. 2. Start believing in yourself. You write very well for 17 year old, whether you have done high school or not. You can do this. There is no reason to write off your idea of a PHD either. Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 It won't have crippled you intellectually, but you absolutely have to get solid in mathematics to do a degree in anything like that. If you spent a lot of time reading your english probably isn't that bad. Find something to work on math that's good for self-teaching. If you were in the US I'd recommend you get a developmental CC text and starting finding holes, but I'm not as familiar with Australian resources. Go as far back as you need to in order to get your knowledge solid, even if it means you need to go all the way back to the beginning of secondary school or even more. (The good news is you can learn it much faster than you could if you were 11, since your brain is more developed). You have to be working on math every day, though -- not trying to cram in 6 hours on one day and then two days off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 A couple of positive things you can do before your TAFE course starts: 1. Use the next month or so to get yourself into some good habits which will set you up well for your studies. Regular bedtime and wake times, healthy diet, fresh air and exercise would all be helpful if you are not already in the habit. 2. Start believing in yourself. You write very well for 17 year old, whether you have done high school or not. You can do this. There is no reason to write off your idea of a PHD either. Go for it! Great advice. Especially the second one. You can do this! You are already an expressive writer, and that puts you ahead of many of your peers. I would also suggest finding some person in your life who can act as a mentor for you. Are your parents supportive of your goals? Do you have another family member or friend you trust to give you advice and support? The internet is a great resource, but I think you will find a real life mentor helpful, outside what the school system provides. Sometimes it's just nice to have a sympathetic ear when times are tough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 Great advice already. I'm glad Kiwi Mum chimed in with more expertise on the program you are aiming for. With your time currently, I would start working on math. Kiana is right, you are looking at a math intensive area of study and I'm guessing from your post it is something you have neglected. Your writing is good, no need to worry there. What about jumping into Khan Academy. You can start wherever you left off, do some review or just go through some topics that you find interesting. You probably can't catch up before you start your TAFE program, but it sounds like that is what they will do. Use it as brain training. Get yourself used to thinking and working again. Set a schedule of when you are going to work on it each day and for how long just to add some routine and discipline to your life. Best of luck with your pursuits. I'm glad you have found a goal that motivates you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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