What to do with next 9 months of my life?

[Voltron87]

I need to figure out something to do for the next 9 months of my life. I am 18 right now, and am going to college in september. I have done my early application, that stuff is pretty much finished (unless I don't get in, I should though. I find out Dec 15th.)

I would be content with waking up at 11, lounging until 4, going and working out (I am an athlete and will play in college, its squash btw), getting back at 8 to play poker until I do whatever I'm doing that night. This appeals to me because I'd have a great time and I could make a ton (relative to every other 18 year old HS grad) of money. Once I get into school and get that locked down I could travel in the spring/summer. Sounds great, right. Well the only problem is that my parents kind of want me to do something which they think is more constructive. Which they do have the right to do, given that they've paid for my school, I'm living in their house, and they will be paying for my college (no small feat, hopefully i'll be going to upenn). My parents have finally wrapped their heads around how much money I am making from poker, which they at first were skeptical of, but now they realize that there is no way I am going to work at Applbee's because the money is nothing. They want me to get a resume building internship or something like that. They don't want me to be wasting this time doing something which looks like a huge gap in my life to future employers. I don't really agree with this, because I am doubtful that anything I do now will really be meaningful on a resume in the future. I think when I am 22 and out of college doing whatever I will be doing (who knows) employers will not care. I would rather play poker, have a good time, save up some money, and then go to college.

So, my question is, first, how right are my parents? Will a job I get really make a big difference on my resume and if I don't do anything except poker/traveling will it really be a bad looking gap? And if I did want to find something to do, what should it be? Pleasing my parents and having them satisfied with what I'm doing will definitely make life easier. I dunno what my professional interests are yet so what are some open ended ideas for stuff I could do? It could be non profit, an internship, anything.

I am in this weird situation because I skipped 2 years in grade school and graduated from HS at 16. Right now I am 18 and when I go to college next september I will be average age and come in as a standard freshman.

[istewart]

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I am an athlete and will play in college,

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Right-o.

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its squash btw

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ROFL

http://www.piracyrecs.com/squash_dorks/squash_dorks.jpg

[pokerdirty]

relax dude, you haven't even gotten into college yet. yeah, eventually you'll have to get a couple of internships, but not until you are at least a soph/jun. you didn't even say what you will be studying (though i'm assuming business), so the next 9 months you should just have fun with, and not worry about. and come down to Union Sq more often for my card game /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Voltron87]

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relax dude, you haven't even gotten into college yet. yeah, eventually you'll have to get a couple of internships, but not until you are at least a soph/jun.

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This is actually more about getting my parents off my back, I am pretty laid back and have been a huge slacker in life. I am more than happy to just lounge around until college. i'll def be there this week btw.

[slickpoppa]

What you do the summer after your senior year of high school doesnt mean jack. You are not going to be able to get a good internship, so just play poker and travel. When you get to college, participate in an extracurricular that you can put on your resume (newspaper looks good). In the meantime, you could try volunteering for something. Where do you live? There are a lot of bog elections in 2006 that you could volunteer for part time over the summer and still have plenty of time for poker and other crap. Since you would be working as a volunteer you would stll have a lot of flexibility in your schedule.

9 months is probably just short enough, where you can keep them off your back with "Ill get one eventually, Im still looking", then by the time they get fed up, you will be too busy getting ready to go away to college.

[pokerdirty]

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relax dude, you haven't even gotten into college yet. yeah, eventually you'll have to get a couple of internships, but not until you are at least a soph/jun.

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This is actually more about getting my parents off my back, I am pretty laid back and have been a huge slacker in life. I am more than happy to just lounge around until college. i'll def be there this week btw.

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well then, you need to tell your parents to slow their roll. ask them what they were doing at 17, and then they'll probably stfu.

no game this week by the way, read my sleeping pills thread for the reason why.

[Guyon]

Excessively party, drink, and drug now so when you reach college you discover moderation and don't become a complete slapdick pothead pissing away thousands on tuition for the next seven years /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[sfer]

http://www.homegrocer.com/images/products/knuds%20milk%20gal%20d%20web.jpg

[Shajen]

"lol"

[pokerdirty]

i knew this was coming

[turnipmonster]

work at a restaurant and bang all the waitresses.

[jaydub]

deliver pizza part time.

[Voltron87]

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work at a restaurant and bang all the waitresses.

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sounds like work. also, HS girls> waitresses, am i wrong?



the volunteering for a campaign sounds like a decent idea, since it's a volunteer thing I could set my own hours and avoid doing much. this thread is more of a "me trying to provide cover for getting 9 free months of youth" rather than me actually worrying about my future. trust me that is not the way I roll.

[dcasper70]

If I could go back to your age and have that kind of free time without monetary worries, I'd do volunteer type work, but not what you think...

I'd volunteer to work for a general contractor for 4 months, take a month off, then do the same at an auto shop. I'd do the first to learn everything I could about general carpentry and electrical work, and, well, same for the car stuff.
Basically, I don't know $hit about these areas and wish I did. Would be unbelievably helpful now that I have a house & 2 cars.

So just think about something you'd like to learn, and go whore yourself out as cheap/free labor to learn it. Parents will be very impressed, you'll keep yourself busy, and if it's volunteer based, you can pretty much make your own hours.

[ QUOTE ]
If I could go back to your age and have that kind of free time without monetary worries, I'd do volunteer type work, but not what you think...

I'd volunteer to work for a general contractor for 4 months, take a month off, then do the same at an auto shop. I'd do the first to learn everything I could about general carpentry and electrical work, and, well, same for the car stuff.
Basically, I don't know $hit about these areas and wish I did. Would be unbelievably helpful now that I have a house & 2 cars.

So just think about something you'd like to learn, and go whore yourself out as cheap/free labor to learn it. Parents will be very impressed, you'll keep yourself busy, and if it's volunteer based, you can pretty much make your own hours.

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Yes, this is an awesome idea. Find something you may think you want to learn, from how to run a restaurant to changing oil, and just tell the owner/hr dept your situation, adn that you will work for free for a leanring experience.

[KDawgCometh]

here's a solution that will work well for both you and your parents. In England, a Non-EU citizen from a major country can work for a year there and live there. THere is a special VISA that you can get where you can either work for two 6 month stints or do a full year there. This way you can be productive like your parents want, play poker, and travel. Just do it around london and you should have a blast. You will need to have a job hooked before you can get the VISA I think, so something like that

why are you asking this..what have you been doing the past 2 years since you graduated from high school?

good luck getting into penn..u'll probably get in since u're an athlete and you applied early. everyone gets into penn when they apply early, especially if you will play a sport for them.

[daveymck]

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here's a solution that will work well for both you and your parents. In England, a Non-EU citizen from a major country can work for a year there and live there. THere is a special VISA that you can get where you can either work for two 6 month stints or do a full year there. This way you can be productive like your parents want, play poker, and travel. Just do it around london and you should have a blast. You will need to have a job hooked before you can get the VISA I think, so something like that

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An advantage of coming over here is you can drink legally.

Personally I would chill and do some travelling, but make the most of it dont just sit round the house for 9 months, cos this is probably the last big break you will have in life, 9 months with no responsibility or cash worries I would love to have that.

Could always do some volenteer work if so inclined whether locally or abroad whcih would look better on the cv (not that it matters) and probably open your eyes more than any paid crappy job would.

[InchoateHand]

It looked long so I'm just assuming you are pregnant.

[Voltron87]

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It looked long so I'm just assuming you are pregnant.

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if that was the case this would be a trip report, do you see why?

[BradleyT]

Do nothing for 9 months. It will be your last chance to do that for 45 more years.

[BoogerFace]

In terms of the gap, you're really talking about 2 years (unless I totally misread your post.) A couple of months more isn't going to look any better or any worse. If you wanted you could just say that you were home schooled focusing on probablity.

Getting a crappy job in a restaurant will not be a resume builder. If your resume just says HS grad at 16, I don't think a lot of places would want you for more than grunt mailroom type stuff.

Ask the 'rents where they think you should apply. I think if you go through the application motions and not get an offer, they'll get off your back. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[cdxx]

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This is actually more about getting my parents off my back, I am pretty laid back and have been a huge slacker in life. I am more than happy to just lounge around until college. i'll def be there this week btw.

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sounds like your parents actually have a point. you should listen to them, rather than try to get them off your back. they are trying to teach you some structure in your life, see that you can motivate yourself.

whatever productive you choose to do after college/poker/travel, it will be a far cry from the slacker lifestyle you've had and are bound to have through college.

take this from a slacker who was you 8 years ago. btw, an internship is actually a really good idea.

[daryn]

here's what i don't understand. why do people play squash? seems to me like it's just a sucky version of racquetball where the ball doesn't want to bounce.

[RiverFenix]

Did you ever post your life story or whatever? You said it was really interesting when youve commented about your life in the past.

[2+2 wannabe]

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here's what i don't understand. why do people play squash? seems to me like it's just a sucky version of racquetball where the ball doesn't want to bounce.

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squash >>>>>>>> racquetball

[Voltron87]

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Did you ever post your life story or whatever? You said it was really interesting when youve commented about your life in the past.

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i'd say its much more "unconventional" than interresting, whenever i meet people and explain it its always surprising but i don't think its the kind of thing you could write a book about.

[daryn]

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here's what i don't understand. why do people play squash? seems to me like it's just a sucky version of racquetball where the ball doesn't want to bounce.

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squash >>>>>>>> racquetball

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explain please. i have only played racquetball, so i can't comment on squash directly, but i have heard from people who have played both and they say squash sucks compared to rb. no fast action, the ball is deadzo, etc.

racquetball is my favorite game. if anyone wants to play in boston area let me know

[2planka]

Haven't read the responses yet.

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They want me to get a resume building internship or something like that. They don't want me to be wasting this time doing something which looks like a huge gap in my life to future employers.

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Future employers won't give a rat's tuckus about what you did before college. Your folks are shooting an angle.

What do you want to study in college? What are your interests? If you can intern/work in a field that interests you then you may consider doing that for its own sake. Otherwise, I say you should have fun, play poker, maybe offer kick some $ to your folks each week/month until you go to school.

Not sure how well you're doing at cards, but maybe you and you parents could work out a savings/investment plan for some percentage of your earnings. Your folks want to see that you understand responsibility. This may be a good approach.

Aside from that, I strongly suggest that you enjoy the next few months, then enjoy the four years of school, then start to figure out how to be a "real person" later. Have fun.

[MikeNaked]

Two words: Thai. Land.

Don't waste this nine months. Carpe booty.

[Phoenix1010]

Your parents are mostly right. You can get by without getting an internship freshman year, since most freshmen are working jobs to survive/getting the partying out of their systems. Sophomore and junior year, it is absolutely in your best interest to get some kind of job/internship that will look nice on a resume. Senior year it's pretty much required. Best to learn how to juggle poker/school/job as early as possible. Enjoy your freshman year, go traveling your freshman summer, and then get ready to buckle down.

[Georgia Avenue]

Someone else had the right idea...Sell them on "World Travel"...

Do some research on Australian educational trends, maybe that'll help...When I was traveling through Europe just about every nook and cranny was occupied by a Australian 18-20 year old (often wicked fine lady). Apparently some obscene % of Aussie HS students take a few years before college to sow wild oats and become citizens of the world. This is a +++++ good idea. Tell them: 1. You want to learn about other cultures (like in Monte Carlo/Aviation?) 2. It will make you more responsible once you hit college. 3. It's cheaper than traveling in the US (not really, but what do they know)... 4. KKF will put you up for free in Thailand. 5. You'll get lots of foreign strange.

If none of these brilliant points work, look in to Language or Art study programs in Europe or elsewhere. The parents will think you're learning something while you travel around on breaks and have a good time anyway. Do NOT spend your free months doing crap lab work at NIH or some BS. I went straight to college and ended up dropping out...If I had taken a year off I would have made much better decisions down the road.

[MikeNaked]

[ QUOTE ]
Apparently some obscene % of Aussie HS students take a few years before college to sow wild oats and become citizens of the world. This is a +++++ good idea. Tell them: 1. You want to learn about other cultures (like in Monte Carlo/Aviation?) 2. It will make you more responsible once you hit college. 3. It's cheaper than traveling in the US (not really, but what do they know)... 4. KKF will put you up for free in Thailand. 5. You'll get lots of foreign strange.

If none of these brilliant points work, look in to Language or Art study programs in Europe or elsewhere. The parents will think you're learning something while you travel around on breaks and have a good time anyway. Do NOT spend your free months doing crap lab work at NIH or some BS. I went straight to college and ended up dropping out...If I had taken a year off I would have made much better decisions down the road.

[/ QUOTE ]

GA's absolutely correct.

I enrolled in a summer program at University of Cambridge and went travelling in SE Asia and Oceania for 7 months as a college student. I had loads of fun, banged lots of women, learned a ton - and, no lie, both experiences look great on a resume.

Don't do something stupid by staying home.

[ozyman]

You are only 18, when I met you at the Crimson challenge I never would have guessed. At that point in your life I wouldnt worry about a career building internship, you will find plenty of those sophmore and junior year of college.

[ChipWrecked]

Thought you'd knocked some chick up....

[Evan]

Go to a strip club.

watch pron and jerk it

[man]

that's a pretty great avatar evan.

don't you think that after nine months of letting your mind stagnate, you won't still be willing to be industrious when you get back to school? that transition will be pretty difficult, and f*ing up college is pretty -EV. I also feel that it'd be incredibly boring and sad to do nothing but satisfy personal appetites for nine months.

also, how easy would it be for you to get a meaningful internship? my guess is that as a high school graduate, if you were able to lock something down, you'd be filling coffee cups. and if you were able to lock something substantive down, you'd be working for an incompetant and naive boss (who else would hire a high school grad for substantive work?). maybe not, just a guess. there was a high schooler who worked at my brother's chemistry lab, but I'm not sure how much she did.

instead, why not take some poker money and go traveling? another recommendation is to do volunteer work for a few hours a week. something to make your parents happy and that will look good on your resume.

[BadBoyBenny]

I bet Holden Caulfield would have said the same thing.