Taking one semester off - will it kill me?

[Brighty]

Is it a huge mistake to take one semester off from college my sophomore year?

Some of you may remember another thread like this, but basically here's my scenario updated - I now have an internship that I can do as well:

Basically, I've always wanted to be a professional writer/director for Hollywood and recently I've gotten a huge breakthrough with a viral internet story that has gotten the attention of Sony Studios and we're in the process of talking to them about the possibility of making my story into a movie. This is literally my dream and I've going to school right now and I can't see myself pursuing any of these majors. I'm strongly considering another school thats more film/art oriented but I want to take next semester off to kind of take a step back and work on my writing and my next project that could potentially blow up and make a lot of money. After that I'd resume school.

It's not like I'll be a complete bum either - I've got an internship lined up that starts in March that will last until August that will not only end up netting me like $10,000-$15,000 but will be a great entrepreneurial experience for me, get me networking a lot of successful people, and look kickass on my resume.

My mom wrote my a 5 page letter today basically saying that if I take a semester off now I'll never go back to school and end up a failure like my dad and that I should just stay at school even though I dont want to major in anything there. I argue with her that a four year degree doesn't mean as much as it once did and that I should try to see if I can try this other route but she doesn't listen.

Suddenly hearing that I dont have my moms support at all on this... I won't lie, it's a hefty morale blow. I mean she has a 4 year communications degree and she's still working and she's almost 50... and she's just found that job by luck after searching for a year and a half after she got laid off from her last one. And to hear her ****ing slander my dad - even though they're divorced - and tell me not to listen to him (he supports me, and he has been so supportive and amazing - once he heard I was contacted by these guys he took it upon himself to help me find an agent) was just ****ing enraging. Its like she assumes that anyone without a college degree is worthless and its like none of the other stuff I have lined up even matters.

This is my ****ing dream, my passion, I know I won't be happy in my life if I end up at some 9-5 job that I hate always looking back and wondering what would've happened if I pursued this. I want to try it while I'm still young. I was so hyped up and confident that I could succeed at this and then I read my mom's letter and I dont know if it was the lack of sleep or what but my confidence kind of took a big hit. What do you guys think about the whole thing? Is taking one semester off so bad? Should I just give it a ****ing try?

 

[Speculator E]

I've taken semesters off and was able to come back and graduate. People take time off from school all the time, so I don't see how your mom can make these conclusions. The only problem with doing that is if you take time off and don't do anything to help your resume.

I have dumb parents like your mom. As a matter of fact, the only reason why I came back to school to finish my degree was because of them. It was a big mistake b/c I don't even work in my field. I stopped listening to them after that. With all the crazy dumb ideas they throw at me, I would be a big failure if I listen to everything they tell me. Sometimes your parents just don't know $hit about things and listening them would just hurt you in the end.

You're lucky you have at least one parent that is supportive. If I were you I'll just stop listening to your mom. You don't need the support of someone who is stupid.

 

[search1ng]

Sounds like you yourself have answered the question.

In the big scheme of things, a degree is worthless unless it is furthering YOUR education.

 

[Vice]

It sounds like your mom is shackled with fear. Fear of change. And ignorance; she is an EMPLOYEE. Many big business owners and successful people do not have college degrees. And you can understand that mindset, because she is a parent and a woman, and she values security. You value change and freedom.

She is stuck in the pre-information age mindset. "Security" today is not what it was a few decades ago. You must adapt.

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and became successful. Henry Ford build Ford Motors as a high school dropout.

You don't need a degree to be successful. It doesn't hurt either.

And you're not dropping out; you're taking one semester off to take a once in a lifetime opportunity. College will always be there; this opportunity won't. Do you want to spend your life working for someone else 9-5 (I wish I had those short hours!) filled with regret and wonder what could have happened, or are you going to take the opportunity to grow?

The worst that will happen is you fail and go back to college. The best that will happen is infinite.

When you get into business, you need to understand that the people who have the college degrees often work FOR the people who don't.

 

[theunflushables]

Brighty, follow your dreams. If you have this opportunity, seize it.

And don't worry about what your mom says. I dropped out of school my first go around. I took 8 years off of school and became a slave to the workforce. When the economy went to crap I went back to school and now I am studying something I actually love. Even after 8 years there will always be a school waiting for you.

Start looking at art schools with good film programs.

 

[ArcBound]

Number one: your mom's statement is retarded. Here's what you do Brighty

1) Go to your college dean, advisor, whatever and tell them you want to take a gap year. Tell them your reasons, about a potential job. They understand and DO let people out for a year or longer for that.

2)a Follow your passion become rich and maybe we'll see a movie out of you from SONY.

2)b The SONY thing doesn't work out. You can still go back to college if you feel like it.

You have to understand one of the greatest fears for a parent is to see their child to grow up to become a failure in life. Therefore parents think that if their child strays from a certain set path their child will become a failure. In most parents this manifests in them wanting their kids to go to college/medschool/lawschool. So your mom sees you going off a little bit and her fear is kicking in for that. It's only natural...Somethings in life are high risk with high reward but parents don't want to risk their child's future. So don't take it as a confidence hit. Take it as she's really looking out for you and her intentions are good even though she may not be right.

 

[BigJimbo]

Give me the name of this "project". What agency are you with? Yes, I am a skeptic. I am also not a teenager like every horny kid on here. Lets see the video.

Your story lacks vision. It was done long long ago. Don't you remember when Greg Brady could have become Johnny Bravo. Eh, his parents talked him out of it. School was more important. Your writing skills are lacking. Maybe one day you can create a viral video that gets more than a few looks on Vimeo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaG6OrPakW8
This was the famous talk that Mike and Carol Brady had with Johnny...uh...Greg.

 

[Quiksilver]

If you're taking the semester off to advance your education and career opportunities then do it.

I thought about taking a semester off, but out of the opposite reasons. I did not like my degree at that point and was "sick of it". I thought about taking a semester off to get away from it then return in a better state of mind.

I finally decided that that was a silly route, and just stuck with it. It's very hard to come back after a semester off, when you have a little bit of money in your pocket and life seems good with a job, etc.

In the long run (3-5 years further on), you will wish you had finished your degree, or at least continued without pausing.

There are plenty of people who just intend to take a semester off but don't return until they're in their 30s. That's a lot of missed career opportunities.

Very subjective discussion, hard to give concrete advice, especially at my age where I'm just emerging from that.

good luck.

 

[Brighty]

Give me the name of this "project". What agency are you with? Yes, I am a skeptic. I am also not a teenager like every horny kid on here. Lets see the video.

Your story lacks vision. It was done long long ago. Don't you remember when Greg Brady could have become Johnny Bravo. Eh, his parents talked him out of it. School was more important. Your writing skills are lacking. Maybe one day you can create a viral video that gets more than a few looks on Vimeo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaG6OrPakW8
This was the famous talk that Mike and Carol Brady had with Johnny...uh...Greg.

I'm not going to shed any details on who I am, what the project is, or anything of the sort for fear of the fact that it may be traced back to this account. I've posted a lot of sensitive stuff on SoSuave about my private life and I've already had to change my facebook to prevent my fanbase from finding me in real life. Either you believe me or you don't, it is not a concern of mine.

To everyone else, thank you, I appreciate the advice and its great that you guys have shared some past experiences or are knowledgeable about the subject. It's just annoying how my mom can think that this is the only way I might be able to succeed in life and she immediately assumes that if I take a semester off I will immediately end up a dropout and a failure.

 

[synergy1]

it sounds like you aren't even into college, nor your line of study so I don't think a semester off will kill you. Given the costs and lack of usefulness of most degrees these days, its something one should look at under much scrutiny. Remember though, living as an artist is difficult unless you have connections and are very talented. Only you know that.

What could you fall back on if it doesn't work out, or works out slower than you first thought? Rather than focus on school, focus on contingencies for your main plan. FWIW even I with a full educational background am starting to think this way - hedge your bet.

 

[mrRuckus]

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and became successful. Henry Ford build Ford Motors as a high school dropout.

You don't need a degree to be successful. It doesn't hurt either.

For every 2 hugely successful guys you can name, there's a 10 million nameless guys who ended up doing road construction.

 

[BigJimbo]

Brighty,

Thanks for sending it and letting me share it with everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU&feature=related
Almost 35 million views! That is awesome. I love it. Congratulations. You have a great future ahead of you.

 

[f283000]

For every 2 hugely successful guys you can name, there's a 10 million nameless guys who ended up doing road construction.

rofl! sad but true

OP, Realize that a mother's job, a girlfriends job, and the job of most females in your life is to contain and suppress your masculine energy.

Ever since you were born your mother has been suppressing your masculine energy. Telling you to do this, don't do that, do this, don't do that. When you do what she wants or what anyone wants except you that's a recipe for failure because your mind is not attuned to achieve it.

In order to succeed in life we have to be in tune with our masculine energy. As men our nature is to explore, to conquer, to experiment, to dominate, to win. This goes against the path that a mother wants which is the path of straight and narrow, safe path, be a good boy, do as told, do the tried and tested.

 

[Vice]

For every 2 hugely successful guys you can name, there's a 10 million nameless guys who ended up doing road construction.

Very true.

But the difference is that they set up something successful and decided to leave behind an education in favor of pushing their ideas and business forward.

There's a difference between doing that and dropping out for other reasons.

 

[Brighty]

Brighty,

Thanks for sending it and letting me share it with everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU&feature=related
Almost 35 million views! That is awesome. I love it. Congratulations. You have a great future ahead of you.

Lol. Cute.

I noticed you accusing me of lying in the last thread I made about this a month ago as well. I'm curious, why the hate? I've never seen you or talked to you before in my life.

OP, Realize that a mother's job, a girlfriends job, and the job of most females in your life is to contain and suppress your masculine energy.

Ever since you were born your mother has been suppressing your masculine energy. Telling you to do this, don't do that, do this, don't do that. When you do what she wants or what anyone wants except you that's a recipe for failure because your mind is not attuned to achieve it.

In order to succeed in life we have to be in tune with our masculine energy. As men our nature is to explore, to conquer, to experiment, to dominate, to win. This goes against the path that a mother wants which is the path of straight and narrow, safe path, be a good boy, do as told, do the tried and tested.

Very powerful words man. I really believe there is a lot of truth to that.

 

[JustLurk]

Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard and became successful. Henry Ford build Ford Motors as a high school dropout.

Woah there, hold your horses. Lots of sound reasoning here but this is a bad, bad example. The successes of these two high school dropouts tend to hide the grave of the innumerable dead, rotting bodies of Wal-mart-ed or minimum-waged high school dropouts who failed.

 

[JustLurk]

Woah there, hold your horses. Lots of sound reasoning here but this is a bad, bad example. The successes of these two high school dropouts tend to hide the grave of the innumerable dead, rotting bodies of Wal-mart-ed or minimum-waged high school dropouts who failed.

@op: Do it, and don't look back. Look forward to the best and prepare for the worst.

 

[Hikapo]

Hey man, go for it brother. ITS YOUR DREAMS AND PASSION...go forward and don't step back.

I myself am a stock market trader. My parents never supported me to do that, but I could care less. its MY DREAM...nobody can stop it...not even my parents.

Chase and live your Dreams....the only reason you would fail is because you never believed in yourself.

Good luck Brighty.

 

[Brighty]

I'd like to thank everyone one more time for their advice in this thread, it really means a lot to me and its great hearing your guys' experience(s) on the matter, especially in a community like this.

I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on what happens.