| I'd recommend going back to school. When you go: * Join some exercise or sports club. Martial arts, ultimate frisbee, swimming -- anything. * Ask a few women on dates. If you're at all like I was, you will make an awkward mess of it and get rejected. This is a good thing. It will make you dread failure less. * Some Saturday, when you really should be working, take the day off and explore whatever city you live in. Don't go to the standard tourist locations. Walk around all day and explore at random. Walk into businesses you might not otherwise walk into. Approach strangers and ask random questions. They'll probably think you're weird -- that's okay, you'll never see them again. (This might not apply directly if your town is small and/or unsafe.) * Find some off-campus activity to go and join for a day. The more ridiculous the better. Country line dancing? * Take some class in some subject that really interests you, but will be useful for nothing. Shakespeare, music theory, some obscure foreign language, ... anything. * Do reasonably well in your classes. But don't be afraid to get a few B's. Disappoint your family slightly, not totally. * Read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Wonderfully insightful and funny, and based on what you say I imagine the story she tells will be familiar as hell. * Tell all of this to your family. IMHO, you will be very, very glad you did so no matter how they react. Good luck to you! |