Dropping out + other

[Sunday]

So its almost midnight on a Sunday night and I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to go to Uni. Or even year 11 (16 years old and I'm in year 10) mainly because I've recently moved states from NSW to SA and I am not enjoying my time here at all. Even so, moving has given Me anxiety and I believe depression (not diagnosed with depression only anxiety) and I incredibly unhappy with the schooling system here.

I'm currently doing a BOLT program through the school which is trying to get me to go to school more but I physically do not want to go back to the horrible environment that is school. Its uncomfortable .

I want to do a tafe course instead of continuing on with high school. I'm planning on dropping out at the start of year 11. But more in the now zone I'm planning on doing a Batista course to get myself a job in a cafe somewhere (casual work because I still have to go to school) so I can pay for this tafe course.

But here's question one; how do I convince my parents? Neither of them went to uni, and both of them want me to go but I don't think I could physically handle the strain of SCAE.

I'm already struggling with my assignments, which are basically pointless. ( I have one over due now and 2 smaller ones due tomorrow morning but I can't bring myself to do them. ((Depression causing lack of energy?? I don't even know if I am depressed, I feel like I am))) I'm worried about going to those classes tomorrow so I'm just going to skip them (which is bad I know) is there a way I could explain to someone at school that I don't want to be there and can't physically do assignments with out wanting to die? That's the truth, I'd probably rather get hit by a car than do these assignments. I'd rather work full time rather than go to school everyday.

I don't want to go tomorrow, but mum "wants me to make an effort" so I'm going to go but I'll just be distracted all day and want to die.

Anyone have any ideas??

[N1ghtW1ng]

Hey @Sunday and welcome to ReachOut,

It's perfectly okay to not want to continue school. I also changed states and had to go to a new school (from NSW to QLD where the schooling was drastically different).

It's important that when you go and convince your parents, you have a plan of what you want to do. The more you have sorted, the better. For example, saying that you want don't want to go to school anymore and that you want to do a tafe course is okay. But saying which tafe courses you would like to do and how it would benefit you (for a job in your future). Talk about getting a casual job with them, make sure you have details and answer any questions they have.

Even though you don't want to go, I think going, at least for a few days, seeing how it is and if anything changes. It might also help your parents understand your choice better. If you could open up to them about how your feeling, to help them understand, but if you can't or don't want to, you don't have to worry.


If worst comes to worst and your parents force you to go to school, try talking to your teachers or a school counselor.

Let us know how you go,
N1ghtW1ng

[lovin each day]

Hey mate,

Regardless which route you pick, i sincerely hope the best for you. However on that note, there are certain things you have to consider. Have you spoken to a career advisor on what options you have? It seems you want to step into hospitality industry, why not see if you can do a course related to that. The thing is, there always will be assignments regardless which tertiary program you pick, so doing a course you are interest in might help you to focus on the assignments. There are a lot of support for school kids to find a career path and there are a lot of site, documents, programs and even internships that can help you. Still finishing year 11 and 12 is not a bad thing to do, you can leap to an internship that requires minimum high school qualification with some luck.

Whichever path you pick, i think you are at a prime time to make a move. Either move to tafe (where you will learn similar stuff to high schoo but a lot of practice and specialized) or finishing off year 12. Ask a school career advisor, check out government websites for school leavers. 

[ElleBelle]

Hi @Sunday I think the others have given you some really good advice here, especially about talking to your careers counsellor and having an alternative schooling plan (TAFE, etc) when you approach your parents. I just wanted to link you to this fact sheet about dropping out of school too. Are you receiving any form of treatment or self help strategies to manage your anxiety? If not, it's a good idea to talk to a counsellor since you might find the same thing pops up again with other forms of study.