My advisor told me to take a semester off, turns out she was right

At Ohio State I was failing calc for the second time and crying in my car every morning. My advisor said, "you're not lazy, you're just burnt out, go work for a bit and see if you miss it." I took that break, got a job at a coffee shop in Columbus, and realized I didn't miss school at all. Two years later I'm managing that shop and training baristas, no degree but no debt either. Has anyone else had a professor or advisor give them permission to leave, and it actually made the decision easier instead of harder?

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ross.sean4d ago

and honestly that advisor deserves a medal because same thing happened to me at a community college in arizona. i was stuck in this loop of dropping classes and re enrolling, felt like a total failure. then one professor pulled me aside after i bombed a midterm and said maybe i needed to stop fighting the current for a sec. i took a break, worked at a warehouse for a year, and you know what? it clicked. i realized i was only in school cause my parents expected it, not cause i wanted it. now i do HVAC work and i'm way happier, and i actually went back part time just for fun, not for the degree. that break was the best thing that ever happened to me, nobody talks about how quitting can be the smartest move sometimes.

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