Six weeks passed this prior semester before I realized I was going to fail all of my classes. Was I focused? Absolutely not. This past semester I switched into

Six weeks passed this prior semester before I realized I was going to fail all of my classes. Was I focused? Absolutely not. This past semester I switched into Engineering from a Liberal Arts degree, and I'd never felt so worthless, incompetent and overwhelmed. Everyone had it together, everyone knew absolutely everything—and me, half a year of teaching myself programming in my spare time was showing no results. Except for developing carpal tunnel syndrome. My roommate was another source of tension. Every day (and I really mean every day), he would talk about how Harvard Law demanded a 4.0, who wore real suits and who wore knock-offs, how School A was so much better than School B, the difference in salary between top-tier and bottom-tier grads, and, to top it off, how much he valued "good ol' American values, like from the 50s". He flew through his tests and quizzes with straight-As, and I struggled to scrape up a passing grade. To make matters worse, I started learning shell scripting, further distracting me from homework and classes. Also, I was getting treated for depression. Anyway, I couldn't find a way to be motivated for anything other than my side projects. I tried turning my homework into a programming puzzle, but it was too late—my grades were too low to salvage. Taking time off was something that had always been on my mind, but hearing it recommended was the final push I needed. So I withdrew. And, surprisingly, the world didn't end—it opened up. I didn't know what to do with all this free time, so I increased my volunteering time at a local school and started job-applying like crazy. I was interviewed for an IT position and another to cashier, and I got neither. Still don't have a job, still wondering how I'm going to feed my cat, yet not worried. Don't get me wrong—I'm stressed like hell, but I'm enjoying it. I can literally spend hours coding without feeling guilty. Finishing college is important to me, however, and I'm set to return in the fall. Hopefully my work ethic will keep maturing—I'm excited to start again. GPA definitely isn't on my mind.