Hi all,
I am a high school sophomore, and am already having a "college crisis". Here's my story: All my life up until high school, I've been interested in the sciences and mathematics. Even now, I have an A+ in AP Biology, and I haven't even opened our textbook since the class started (our AP Bio course is ranked 12th in the country, BTW). I had been planning on going into some sort of science or engineering field in college. That is, until the 2nd quarter of freshman year. That's when I ran stage crew for my 1st show. I fell in love with it and decided to take the intro to technical theatre course the next semester. I basically worked every show or production that happened in the theater that semester (I ASMed, ran Light Board, ran Sound Board for a dance concert, designed lights for another concert....you get the gist). The TD asked me to skip the other tech classes that are offered, and go into the Advanced Theatrical Production class my sophomore year (normally requires that you take the other tech classes, be a junior or senior, and go through a series of interviews (max class size of 4)). This year I have been Assistant Lighting Designer and Assistant Technical Director for our two major productions.
Now comes the problem. I have started getting letters from colleges, and on my PSAT, under "Major of Interest", I put Technical Theater. My parents are freaking out, as they are concerned that I won't be able to make a living and will be "throwing my life away" (direct quote) in the theater. I've talked with the TD about it (he and I are good friends), and we talked about career choices and such. I'm determined that that this is what I want to do with my life, but my parents have decided that "we need to meet with the counselor and have this fixed" (another direct quote). I know that the conflict is going to come to a head soon. How should I go about convincing them that I will be able to make a living and have fun doing this as a career?
Thanks for listening to my life story, and for any suggestions you may have.
I am a high school sophomore, and am already having a "college crisis". Here's my story: All my life up until high school, I've been interested in the sciences and mathematics. Even now, I have an A+ in AP Biology, and I haven't even opened our textbook since the class started (our AP Bio course is ranked 12th in the country, BTW). I had been planning on going into some sort of science or engineering field in college. That is, until the 2nd quarter of freshman year. That's when I ran stage crew for my 1st show. I fell in love with it and decided to take the intro to technical theatre course the next semester. I basically worked every show or production that happened in the theater that semester (I ASMed, ran Light Board, ran Sound Board for a dance concert, designed lights for another concert....you get the gist). The TD asked me to skip the other tech classes that are offered, and go into the Advanced Theatrical Production class my sophomore year (normally requires that you take the other tech classes, be a junior or senior, and go through a series of interviews (max class size of 4)). This year I have been Assistant Lighting Designer and Assistant Technical Director for our two major productions.
Now comes the problem. I have started getting letters from colleges, and on my PSAT, under "Major of Interest", I put Technical Theater. My parents are freaking out, as they are concerned that I won't be able to make a living and will be "throwing my life away" (direct quote) in the theater. I've talked with the TD about it (he and I are good friends), and we talked about career choices and such. I'm determined that that this is what I want to do with my life, but my parents have decided that "we need to meet with the counselor and have this fixed" (another direct quote). I know that the conflict is going to come to a head soon. How should I go about convincing them that I will be able to make a living and have fun doing this as a career?
Thanks for listening to my life story, and for any suggestions you may have.