I'm not a perfectionist, but my friends say I obsess over having a perfect future and forget the present.?

Question

Today two of my friends asked me what I planned to do in life. I told them I really don't know, so they asked me why I was always fixated on getting in to colleges and took so many courses (it's really only two more than they take). It's because I want all of my options open; I would hate to find out what i want to do only to learn I can't because what I've done isn't good enough.
They told me they don't understand why I insist that I have to take all my classes at the highest possible level and get an A, not an A-. I explained that was the best for my GPA, but they say freshmen shouldn't worry about this. They're smart people, and hard workers, but they tell me I should be lazy a bit. Why is this?

Additional Details

Jazmin: The thing is, they all know what they want to do, and they act accordingly. I just don't know what I'm good at or want to do with my life right now.
AtomicOblivion: My family doesn't have any expectations; they don't really pay attention to what I do in school. Life is more difficult because I am very busy, but I usually don't feel anxious about things; I just work through them to the best of my ability. I don't feel like what I'm trying to do is impossible, but I feel like later in life I will regret things I didn't do because that could make what I ultimately want to do impossible, if that makes sense.

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

But young lady, how will you ever figure out what you want to do if all you do is study, study, study? Yes, it is important to get into a good school, but it is also important to kind of know what you want to do when you get there. Otherwise you spend your time in college studying in all directions in pursuit of the GPA in college, and when you are done with that, you still won't know what you want to do because all you know how to do is study. Study is not really a job skill, and once you start working, you will realize that all you want to do is study, so you will go back to school and get a masters and then a PhD. You won't finish the PhD, though, because what you want is a grade, and PhD dissertations aren't driven by a grade.

Anyway, right now it is o.k. to keep your options open. I am not surprised that someone your age has no idea what they want to be doing in ten years. But at some point you will want to start closing options, and focus on what you feel passionate about. Not all of those careers will come from passions picked up through school work. Leave some time to explore those areas.

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Thank you; that is really helpful. :)

Answer 2

They're jealous and don't want you to get ahead of them, unless you really are stressing out to the max and they're just worried about you. Either way, sounds like you have your head screwed on right. Just don't overstress yourself, keep your high priorities, and you'll be fine! A little perfectionism is good, as long as it doesn't make you miserable.

Answer 3

they are most likely jealous.....
i dont think there is anything wrong with what you are doing??
i am very similar to you and even though we can get stressed sometimes, it does pay off in the future........
maybe they dont want to seem like the stupid ones u know? lol
but, i think your doing great!!!! but no pressure??? lol

Answer 4

Maybe you need to ask yourself why you feel you have to do so much. You seem afraid your future won't pan out well. Try to relax about that. You don't seem to have a huge problem in that you freak out about classes, but make sure you don't get in over your head. You can get this to work out in time if you try. best of luck.