I’m sixteen years old and in my second semester of college, which makes people think that I’m super smart and talented and that I’m going places. Ha. Right. Really, I’m just here because I needed to get out of high school ASAP and, at the time, college seemed like the best option.

The thing is, now I feel trapped. My parents are paying loads of money to send me here, and I can’t help them out because no one wants to hire a sixteen-year-old chick that can’t drive and has no job experience. Plus, I have absolutely no clue what I want to do with my life. Right now, I’m focusing on neuroscience and psychology, but neuropsychology isn’t exactly a field you should enter without being damn sure it’s what you want to do with your life, and I’m just not.

Don’t get me wrong: neuropsychology is a ridiculously fascinating subject. I could literally go on about all the different disorders for ages upon ages. It’s just, I’m scared that I’m never going to visit Egypt and England and Japan, or publish a hilariously bad romance novel, or do any of the things that I told myself I would when I was a little kid. I’m stuck being this girl that people think is smarter than she actually is, trying to live up to their expectations, and, fuck, isn’t sixteen too young to be having a mid-life crisis?

Whoa. Chill the fuck out, kid.

You’re not trapped. You’re just in a bubble, and you have no sense of scale. At your age, you could go off and have an entire career in neuropsychology, decide to change paths, and still be young enough to qualify as a cast member for MTV’s Real World.

Also, your parents want to pay for you education. It’s a point of personal pride for them. The work-study wage you can’t earn yet is a drop in the fucking bucket anyways, so stop feeling guilty and start taking advantage of the situation.

The only expectations you have to live up to are your own, and I’m guessing that you know damn well what you’re capable of doing. Hell, you could have a fucking PhD and still need a fake ID to buy beer.

Life is long, kiddo. Knock college out like you did high school, and then go off and do something cool. When you’re done, go do something else. After that, write a shitty book or go to Egypt.

You’ve got plenty of fucking time.