1. There are lots of 19-year olds that don't know where they are headed in life, nothing wrong with that at all, you are NOT the only one…in fact I would say that 75%+ are likely in your boat. That said, you want the journey to be enjoyable, not frustrating so you do want to pick a direction soon knowing that this may not be the ultimate direction, but just an interim step that leads to something much bigger and better

2. If your passion is more in the arts, in a creative direction then do NOT ignore that passion. At the same time, nothing says you need to immerse yourself 100% into this passion right away. I'm a big fan of being a well rounded individual, for those that aren't interested in the arts, they should build some of that into your journey, others who are interested need to balance that with sound learning on finance (so you can live enough to practice your art), sciences (so you can understand the basics of sound methodology, experimentation, etc…). Just because you sign up for a first year of mainly core education doesn't mean that you can't branch out into the arts and over the next few years lean more heavily in that direction.

3. Lay out your ideal life situation 5-years and 10-years from now. What would you be doing if you had any wish granted? No limits, just paint a picture of what you would be doing, where you would be doing it and with who. From there, you want to work backward and set objectives each year on stepping stones to reach that point. Some of achieving that will be conscious, some will come about unconsciously just from making it happen in your mind. But you MUST start off somewhere – with a plan. That plan can change, but without a plan you can be SURE you won't get where you eventually want to be. It's much better batlling that now than 5-years or 10-years out finding yourself in an even worse situation because you were afraid to dream and think big.

That should getyou started…do take action!

Jeff

@Confused Student:

I guess the indecisiveness comes from this passion I have for performing, but not knowing if i'll make it because the industry is really selective and you have to be really talented to make it big.
However, in the back of my mind comes the quote
"Would you rather live a stagnant stable lifestyle, or take a huge risk that might/might not potentially give you the ultimate happiness?"

I've tried asking multiple friends, guidance councillors, teachers, and family and they've all tried to help me, but in the end I still feel like I'm in the same place, not being able to move forward. I just don't know what to do anymore.

With only one good friend to talk to (alas, she is out of state) and only myself to keep me company all day, I'm starting to be antisocial and regretfully watch my dreams drive away with everything else. An 18 year old man shouldn't be confined to this deep rut like this, but it feels hopeless now.

I even tried to move in with my girlfriend recently, but total fear struck me and I panicked, retreating back to my room at my parent's. I didn't ruin the relationship, but I put a wedge in it that I'm still trying to pry out. A cousin came over just yesterday and asked if I'd like to hang out with some of his friends later in the week and play cards, but the same omen burns in me still and I don't want to go…all I want to do is stay in my cave.

I still have goals and dreams I want to strive for, but I don't have the energy or the drive I used to. Am I stuck in a really deep rut, or is something really wrong with my head?

I somehow managed to move back in the city though and now I'm trying to achieve that peak again but it's just not working alone at home with nothing else to do than gaming (an old stamina-devouring habit I definitively need to get rid of… getting there !!). I hope laying words and theories on all this stuff with the book will be enough, otherwise guess I'll have to seek out a job before taking on school again… meeting with a lot of people daily seems to do wonders even without all the theory backing it up. There are things we humans need that can't be replaced, ignoring these is really just making it harder on ourselves for nothing.

Guess I'm being a bit lazy about this by buying the book instead of seeking out a job… ah well, blame the stupid fear. At least I'll get somewhere.