I know this isn't Trump related but I don't know if I made the right decision. I was originally supposed to go to college this year at the University of Oregon, but I decided to take the gap year because of being across the country, COVID, the wildfires, and the riots. But I'm an A/B student and I just feel lost without learning and being in a school environment and I was going to go, but then the wildfires flared up. I didn't care about the riots because campus police is very strict at U of O and I don't care about College campuses, but I listened to my parents and just decided to stay at home. I'm just sitting at home playing golf, researching new colleges to go to, and playing video games with high school seniors. Nobody in my area is hiring because they are either closing soon or just don't want to take on new staff and a lot of people aren't taking volunteers near me. I'm seeing all of my friends having fun in college and I'm sitting in my basement feeling left out.
I just don't know if I made the right decision, some days I feel like I made the right decision, but then some days I feel a deep regret with my decision.
I’ll echo the sentiments from others and add a few things. College/University is not solely about having fun. Look at it as a sacrifice of some of your youthful years to pay dividends you’ll enjoy for the rest of your life. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun in college but it shouldn’t be the focus/purpose of it and you already have a good base with your grades from high school.
Two things to add - maybe a few months or a year of being away from school is what you feel is best right now and there’s nothing wrong with that either. If you aren’t able to find a job or are waiting out COVID, find goals to set to keep you motivated toward something. Your mind is thirsting for growth right now, seize on this energy and use it to start a small business while waiting out the gap year. Buy and sell things starting small and set realistic goals for earning cash. Take an online course at a local college if you have the cash, find ways to continue to grow and set a goal that the duration of your hiatus doesn’t go past what you originally planned. Point two - your parents have been a steady hand guiding you up to this point in life. You are now at the point where your parents guidance shouldn’t be something you use as a reason for doing or not doing something. Your actions from here on out are your responsibility. The decisions you make whether you are at home or away at school reflect on you directly now.
It is good you are contemplating in your own mind whether you made the right decision, very rarely is any decision 100% correct (unless you are GEOTUS of course, the man is literally 100% correct 110% of the time). Keep any regret or remorse for taking the year off under control and channel your energy toward finding areas to continue personal growth during this time!