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Originally Posted by lurkette
"real life" can look pretty juicy when you' are used to an academic life, but it's for the REST OF YOUR LIFE, and after a while you start to miss the time when your only responsibility was to go to classes and learn shit.
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Great observation, Lurkette. I'd have to second her on that one... I'm in the 3rd year of a PhD program, but I spent a year as a high school teacher and went running back to school after that. I figured I had the rest of my life to work my ass off... why would I want that kind of life any earlier than necessary?
Lurkette's very right... the working world can be rough. You think going to class a few hours a day and doing some homework is tough? Try being "in class" 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day, if not more, on a regimented schedule where there is no option of sleeping in (unless you want to lose your job). Granted, not all "real world" jobs are like this, but a heck of a lot of them are.
Now, I started off college as pre-med, too (10 years ago! yikes), and after a while grew bored and decided to major in English. I don't regret that decision; I was quite passionate about my major throughout college, even though my mom hated the idea since I had been groomed to be a doctor all my life. It took me years to convince her that I was making the right decision. Do you feel like your parents would no longer fund you if you studied something else? What about getting a job in college (like many people do) to put you on more of a schedule and give you the responsibility of paying for your own courses? Once you realize the financial weight of those missed classes, perhaps that will increase your motivation.
Believe me, as a PhD student I feel a substantial lack of motivation almost all of the time.
I feel like dropping out sometimes because I don't know what I'm doing, wonder if the grass is greener, etc. The reality is that I just don't do well without structure, and if I let myself become too undisciplined, I REALLY start wanting to drop out. It has helped me to go to counseling through the university and get some of my mental life on track, as well as hold myself to a schedule of working out at least three times a week. I'm not saying these are answers for you, but do you feel like you are mentally and physically "in shape," and just really dislike pre-med now? Or are you out of shape in some areas, and thus your ability to enjoy your studies has also diminished?
I've rambled too long here, but I hope some paragraph or another was helpful to you. Just saying what came to mind for me, since I've been a student for life and it hasn't always been pretty, either. But it's not a bad life for a while, really.