Ask HN: What is (is there something) wrong with me?

Stop thinking that "what to do with your life" is a choice that you have to make. Just do stuff. When something doesn't make you happy, drop it. When something does make you happy, double-down on it. When it stops being fun and starts being work, find something else to do.

The one thing that jumped out to me is that your daily exercise routine energizes you and makes you feel good. Why not pursue that? Find a way to do more of what you love and less of what you don't. Instead of being paralyzed by feeling like you're being pressured to make choices, be excited that the world is open in front of you and you have the ability to do whatever you want, everyone else be damned.

If this major doesn't interest you, if you can switch to one that does. To have these thoughts at your age is strange to me, you sound like someone imprisoned rather than a young person with their life ahead of them.

Look after yourself first, then worry about looking after others, and don't take social pressure created in different days than the current ones as limiting your ability to choose your own life.

The days of arranged marriages and career paths laid out by family are over. As an Indian person you will have to probably over come a significant amount of resistance in order to even be allowed to attempt to chart your own path, but even that permission is not theirs to give.

When I dropped out of highschool my family lamented that that was the end of my chances on a life worth living. I didn't hear my mom complaining when I put her on the payroll of my company to tide her over after she got ill (stroke) and was not able to work a normal job for a while.

Your life, your choices. There is nothing wrong with you.

best of luck!

Also, for what it’s worth, you might want to look into counseling for depression.  From the description of your life it seems like you’re a likely candidate (unhappy except when you workout and have endorphins racing through your body).  Depression can make you lose interest in even stuff are interested in so before you decide your previously chosen major is not interesting you should make sure it isn’t depression talking.

If your perceived sense of self-worth doesn't improve or worsens, your brain will undergo physical changes that result in a state of clinical depression, which is defined far more by a lack of passion/engagement than by feelings of sadness. You will remain entirely in control of your actions, but the pool of available actions will become smaller and smaller as this continues. Eventually you will reach a point where you no longer can keep up the facade of control and your academics will shift from something that you don't enjoy doing to something that you can't keep up with. As someone intelligent you are likely to rationalize this disengagement / drop in grades by saying that the classes aren't worth your time (or other self-defeating thoughts). If this happens, you need to find an counselor who can be the mirror that tells you what a self-handicapping idiot you are being.

Or maybe this won't happen and you will graduate with honors and receive job offers from multiple companies. Things will likely change that will lift you past your current opinion on life. Often one good thing leads to another and you would be amazed at how quickly your perception on your future can shift after meeting a remarkable new friend(both guys AND girls). If something academic comes into your life that interests you, embrace it and do not let go.

In my opinion you should take a year off, or at least a semester. I did that after high school and it was the best decision of my life. Find a place to get started, tap into your webdev skills, there is great demand for them. I found a webdev job on craigslist for a company in Costa Rica where I had a hour-long surf-breaks at hightide. This experience of work as both productivity and play redefined how I defined 'success' in my own life. Pick a place that you have a passing interest in visiting, go to craigslist and look for internships/jobs that will pay enough to cover your room and board there and get the hell out of dodge.

You will go back to finish your degree when you are ready and want it or you will be happier in your new place. Win either way. Your family wants you happy and successful, neither of which are correlated with regretful career decisions.

I hope all goes well for you.

It's... not that easy.

Most people would agree that parents have a duty to take care of their children. India has a value system where children are expected to reciprocate when they grow up. Parents sacrifice a great deal for their children in India, and I'm not just speaking of financial aspects (though that can be substantial). In most families, the children, their education and their future success are the "grand projects" that the families' day to day lives revolve around. Even as a human unconditioned by any cultural idiosyncrasies, I think you do have a responsibility to treat them kindly.

However, this doesn't mean that you have to blindly adopt their notions of success. In my case, I had to negotiate with them to redefine their ideas of a meaningful, fulfilling life so that I could be free.