High school is one of the hardest things to deal with. You feel like it’s never going to end. Four years seems like forever until you’re actually almost done. It sucks even more if it’s something you can’t wait to end.

Not everybody feels this way. Many people have great high school experiences and overall, had a good time and did well. They made really close friends, had good grades and were able to go to a good college. It’s something that isn’t as common as I thought.

I went to public school my whole life other than high school, and this whole private school thing was new to me. Not just going to a new school, but it was a different way of life. It was different standards and a whole different world. You are expected to graduate from here and go to college. Like that’s what supposed to happen and what you’re supposed to do. It seems like the obvious thing here, but it’s not as obvious as it seems.

This past weekend I went to an old friend’s grad party. I hadn’t seen her since 8th grade but we were good friends then and I thought it would be cool to say hi. One of the first things I asked her was where she was going to college, and she said she wasn’t. It wasn’t like she wasn’t smart, or anything like that. She just had a different plan. It wasn’t like she was upset she wasn’t going to college, she seemed completely happy. It amazed me and to my surprise I was caught off guard.

The thing about that is the fact that if that happens here, you get looked down upon. Maybe not down upon, but looked at differently. Just because it’s something different and it’s supposed to be seen as something you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to go to college. Right?

I feel like a lot of people do what their parents want them to do. Not exactly what they want to do. They do what their parents say and go to the college their parents want or even study and try to make a career out of what their parents want, and then not even be happy about it.

We live in a society where a lot of people are followers and they can’t make set opinions. Some older people I know are in college and doing something their parents want them to do and they’re not even happy. They’re just trying to please their parents. In the long run what’s going to be there? You end up in a career you don’t like and you’re just stuck there paying debt for something you didn’t even want to learn in the first place.