I have been pushed in every different direction in the past 4 years since I graduated from high school. Now I've made it into my early twenties and I am happy to say that I survived the transitional years from teenager to adult. I can say with complete confidence that I was in no way prepared for life after mandatory class attendance and easily obtained 4.0 GPAs, but like fine wine, we all get better with age right? Instead of listing all the ways I was so very very unprepared, undecided, and just plain uninformed before graduating from high school, I will just make a handy little list of some things I wish someone would have told me. This way, maybe we can pass one or two of these ideas onto someone who may need them.
1) Don't feel pressured to run off to a university your freshman year. Go to community college for the first two years. It's my personal opinion to save your money on the cheap credits.
2) Take time to explore career options if you are not die-hard passionate about a certain field of study. Your mind set and ideals can change so much within the first few years post-high school and you should be open to new passions and interests.
3) Even if you think you are die-hard passionate about a specific field of study, explore some other classes anyways.
4) There are so many fields of study/careers/occupations that you don't even know about yet. Do tons of research on career options and study programs.
5) Really think about a classroom environment that will work best for you before throwing yourself into a program. Some people prefer all online programs, some prefer technical schools with hands-on class work, some like big classes and lecture halls, and some prefer small intimate classes. Try a little bit of everything out and search colleges and programs that suit your learning style.
6) Don't force yourself into a field just because you think you have to! I sincerely wish someone would've told me to just take some time to figure out what I want to do...4 years of college and 6+ changes of my major later and I still have little to no clue what I want to do with my schooling and career. Yes, I wish I could be graduating with all my friends this June & I have enough credits to do it, but the credits are spread so thin across several different majors that they don't amount to anything (except a lot of simple knowledge in many different fields packed into my brain).
7) Attendance won't be mandatory in college, but if you want a decent grade then yes, it is mandatory.
8) Go on to ratemyprofessors.com and sign up for courses based on the teacher's ratings.
9) You literally have a second chance at being exactly who you want to be! Don't fret if you don't like your high school image because college/post-high school years are where you really find yourself and redesign your ideologies.
10) There should be a class on money management in general. What different bank accounts do, interest, loans, etc. I still know very little about money management compared to what I should know as an adult that lives out on her own. If there is a class that teaches this sort of thing, take it!
What's something you wish someone had told you in high school?
Good luck and as always, I will end this post with some inspiration!
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