Real Life 101
Everyone in high school anticipates the last day of their senior year. The day when high school is over and “real life” begins. I felt this day was the day I could be on my own. Get a full time job to support myself. Have no one telling me what to do or how to live. I could finally control my won life. Then it hit me. I can’t live a comfortable life without a college education.
The first thing I did after graduation was to go out and find a real job. I was sick of school and I just wanted to start a career I could hold until I retired. I got a job at a local car dealership, Toyota of Redlands, as a technician. My job included changing oil, rotating tires and any other maintenance related duties. I thought it would be a good start and I could work my way up through the ranks and become a master technician or maybe a service manager. I quickly realized that I only enjoy working on cars in my free time, not when it was a requirement everyday. The pay also never increases unless you go to a Toyota Tech School. As I mentioned earlier I was very sick of school and Tech School did not appeal to me.
One day, my manager at Toyota took me aside and told me “Kyle, you are one of our hardest workers on the lot and I know you could be manager material. In order to do that, you are going to have to go to our Toyota Certified Two Year Academy. The dealership will pay for everything.” Although this would have been a great career opportunity, making almost $200,000 a year, I really didn’t want to go back to school. I also came to the conclusion that I did not want to work on cars for the rest of my life.
After working for Toyota of Redlands for two years, I found a new job at ABI/VIP Attorney Services in Redlands. The pay was better and I really did not want to do hard manual labor anymore. This job was exactly what I needed after working at Toyota. I was now sitting in an air conditioned office with no physical exertion necessary. My job at ABI consisted of sitting at my desk and scanning files, reviewing files and emailing clients.
While everybody is ready for graduation, something didn’t feel right to me. I didn’t feel like I had accomplished anything. I wasn’t accepted into any colleges like everyone else, and that’s because I didn’t even apply. I wasn’t prepared for anything, let alone college. I’m not in high school anymore. It was a game to me and I finally ran out of lives. There’s not as many chances outside of high school. I’ve come to the realization that I need to listen to my counselor and get it together and be more like my best friends and work towards a goal until I accomplish it. I needed to change my and realize that my past doesn’t have to determine my future. I wanted to grasp the concept of, “it’s never to late.” I desired to become a better version of myself. I craved to the idea of a positive purpose in life. I wanted to earn the respect and admiration of others. I wanted to be better. At last, my mind is exactly where it’s suppose to be, and I have come to the recognition that all I need it just one more
Every year, thousands and thousands of students graduate from high school ready to embark one of life’s greatest adventures. Many students feel as if high school was tough and an awkward time for them. Some will encounter times when bullies are rude and nasty to them. Others will not have to deal with any negativity and have a great experience, but will not want to go back. After high school life goes on, many students choose different paths other than to continue their education but most of the students that graduate from high school are given the opportunity to attend colleges and universities all around the nation and obtain an education. Although not all students will get to fulfill this opportunity due to different circumstances, such as the expense or some of them may already have a family to take care of and have to go straight to work after graduation. For those students that do have the opportunity and are able to take it, it’s recommended they do. Once a higher education level is achieved, no one can take it away from them. It makes the chances of getting a job easier and also get a higher pay. An education should never be taken for granted because not everyone gets to have one, setting a goal and staying focused on
...ing of myself and open my eyes to an environment where I may be in just couple of year. Ultimately, this experience has shown me which direction I should take after I graduate in June. I know for sure that even though this kind of filed has lot of room to move up and also make tons of money, this is not something that I would be satisfied with as my career. I would like to go into the automotive industry and search what they have to offer me.
Heading off to a four-year college after graduating from high school has become the norm. However, like Murray, I believe that a college education is not for everyone. Vocational school provides students with an education and an experience necessary for only their job of interest. Instead of taking off your cap and gown and running off to college, people should consider vocational school because it saves so much money, is worth the time, and prepares students with an education specific to their needs. It is common knowledge that college prices have skyrocketed and put students into major debt. Thousands of dollars in loans are taken out each ye...
During high school, whether it is by a teacher, parent or classmate a student will be advised to go to college. “College is where you find yourself,” they will say. College is made to seem as the place where students will attain a brilliant education, thus making them feel as though once they are done with the schooling, a dependable job of high pay will appear for them. In our society, college is not a scarce option, but rather, an expectation. For many graduating high schoolers, college is the next step. Attaining a college degree is not necessary for creating a life for us as our civilization makes it out to be.
Reflecting back on my career, I honestly couldn’t be more proud of myself at this point. I grew up in a lower income community with a blue collar family. Most people graduate from my High School and enter into the workforce, passing on college or trade schools. Most of these jobs are manufacturing or labor intensive positions. I however, had the fortune of attending college right out of High School on an athletic scholarship. Although I found out quickly that I was not ready to take on the responsibility of a student-athlete. Therefore, after just one year of college, I dropped out. Quickly realizing I needed to make money and provide for myself, I began working for a lawn care company. Working in lawn care was draining both physically and mentally. Physical labor 50+ hours a week takes its toll on your body. After work you don’t want to do anything but rest. You don’t have a lot of free time and you find yourself becoming burnt out really fast. Mentally you question yourself every day. Questions like, “why am I doing this” or “there has to be another way”. You feel worthless at times. After a year or so of doing lawn care, I chose to go back to school part-time, taking a class or two at a time. I still had to work in lawn care in order to pay the bills but I had a goal in mind, a goal to finish what I started. I always knew I wanted to work in a professional environment. After 4 years of working and taking courses, I decided I needed to change my environment. I was surrounded by the same people, people that weren’t contributing to my goal of becoming successful. Therefore, with some college education under my belt, I decided to apply for entry-level sales positions in Chicago. After interviews started to pres...
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela). The question of whether or not college is worth it, is becoming very prominent among teens and their families. From a young age, Kids get asked what they want to be when they grow up. For different people, it’s different things, but it all leads to the question of whether or not they will be attending college. There are many benefits to going to college, but there are also many drawbacks. Many teens coming to the end of their high school careers are now faced with the challenging question of whether or not college is worth the investment.
The day I started my job at USAA made me realize that I had changed my life. After taking a year to very part-time and do some soul searching to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Living in Arizona, I am in a state where call centers and customer service positions are plentiful, in my year off, I had told myself I would not step foot in another call center unless it were USAA. In my year off, I had incurred a lot of debt since I was making a little more than the amount collected from unemployment. In the year, my family was very supportive and trying to help give me tips on what to do for work. Upon starting my new role with my new company, I have been able to substantially mature by purchasing my new car, moving out on my own and returning
I’m working on getting a car, which is very soon. As a senior, you begin to get closer to the real world and what life is like on your own. I’m so ecstatic that I finally made it to senior year. Prom is coming up and I don’t know if I’m going or not because I have other priorities. I would enjoy it a lot though! Graduation is approaching then college; I just can’t wait. Life after highschool is going to be exciting and interesting. I’m going to start and finish college, so that I can have a great career. Nursing is what I’m going for. I’m really going to miss high school. Everyone tells me that while your in school you hate it; which is true, but after you graduate you’re going to be bored and miss it. I know that I’m going to miss it, but I’m going to be glad that i’m starting a new journey. Senior year is going by slow, but that’s because I have “senioritis”. I made new friends over the months and lost some; which happens, but my life has changed for the better. Many of my teachers taught me to never give up and if you do it won’t turn out well. I thought senior year was suppose to be the easiest year because it’s your last. My senior year wasn’t all that bad because I worked hard and maintained A’s and B’s
One of the most important decisions that any high school student or young adult has to make is deciding what they want to spend the rest of their life doing. Coming into this year I didn't have a clue what I wanted to have as my career. Obviously everybody has their dream job, mine being a pro basketball player overseas, but everybody needs a backup plan if their dreams do not pan out. Recently, I started researching certain careers and taking tests ,such as the WISCareers interest inventory, to decide what career would fit my interests the best. After all the tests and research, I came to the conclusion that becoming a loan officer was what suited me and my interests the best("WISCareers")."Loan officers evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of loan applications for people and businesses"("Bureau of Labor Statistics"). Being a loan officer is the perfect job for me because they have flexible hours, an above average salary, and a limited amount of schooling.
As high schoolers, we 're constantly juggling a lot of big responsibilities, from academic pressure from our parents to social pressure from our friends to act cool, wear the right clothes, and listen to the right music. It can be really overwhelming, and then, to top it off, is that goal in the distance that we 're told we must want: go to college. Day in and day out we hear that if we don 't go to college we are doomed to not have a career or a purpose in life, be poor for the rest of our lives, and be an embarrassment to our families. This focus on college is unfounded and unfair. We shouldn 't be given just one choice in high school — instead, we should be provided with alternatives to college in case we don 't
The completion of high school is the beginning of adult life. Entitlement to public education ends, and young people and their families are faced with many options and decisions about the future. The most common choices for the future are pursuing vocational training or further academic education, getting a job, and living independently.
After talking to my counselor at my highschool we figured out that I had zero chance of attending a CSU or University, and if I were to graduate I would have to attend a Junior College. That meeting with my counselor and my mom really helped me flip the page on this chapter of my life. I realized that if I was going to be anything in this world, make money or support a family I was going to have to put myself into gear. Those last two years of high school I wasn’t the best student by any means, but I applied myself and was rewarded by walking across that stage in front of my family and receiving a
“I got part of a programming degree before the bottom fell out of the tech industry and all of an AS in electrical design that cost me $60k in debt.
Although the claim that all students should attend college has embedded itself into our society, not all students should be pressed to do so. The benefits of receiving a college degree has been displayed, but the drawbacks of college are just as apparent. Attending college is a momentous decision that all high school seniors will have to make, and students are entitled to make this choice at their own discretion. High school seniors should be relieved of pressures aiming to sway them to a single side, and instead be encouraged to survey their current and future situations and allowed to choose what they