3 Things I Wish I Had Done As A High School Graduate

Making big choices at the tender age of 17 can have consequences.

Graduating from high school can be super nerve-wracking. In my case, it was even more stressful than graduating from college!

I had been at the same school since elementary and while I struggled a lot throughout my school years with bullying and depression, the idea of leaving the comfort of familiarity scared me.

If I’m honest, looking back, I had no idea what I wanted to study at university. I ended up going into journalism on a whim, thinking I might enjoy it more than medicine, which is the field my parents wanted me to go into.

Unfortunately, after my first year studying journalism, I transferred to another school and switched majors, which came with several complications and struggles.

These are the top 3 things I wish I had done as a 17-year-old with no idea what I was doing with my life.

Take A Gap Year

“Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. What is anything in life compared to peace of soul?” ― Francis de Sales

I was in such a rush to graduate and go to college that I barely gave myself any time to process what I was going through and what I had gone through up to that point.

I was bullied intensely throughout my school years. I graduated as valedictorian of my class, but had no friends and felt depressed.

Taking a gap year could be an opportunity to deal with the trauma sustained throughout your school years before moving on to becoming a full-on adult.

According to an article published in Psychology Today: “The gap year may be a solution for some students to grow socially and emotionally, to gain maturity, or to get a stronger financial footing, so they can achieve success in the college years.”

If had taken time after high school to care for my mental health, I would have avoided many of the issues I went through in college and beyond.

A gap year can also be a time to travel, explore, relax, enjoy yourself, and just embrace your youth and stop worrying!

As a high school grad, I felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. I was constantly trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

My true love in life was writing and photography, but I kept this hidden because I knew my parents wouldn’t take me seriously if I said I wanted to be a writer or artist.

I was focused instead on knowing what career path I wanted to pursue, down to the tiniest detail and this put me under a lot of unnecessary stress.

At this point, I still hadn’t realized that there were ways to make money that didn’t even involve a university degree.

Consider Alternatives

It’s drilled into us, in high school especially, that the only way to succeed in life is to graduate high school, followed by college, find a job, work full-time until you’re 67, then retire.

My parents were also desperate to ensure I understood and followed this path because they wanted me to lead a stable, risk-free life.

After college, I learned about the options of blogging, remote working, and e-commerce to make money, which completely changed the life path I was planning to take.

And the great thing? You don’t need a college degree in most cases!

I now believe that higher education isn’t necessary unless you’re planning on pursuing a technical qualification like becoming a doctor or engineer.

If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t bother going to college.

The option of entrepreneurship was a path I simply didn’t consider. My father was self-employed his entire life and never worked for anyone.

He would have been a wealth of knowledge and advice for me, but I never asked because all I could hear in my head was “career, career, career!”

And while I was serious about going to college and pursuing that career of my dreams, I didn’t take the process as seriously as I should have from the start.

Take My Future More Seriously

That gap of time between high school and college is a good opportunity to learn more about the sectors you may be interested in.

Job shadowing was something that had always been recommended but I never bothered trying it. Rushing to decide on your major without any knowledge or understanding of the related job sector is not setting yourself up for success.

My peers and I were also in such a rush to apply to as many schools as possible, especially the prestigious ones.

Many of us seemed to enjoy telling others about the long list of schools to which we had sent applications, listing out the rankings and humble-bragging when we got into one of the tougher programs.

Being more intentional and selective about which schools you apply to can save you a lot of trouble down the road. Transferring and switching majors can be quite a process!

Final Thoughts

Even though my high school and college years are now in the past, I still think about these lessons I learned, especially in terms of pursuing a second university degree.

The educational systems in place across the world are still very outdated, and the focus on full-time jobs and set career paths has to change.

Being a high school student is stressful enough without adding the worries about which college to go to, which major to pursue, and how to pay for it.

Taking a gap year and considering alternative paths should be encouraged a lot more. And, in my case, being more intentional and selective about potential colleges and careers would have served me better than hoping I would like whatever I ended up choosing.