Post-High-School Dilemmas: Wading It Safely

The period between when students write their last paper in high school and embark on their next life journey is of dire significance. Assuming the expected outcomes of transition into campus to pursue a degree program become a reality, this period is about nine months outside of any routine academic engagement. We also understand that only some make it to campus or tertiary institutions. How this period is spent will determine the success or failure of these young people, whether they get into institutions of higher learning or are forced to find opportunities elsewhere if they cannot secure chances to continue with advanced studies. 

The way post-high school life is spent may shape the lives of teenagers in ways that remain permanent for the rest of their lives. Do you have a post-high school sibling or kid (though most of these age groups are young adults because most find themselves tasting majority age for the first time)? How did they perform in the papers? What next? 

Most young adults with a novel taste of freedom, especially as they are ushered into the new phase with an Identity Document that reminds them that they are free at last, jump into the uncharted waters of life, eager to try any and everything available to be tasted. This is the season when young, innocent people set themselves in the thoroughfares that will make anti-teetotalism vow hard to take. Most people try to taste things they have yet to taste or never could because of the ever-vigilant parental watch.  

The biggest question we need to have well-addressed in this article is how to deal with post-high school dilemmas. We will handle it in two phases based on your plans for the next step—-either Preparing for Campus or Preparing for Life of self-reliance. 

Preparing For Campus

Nothing is as exciting as realizing that your son or daughter has qualified to earn a space in an institution of higher learning. Society has tied many benefits to education, and the benefits of education increase as one climbs the academic ladder. That is why a Ph.D. will be rewarded more than a Diploma, which sometimes may not demonstrate the corresponding chasm in the prowess to handle assignments. 

The following tips can help a high school graduate prepare for campus:

1. Making Appropriate Career Choice

Career choice is one of the most important decisions people will have to make in life. I recommend The Cleaver’s Article on Career Choices for holistic career guidance. While no career is less valuable, different people will prove useful in other areas. Finding an appropriate career will usher you into a life of usefulness and exciting engagement as you advance to become a valuable professional. 

2. Beginning a Relevant Professional Course

The job market and life’s demands are ever-increasing, making it important for professionals to amalgamate skills to ensure they remain competent. Suppose you are going to the school of business, for instance. In that case, taking professional courses related to accounting and finance like ACCA, CPA, CIFA, CFA, and FMVA will edge past your peers who only bring their degrees to the table. If you want to build for yourself a space in the thriving world of It, Computer Science, and Engineering, it would be rewarding to begin learning coding, machine learning, and many more that will be relevant to your area.

3. Learning Income Generating Skills

You may only appreciate learning an income-generating activity once you find yourself stranded with unpaid bills and no other way to earn a few bucks to supplement the transfer payments you get from time to time. This, however, should be taken with great caution. It is always challenging to balance classwork and job, and you must ensure your academics receive the attention they deserve. Something you can handle during your free time, like transcription, translation, copywriting, graphic design, and a few more skills, can help you become a self-reliant student. To succinctly, prioritize your classes and ensure you don’t grab more than you can chew regarding side engagements. 

Preparing to Jump Into Life 

As you can see, I don’t have an appropriate term for this second bit. No one prepares for it, but people can be forced to take it because of performance reasons, inability to fund tertiary education, or a decision to pursue goals other than academics. Irrespective of why you cannot further your academics past high school, a paradigm shift is needed here.

The following tips can prove useful to someone who decides to jump into life after high school:

1. Acceptance

One huge challenge that people must deal with when they decide to or are forced to shelve their academic pursuits beyond high school is acceptance. Nothing is as dangerous to ambition and growth as a life of self-pity and denial. When you feel like you are not good enough or a failure, you begin draining your usefulness and potential. No matter why you cannot go forward, walk with your head lifted and be ready to own up to reality. You can only harness another dart to life if you have set yourself free.

2. Exploring Your Talents

With acceptance comes the chance to explore your next important option: talent. Talents have proved useful to many people and have made them employers to great brains who have superior papers than they do. If there is something that comes naturally for you, that is a potential area to save your future. Most great creators have histories of diverting from academic pursuits and following their hearts. The best example is the Italian guru of fine arts, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo. He made himself a name by pursuing his childhood interests. While education can prepare you to reproduce other people’s thoughts and opinions and prove employable, your talent will allow you to create novel masterpieces that will make the world bow for you. What are you waiting for? Pursue your talents.

3. Learning a Lucrative Trade

You can also wade the turbulent waters of life by learning a lucrative trade that can make you earn an honest living. Because you are not pursuing academics anymore, such a trade can be best grasped from apprenticeship or volunteer engagements with people who have mastered their trade. We all love decent furniture and know they are not cheap, but why don’t we think carpentry is well-paying? Find something that works well, master it, and reap the benefits. 

4. Doing What is Lying Close

Have you ever found yourself looking for a farfetched solution, yet all you needed was just at the doorstep? It happens all the time, and this is due to the mindset that seeks solutions in things novel and untried. Instead of running into the cities where people with papers lament pauperism, you can bend in the farm, get your food, and sell the excess to earn a decent living. You can expand what is done on a small subsistence scale and make it bigger and better. Sometimes, you may only need to discover the potential of the rod you are holding in your hand. You may realize that your rod can create a pathway across the sea, and you will never need to build a canoe. 

Conclusion

After completing high school, life will offer people different opportunities and privileges. If you can pursue your academics, you must prepare for a life of excellence by finding the most appropriate program, beginning relevant professional courses, and finding funding opportunities. On the contrary, you can still make a decent living by pursuing your talents, learning a lucrative trade, and, in most cases, doing the work that lies closest.