Life After High School

Life After High School

 Do you remember back when you were five and somebody asked you, for the first time, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" You begin to sit back and ponder about who you want to be, what you want to do, and even where babies come from. Well, as we continued to get older and had been asked the same question once again, we were so sure of ourselves that we knew exactly who we wanted to be and what we wanted to do... At least some of us did. 

For some it was easy to decide who they wanted to be and what career path they wanted to pursue. Some dreamed beyond that and envisioned themselves having a happy marriage with kids and a pet dog. When we were younger we never realized how important the question, "what do you want to be when you grow up," really was. 

As we grow we begin to see the world for what it really is and sometimes that can make it difficult to decide our future... At least for me, it was. I remember as a little girl I wanted to grow up to be a princess. Then once reality settled in and I began to think about real world jobs, I started to think about all the things I could do. In middle school I wanted to be a teacher and then at one point I wanted to be a pediatrician. Then once I got to high school I didn't want to be those things anymore and I began to get distracted and worry about other things. 

I began to worry about things going on around me and I got so wrapped up in it all that I lost touch with myself and who I was. I had used drugs as an escape route to avoid all my fears of what my future could be. It was only a short period of time I had been abusing drugs and eventually I started to become sober, focus more on school, and work on my relationship with my friends and my parents. I surrounded myself with people who supported me and soon I began to start having hope for my future again. Even though I was finally set on a career path, I was still so scared and confused because it had already taken me so long to decide and that made me feel like I was behind in life. 

Well I wasn't behind in life. I just took more time than others to grow and that's okay. Once I accepted that I decided to take a gap year after high school to save money and to give myself more time to figure out a plan. During that gap year, I got distracted and lost myself again, leaving me feeling like I was still behind. I had been working full time at Subway and later on I picked up another waitressing job, so I never really had time for myself. Eventually I had saved up enough money for a down-payment on my first car. It had been the first accomplishment I actually felt proud of myself for since graduating from high school. 

I've been out of high school for about two years now and it's nothing I had anticipated for myself, which is why I'm writing about all of this. Just to let you know that if you are feeling stuck or behind in life, and you have zero hope for yourself, and you begin to compare your life to everyone else around you... You Aren't Alone. 

I promise you aren't behind in life and I know life after high school isn't what you expected it to be, but remember that everything is temporary and even the darkest times will pass. Your growth is not defined by your bad days, you are not defined by your bad days. Take all the time you need to strive in the place you are in now. If you don't separate yourself from your distractions, then your distractions will separate you from your goals and the life you want. Remember to give yourself more credit for the things you have accomplished because at the end of the day, no matter what, the five year old version of you is proud of the person you are today. 

Sincerely, 

                    Hailey Wilt

                    Guest blogger