Being a student can be hard, let alone being a high school student is harder. The first year of high school is scary at first because most of us didn’t have a normal last year of middle school because of covid. Once your high school years begin they don’t stop, most students don’t realize this until afterward.  The four years of high school go by faster than you think. The weeks feel long for most as well as most school days. Some students will count the hours they have until they get to walk out of the building. Others may enjoy the day because they spend the majority of their day with friends or their favorite teachers. In reality, the school years go by in just a blink of an eye. Soon each of us will be stepping up to take our diploma and then stepping into the real world for the first time in our lives. 

Unfortunately, students can’t predict what their lives will be like after high school. Some may go into the workforce, others may go straight into college, or even the military. It’s hard to be a student and try to predict your future at the same time. It is important to explore what’s out there now so you will be mentally and physically prepared for the future when your time comes. For example, look into scholarships and grants as well as trade schools or colleges that you may be interested in. It’s also important to get yourself out there and do good citizenship work.  This is important because as a student you need to be able to take action and what you are responsible for and that is a main part of growing up. Doing extra activities will put your name out there and will look very good on scholarships as well as resumes. As a student,it is a good idea to get yourself out there to potentially show yourself off as a person and as a student. 

Although being a student can be a full-time job, it is possible to manage both being a student and an employee. The U.S. Bureau of Statistics says that 55.7% of high school students have part-time jobs.  The rate of high school students carrying a job on top of being a student keeps increasing each year. It can be hard to go to work directly after school which is why most students tend to work on the weekends. Others may say that they are not getting rid of their weekend to go towards a job. Having a job prepares you for the future, after graduating from high school. Having a job can help with managing money, prioritizing activities, and being responsible. 

Although some may argue that keeping a job can be hard, they are incorrect. It is important to learn how to keep a job because eventually, we will all be counting on our high-paying jobs to pay for our bills, rent, insurance, etc. Personally, I like having a job because I like having my own money because I can save however much I want and spend however much I want as well.  A job has helped me learn how to talk to people the correct way and without getting shy. I am a more open person now than I was 4 years ago before I started working. With working comes a lot of responsibilities. In order to work you must be responsible for yourself and your actions. This includes: showing up to work on time, doing your job on the clock, and taking full responsibility if you make a mistake. In the workforce, there is no blaming other people for your mistakes because everyone is their own person which means everyone has their own responsibilities. As a student and as an employee, being responsible is your number one job. 

Therefore, not only does having a job help you manage your future, but it also gets you benefits. Most jobs will either pay for college while you work for that company still or they will give you benefits towards your college funding. Colleges especially look at those kinds of things. For example, are you a good student who can manage good grades and a job? If you are, the majority of the time colleges are looking for more students like that because those are the ones who will succeed at their campus. Now, colleges aren’t only looking at what you like outside of school but also at what you do inside the school. Keeping a good GPA will get you into just about any college. The only way to get that is by having good grades which means studying for those tests and turning in homework. Most students just like to skip school, which is not a good idea because that will have you behind in your classes which means that you will have to make all of that up within a timely manner and keep your grades on top of that and to me that sounds like a lot of stress. So, just come to school trust me it’s not that bad it’s only as bad as you make it.

Ultimately, high school will go by fast, and if it hasn’t gone by fast for you already, just wait because sooner or later you will be thinking about how fast your high school years actually went. 30 years from now you will be thinking about all of the traumatizing things you went through or all of the enjoyment that you experienced. Stay focused these last few years or last year you have as a student and enjoy it while you can because after this it’s time for the real world. No one is ready for that even when you may think you are, you aren’t. For those of you who are ready for it to be done, push yourself to be a better student. Your time will come but first, you have to graduate. Don’t give up on yourselves, each of us makes high school as hard as we make it for ourselves.