Personal Experience : My Life After High School

The twelve years you spend of your life going to school, is about learning new things and preparing yourself for the real world. Towards the last four years of school, you start thinking about what you want to do after high school, you start taking classes that’s required for what you want to go into, looking at colleges where you can get your degree. College isn’t for everyone right after their done with High School. Other people don’t need college for what they’re going to do, they can just start there job right away. Some people that have no idea what they want to do might consider going into the military, then find something in any of the fields.

After high school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for a career. After years of wandering I decided to join the military. I completed basic training and technical school in Texas. I was miles away from the comfort of family and friend back home in Maryland. This was the first time that I was truly on my own. After training was complete I was moved to Spokane, Washington. where I completed my term in Spokane and it was time to reenlist or get out the military. I was ready to have my life back so I decided against enlisting for another term. When it was time for me to discharge the first question everyone asked me was “where I going?”. In my mind I had two choices. I was either going stay in tiny Spokane or go back home to Maryland. I spent a few weeks thinking about my options and at that time I was certain home was the best choice. Moving back home made sense for several reasons:

During my high school’s years, I wondered on a daily basis what I was aiming to after I finished school. I dreamed of becoming a medical doctor, an archeologist or even a philosopher—certainly, I didn’t have a real idea of what I wanted. During my senior year of high school, all these dreams were truncated after I was kicked out of my house at the middle of the year. When the time to choose a career came, I had fewer options due to the lack of economical support from my parents and because I had missed the opportunities to apply for scholarships. For these reasons, I started to look for the different options that I could get for free. I looked the different pedagogies, some engineering programs, among others; but I decided to study english

College is not worth the time and effort because there more to life after high school then just college and the military is a better alternative right after high school.

If someone would have told me five years ago that I would be going to college to become a teacher, I more than likely would have laughed right to their face. I have nothing against teachers it just never seemed like a career, that I would purse and enjoy. I actually did not plan on going to college because I honestly had no idea what I would pursue in college. I did not make a final decision about my career path until my last year of high school. I just had too many things going on in my personal life to even think about my life after high school.

Most children live in a quiet neighborhood where they play for long hours all day without scraping a knee. Others come from less ideal circumstances. Now you are probably wondering which environment I grew up in. Seeing where this letter came from should tell you that I originate from this less ideal world. I was nurtured by my mother who was raised in a poor community in Puerto Rico and occasionally with my father who was raised in the streets of New York City. With their intentional love, in addition with the boundaries that they have set for me, they have made a path for me to grow up in without being affected by the cities dangerous nature.

My story starts before I was even born. The doctor told my mom that I was going to be brain dead. I guess I did not move a lot in the womb. I was born on March 7, 2000. It was actually seventy degrees in Huntington. When I was about a year and a half years old my mom and dad got divorced. I can’t remember it but it has affected every day since then. I have had to move back and forth between houses because I felt like I needed both parents in my life to keep me happy.

It is the first day of the last semester of my senior year of High school. I am going to miss this; having my close friends by me every single day. I never really was popular in high school and I usually tried to hide in the shadows, but my best friend Sophie would never let that happen. She really pulled me out from my bubble. Sophie loves everyone, but she is picky with whom she likes. I know it doesn't make sense, but it is the best description.

My whole life I knew there was something different with me. Compared to my peers, I felt as if I was one step ahead of them in a developmental point of view. The thought process running through my head displayed contrast to others my age, and that left me feeling separated from them. Despite having had those feelings of not fitting in, the constant cycle of being the “mature one” did build my confidence. Whether I knew it or not, it has contributed to where I am now.

The clock strikes 3:30 and the bell rings, signaling the end of another school day...setting off the silent timer situated within my head. I ignore the all too familiar sensation and quicken my pace ‒ time has started.

A few weeks before school ended, one of my friends, Niko, kindly invited me to an AMAZING house in Santa Cruz for one weekend. I thought it was really nice of him to invite me and gladly accepted. The house was really awesome: it had a breath-taking view of the ocean, really nice rooms and when you went to bed you could hear the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks. On top of that the hosts were really nice.

The few years before high school was pretty bad for me and my family. We had some financial and personal problems that were going on at the time. I had a lot of problems in school, a lot of the teachers hated me. On top of that I had to deal with personal family problems, I had two uncles that were diagnosed with cancer. My mom would constantly be in and out of the hospital check in on them. Sometimes she wouldn’t even show up to dinner. This forced me to transition from a kid to an adult.

Walk up the cold steps. My heart beating exhausting, fast, feeling like It’s close to leap out of my chest.I don’t wish to be here, why am I here. I may gyrate straight away, GO! GO! GO! The thought goes through my head. Panic fleeing going through each of my nerves in my body. My senses strain, each sensation raised multiple.

While walking through the electric sliding doors, I smelled disinfectant wipes and saw a plethora of dark blue scrubs, white lab coats, and street clothing. I entered an elevator to my right. Once I got to the third floor, I made a sharp left and saw the patient transport room containing several other young people all wearing the same blue polo shirt. I was home. For my graduation project, I volunteered at three different hospitals: Paoli Hospital, Bryn Mawr Hospital, and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. After accumulating almost two-hundred hours in various hospital environments, I have made important decisions that will affect my post-high school life.

High school students debate whether they are going to college or not.College is where you get a higher education and degree.A college degree is usually still cherished in today’s society, especially those who are able to recieve one. I interviewed two people about their after high school experiences and what they did after they get their high school diploma. The two people I interviewed were my cousin Joshua Tanner, and my pastor from church, Miles Kilcrease. Here was their responses.