The prospect of school has been the only thing we know from the ages of 5 to 18. For some, this could’ve started earlier or maybe it goes later. Either way, our motivation being to get a golden star for a job well done or our clip moved up on the color chart was enough reason to work hard. It was all we knew. No stress of a bad grade affecting your grade percent average (GPA) that potentially being the reason you don’t get into your dream school.
The waking up at 7 a.m. changes to 6 a.m., going home to play after school turns to hours of studying, Friday nights changing to football games instead of family game nights. We all start becoming scaringly aware of how soon we will graduate and potentially leave.
So the idea pops up, what will I be doing after high school, college, trade school, starting immediately in the work field, maybe taking a year to have a break?
Some students already have their mind set.
“My plans are to go to a four year college to study biology and hopefully later get a masters and Ph.D. in genetic research,” senior Anna Simms said. But what if you aren’t like that? What if you still have no clue?
Dual Enrollment
If you were or are like me, you probably jumped at the opportunity to start college classes early and for cheaper. The program of dual enrollment being your escape and chance to begin the incline into your young adult life. Dual enrollment in itself is a great program. You’re able to get high school and college credits for doing a college class. On its own, it seems great, that doesn’t include the fact that if the class is at the end of the day or the beginning you can leave the building.
If you chose an online class, then you could go straight home. For some classes, you may only have one assignment per week. Senior Logan Pettig said the positive of that is that it’s just on like a week-by-week basis.
“So I can literally take the full week for one assignment if I have to,” Pettig said. “All in all it’s a great program for students beginning their pursuit into their bristling futures. All you had to do was apply with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and there you go, you’re in.”
Motivation
Additionally, you must have the motivation to do work outside of school. That, for me, was not the case. The last thing you want to do outside of school is more school. I feel many of my peers would agree with that statement. So, I didn’t. I ended up going home and not doing the work. Of course in the beginning I stayed on track, doing my assignments excited to be able to have this opportunity. Until it turned into the common routine just as I had in high school, my grades began rapidly declining. I did less work. Until it turned into no work for the dual enrollment college class.
By the time I realized how many assignments I had missed, I felt intimidated. How could I make up these assignments? Looking back now, I didn’t make a smart choice…I just didn’t do them. That brings me to the present. Struggling to withdraw from the class in time to at least be able to make my credits back. But that isn’t going to be the end of my story. I am going to work hard and get my credits, not looking at my past failures. It does not have to be the end of your story either.
On the other hand, you could just be struggling in class. Junior Addison Craven said she usually does well during the first two months, and “then I just absolutely crash.” With assignments stacking and becoming abundantly too difficult. Trying to keep up with the lecture while also retaining the information becomes a task of its own. Asking for help becomes as difficult as answering questions, feeling incompetent whenever you don’t know the answer to a simple yes or no question. With your grades steadily decreasing, so does your confidence.
The Push
High school on its own is a scary time with all the social norms. Who’s dating who? Why is it that they don’t like me? How do I have an F in this class? The whole spiel. Everything is a scary first. With only having a few years left of high school, there has been one thought many students are facing: are my grades enough? If they aren’t, what will my future look like? How do I even decide what to do? Lots of questions with no answers. The push is to graduate and leave, perhaps even your parents are riding the bandwagon; waiting for you to leave and make something of yourself. Expecting you to be doing better, that they know you can do better. It all crashes down on you at once.
I just want you, the reader, to know that even if your grades aren’t to what you want them to be, that there is time. You always have time or a choice. You just have to be the one to put the effort in. You can do or become whatever it is that you want, the only thing stopping you is you.
