Since most of us will be going to college next year, I think that unless you are absolutely crazy about something, you have absolutely no idea what to do in college or what major you want to pursue. As such, let me give you a few options that you can consider choosing instead and I guess I will still also talk about why college is still a solid option to pursue after high school. Remember, all of these options are just as good as college.
The first option is that you take a gap year. A gap year can help you figure out many things about yourself that you had no idea about before. You could realize how much you love working with others and pursue something similar back at college. Also, you can travel the world if you have enough money and experience just about everything. You can go backpacking throughout Europe or live in a hostel with a few other friends in a different country and just have a great time. A gap year can also allow you to take a break and recharge if you feel that
everything is moving too fast. You can even gain new life skills that you may not obtain through college and you can also utilize these new life skills to make some quick cash. Of course, you could also just stay in your parents’ basement and just utilize this time to just do whatever you want and just be with your parents. You might go a little crazy with this option, but you also don’t have to pay anything like taxes or rent(unless your parents demand it) and you can get free food. You don’t even have to worry about having a car to drive then because, at college, you don’t get a car to use when you are a freshman. You would have to walk or bring a bike with you and a bike could get stolen. So why not just take a gap year and explore all of your options and really find out what things that interest you that you could do on a daily basis?
Another option is getting a job. A job can teach you so many important things that you can take with you wherever you end up. A strong work ethic and solid time management are two important things. if you don’t have those skills, a job can help teach you those very easily as a job has shifts that you essentially have to work around and at work, if you are slacking, you can get fired or reprimanded. A job would help you obtain both skills which are not just
important in the workplace, but also at home. For example, renovations in your place of living can be very difficult and time-consuming and it can discourage you. But with those two skills, you can easily finish renovations and not have to be worried. I’m not going to act like I have either of those skills, but I would understand why both of those skills are important to have, and hopefully one day, I have both. Anyways, a job can get you some quick money and if you work your way up, you can get so many more benefits.
Another option, of course, that you could take after high school is going to college. College is a place where you can really pursue your interests as a major and then eventually get a high-paying job where you can have fun while earning a considerable amount of money. Of course, college requires a lot of work, but college is also one of the best experiences people can have. My brother always
talks about how his current college life is amazing and how he doesn’t wish at all that he was back in high school. With college, you can gain a new set of friends and essentially start all over again. You also do get increased career stability as many companies prefer hiring people with majors. College can be a great experience and the possible connections that could be grown there could help you both at the workplace and outside the workplace.
There are more options, but I just focused on these three because these are the most common things that people do after high school. Of course, you can still go to college after getting a job or go to college after the gap year, but I just wanted to give a few options that you could take right after high school. Anyways, just do what you want.
Hi Vishal! I thought that your blog brought up some pretty good points. I feel like a lot of people don’t even stop to consider what they want for themselves just because going to college right after high school is the norm. Honestly, I was considering a gap year or just getting a job a few months ago but knowing myself, I would probably spend the gap year doing absolutely nothing productive and forget that I actually have to get a job, and then I would feel bad about it later. Traveling the world does sound fun though, Ashley and I actually spontaneously planned a road trip during spring break (still no location, we’re indecisive and have no one else to go with) and she wanted to go to Ireland during summer break (strange place to want to go if I do say so myself). This was all planned out during calc, which was probably the most productive we’ve been in that class in a while. I do really want to spend a year in Europe like you mentioned because it would be so fun to go and experience different cultures and see all the views, but sadly I am dead broke. So in some ways, college would probably end up being the best path for me even though a gap year sounds so good right now. Thank you for the blog & happy last one of the semester!
Hey Vish, I really liked this blog and how you brought up that there are alternatives to going straight to college right after high school and didn’t discredit any of those options, exploring their pros and cons. I think it is important to recognize the fact that a lot of people don’t know what type of career they want to pursue right after they graduate high school. Taking a gap year can definitely be a good choice to give yourself more time to decide what you want to study. But also, many people change their majors while they are in college, upwards of 50% I believe, so you are never truly locked into one choice. It is a lot of pressure though to decide what type of work you want to do basically for the rest of your life. I know many colleges let you declare undecided and take exploratory courses so you can find what you’re truly passionate about. I’ve enjoyed reading your blogs throughout the semester, and it’s been a pleasure hearing all of your great ideas.
Hi Vishal, I will inform you that I will go directly to college after I graduate but all the options you presented are viable. I think this topic is interesting because as years go on, more and more people choose the college option while less and less people choose to take a gap year or work. While I do think this is a good idea, the steep college prices nowadays have made me contemplate going back to India for college. It is probably a million times cheaper. I think that your point about a fresh start is a good one because that is exactly what I want from college. I have not done everything that I had liked to do in Naperville, so it will be so refreshing to start over somewhere else. I agree with your brother, high school sucks and I dont ever want to come back to NNHS again. High school is so uptight and I feel like college will be so much more chill without teachers that micromanage you every second you are in the classroom. Anyway, good blog post.