Many students are about to graduate from high school here at Ritenour. Some of them have spent their whole life planning for that exact moment. But there are still so many students who have no idea what they are going to do after high school.

When people are in their freshman year at high school it is hard to imagine what life will be like after graduation.  Then students start to realize that time is slowly ticking by and graduation day is steadily getting closer.

“Students should explore their options and find things that interest them,” school counselor Carla Theiss said.

This is good advice if a student tries to go into a field even if they have no interest in it. How are they supposed to succeed in this field if they are not happy or feeling content about it? Students need to do something they have a connection to.

These students are now adults; they have to live their life without someone holding their hand saying everything will be okay. This can be scary to a lot of people but every student is more than capable of finding something they enjoy that can benefit their life after high school.

“I am an advocate for college, but I know it is not for everyone. If you do not go to college though, it is important to do something productive with your life, to develop the skills you have already,” Child Development teacher Janet Knese said.

There are tech schools or even jobs that will take students right out of high school; some of them may require employees to take a few classes every year for about two years, but if college is not for you then that is an amazing option to take.

Some students even take a year off, but it is important to have a plan for what you are going to do after that long of a break in between schooling.

“Do not tell yourself, ‘Oh I will figure it out later’, because then you have to figure out when later becomes now; this is not an overnight decision,” math teacher Kevin Daniels said.

Life starts after high school and every student is expected to go with it, whether you know what you want to do after high school or not.  As long as you are trying to develop your skills and become a bigger part of society, anything else can stem from that because it is a success all on its own.