With the school year ending in approximately three months, many are left to wonder what to expect for life after high school. Some think that it will be easy and others believe that it will be difficult, but it will all depend on what decisions are made.

¨I know that when I graduated high school I was so relieved to finally have completed my four years there. I had planned to go to college, save some money working, and moving out, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought. College itself is something that I really need to put all my effort into and working at the same time takes a lot of energy as well. I think that when you graduate you can’t wait to put yourself out there in the real world, but it´s so different than what you would think,¨ LBHS Alumni, Jenny Prado comments.

Life after high school won´t be so simple since many have to consider making an income, paying bills if moving out is an option, and so much more little things that require a lot of time to figure out. As soon as they put themselves out there, they have to be responsible for their actions so that life can be as stress-free as possible.

Some fun aspects about what to expect with life after high school is when teens go into the college of their dreams and experience the dorm life with many other students their age. Moving out for the first time can also be a very exciting moment in life since they finally have the chance to be independent and relax in their own space.

Even though going to college/university is a great option, it is not guaranteed that there will be a job lined up afterwards. College isn’t just parties and a careless environment. Students have to learn how to handle the larger load of class work and understand how to manage one’s time to push through work independently.  This work load can build up really quickly.

Not only is working through college challenging, maintaining a job can also add onto that difficulty since an income needs to be made while in school. It may not be the type of job expected with the college level students are in, but it helps maintain their lives well enough to pay bills and needed supplies.  Tuition might need to be covered through loans and paid at a later time.

To be prepared for life after high school, students must understand that most expectations aren’t always true and that real life in the real world can get difficult or easy depending on the choices made.