Tuesday 7 April 2015

Chatty Tuesdays | April 7, 2015

Growing Up

Yay for first Chatty Tuesday! Today (and everyday) what's been on my mind is this idea of growing up. Now that I'm 20 there seems to be so much more pressure to be making something of myself. I'm not in school, I'm living in my parents house, I'm working a minimum wage job at a department store and I'm still single. I'm not really doing anything at this point.

There's so much pressure after high school to go directly in to college or university and start on the path to your future. For some people that's a great plan but if you're like me, that obviously isn't the case. I attended university directly out of high school for a year in the psychology program. I was so positive that I wanted to be a psychologist. When I started in on the actual program it wasn't at all what I wanted to do and I realised that very quickly. I did finish the year because I didn't want to waste the money I had invested, but I didn't get the grades I could have if I had been interested. I didn't return.

That brings me to this year. I have been out of school for an entire 12 months now (uni classes end in April). It was incredibly nerve wracking to have to tell my family that I didn't want to go back to university and even more nerve wracking to tell them that I didn't want to attend school at all this year. If you think about it you've been in school since you were about 4 years old so being out of it is incredibly weird and scary. I can tell you this, not everyone was completely on board. My parents did support my decision, which is really all I needed. Their condition was that I had to really get in tune with myself so I could choose what I wanted to take. I was only allowed one year off and I had to be working to save money so I wasn't wasting the year. 

I can honestly say this year has been so worth it for me. I have learned a lot about myself and what I want from life. I have taken the time to write down goals I have for the future career wise, and personally. I think that deciding on your whole life at 18 is a near impossible task, especially when you haven't had any real time to think about it. High school is a busy time between home work, extra curriculars, and keeping a social life; deciding on your future isn't always in the forefront of your mind. If you are unsure about what you want to do for college or university, don't rush the decision. Taking a year off after high school to figure out who you are outside of a class room can be exactly what you need. You don't need to know what you want to do with your whole life right away. Take the time you need to figure out who you are and what you're passionate about. There's no reason to waste your time and money on an education you don't really want (trust me). 

If you have any questions about anything at all please feel free to leave a comment and I'll try my best to help you out. 

Thank you for reading, xo, Katelyn.

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