Nearly 13 years of schooling under my belt and now that it is my senior year I am beginning to question everything. Did I sign up for the right classes? Should I have tried harder freshman year? Am I a viable candidate for the university of my choice? Am I on the right track for the rest of my life? These questions and insecurities build up inside of me, waiting to burst out the next time someone asks: "What are you doing after high school?" And all I want to say (well, yell) is that I have no idea. Of course, all of these thoughts are coming out in the form of frustration while talking to my mom at dinner one night. And her response to all of my problems is that I need to "be more confident in my abilities and trust that everything will work out." But here's the thing: how do I be more confident? How do I trust? We are so often told what to do, but rarely are we told how to do it.
Take, for example, a bad breakup. I know every high school teen can relate to having that one guy or girl rip your heart out, and all before first period. When we run to our friends and family for support, the most common response is to "move on" and "find closure." But how to do we get to that point? Time doesn't heal all wounds if we never learn how to cope with our pain, our frustrations, and our anxieties.
The same goes for political issues as well. For those of you that don't know, the United States is in a bit of an economic crisis. Unemployment rates are rapidly rising and people are becoming desperate for work. At this point it is crucial for reform and change in how we approach this issue; a time when we are paying close attention to every move politicians make. During the Republican GOP debates Rick Perry was asked about the high rate of school dropouts in his home state of Texas. He avoided the question by talking about the one million jobs he created in Texas while America lost 2.5 million. Later, he was applauded for his high execution rates as well. What was failed to be mentioned was that the jobs created were minimum wage jobs that would not be able to stimulate the economy. Perry never addressed the issue of how he would handle high school dropouts, who are critical to our future because if we create more sustainable jobs, we create a more sustainable economy.
As a high school student trying to figure out so many complicated things in the timespan of four years, it is easy to become lost and stressed. However, it is almost scientific to find the answer to our problems. Dr. Phil tells us that after a breakup we need to look forward the future and move on, but the how is never explained. It all comes down to trial and error, like a science experiment. After my first breakup I tried myriad activities: I started working out more often, I dove into my studies, and I focused on improving my strengths and abilities. The more I tried to move on, the more I actually did.
So after trying to combat the big life questions in between writing college essays and physics homework, I found the answer: that I was already prepared for the future. The trust and confidence came from the years of school I had already been through as well as my extracurricular activities. The answers had accumulated over the years; I knew I signed up for the right classes because I was getting A's; I knew I was on the right track when I remembered what my seventh-grade math teacher had told me when I was trying to skip a grade in math: "You knew you could do it, you knew what you were doing, so I had to believe in you." Maybe this is a cliché, but to find the how we have to question everything. Six times six didn't equal 36 until someone sat down and did the math. If Newton can figure out calculus and the laws of motion, I can find the answers I'm looking for before I finish high school.