My Advice For Life After Graduation

Finishing high school is probably one of the most daunting things I’ve ever faced. Suddenly, a familiar environment you’ve known for most of your life just...disappears. If you’re anything like me, you hate change.

You almost feel like you’ve been left at the starting line without anyone telling you where you need to run, and for some reason, everyone else is already off in the distance. So, here’s some advice for everyone having the realisation that they'll never walk through those school gates again. 

It’s okay to not know where to go next 

In high school, I felt super pressured to know exactly what I wanted to do before I graduated. That I had to know exactly where I wanted to be in ten years so that I could take the “right path”, and that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I think the fact that high school-aged students get pressured into making this decision is WILD. There is so much time for you to explore your interests, learn new things and take on new experiences. Even though you never really learned about the different and amazing paths (not just university) you can take while in high school, I promise you they exist.

You are not going to keep all your friends

I remember feeling so down during the first few months following graduation. I began losing friends from my high school group, either through childish drama or simply just losing touch. Regardless, I still have three of my original friends from high school and I couldn’t be happier.

Once I stood back and stopped moping about the quantity of my friends, I realised the quality of the friendships I was left with were better than I could've ask for. Plus, the majority of the most meaningful relationships you’ll ever have are formed after school. 

Now is the time you really get to understand yourself 

When I was in high school, I really struggled with knowing myself and understanding my own style and personality. It felt like we were all pretty much morphing into one other, and it seemed like being different was a bad thing. I was pretending to be someone I wasn’t and overthinking how I came across to people. I felt like I had to be just like everyone else in order to fit in and I was terrified of what other people thought of me as a result.

Everyone’s self-discovery journey is different, however, once you leave school, it’s almost like you’ve got a fresh start. You’re able to get out of that setting that people have known you in since you were twelve and get to know yourself as an adult in the real world. I think that’s so exciting and definitely something to take advantage of. 

It’s okay to go a while without seeing your friends 

During school, you get so used to seeing your mates every single day. Always being surrounded by or talking to someone. But after high school, you may be going to a different university than your high school friends or just have taken a completely different path, whether that's travel or moving to another city. 

It becomes so much harder to plan anything with your friends, as now all your schedules are different. You’re not always going to be able to go out with friends, or even want to when your long-awaited day off comes around.

That bottomless brunch you were planning to have? Probably actually needs to be booked two months in advance. In the first months after leaving school, I’d spent more time with myself than I ever have, taking myself to the shops, the gym, and after the slight adjustment period, I found myself LOVING my alone time. Learn to enjoy your own company!

You have your whole life ahead of you 

As cliché as it sounds, it’s so true! When you’re in high school, the situation you’re in, your mates, your status, your grades, the way people think of you, all feel so important. And at the time, they are. It’s pretty much your whole world while you’re there.

However, as soon as you walk out of that place, those things that once engulfed every waking moment, are now merely a speck in your daily life. Of course, they’re still experiences, they still shaped who you are, and a good chunk of what you know was learnt there. But there are so many new things you’ll learn, and SO many different situations and new opportunities you’ll find yourself in.

Life has so much to offer and to anyone struggling through their last year of school... like everyone says, it honestly does get better!

By Ellie Coburn