12 May 2022
Overview
  • Life can feel a bit of a let down after school - but we're here to tell you feeling lost, confused and down is completely normal 
  • Transitioning is hard - but we've got your back. Here are some things we wish we'd have known after we finished school 💖

Life after school isn’t as magical as you thought it would be.

I imagined this beaut life for myself after school. It included getting a great ATAR, going to uni, meeting the love of my life  (who would be a spitting image of Jude Law), drive my new car to my fabulous new job, buy a house in Sydney with a white picket fence, get married, have kids, and be surrounded by an amazing group of friends.

I’m now 24, and looking back I was somewhat delusional. I hated every second of uni, drive a crappy Corolla, and have had some horrible jobs.

I have no house, no husband, no kids, just a lot of bills and about three friends. My boyfriend is very cute but much to my utter dismay, he doesn’t look anything like Jude Law. Rude.

My point is, life doesn’t always turn out the way you thought it would. Infact, it rarely does. Life after school is messy and it’s normal to feel lost. Here are the 50 things I wish someone told me 6 years ago.

  • You’ll feel lonely
  • You’ll feel lost
  • You’ll miss school
  • You’ll miss your teachers
  • You’ll get your heart broken
  • You’ll break someone's heart
  • You’ll realise how relatable Olivia Rodrigo is
  • You’ll lose friends
  • You’ll gain friends
  • You’ll cry
  • You’ll laugh
  • You’ll love
  • You’ll face rejection
  • You’ll go to a festival
  • You’ll dance with your friends
  • You’ll get drunk
  • You’ll fail
  • You’ll get back up
  • You’ll fail again
  • You’ll compare yourself to your peers
  • You’ll work a shitty job at least once
  • You’ll struggle
  • You’ll feel down
  • You’ll feel anxious
  • You’ll feel stressed
  • You’ll have a friend who struggles with their mental health
  • You’ll feel inadequate on some level
  • You’ll realise everyone changes
  • You’ll even reinvent yourself
  • You’ll become fearless
  • You’ll become more confident
  • You’ll realise it’s harder to make friends
  • You’ll spend way too much money on Uber Eats
  • You’ll start being more money savvy
  • You’ll start caring about what’s going on in the world
  • You’ll start working out
  • You’ll realise you don’t want to waste your free time
  • You’ll become friends with your parents eventually
  • You’ll find what you’re passionate about, and it may not be what you were expecting
  • You’ll realise your parents know best
  • You’ll be in charge of your own schedule
  • You’ll realise you definitely do need 8 hours of sleep
  • You’ll try new things
  • You’ll learn to love Avocado
  • You’ll have friends who get married and have kids  at 20
  • You’ll do whatever you want to do
  • You’ll realise high school drama was just a tiny blip in the grand scheme of things
  • You’ll realise the best years of your life are yet to come
  • You’ll be ok
  • You’ll come out the other end

Need a helping hand figuring out your next steps? Check out our free online careers exhibition here!

Feeling down at the moment? Reach out to these guys for a chat:

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 551 800

MensLine Australia 1300 789 978

Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36

Headspace 1800 650 890