25 Dec 2017

Turns out, 25% of high school students lie to their parents about what they want to do after high school and there’s a tonne of reasons why you might not tell your ‘rents the truth when it comes to your post school plans.

1. You don’t want to disappoint them

When you parents have dreams of you doing a degree in something like Law or Medicine, it can be hard to tell them that you’re actually not that keen on those careers paths. Especially if they’ve been talking about how you’re going to become a doctor, or a lawyer, or an engineer since you were five years old, telling them otherwise can be tough. You don’t want to let them down, so the easiest option is usually just to lie to them.

2. You don’t actually know what you want to do

We’ve all had that moment when someone asks you what you’re doing after school and you blurt out a random answer, like nurse or teacher, because you actually have no idea what you want to do.

3. You’re not sure if they’ll approve

Especially if you’re looking at a degree in the Arts or keen on doing something like an apprenticeship or traineeship, you can’t be sure if your parents will approve. The thing is, it doesn’t matter if they approve or not, at the end of the day it’s you that is going to be the one who has to live with the decision you make and you don’t want to be 50 years down the track and wishing you’d chosen a different path.

4. Your job isn’t ‘safe’

A lot of parents can get caught up in thinking about jobs as if they were the same as when they were teenagers. They worry about ‘security’ and ‘career progression’ over personal satisfaction and passion. It’s undestadable- they grew up in a different time but, for everyone who’s finishing high school these days (and into the future), instability is the norm. Technology is changing jobs and we’re changing with it- gone are the days of settling into one job for thirty years, we’re job hopping and following the kind of career we actually want.

5. You feel guilty

This is particularly true of families where parents have made a lot of sacrifices to be able to get you the opportunities you have. You might feel guilty about ‘wasting’ what they’ve given to you and lying to them seems like a good option to avoid this.

The thing is- whatever the reason for lying to your parents about what you want to do after high school- at the end of the day, it’s your life and your ‘rents will eventually accept that. Whether you’re dropping out and picking up a trade, ditching the Law degree and studying Creative Writing or just still trying to figure everything out- it’s all up to you, not your parents.