14 Sep 2017

You’ve finished your last exam, handed in your final assessment and can finally chuck out all the study notes that you’ve been poring over for weeks.

Now you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. It’s overwhelming to think about the fact that you’re finally finished with the institution that you’ve spent the past thirteen years in. But now’s your chance to take the next step, to grab your life and make it yours. Do what you want to do now that you’re not restricted by bell times and class schedules or teachers telling you what you need to be doing every second of the day.

If you’re heading off to uni take your summer break to rest and recharge. Spend weeks with your friends and burn all your study notes. Go to the beach or spend a whole day in bed. Enjoy the nothingness. Sleep in and stay up late. Watch the movies and TV shows you told yourself you didn’t have time for before.

Then go a buy a shitload of stationery. Stock up on sticky notes and blue pens. Colour code your classes, slap a calendar up on your wall and write down important dates. Stay on top of your assessments, you might not ace every single one but make yourself put in 100%. Read and ask questions at your tutes–don’t let uni life beat you.

Go to lectures and write notes and don’t get bogged down in catching up on the classes you can’t. Do your study on the train home then go out with your friends without stressing about the work you need to do. Spend your weekends drinking and laughing, work your shitty part time job on your days off and build your bank. Don’t get caught up in the stress and tears. This isn’t Year 12. Uni life is what you make it and this is your chance to make it yours.

If you’re travelling, book your flight, pack your bag and kiss your mum goodbye. Wave at the departures gate with a cheesy grin and a nervous stomach. Get on a plane, a train or on the road–get away from home. Forget about your marks and what they will or won’t do for you. Instead, take this chance to explore. Spend some time wandering on your own; solo travel will change your soul and make you forget about your final marks. Talk to new people and meet new faces.

If you’re working, get through your shifts with determination. Watch fat pay checks land in your bank account and enjoy the feeling of buying whatever you want. Put in the hard yards and the rewards will come. Leave work and look forward to empty weekends where you can sleep in and go out.

You’re finally free.

Free to decide what you want to do today, tomorrow and with the rest of your life. So, decide to make it yours; find what makes everything worth it and chase it. Decide what you want. Not what your teachers, or your parents want. If you follow other people’s plans then you will end up fifty years down the track with a life that you hate.

If you don’t know what you want, figure it out. Try new things, say yes to experiences and talk to people. Don’t be afraid to do something just because it’s new. Now is your chance to make mistakes and learn from them. And if you f*ck up? If you make the wrong decision or take the wrong path? Then you have time. You are young and will have years to do things right, to find the ‘right’ path.

So make your first year out of high school yours. Find your passions and enjoy your life. Don’t get caught up in deciding one set path or settling down for the rest of your life. Just live.