When kids are asked what they want to be when they get older, the expected answer is along the lines of “firefighter” or “princess.” Unfortunately, the economy can’t survive with only firefighters and princesses, so the question becomes a lot more difficult as each birthday passes. 

By the time senior year rolls around, students get asked the dreaded question: “What are you going to do after graduation?” Unfortunately as that date draws closer, the answer can feel more and more uncertain. 

LucyJane Crimm, Editor-in-Chief –

I’m so sick of being asked what I want to do after graduation because my answer has gradually gone from “I know exactly what I’m doing” to “I’m second guessing every plan I made.” There’s so much pressure to know what you want to do at the ripe age of 18-years-old, but you’ve barely even experienced what the world has to offer. Do I really want to spend all of that time and money to get an education for a career path that I won’t get to experience until after I get my degree? What if I end up hating my job, but now I have to do it because I need to figure out how to pay for four years of college? But scariest of all, what if I fail? 

I wish I could just get a tarot deck and ask the all-knowing cards exactly what’s going to happen in my life. I hate school, but at least it provided a sense of stability. I knew what was going to happen every day for 14 years, but now I’m graduating and anything could happen. 

No more stinky teenagers or pointless high school drama; I could go on and on about all of the things I won’t miss after I graduate. But as negatively as I talk about my high school experiences, they are what shaped me into the person I am today and I’m beyond grateful for that.  

The most terrifying thought about post-graduation is getting my hopes up for big plans and never actually making anything of myself. I want to make a positive impact on the world; I want to change people’s lives for the better and give people hope, especially since it feels like there’s so little of that now. I know what I want to do, but I don’t know how or if it’ll happen.

Sometimes it’s hard to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It’s okay if you don’t know what’s going to happen after graduation; no one does. I definitely don’t, but I’ve also realized that I have to accept that the future is uncertain and no amount of tarot cards can change that. 

Aiden Chandler, Associate Editor-

When I was younger, I told everyone that I wanted to be a doctor just like my dad. When I reached the age to understand what it actually takes to become a doctor, I changed career paths. Since then, I’ve bounced around from a lawyer, to a teacher, and even to the President of the United States. As a senior who is halfway through their final year of high school, I have finally settled on the career of a pastor. 

Despite knowing where I’m going and what I want to do after high school, I’m still bombarded by the thought of moving on to the next stage of my life. I think back over the last four years, and I reminisce about how time has flown by. Five years ago we were riding around on bikes with our friends. Now we’re driving cars. We used to sit and wait for our parents to come pick us up for school. Now we simply drive home ourselves. 

So much has changed in the four years I spent in this school, and I’m not entirely sure I’m prepared to deal with the additional changes coming after Pomp and Circumstance. 

I still worry about how to live on my own- after all, my mom won’t be there to assist my every move. After I graduate and move out, I’m leaving everything behind and starting the next chapter of my life, as if to lock my many memories from high school away in a box never to be opened again. This is what worries me the most. 

I’ve made so many unforgettable memories in high school: late-night bus rides for sports and activities, meeting very interesting people through speech and debate, and ultimately finding my identity in the walls of PHS. 

I’m told that college is where your life begins, where you meet your lifelong friends, where you make your core memories, and where your life begins. It’s hard to imagine this isn’t high school, because it’s here where I’ve made my seemingly lifelong friendships and my unforgettable memories. Because of this, I wonder if I’m prepared to let it all go. 

Letting high school go is only half the battle. The next step in the process is learning how to live in a new place, make new friends, and how to do your own laundry without your mother’s help. 

I’ve spent so many hours wishing I could just graduate, grumbling as my alarm clock sounded at 6:00 am about how I want it to be all over. I guess I didn’t listen when they told me it would go by quicker than I expected. Now, I’m not so sure I’m ready to graduate. 

My whole life, I never thought this time would come. I thought I would be stuck in elementary, middle and high school forever. Now that I have finally reached that point, I wonder where all that time went. Despite this, I am truly excited for the future. I may be out-right terrified for May 22 and the rest of my life, but I know my time at this school has prepared me for what’s to come.