When you leave high school, you’ll probably realize that you didn’t spend enough time thinking about what comes next. Even if you’re a senior making plans for after graduation to work at a certain company or travel somewhere, there are things that you should be doing before you leave this chapter of your life behind for good. Even though it might not seem so finite now, everything you know about life, yourself and your friends will begin to change the more time you spend outside of school. So while you have the chance, do these last few things to ensure that you make the most of your last few months or years of high school.
First, you need to be able to survive independently in the real world, so get a handle on these four things before you leave high school and begin your independent life. Whether you leave home right away or not, these will be things that you’ll be expected to know and do once you are officially an adult.
1. Learn how to cook healthy meals
Although you might not be leaving home right away, you should at least start learning how to cook and making a list or cookbook of recipes that you know you’ll want to make in the future. Starting now means that you’ll have a better chance of making healthy meals for yourself and of knowing how to make them cheaply.
2. Know how to do your laundry
By the end of high school, if you can’t do your own laundry without turning everything pink, you’re going to have a rough time being on your own. You need to know enough about washing clothes that you can survive without going back home to have your professional clothes washed every weekend by mom or dad.
3. Understand how to manage your finances
The extent of most people’s knowledge of finances is how to check their account balance and swipe a credit card. You should know, though, how to open accounts and deal with banks in person, apply for and cancel credit cards, write a check, and budget money. All of this takes time and experience, but if you start your professional life without any idea of how to budget money or open a savings or checking account, you’re going to be in for a difficult ride.
4. Know how to find and apply for jobs
It seems obvious that you need to know how to look for a job once you set out to get one, but a lot of people have no idea where to look or how to apply. It’s always good to ask an adult for help with this one because they’ve probably been through the process plenty of times by now. A guidance counselor might be your best resource for this because they will be able to help you find websites with job postings, and teach you how to search for specific jobs and apply for a job in a professional way that makes it seem like you know what you’re doing.
These next few “must-do’s” are meant to help you take memories and people with you beyond graduation. You’ll find that, once you graduate, things are more different than you expected they’d be. So take advantage of what and who you have now so that you don’t regret wasting any time later.
5. Take a day off with your closest friends. You might never be this close again
If you’ve been absent from school too often or don’t want to miss a day, take a trip on a weekend. Do something you’ve never done together, and make memories that will last beyond graduation. The sad truth is that you might not be close with all of your high school friends a few months after graduation, so take the time to make memories that you can hold onto for years.
6. Look closely at your passions and figure out how to pursue them
If you don’t know what you want to do after graduation, take the time now to figure that out. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want, you should try to form an understanding of yourself and what you want to give to and get from life. Once you discover your passions, research where they can take you. Find out what jobs you’d be good at, and think about what you want your life to look like in a few years.
7. Make a game plan for after graduation and schedule events
Once you’ve finally graduated, you’ll probably want to spend the summer relaxing and spending time with friends who are all going their separate ways. You should definitely make time for this because you’ll never be the people you are now, but you also need to have an action plan for beginning your own future. Plan get-togethers and end-of-year parties in advance so that you know when you’ll have time to begin applying for jobs or moving forward on professional plans.
8. Clean up your social media
Employers don’t want to see anything on your social media that is unprofessional (or illegal), so make sure that you have a “clean” social media presence when you leave high school and begin applying for jobs or making your way into the real world.
9. Tell the people who have had an impact on your life how important they are. And get their contact information
Your favorite teachers might not know how much they have shaped you or informed your ideas. Before you leave, let them know that they’ve had an impact on you. They will feel grateful to have a student who appreciates the work they’ve put in year after year, and your relationship with them might grow into a friendship that will continue after graduation. Make sure to get contact information, though, so that you have a way to stay in touch if you’re hoping to remain close.
10. Be prepared for huge changes
Everyone always says that everything changes after high school, but this is an understatement. You expect to drift apart from friends and teachers, you expect for your passions and understanding of life to change, but you don’t expect everything that’s been a part of your life since you can remember to be gone suddenly. No matter how much you prepare yourself for it, graduation brings changes that you can’t plan for. You’ll be faced with challenges you’ve never imagined, lose friendships you thought would last forever, and find yourself becoming someone new, barely recognizable as who you thought you were. It happens to everyone at some point, whether it be right after high school or years down the road; eventually, everything will be different, for better or worse. So take the time now to do what you haven’t had the chance to, get closer to people you may have taken for granted, and figure out who you want to be.
-Hope Swedeen
What are some things you'd like to do before graduating from high school?
First, you need to be able to survive independently in the real world, so get a handle on these four things before you leave high school and begin your independent life. Whether you leave home right away or not, these will be things that you’ll be expected to know and do once you are officially an adult.
1. Learn how to cook healthy meals
Although you might not be leaving home right away, you should at least start learning how to cook and making a list or cookbook of recipes that you know you’ll want to make in the future. Starting now means that you’ll have a better chance of making healthy meals for yourself and of knowing how to make them cheaply.
2. Know how to do your laundry
By the end of high school, if you can’t do your own laundry without turning everything pink, you’re going to have a rough time being on your own. You need to know enough about washing clothes that you can survive without going back home to have your professional clothes washed every weekend by mom or dad.
3. Understand how to manage your finances
The extent of most people’s knowledge of finances is how to check their account balance and swipe a credit card. You should know, though, how to open accounts and deal with banks in person, apply for and cancel credit cards, write a check, and budget money. All of this takes time and experience, but if you start your professional life without any idea of how to budget money or open a savings or checking account, you’re going to be in for a difficult ride.
4. Know how to find and apply for jobs
It seems obvious that you need to know how to look for a job once you set out to get one, but a lot of people have no idea where to look or how to apply. It’s always good to ask an adult for help with this one because they’ve probably been through the process plenty of times by now. A guidance counselor might be your best resource for this because they will be able to help you find websites with job postings, and teach you how to search for specific jobs and apply for a job in a professional way that makes it seem like you know what you’re doing.
These next few “must-do’s” are meant to help you take memories and people with you beyond graduation. You’ll find that, once you graduate, things are more different than you expected they’d be. So take advantage of what and who you have now so that you don’t regret wasting any time later.
5. Take a day off with your closest friends. You might never be this close again
If you’ve been absent from school too often or don’t want to miss a day, take a trip on a weekend. Do something you’ve never done together, and make memories that will last beyond graduation. The sad truth is that you might not be close with all of your high school friends a few months after graduation, so take the time to make memories that you can hold onto for years.
6. Look closely at your passions and figure out how to pursue them
If you don’t know what you want to do after graduation, take the time now to figure that out. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want, you should try to form an understanding of yourself and what you want to give to and get from life. Once you discover your passions, research where they can take you. Find out what jobs you’d be good at, and think about what you want your life to look like in a few years.
7. Make a game plan for after graduation and schedule events
Once you’ve finally graduated, you’ll probably want to spend the summer relaxing and spending time with friends who are all going their separate ways. You should definitely make time for this because you’ll never be the people you are now, but you also need to have an action plan for beginning your own future. Plan get-togethers and end-of-year parties in advance so that you know when you’ll have time to begin applying for jobs or moving forward on professional plans.
8. Clean up your social media
Employers don’t want to see anything on your social media that is unprofessional (or illegal), so make sure that you have a “clean” social media presence when you leave high school and begin applying for jobs or making your way into the real world.
9. Tell the people who have had an impact on your life how important they are. And get their contact information
Your favorite teachers might not know how much they have shaped you or informed your ideas. Before you leave, let them know that they’ve had an impact on you. They will feel grateful to have a student who appreciates the work they’ve put in year after year, and your relationship with them might grow into a friendship that will continue after graduation. Make sure to get contact information, though, so that you have a way to stay in touch if you’re hoping to remain close.
10. Be prepared for huge changes
Everyone always says that everything changes after high school, but this is an understatement. You expect to drift apart from friends and teachers, you expect for your passions and understanding of life to change, but you don’t expect everything that’s been a part of your life since you can remember to be gone suddenly. No matter how much you prepare yourself for it, graduation brings changes that you can’t plan for. You’ll be faced with challenges you’ve never imagined, lose friendships you thought would last forever, and find yourself becoming someone new, barely recognizable as who you thought you were. It happens to everyone at some point, whether it be right after high school or years down the road; eventually, everything will be different, for better or worse. So take the time now to do what you haven’t had the chance to, get closer to people you may have taken for granted, and figure out who you want to be.
-Hope Swedeen
What are some things you'd like to do before graduating from high school?
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