The other week, I decided it was time for a phone upgrade. I compared the newest iPhones, and I was surprised to see how cheap the monthly installments were for even the newest iPhone. What I didn’t know was you need a credit history in order to opt for the installment plan (that’s what AT&T told me at least). Since I currently lack a credit history, I have no choice but to pay for the new phone in full ($700-$1000 that I don’t have). This inspired me to make this post today.
Now that I’ve been out of high school for two years, I’ve had a taste of what real adulthood is like. Besides the joy of freedom and independence, so far it’s been bitter like black coffee. This transition into independence would have been a lot smoother if I learned about the following things instead of the Pythagorean Theorem – which I haven’t used since 10th grade.
Here are some things that I think we should have learned in high school:
Credit
Arguably the most important one on this list. How the hell am I gonna get an apartment once I graduate with no credit? Or a new car to replace my 2003 Toyota Corolla that’s on it’s last lap? Credit was always regarded as “an adult matter” but there’s 20+ year olds just finding out that they need a credit history in order to continue anything in their life. Sickening. The concept of credit alone is confusing because it’s so widely misunderstood. I’m glad I just got a credit card, because I know my parents wouldn’t have taught me anything about credit (they probably thought I learned about it in school).
Budgeting
This is the one I know I struggle with the most. I tell myself I won’t spend money on food, but then my friends want to go get food and suddenly I’m bargaining with myself. “Okay, I just won’t buy food for the rest of the week after this!” It’s actually realllly bad. My TCF Bank debit card would agree.
Most of budgeting is discipline – allocating money from each paycheck to pay your bills and saving for your spring break trip, then using whatever’s left to go to McDonald’s after parties at 1 am…But ONLY that money that’s left. You’d think the same way I disciplined myself to do homework before going to football games with my friends in high school would be applicable to not buying food everyday, but it’s not that easy!
Loans
During my senior year, I talked to one of my administrators about choosing a college, specifically choosing between a lifetime of debt at my dream school or minimal debt at the school down the street. He basically told me that he went to a school he couldn’t afford and ate PB&Js everyday for years, but now he owns an Audi…therefore I should go to my dream school (and eat PB&J everyday to eventually pay off my loans and live lavishly). I wanted to take his word for it because how bad can $120k in debt be, right??
In hindsight, I should’ve gone to my dream school because the world will probably end in the next 40 years anyway, and student loan debt won’t matter when we’re all annihilated. But this just goes to show that I had no concept of money when I was 18, and it’s scary that we force 18 year olds to make these kind of decisions when they have no idea how loans work.
How to get a job
I’ve said this in a blog post before, and I’ll say it again. A college degree without networking is as useful as a high school diploma. I said what I said. The value of a Bachelor’s degree is decreasing as more people are earning them while they simultaneously become more expensive to get. Having the degree alone will not do much for you, in some cases. Experience is equally important, if not more. High schools should teach you how to network, how to interview, and encourage us to stay involved in college because from my experience…..they really made it seem like getting a piece of paper at graduation would guarantee me a good life…And that’s not realistic. Not every computer science major will go straight to Silicon Valley and work for Apple after graduation, and not every finance major will work for Morgan Stanley.
Computer Literacy and Skills
This is a late addition, but I was just on LinkedIn and I had to add this right here. Every entry level job requires you to be “proficient” in Microsoft Word, Adobe Editor, Excel, and every other application our computers have that we may not use. If I’ve learned anything in my almost 5 years of working, it’s to rack up as many skills as you can. My experiences from working in retail to working at a gym to working security at the SuperBowl to working for a student mentorship program and being on the exec board of a student group have unexpectedly come in handy.
Post High School Depression
This is actually so real. I know several people that have graduated from college and felt blue about it for months, also. From a psychological perspective, I think this is like the “Birthday Blues”, which is this phenomenon where people get really sad on their birthday when they know they should be celebrating. It’s the concept that we’re getting older and starting new chapters in life, and that can be scary or depressing when you’re enjoying the chapter you’re on. I know that I had a hard time adjusting to college because I went to the same school district from K-12 with the same people and I loved it, then I attended the last school I wanted to go to. I think schools should address the unsettling uncertainty that comes with beginning a new chapter in life the same way they address applying for colleges. It could be applied to leaving your hometown for college at age 18, losing your job at 34, or retiring at 67.
and lastly – Everyone’s Journey is Different
High school made me question the people that didn’t go to college or dropped out. Twitter made me think I have to earn a 3.9 GPA and graduate magna cum laude with 10+ job offers from a degree in the physical sciences in order to be successful. Television and movies made me think that I should’ve found my soulmate by now. Life in general made me think that I would know who I am as a person by now. All of this shit is false. College is not for everyone, and you don’t have to go immediately after high school. C’s get degrees, too. Relationships are not a requisite in your 20’s. And lastly, you’re still learning about yourself everyday, and you’ll probably never really know yourself the way you think you will, so see it as a journey and not a destination.
Don’t compare yourself to others because there’s no right or wrong path to be on..unless it’s drugs. Don’t do drugs. But we can’t all have the same storyline. If I could go back to my old high school and give them only one piece of criticism, it would be this.
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Manyi.
