What to do after school instead of university

What Next?

Me: Do you know wtf you’re doing with your life?

Friend: Not a clue.

Me: Me neither… 

Both: *stares blankly into the void*

So as you all already know, graduation is coming up. That means many of us are moving on from upper secondary school to “new adventures." If we actually graduate, that is. Personally, I’m taking a gap year so I can go into hibernation sleep and think about the meaning of life (it’s 42). But I’m sure a fair share of you are unsure of what you want to do next and are having a bit of a crisis so here are a few things you can do instead of going to university and learning like a nerd. I snatched most of these points from one of those life-advice webpages.

1. Acquire new skills by taking classes.

If you are in fact a nerd but you don’t feel like going to university to learn stuff, you can learn elsewhere by taking classes. Or just watch videos on the internet, that can be educational sometimes too. You gotta wear that nerd label with pride.

2. Travel.

It’s a bit of a cliche, but seeing the world can be really educational and you might learn something about yourself. You can go to India to climb a mountain and then drink something psychedelic. Maybe you’ll become enlightened. Or just high. Win-win situation.

3. Get a job.

Having money is nice. Just remember to tell the job-interviewer that you are a people-person and your worst flaw is perfectionism. And if they ask why you wanna work at the Burger King customer service line, use those precious bullsh*tting skills you’ve learned. 

4. Work on your mental health.

After being in school for about 12 years, it’s likely you’ve developed some pretty f*cked up complexes (especially if you’re an IB student also known as a former burnt-out gifted kid) so resolving that could improve your life tremendously and it can help you figure out what you want to do with your life.

5. Explore your passions.

Now that you’re not in school, you can actually do whatever you want. Take advantage of that and find out what you actually enjoy doing. You might even be able to turn your passion into a career. Or you could just consume a ton of entertainment. I recently discovered “hydraulic press youtube” and “concrete pouring youtube” and let me tell you…

6. Join the military or do civil service.

Some of you will have to do one of these anyway. I’ve heard the military can be good for learning about discipline and teamwork or something. I mean… you could also “pull a John Galtung” by conscientiously objecting to it and going to prison where they have free gym and library access but whatever. And the food probably isn’t all that different from what we already get in school so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.