New Perspectives
New year's resolutions and wishes from students and staff
As the new year begins, there is hardly any escape from the previous year. However, as tough as 2020 was, it’s important to not only set goals but set the positive atmosphere by putting wishful thinking into the air.
Ms. April McBaine, choral music teacher, says, “My desired wish for this year is unity and peace. As a nation we are currently very divided; it is exhausting and makes my heart hurt." Ms. McBain speaks a common sentiment: the world has been divided long enough, and hopefully society can find a way to come together. Other than Ms. McBain, many others have expressed the same wish or something along those lines.
Already contributing to the positive atmosphere, Brook Olinger, drama teacher, gives this wish: “I hope to exude more joy than I did last semester. Each day we get the choice to be joyful or pessimistic, so this semester I'm choosing joy." Keep those spirits high because remember that attitudes are contagious!
Senior Josie West hopes “To appreciate and find happiness in the little things, take advantage of every opportunity and document memorable times." Seeing so many people wanting to bring the high energy this year makes the world seem like it’ll finally heal.
“I’ll strive towards living optimistically," senior Dalton Joachim declares. "2020 was depressing and fearful, and I can’t let this year be a repeat. I seem to be trained to focus on the bad, and take the good for granted. I want to change that for the sake of my limited time here.” Nothing but good fortune sent your way, it’s normal to be burdened by the bad, as long as you’re aware of the good too!
Even if the new year is just as torturous as the last, the most important thing we can do as human beings with the power that we have, is to look at every single positive thing we can. Everyone will get through it together, chin up!
College or gap year? What's right for you?
What do you think is the right decision for you? Should you take a year off school to gather your life and to experience the world as an adult before you go to school again for your career? Or do you have the confidence and the drive to jump straight into the game and knock it out?
As a high school senior this is something I find interesting because of my own choices I have made for my own schooling. A gap year is when someone doesnt go straight into college, trade school, or any form of post-secondary schooling. Instead, they take a year off for whatever their reasons are. After all, going straight into college after high school can have its upsides and downsides, the same as taking a gap year.
Now the major downside to that is that if you don't have the personal motivation or the drive to go back into schooling then you may lose sight of your future, which is a risk you have to be willing to understand in order to be able to push yourself into doing it without failure.
Going straight to college is the best for some people. Likewise, you can be an avid calisthenics enthusiast (for those that dont know calisthenics is a type of exercises that are about muscle control and endurance) and if you take a break for a year or more you may no longer care about doing such exercises. The same concept applies for school, going to college straight away may be beneficial in the fact that you're getting your career started quicker than later and you can start doing what you wish to do sooner.
But a gap year could be a good idea because you may not know what you want to major in or what you want to pursue so it can give you a year to figure out what you desire to do for a living. Taking a break from school could also be beneficial to you because it may help you get your own mind on track or it could help you go through whatever it is you may need to get through. Another key reason a gap year could be beneficial is you can take a year to work and save money up to maybe help pay tuition or maybe you need to take a training course and you need to pay for that. It's also beneficial to some people because it gives them time to experience life after high school as an adult and helps them get a better understanding of the real world.
One major issue I've seen people undergo when they go straight from high school to college is they end up not having the same interests halfway through their degree, so they change it to something and take more time to get through school. A lot of the time, people who decide to go to college right off the bat can get a little burnt out. However, some people thrive off it, It truly depends on the person and their sense of self awareness and self perseverance to determine what is best for them to do.
MVHS principal Dr. Josh Ladd said, “A ‘gap year’ can be effective for the right student. Individuals who are focused and determined to attend college after high school can use this time to save money, secure a residence and thoroughly investigate their options before enrolling in a school. Meanwhile, students taking a "gap year" can also fall victim to LIFE. The allure of adulthood is powerful.”
I feel this one statement pretty much says it all: it truly does depend on who you are as to what is right for you; it takes a lot of self understanding in order to truthfully decide what the right choice is for you. As Dr. Ladd says, sometimes we fall victim to life. That is one of the biggest issues I feel the majority of people may face after high school is simply falling victim to life.
Dr. Ladd also said, “On a personal level, one fact that I discovered along my path is that adulthood becomes more expensive each year. So, the question I asked is how do I maintain my quality of life? The answer was simple. I needed to increase my earnings at the same pace. For me, education helped to solve this problem.” For Dr. Ladd, his education is what helped him through life. It helped him find that balance we all have probably heard our parents talk about.
Counselor Ms. Stephanie Smith added, “I would say the majority of students who graduate do not have a plan and several that have a plan tend to change that plan before they complete the coursework. That being said, if you know what you are interested in, and what you enjoy, it is good to have a tentative plan in place. This plan will many times keep you on track and help you set goals.”
I feel this is a very good point to understand. Not a lot of people have a goal but if you do have a goal then make sure you have a plan to achieve that goal, because if you don't then once again you may lose sight of that interest or decide against it and end up working at different jobs forever instead of going through schooling and finding the right career for you. Once you find that career for you, then you never work a day in your life.
If you are unsure of what path you should take, Ms. Smith has some very good ideas to help with that: “Take interest inventory tests, job shadow some areas that interest you, look up career options online, look at colleges and what degrees they offer, visit colleges.” I personally don't exactly know what's the right choice for me yet and being only a short while away from graduation, I really should. It's hard to figure out the right path for oneself, which is why I highly recommend people start thinking about it sooner rather than later.
Should you consider taking a gap year? Or are you ready for the challenge of tackling college right off the bat after high school? This is a question most high schoolers need to ask themselves starting their junior year i think. It is important to know and understand yourself enough to be able to plan out what it is you need to do for your future.