Preparing For Life by Mackenzie

Preparing For Life by Mackenzie - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

Mackenzie Norton

As a new member of society, I can say that I was not ready to become an adult. I was not prepared to balance a checkbook, pay bills, or better yet apply for a job. Coming out of high school I was virtually unaware of what real life would be like, and to be frank it hit me like a train. As kids reach the end of their high school career, they are transforming into young adults who are being pushed into society before they are ready. They are expected to vote, pay bills, apply for college, and get a job when no one has shown them how to do these things.

If I were to have the power to create on high school extracurricular activity, I would create a, preparing for life class. It would be a short 30-45-minute gathering where kids could come and talk to young adults and get real help without fearing that they will be judged for not knowing these answers. They would not be required to attend or speak they could simply listen to the speaker of the day and go home.

Having somewhere for kids to go as a group who are truly interested in learning more where they feel like they are not going to be judged would be so beneficial for these students. We all know that becoming a functioning adult is scary. There are programs similar to this but they are very hard to get into and more often than not kids feel like they are being judged when they walk into these rooms because it is just people in their 30’s who have all their ducks in a row talking to these kids saying they understand and where there once. It makes kids scared that they too have to have the same thing and in honesty, these full-grown men and women might think they know what we are going through, but times have vastly changed, and kids need help.