Do you ever think about what you plan to do when you finish high school? Maybe you want to work right away or maybe you want to continue studying. For the first time, you’ll be making decisions that could affect you, your family, and your friends for the rest of your life. You can’t control everything in your life, but you can make a plan that will help you to enjoy whatever you do and to have a fulfilling life.

You might expect that life after graduation will be completely different from your life in high school. For some of you, this might be true. You might decide to get married or to move to a different country or a different city. Suddenly, you’ll have to make your own decisions about your future, and even if your parents help, you’ll be responsible for your own life. You’ll be an adult.

For at least the first while, your new freedom might seem very exciting. If you decide to go out and get a job, the freedom of having money might be a lot of fun. You might decide to get a job right away working in the retail or service industries. You might decide to go to university to become a doctor or teacher or go to a vocational school for a career in a trade.

If you choose to work right after graduation, you might find that your job is a lot like high school. You’ll have to get to work on time and stay for the whole day unless you have a special reason to leave. If you miss work too often without a good excuse, you might lose your job.

If you choose to continue with your education, you might find that your instructors pay little attention to whether or not you attend classes. You could attend only the first and last classes and still get good marks. However, you’ll still have to take all of the tests and complete all of the assignments if you want to pass the course. The professors likely won’t watch over you the same way teachers do in high school, but they’ll still expect you to get your work done.

One thing that will likely stay the same after high school is the types of people you meet. Whether at work or in university, you’ll find the same mixture of friendly or unfriendly people, helpful or unhelpful, tense or relaxed. You will probably also remain much the same. Different situations might bring out skills and interests you never knew you had. However, your basic character will probably remain unchanged. That’s why it’s important to begin thinking about not just what you want to do, but what kind of person you want to be.

Does life after high school sound like the kind of life you already have or like an exciting adventure that is opening up? In the end, both of these possibilities might be true. Use this opportunity to be everything you’ve always wanted to be.