Drop out? Graduate?

[LarZ]

I'm 17 in less than 2 months and seriously considering dropping out of school. I know that right now I don't want or have any need for a diploma or a job or money, but I also know that things change, our minds change, things come up, and it (a diploma) would be a good thing to have in the long run. In short: I want to hear what ya'll have to say about dropping out. Have any of you dropouts ever regretted it? How long has it been since you dropped out?






A more detailed description of my situation:
School's really not that bad, but I just don't know if I can wait around anymore. I have wanted to travel and get the fuck out of here for at least 2 years. I have traveled a decent amount on my own with no money (hitching, camping, dumpstering, shoplifting) but I always have to come back. I am completely sick of waiting around to start my life and supposedly "learning". I'm not in public school but I'm still not learning anything new and I want to experience life.

I guess the reason I'm even thinking about staying is that I could graduate by next fall, even sooner if stayed home for the summer (this will not happen). Then it would be getting cold again though and I don't really want to start out on the road heading into winter, so I'd have to wait until next spring/summer, another whole year of this shit.

When I mentioned all of this to my father (who's a complete control freak and one of those parents who knows how to get what he wants through punishment and ultimatums) he said "sure, go ahead, but you can't have any gear of ours, any money, leave all of your ID's and your passport, and I'm reporting you missing to the police." All in all he would make it incredibly difficult (but not impossible) to achieve what I'm wanting. My dad and I get along really well, we're pretty good friends actually, but he's very materialistic and doesn't understand me not wanting money or a job.

Feel free to ask questions, I'm not sure it all makes sense.

 

[christianarchy]

im in a similar situation to you.
personally, i dont get why people worry so much when kids drop out. you can always go back and graduate if you need it. my bet and hope though is that i will never need it.
so yeah if you got it sooner, you might appreciate it later. or you can appreciate sooner, and get it when you know you'll appreciate later. i dont think that made sense but you might know what i'm getting at.
good luck, post when you come to a decision.

 

[LarZ]

you don't feel like going back to try and graduate would be harder than just doing it now?

 

[MeatyMax]

Ehh I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate on this one and say stay in school. You said you'd be done in the fall, so travel all summer. Most people slow down as the weather gets colder anyway so why not be in school just biting the bullet and getting shit over with.

 

[wizehop]

Man how you do in life is really up too you, school or no school..the problem is if your the type to give up on shit, it may follow you forever and you may go no where. The only point of school really is to teach you how to do what your told..you don't really learn anything else at the lower levels. Its systematically set up that way, notice how they never teach you about money or anything that really matters. The stuff they teach you in a public school vs what the elites learn is a completely different outlook. Trust me your not missing any real knowledge by not going to high school.
A shit load of hugely successful people left school before they should have and are now among the most successful people around...but they had drive. I got expelled from school in grade 11, travelled for a few years then when I wanted to take business in collage I applied as a mature student...took some easy test, scored above my grade level in everything but math(not a fan) and got in. Besides for the most part if you don't look like a complete fuck up everyone assumes you have your grade 12 anyhow.
But again man its up too you..as long as you accept your decisions and take responsibility for yourself you can do what ever the fuck you want and you'll be happy. There is no real rule on what you need to do with your life..no matter what pressures society may magically push on you.

 

[Komjaunimas]

Yeah like mentioned above its up to you, but being 21 i can say to you don't do that, finish atleast 12 grades, because you will never return ... its 4th year in a row i get dropped out of collage because travel bug bites my ass and i flee from my country somewhere else for like 8 months and come back in october and start studying something again ... and the story repeats itself... now im just waiting for my parents to kick me out from the house...

 

[Beegod Santana]

I was in a very similar situation at the end of highschool. I had already been traveling through the summers since I was 13 and could barely stand to even walk in that building by the time I was a senior. I eventually graduated, but I gotta say that in retrospect it was a waste of time. My advice is just get your GED a get out.

 

[kai]

i dropped out never have I had a problem with getting a job or anything. the only regret I had about it was that there is some cool things you can take in school (or that I could) like photography, art, metal working, wood working, jewellery making and other fun sorta hands on classes that I am still managing to learn in life but it would've been a bit easier to do it then with all the access to equipment. So I would say if you want take advantage of what's there but know it's not the means to an end to drop out. In canada (where I am at) you can go to university without a diploma as a mature student once you turn 21.

 

[carlylanea]

do you have the option to take online classes for your school? If you do, TAKE THEM. That's what I did, and I pretty much graduated a year early. I graduated on the 20th of this month and everyone else is stuck in school till june!

 

[veggieguy12]

I can't advise either way, as I had to fight to graduate after I was essentially pushed out of HS by the principal.
But while I don't see much education coming through HS, I don't see much benefit from dropping-out, either.
Resumes are all faked and exaggerrated; the jobs you're gonna have available, the employers are never gonna check on your claim of graduating, so long as you can do the tasks you're hired for.
But what's the rush that you can't stay there and learn, not from classes so much as from the life experience of being 17-18. What have you got, another 18 months? Keep from becoming a daddy, read your own books, and cause a good bit of trouble. That's what High School is all about!

 

[LarZ]

In canada (where I am at) you can go to university without a diploma as a mature student once you turn 21.

This applies to US citizens as well doesn't it? I could I go to school in Canada at 21 with no diploma?

And is that all universities? Art schools? If I do ever want to go it would be to go to art school.

 

[Dumpsterhump]

I know exactly how you feel, I'm in the same situation. I just think that I'd rather finish high school with a diploma, then drop out at the last minute and look back on all 12 years I wasted..
But like Wizehop said, it's your life.

 

[finn]

I thought high school was where you learned to be sneaky and recruit folks to create and execute plans to subvert authority. That is preparation for the real world. Also, try to travel over summer vacation, not when it's cold out.

 

[JahDucky]

I guess its allr eally up to you what you want to do. I dropped out and a year later got my ged the first time i took it and almost passed with honors(damn math test) while squatting north portland.

 

[hshh]

you should look into online schooling. i finished my senior year in 2 months and got a diploma and everything.

 

[Pickles]

My buddy's 16, dropped out due to the travel bug, was put on probation, reported as a runaway, has had 2 warrants issued for his arrest in 3 months, served a night in juvie, and is now in a tight spot because he's required to go to school, but has a warrant, so if he goes he'll be arrested. And he wants to get his GED but he can't get that while he's enrolled in high school, and the next sign up for GED testing is the end of next month or some shit. So basically, he's stuck in a bad way. Of course, I'm sure there are people that drop out and manage just fine. I'm just giving an example. My advice: finish school in the fastest and most painless way possible. Graduate early, get your GED, do online classes, whatever, but I'd say stick with it if you want to avoid too much trouble on the road. Just my two cents though. Take it or leave it, this is obviously your call.

 

[iamwhatiam]

hey guy, i'd say if you're gonna drop out - at least get your GED before you set out. i dropped out 2 weeks before my graduation -because I wasn't passing (never cared much for homework) and did not want to do summer school (traveling bug) or repeat another year. i just finally completed all the GED tests. I'm 25 now.
In my experience, i never stayed in one place long enough to finish taking the courses or had the motivation to stick with it. Also, you never know when there may be a job opportunity that requires you to have some kind of diploma. So, i'd say just get it done and over with....it's better to have it and not need it, then to need it and not have it right?

 

[LarZ]

Thanks so much for all of your advice, but it looks like it doesn't matter anymore!

There was apparently some misinformation on the part of my counselor and I can graduate this semester as long as I pass the proficiency exam or some shit.

So... I hope to see you all on the road this summer and beyond! :cheers:
-Larz

 

[simpletoremember]

I dropped out when i was 16. I went to school in some small redneck town in Montana, I received my GED a few months later, then moved back to Alaska. Where I decided to return for my high school diploma and dropped after the first trimester realizing why I dropped out in the first place, so I wouldn't have to deal with all the high school drama bull shit, it was like watching lame reruns of Degrassi or some shit. I went to college for semester then decided to travel for a bit and see the world, then in roll again, still haven't done so and it's been almost 4 years since then.

 

[Pickles]

Congrats on the quick graduation! See ya out there =)