I make my own decisions

Though high school we always go these talks about adolescence. Peer pressure, sex, body change, bitchiness, friends, drinking, smoking, careers, drugs, and relationships are just a few of the things they prepared us for to deal with through our high school lives. To me being a teen wasn't that hard, and I am thankful for that.

What we weren't warned about or given lectures on , (with slide shows, videos, dramatic re enactments or even a lousy  overhead projector) is what happens when you finish that uni degree or training . Are we stuck for the rest of our lives in that career? Why is my friendship with my best friend through high school, seem not to be working? How do I deal with being treated like I know what I'm talking about? Why do I feel like I have split personalities - a professional one and a friend one - How do I combine both? Should you combine both? When should I start saving for a house? But what about going overseas?

High school seems so easy compared to all these decisions that I now face. At school if we ever had problems we knew who to turn to and we had an endless supply of help offered to us -  teachers, councillors, friends, organisations for kids and teens. Within the four years since I've left school, people have changed. Different priorities, going places, working, travelling, making new friends have all been factors in influencing changes in people, I'm sure I have changed in some ways too.

I have learnt over the past few months that things I had in the past have changed. Everything in high school was so structured - same lessons every week, same people every day, a structured way to get help, a structured way to socialise. After school, and particularly for me after uni, everything is so unstructured.  It was always preached to us that during adolescence we would 'find ourselves' and 'learn about ourselves' but for me, I don't think the real learning has started till now - when I have no one to influence me, no teacher above me - no structure.

At first this idea was very daunting, but after discussing this with the friends I have kept in high school, I realise I'm not the only one who feels this way. Each of my friends are going in a different direction, but we are all going through the same process of learning about ourselves. I look at this situation now with excitement, I can try new things, I can make my own mistakes and make my own decisions.