Future Plans of the Next Generation
Preparing for her future, Hana Scheuermann (’21) explores different options for college.
Futures are constantly changing, especially for high schoolers. How they want to live,
what they want to be and do, their passions and interests and morals. All of these things
determine how someone plans their future, and that is why the plans always change: it is the
person that is really changing, and their preferences. Though future plans are developed and
adjusted over time, there are many students who have made extremely in depth futures for
themselves. On the other hand, there are also some students who do not know exactly what they
want to be yet, and many who have no idea what they are even passionate about.
An important step that some choose to take in furthering a student’s future is college.
There is a small amount of students who have decided they would rather not attend college, only
9.6%, whether that be for personal or financial reasons. On the other hand, 78.7% figured that
college would be good for them. Still, quite a lot of people are not yet sure if they want to attend
college. These students, 11.8% of them, have not given up the possibility of extra schooling, but
are not quite sure if it is for them.
College is not the only way to plan out your future, however many people do choose it.
What is important is that a person has an idea of what they want to do, or at least work to figure
that out. While 5.9% of students say they have absolutely no plans, 13.3% say that they have not
thought up what they are going to yet, but are trying their best to figure out their ambitions and
passions. Apart from that, 80.7% of students know how they want their future to go, and how to
go about making it happen for them.
Depending on someone’s personality, age, experience, and work ethic, their levels of
preparation can vary. For example, a freshman who has a vague idea of what they want to do in
the future would have very different plans from a senior who is sure that they know what they
want to do.
“Honestly after I go through college as long as I’m happy then. Guess that’s it,” freshman
Kimi Green says. She wants to be a criminological psychologist, but does not have any solid
plans on what to do after she attends college.
“I plan to get my masters degree in architecture and later get my MBA. I hope to get an
internship at an architecture firm while I’m in college and then maybe get a job their after I
graduate. After that I think I’ll get my MBA and then try and get a higher level job at wherever it
is that I work,” explains senior Jase Owens. Most of the time seniors at least have basic plans,
while freshmans are mainly still figuring things out. Still, that isn’t always the case.
“I plan on moving everywhere. First I’ll start small and just most to orange beach in
Alabama when I’m in my 20s. Then a little further to Alaska from 25 to about 30, then when I
turn 30 I want to move to England until I’m about 60. Then I want to move to Japan and stay until
I die,” freshman Kinslee Keatts. She also plans to be an actress. Her plans are incredibly
intricate, even though she is only on her first year of high school and has plenty of time to
prepare.
Futures are constantly changing, especially for high schoolers. How they want to live,
what they want to be and do, their passions and interests and morals. All of these things
determine how someone plans their future, and that is why the plans always change: it is the
person that is really changing, and their preferences. Though future plans are developed and
adjusted over time, there are many students who have made extremely in depth futures for
themselves. On the other hand, there are also some students who do not know exactly what they
want to be yet, and many who have no idea what they are even passionate about.
An important step that some choose to take in furthering a student’s future is college.
There is a small amount of students who have decided they would rather not attend college, only
9.6%, whether that be for personal or financial reasons. On the other hand, 78.7% figured that
college would be good for them. Still, quite a lot of people are not yet sure if they want to attend
college. These students, 11.8% of them, have not given up the possibility of extra schooling, but
are not quite sure if it is for them.
College is not the only way to plan out your future, however many people do choose it.
What is important is that a person has an idea of what they want to do, or at least work to figure
that out. While 5.9% of students say they have absolutely no plans, 13.3% say that they have not
thought up what they are going to yet, but are trying their best to figure out their ambitions and
passions. Apart from that, 80.7% of students know how they want their future to go, and how to
go about making it happen for them.
Depending on someone’s personality, age, experience, and work ethic, their levels of
preparation can vary. For example, a freshman who has a vague idea of what they want to do in
the future would have very different plans from a senior who is sure that they know what they
want to do.
“Honestly after I go through college as long as I’m happy then. Guess that’s it,” freshman
Kimi Green says. She wants to be a criminological psychologist, but does not have any solid
plans on what to do after she attends college.
“I plan to get my masters degree in architecture and later get my MBA. I hope to get an
internship at an architecture firm while I’m in college and then maybe get a job their after I
graduate. After that I think I’ll get my MBA and then try and get a higher level job at wherever it
is that I work,” explains senior Jase Owens. Most of the time seniors at least have basic plans,
while freshmans are mainly still figuring things out. Still, that isn’t always the case.
“I plan on moving everywhere. First I’ll start small and just most to orange beach in
Alabama when I’m in my 20s. Then a little further to Alaska from 25 to about 30, then when i
turn 30 I want to move to england until I’m about 60. Then I want to move to japan and stay until
I die,” freshman Kinslee Keatts. She also plans to be an actress. Her plans are incredibly
intricate, even though she is only on her first year of high school and has plenty of time to
prepare.
On the other hand, senior William Roberts does not have any plans saying simply, “I
don’t know.” Not knowing what you will do or where you will go is not necessarily a bad thing,
as long as the goal of having a set plan is actively being worked on.
Futures can be scary to think about, and it can take a long time to have a set life goal.
That goal might change and morph into something that suits a person depending on how they
change and what happens to them. One thing that is certain is that life is short and childhood
goes by fast. Focusing on your future and making sure that the future is set can make it easier to live and relax in the now.
