Growing up, I always thought that I would at-tend a four-year college to get my degree. Through-out high school, I became less and less interested in going through four to six more years of schooling only to not be guaranteed a job. I decided that some other type of schooling was needed to fit who I want to be. I went to the other extreme; I started looking into labor unions. In my searching, I came to a standstill since many of those jobs were not friendly to women. So I thought back to what kinds of careers I wanted when I was younger. When I was very young I wanted to work with animals, so I started looking into vet schools. Once I realized that being a vet would take a minimum of eight years, I completely lost interest. But I soon found another job that works side by side with vets: veterinary technicians. Once I looked into the schooling options for that, I was completely sold. Vet techs only have to go to school for 18 months to 2 years. It is constant schooling, much more like a high school-type of day, and I’d be placed with a job two months before I graduate. This sounded great, but here came the mental road block: “Is this a good idea?” Both of my parents went to college, and my older sister is planning on continuing on to get her master’s degree. One of my three uncles got a degree, and the other two are laborers. A good bit of my family went to college, and yet another portion didn’t. Honestly, I felt completely torn in two. When I started talking to other people, I became comforted that there were a good amount kids in my class that are going to an institute or job training. Freedom High school recognizes all types of secondary education and careers out of high school, be it the military, unions, job training or expensive colleges. My acceptance letter from the Vet Tech Institute is now proudly hanging in the new display outside of Mr. Dadich’s office. Right next to mine is another letter from PTI. My original dream has been set aside for a new dream that I created. I realized that going to a fancy four-year school isn’t what life after high school is all about. It can be pretty much anything, and I hope that any remaining seniors who have no clue of what to do— or any underclassmen still considering— stop looking at the four-year schools for a moment. Think of what you really want to do, and do it, even if it does mean going through an associate’s program instead of a bachelor’s program.