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 Year 12

 Teens VS  Society

 Depression

 The year I was completing the final year of what seemed an eternity of uniform and books  and what should have been the best year of my life so far, turned out to be the worst. How  could I be aware that I would be facing the most crucial year of my life supposedly?

 I had my first of many appointments with my careers teacher about four weeks into the first  term. I was under the impression that this would be a briefing of what I needed to do during  the year in order to get into different courses and just a general rundown on what was out  there. But oh how I was wrong. “Sooo Zoe, what exactly do you want to do with your life?  Have you thought about a career path and where you see yourself in 10 years?” No sorry  the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. “Well you should really think about it because  the clock is ticking and you won’t be young forever!” I’m sure she intended that comment as  a joke but it felt like the complete opposite. So I sat down and thought about it. I researched  universities, tafes, overseas study, apprenticeships, full time work, anything that was even a  viable option. I talked to people who had full time jobs and were happy and how they got  there. All my efforts it seemed were in vain because I was no longer worried about my  ENTER score, I was worried about where the hell I was going to end up after year 12 was  over.

 I stayed completely confused for about four months. I just couldn’t shake the feeling that  Year 12 was going to be end all and be all for me. My future would be defined by this  number that was statistically calculated according to how well I perform during two hours  regardless of the fact that I may be suffering from PMS or sleep deprivation or anything that  could prevent me from doing my best. It was completely unfair and I just wanted to escape. I  still didn’t have one clue of where I was going or what I was going to do and I envied the  people around me who knew where they were going or even had a vague idea. I had  countless sessions with my career teacher who had become completely frustrated with my  lack of direction. So I decided to stop worrying and clear my brain. I wanted to escape the  cloud of uncertainty that was hanging over my head and just concentrate on being worry  free so I could focus on my studies. As much as it was completely unreasonable for my  teachers and all the authorities surrounding me to define who I wanted to be and what  career I wanted to pursue, it was unavoidable so I decided to free myself from the pressure.  In short I stopped caring, and it was the best thing I ever did. When time came for me to  select university courses, I just chose what sounded the most interesting to me and I didn’t  bother about where it was going to take me. The pressure was alleviated and I felt better  than ever.

 There’s no way in avoiding it and there’s no point in stressing about it. If you don’t know  where you’re going don’t worry about it. It is completely ridiculous that we have to make  these life altering choices at such an early age and there’s nothing we can do to change  the system. My advice to those who are worried about Year 12 being the end of your life, its  not. Find out what you like best and choose a course or vocation that is similar to that. If  you are completely confused about what you like, like I was then just choose something that  sounds even remotely interesting, because you can always change courses or jobs later on  with ease. Just relax, take it easy and do your best during year 12.