Things I regret about High-school.
School didn't help me find who and what I wanted to be in the future and I blame myself for that. Through school we are supposed to find ourselves and be able to make life changing decisions while still not being adults. However I think that it's through things you do outside of school for yourself that you find who you are and what you want to be.
I always defined myself within the parameters of what I did within school whether it was sports, subject choice or creative endeavors I firmly set myself in what I did in school. Now here comes the regret, I never tried to do things outside of school that would have helped me find hidden passions or career paths I wouldn't have originally thought of. So when it came to deciding what to do in the years following school I was/am very unsure of what I want to do and what the correct path is for me. I wish I had spent more time than I did trying to find these hidden passions and interests while in high-school. I envy the people who have found their passions and what they want to do in the future because their paths have become painfully clear for the moment. But this lack of knowledge of self is not my schools fault, it is my own.
Like most schools my school suddenly, in grade 11, started introducing us to different colleges, universities and institutions we could go to after matric. But how do you choose where to go and what to do when you have no idea yourself? With so much pressure to make the right choice because of money and fear for what the wrong choice could do to your future, it is possibly one of the most daunting decisions I have had to make so far. So what do you do when choosing your future and you have no idea what you want? You guess and hope and make general assumptions, you umm and you ahh and you go to aptitude tests and pray the answer comes to you. You weigh up the things you don't like (hello maths) and the things you do like which are far less than the things you hate, this makes your choices far less but still they are all a shot in the dark. Then finally because of the sudden lack of time you choose the vaguest path for your future the one where anything is possible, as long as you use the time wisely, and you pray it is the right choice.
My advice for everyone starting High-school/ still in High-school use every second you have to try and figure out what you want from life. Try find who you are outside of the institution because you wont always be part of that institution, so that when it spits you out after five years you can walk on your own two feet. Also remember that varsity and college aren't for everyone and there is so much more out there. I wish I had done this because now I must follow a path that I am not sure is for me simply because I left it too late.