Everyone knows it. If you're reading this, you're probably on it. On the "normal" path.
If you're confused, here's what it is: high school, take the ACT, get an OK-amazing score, apply to college, go to a 4-year university, graduate in 4 years, immediately go straight into a job or into grad school. This is the "normal" path.
For most of us on the path, we thought it was the only path that existed. It's what everyone told us to do. It's what is "normal." But here's the thing: there're more paths than this one, and they're safe and OK to take.
After high school, the world is your oyster, and as a society, we need to start accepting those who are not on the "normal" path, because every other path is just as normal, is just as OK.
As a society, we tend to look down on those who take a semester off, a year off, or decide to not attend or leave college. Nobody ever asks, "Are they doing it for their mental health?" Nobody ever assumes, "I guess college just wasn't for them." We always assume that they just aren't cut out for college intellectually. We assume that we are better than they are, because we can tough it out, because we are smarter than they are. This is wrong. Our society needs to realize that this "normal" path isn't "normal" for everyone. In fact, it probably isn't "normal" for most.
Kids are led blindly into college because it's what they believe is the next step in their lives. We have stopped viewing it as an opportunity to grow and learn and decide who we want to be, and have started to view it as just the continuing of waking up five days a week to go sit in a classroom. Higher education should be viewed as such. Higher education. It should be regarded as your shot to change the world, not to get away from your parents.
It is OK to leave school if you decide it isn't for you. It is OK to transfer schools. It is OK to not go to school. It is OK to take a year off to see the world (if you have the resources, in which case, please take me with you). It is OK to take a semester off to work on yourself, especially if you're struggling mentally. It is much more important to be healthy than it is to prove everyone wrong.
There are millions of paths. Don't think you need to choose one just because it's the only one you've ever seen. One path isn't going to be right for everyone, and it is time that we, as a society, start to recognize this. Our generation always talks about how nontraditional and unique and driven we are. We constantly talk about how accepting and nonjudgmental we are, so why don't we show them what we mean?
