According to an article I read on www.thebestschools.org, as of 2008, 12 percent (500,000 dropouts) of high school credentials issued that year were for those passing the GED. Statistics also show that about 77 percent of GED holders do not continue past the first semester of college.
Although these are facts, I feel as if students that work hard toward getting their GED do not get enough credit and are incessantly overlooked and stereotyped.
I myself am a high school dropout working toward getting my GED. Growing up, I did not see the importance of going to school and getting an education. I always thought I had time. Of course, being young and inexperienced, I never realized that everything in life has its place and time. You can’t jump the track. We are like cars on a cable, and life’s like an hourglass glued to the table.
After seven years of not going to school, I realized I was making the biggest mistake of my life. I could not let my life pass me by without following my dreams. In life, not everyone has the same perspective, and that is a beautiful thing, but a lot of people feel the need to express that in a very negative way, not realizing they can be hurting someone else, purposely or unintentionally.
Stereotypes have an enormous impact on how we feel, but I refuse to let people’s opinions define me or my passions.
In my lifetime, I have met people who have graduated from high school with a decent GPA, capable of mastering any career they chose, and did not really care for school. College was not in their life goals.
I have also met people with GEDs that are working toward their masters and are more consistent and passionate than anyone I have ever met before. For instance, my brother’s wife has two daughters, one seven-year-old and the other six months old. Yet, she still works full time and manages to come to school and work toward her goals.
What I am trying to say is, let’s not stereotype just because some of us grew up thinking it was okay to leave things for later on in life. Your choices as a kid shouldn’t define you for the rest of your life. Although I’m aware they do affect you; we’re only human. One of my favorite quotes says “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” I am going to be that one percent of light and optimism. Just because I dropped out of highschool and I’m working toward my GED, doesn’t mean that I don’t want it as bad, or maybe even more, than a high school graduate. I will be whatever I want to be. It is a proven fact. It’s all about the law of attraction, what you think you become. I refuse to let others stereotypes define who I am and my values. I am in control of my life.
