Time passes and friends are lost. How and when these friends are lost isn’t always up to us. But what about when it is? When we no longer see a friend on a day-to-day basis, what do we do? Or perhaps more importantly (for this article), what do they do? What about the ones who left this school one day and never came back? No, not last year’s seniors. The ones who we’re told we won’t be like. The ones we’re told not to be like. Yes, the drop outs. The brave men and women who one day stepped out into the cold, harsh world and said, “I will hide from you no longer. We fight today!” How have they faired? Does their battle with life rage still today? Or is it a battle at all? I felt it was time to find out. So I began my search for someone who had not only dropped out but would agree to see and be interviewed by me. It took a significant amount of work (one phone call), and more time than I would care to have spent (riding the bus to their house), but with (minimal) strength, effort, and determination, I got the interview.
Regarding what life is like after dropping out, this anonymous interviewee stated: “Without a proper schedule, one finds him or herself asleep at odd hours, eating weird food items at queer times, delving into new hobbies (withdrawing from most), bathing either too often or not often enough, and becoming a much less healthy person. But if one procures a clock and sets his or herself to it, he or she will be quite alert and comfortable.”
And regarding what one should do after dropping out, he/she stated: “One should find his or herself a job, so as to not be a nuisance. Do not make excuses. You’re just being childish. No, work isn’t sparse. No, there isn’t a ‘Catch 22` in which you need a car to get a job, but you need a job to get a car. No, dropped out teenagers are not the least wanted potential employees. Your generation is just lazy…and stupid. You’re stupid.”
At first, I was as surprised as you are now about these revelations, but then…it started to make sense. His/her thoughts and ideas began to get to me. But what of my future? It would be different. A decision like that would inevitably change the nature of my future. In the end, can I make a decision like that? His/her opinion of the title question comes across fairly clearly. But only you can decide how this information affects you. Will you decide that your years here have been well spent or well wasted?