“When I grow up, I’m going to be a nurse... a chef... a marine biologist...” Almost everyone says something similar to that as a high school student, but how many of us actually achieve such goals? Why do we suddenly settle for good enough and not strive to succeed?

When we are young, we are full of life, full of motivation, but as we grow up, face obstacles and sometimes fail, it seems our motivation starts to fade. The world is pushing down on the youth’s shoulders. So many dreams and hopes are swept away because grades aren’t high enough, home is too far away or some other factor interfers. There are not only a few individuals backing away and giving up on what they love, but many people are, all the time.

High school may hold years of homework and studying, but it also helps us grow. In high school we find out who we are as individuals. We discover what we like, what we believe in and what we want to accomplish.

Students in junior high may have lots of time to decide what profession they will chose, but it can be difficult to achieve a chosen profession if you don’t have the correct courses selected. When these youth move into senior high, what classes do they take? Will they have the classes they later need? So many questions that often don’t get answered. Junior high students must try to balance the courses they take so they, like many of us, don’t regret something in the future.

Mrs. Shelley Greene, student counsellor at Roncalli, said, “Concerning the junior high students, I find they don’t realize the potential they have.” Junior high students don’t think they can reach their goals, they think they are inadequate. It’s important they learn this in school along with everything else. They must learn that they can.

Mrs. Greene also said, “Most young people are afraid to challenge themselves.” Between friends and fun young people confuse or ignore what is priority. They must find some focus for school work, goals and achievement. These new attitudes will help them in senior high, college and life.

Monica Mailman, a level III student at Roncalli, said, “ I hope to be able to get a degree in social work, but my mind may change. For a long time I wanted to be a vet. Now I just want to do what’s right for me.”

That’s what our lives should be about, what is right for us. We are all different, all capable of something great, of something unique. We must not under-estimate ourselves. We can be the nurse, police officer, singer, actor, marine biologist if we chose to. We must not back down when we face challenges or complications. Our dreams are valuable to us, no one should discourage us from meeting them and we shouldn’t give up so easily.

Years ago things were different. Students couldn’t wait to turn sixteen so they could drop out of school; they never made plans. Now these people are looking back on their lives and their beaten dreams. Wondering if they had made the right choice. Even though at times school may be stressful and hectic it is a privilege and something we should take seriously.

Donna Schevers, a former resident of Port Saunders, said, “As teens, we didn’t know there was anything to accomplish. The people who were planning things for their life all lived far, far away.”

Robert Frost, a well known poet, once wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by...and that has made all the difference.”

Often people have to learn to decipher between what they want and what is expected of them. Our parents, friends or teachers may tell us the road they think we should journey down, but it’s more important that we discover on our own the road we think we should journey down, even if it seems unreasonable or unrealistic to others. Life is full of choices. Even as young individuals we are able to make our own decisions and stand true to our choice. If we want to honestly reach a certain goal there is no one standing in our way, especially if we can get past ourselves.