oh my god No it doesn’t don’t put this kind of pressure on people?? you can absolutely fuck up in your teen years and continue on to a good life just fine. you can drop out of school, get a GED, still go to college and finish your degree as late as you want. i know people in my school who still haven’t graduated and they’re 26. some older. you can always transfer someplace else, always build yourself up from the ground. after a certain amount of college credits, a lot of schools really don’t care about your high school GED or your SAT scores anymore. if you fuck up in your teenage years you are not a failure!! you can ALWAYS re-invent yourself, always start over. there is always a second chance.

Reblogging this for my followers freaking out over art school/college. I dropped out of high school and never thought I’d get into college as easily as I did. You will be fine!

Fun story my biology professor just told us:  When he was 23 he was married to his wife and worked two jobs to support them since she was in college: gas station attendant and construction worker.  He worked these two jobs because that was the only work he could get since he was at the reading level of a third grader.  

One night he was writing something and his wife noticed he was writing from right to left.  Since she was studying occupational therapy she realized he had a learning disability and started working with him.  He slowly began to learn to read, and at 26 got his GED and went to college.

His first year of college he took the lowest level math course he could take, 001.  Over the years he worked on learning what he needed to, ended up graduating with a biology degree.  He then went on to get his masters and PhD, graduating at the top of his class.  He is now an extremely accomplished biologist and professor.

So don’t let anyone tell you that you’re future is based on your choices as a teenager.

For a Scottish context, since this seems rather American-based and I’m not sure about England and Wales: there is nothing stopping you at any time from working your way up to uni. Even if you don’t have a single Higher or even Nat 5 to your name.

-You can go to a local college and do Highers, Nat 5s or even an NQ. These are often at night, so really flexible.

- If you have a few Highers already, or you got a NQ, colleges will also offer HNCs and HNDs. These come in a variety of subjects and sometimes have the advantage of standing in as your first and second years of uni respectively. Not every uni or course does this (Glasgow doesn’t for example) but if they do it can save time and let you start straight from your Honours year.

- There’s also specialist Access courses. Most universities will run these. They’re specifically designed for people who have little to no qualifications but do have an interest in, and the potential for, HE. You study two subjects at (essentially) a first year level from across a wide range.. Again, these are usually flexible and most run at night.

- All of this can be free. It depends on your level of income etc etc, but if you’re eligible SAAS should pay for most of these qualifications, or at the very least an ILA should. As well as paying your tuition fees, SAAS will also offer you a bursary and the possibility of taking a student loan. (The Scottish government’s been gradually decreasing the bursary and increasing the loan to cover their ridiculous policy of allowing all students no matter how rich their background to get their tuition fees paid. The loans are still better compared to e.g. your standard bank loan.)

in high school I was so depressed that I missed over 250 school days- more than 100 in my freshman year alone. I wasn’t held back (somehow), but my gpa tanked and I had to attend summer school to catch up. I ultimately went to a state school rather than the more competitive ones which I had planned on, but I worked my ass off there and graduated with highest honors. this week, I was accepted into a master’s program. high school truly does not matter. you’ll be fine.