Now It Gets Serious

This is going to be a big year for me. I will look back when I'm older at 2018 and see it as a year of big choices and dramatic change. This year I will take my A-levels and finish school. I will turn 18 years old. I will leave home and start university - exactly where, I do not know yet.

Knowing that thousands of others are in the same boat, making choices that will significantly impact their lives, does not make it feel any less monumental. Up to now, there's been a rhythm, a sameness, about the years. I've known what to expect. Another school year, maybe a set of exams, the same place, the same people. Now, I'm making choices; I do not know whether I'll be successful in some of them or where others will take me. I'm also facing the final exams, hoping I'll do well. 

What is most significant about the choices ahead of me is that I am making them. Up until now, most of my major life decisions have been made for me. My parents decided where to bring me up, where to send me to school, to some extent what I should study. I may have had some input, but in the words of Judge Judy, up until 18, the parents own the air that I breathe. Now I'm taking the reins. I'm making the decision about where to go, what to study, where to live, what to do with my life. That responsibility is both exciting and terrifying. I am accountable for all that is to come next - good and bad. 




The choices my peers and I will make are potentially life-altering. This is one of those rare moments where we are being asked to pick a path for ourselves. As we get older, it will become less about us and more about those around us. It'll be about where your wife's promotion takes you, living in an area with good schools for your children, staying in a job so you can earn enough to have a lifestyle to keep you and your dependants happy, etc. This current series of decisions is all about us, the young individuals embarking on life as adults. At 18 we are also legally responsible. We are accountable. We will make the decisions, hopefully get them right, and regardless have to deal with the consequences.


We are now taking the wheel, we are now flying the plane. Maybe you're eager to take control. Maybe you are clinging on to the comfort and security of the previous eighteen years as best you can. I'm trying to keep an open mind, to aim high and keep my options open, bracing myself for possible disappointments if things don't pan out exactly as I planned. I'm still going to have fun and enjoy life. But I'm clear that it only really starts now. Now it gets serious.

-LEXI

10 comments

  1. What an adventure! I'm in Year 12 at the moment and I'll be in the same boat as you a year from now - it's a scary yet exciting thought. Good luck with your A Levels - hope they go well. X

    https://www.hebahpervaiz.co.uk

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    1. Thanks Hebah! Year 12 was my favourite school year - I'm sure you'll love it! x

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  2. Great post, it's amazing what can happen in a year. Whatever choices you make you'll have a blast!

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  3. its such a strange time, on the edge of monumental change but not quite there yet...I resonate deeply. A-levels are challenging beyond belief but enjoy the utter euphoria when they're finished, and I too and am unsure as to where I'll be heading off to in September but (as I've learned to understand) that unknown is part of the adventure. Best of luck with your exams and I hope 2018 gives everything it has to offer!!!
    https://kaatielouu.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Thanks so much Katie! Yes, dwelling on the excitement of the unknown is a good way to look at it. Best to you as well!

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  4. u really are right!! i wish i had this mindset a year ago, instead i was just afraid and anxious. n im guessing u are true, but don't let that stop u!! i chose to continue my studies at a place across the country from where i live n i do not regret it one bit. it really is life changing n crazy, but it is also becoming the best part of my life so far. i wish u the best with ur decisions n don't stress too much if u don't know exactly what u want to do yet, this is only the beginning!

    afuckinglook.blogspot.com

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  5. Your final year at school can be daunting and exciting at exactly the same time, but I think you've got the completely right outlook on the situation! Can't wait to see what you do with your future, good luck in your exams xx

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