A high school student can experience a lot, whether it be relationships with friends, family issues, peer pressure, academic stress, and, of course, teenage love problems. This article is about me and a high school student’s future.

At a certain point, we will be asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” That’s simple. I have no idea. What is that? What I’m going to be when I grow up? I thought my life would simply move on after I graduated from high school and went to university. That question had never appeared in my life! I was confused, very much so at that time, so I decided to ask around, to seek some advice. However, the result didn’t turn out great. Mostly, the answers were naive and innocent, or ones such as “You can do anything you like.” I don’t know!

Yeah, who knows what we want to be at the age of 16? What do they expect from us? We are all a bunch of silly kids who suffer and work hard at studying.

Soon after, I started to ask some experienced people. Teachers and parents. I started with my mum. My mum is a housewife, taking care of all the chores and me. She didn’t say much about herself. All I have is hope that I get decent results and awards from different contests, like those typically Asian moms do. Then I reached out to my class teacher. He is an amusing guy, of a similar age to us, so we are very close to him. I asked about his choice of being a teacher rather than just enjoying a few more years of youth and exploring the world. He didn’t say much; he left only one sentence that we are all doing meaningful things, which seems like it’s benefiting us, but the more we see you achieve.

I didn’t say anything. However, I do see that my mum and my teacher are in agreement. My mum always encourages me to participate in different contests; school teachers impart knowledge. What is their purpose? It is always for our own good. Yes, you may say they are just doing their job or being responsible. No, what I saw was that they used their power to create hope for students like us, who are lost, who were frustrated, and who fear what will eventually turn out. Their existence guides us to the light, and that’s what I learned: to be positive, and that will bring out positive energy to guide people with words and actions…