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Musings of a 2013 Prince Charles Secondary School grad

As we reach the halfway point of September and fall begins to settle in, so too do students attending Prince Charles Secondary School...
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(From left) Prince Charles Secondary School 2013 graduates Michael Lee

As we reach the halfway point of September and fall begins to settle in, so too do students attending Prince Charles Secondary School. They settle into their classes, into waking up before noon, into sports and clubs and other school-year activities.

For most, it’s a year like any other, a different grade, but otherwise similar. However, for around 90 students, this year is special; 2013 will mark their final year of secondary education, their last few months of high school before embarking on their lives. Many will move away, seeking further schooling or careers, while others may decide to stay and live in the valley they grew up in. Until June, however, we will be attending school as usual.

Some things will change, though. Students are driving — first cars and all the freedom that come with them. We are the oldest in the school now, enjoying the respect from the younger students that accompanies seniority. And perhaps most exciting of all, many are searching for a path to follow after graduation.

It is an intimidating experience, trying to decide what it is we want to do after graduation. College? A job? Maybe even travelling. The decision is made all the harder considering the price of attending a post-secondary school, or the condition of the job market. Rent and other costs have risen, and adults under 25 who remain at home have risen to 43 per cent. These issues are further compounded with the cloud hovering over our heads, the knowledge that with an aging population, more pressure is going to be on us to be the best we can be, to be there for our parents and grandparents. These are all things that we will soon have to confront once school is out and we are forced to face a less carefree adult life.

But looking around my class, at peers I know well, some I have been seeing almost every day for 12 years, I am filled with confidence for our generation. We have our flaws — maybe we can be lazy sometimes, or a little disorganized — but when the grind is on I believe our generation can be just as hardworking, just as capable and just as advancing as those before us. So to the rest of the world, I must say, “Make way for grad 2013!”

— BY RYLAN LAVALLEE