by Molly Meeks

High school, often they are called your golden years. Yet, these four short years seem to drag on for ages. So if given the opportunity to get out early, why would you say no?
Walking through the hallways, you are constantly hearing people talking about getting out of high school, and looking forward to the day they will walk out and never have to come back. For some, this problem can be easily solved, by graduating early. If you have the credits and think you are ready to graduate, then go for it.
This gives students the opportunity to begin earning money for college, or go straight into the workforce. Many times, teenagers come out of high school being extremely immature, and are eaten alive by the real world. Graduating early is one sure way for people to be forced into maturity, instead of continuing to be babied through high school. This way you’d have time to grow up and be better off when you continue on to college or to a real job. Students would have the opportunity to be on their own for a while, while also getting some real life experience, perhaps in the field of their choice, while learning what it takes to be an adult and work every day to earn money towards paying for college tuition or possibly paying bills.
There have been many times that students in advanced or college classes have taken a course all to have it denied by their college of choice. So, if people are spending their time in classes that they will end up retaking in the long run, it seems more logical to go on and take the class in college. The college class could be different than the class offered in high school. College classes could challenge kids to do better, pay more attention in class or in what they read.
Another good reason to graduate early is sports. You can get a head start on some of your needed college classes. That way when the season comes around, there will be less of a need to prioritize between sports and school. Graduating early could be the difference between someone being a star on their team because they have some of their classes out of the way and someone trapped in a dorm with a bunch of classes on which to be working.
Yes, I will admit there will be some stuff you will miss out on, but nothing that should be worth an extra semester or year in school. Walking across the stage at graduation or going to your prom, while they are memorable experiences, are not worth an unneeded extra semester of school. Getting real world experience, avoiding having a credit denied, or having the opportunity to be more active in your college’s sports team, will all be more memorable and life-changing. Do not sit around complaining about having nothing to do when you have all the needed credits. Instead, buckle down and make the day you walk out of this school never to return a lot closer and graduate early.