For most seniors, graduation season won’t come around until late May into early June. For a lucky few, however, the time is now. By getting all of the required credits out of the way in the first semester of their senior year, these seniors get their last semester off to do what they please. The reasons why they graduate early vary from student to student.

“I don’t really like school,” says Sam Patt (12). “So when I went into my counselor’s office, she saw that school wasn’t really my thing and told me that I could graduate early and I thought why not?”. Graduating early seems to the average student like a dream come true, but it’s not as easy as it may seem. It requires a very busy schedule in your first semester of senior year. According to the VHHS website, you must have four years of English to graduate which requires taking two English classes in one semester. In addition, it is a requirement to take government and a consumer management course. So while most people have an easier schedule their last year of high school, it requires a very intense schedule.

There is also a commonly held view that seniors who graduate early are lazy and want to take a semester off just to relax. After interviewing several students, I found that they actually are going to be quite busy in their time off after high school. “I’m going to be working a lot so I can save money for college.” states Karl Montoya (12). “I’m sick of school, and I think a better use of my time would be to start saving money for my higher education.”

Sam Patt plans on taking a gap year before going to Columbia College in Chicago. During that time he plans on working full time at Starbucks, in addition to eventually going on tour with his band “Belmont” which has been gaining popularity in the Pop-Punk scene around Chicago. “The time I don’t spend sleeping will be spent playing shows with my band, hanging out with my girlfriend, and working.”

One reason a lot of students don’t want to graduate early other than the rigorous schedule in their final semester of high school is that fact that they miss out on all of the end of the year festivities and the unity of the senior class in the final few months of high school. Surprisingly, people graduating early don’t seem concerned at all. Karl Montoya says, “I never really liked the assemblies, and I’m really not worried about feeling left out.” Sam Patt doesn’t really think there’s anything left to experience. “I’ve already been to Prom, and school activities have never really been my thing in the first place.”

The students I talked with were most excited about living outside of the “bubble” 13 years of public education can create. Experiencing life outside of school is exciting, frightening, but all in all a great way to get a taste of the real world before going off to college. That semester off provides a newfound sense of freedom that can help young adults become more mature and ultimately more responsible.