[Serious] High school drop outs, what was your reason? How are you doing?

I had always had trouble in school, not because I was daft or dim, but because I was too focused on other things.

I always have had older friends, and by the time I was a junior, my closest friends were either seniors or had graduated the year or two prior. This contributed to me not caring about being there very much. I also got bullied on and off, which is ridiculous, but it made me dread school.

I don't come from wealth, and I needed some cash for stupid things, so I decided selling edibles was a great idea. I made really good money, but someone snitched at school and I got busted. After being expelled for about 5 months, I got back to school and realized why I was having so much trouble.

There was so much mob mentality going on around me. Everyone had hive mind, and the fact that I wasn't around for most of my junior year kind of made me excluded. I went from being somewhat popular to a girl that parents didn't want their teens around (which is kind of funny in retrospect because I am completely not intimidating and didn't mess with anybody). My teachers looked down upon me, the school's staff treated me differently, and the student body whispered if I entered a room.

By the beginning of my senior year my personal life and school life had gone to complete shit. I went to school one day high on adderall and had an epiphany of sorts. I ran to my guidance counselor between first and second period and announced to her that I was done. She looked at me confused and asked,"Done with what?" We then had a long conversation about me dropping out and switching into night school. Within a month, I was out of traditional education and enrolled in adult education.

Adult Ed went amazingly smooth. I finished my last class 2 days ago, and I finished school a month and a half before I would've if I had stayed in high school. I'm now looking for a job, I am enrolled in community college for the fall, and I want to pursue acting and writing.

I would recommend to stay in school. You feel extremely ostracized when you leave, and the free time is absolutely mind numbing. I left because a lot of shit was keeping me from focusing on what mattered. I wish I applied myself. To give you an idea, I took AP courses and honors courses all throughout high school, but didn't do well because I only cared about trying to outrun my problems. I now have a diploma, but I'll always regret not sticking it out and getting my high school's diploma.

Stay in school! If you can't, at least get your high school diploma equivalency or a GED.

/r/AskReddit Thread