The free ride is over

[marioc]

Hell I could not wait to get out of school,had started working full time before the year was even finished,had to take time off to sit my exams.
Turned up to the leavers ball in my just purchased Mazda rx-7,caused quite a stir .

[oldrider]

You are just starting the rest of your life.

How it will be is already formed in your head.

It will be what "you" make it, no one else! John.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

I thought that went "Life's a bitch... and then you marry one!"

Yeah its something like that

Don't listen to the pessimistic fellas. Life is great, should you dare choose to enjoy it

At the end of the day this is true... live life to the fullest... Live life in the now as you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow ...

Oh just make sure you have more money coming in than going out, (this is the hard part of life)

[quallman1234]

Same thing's happening to me Hmmm no idea what to do :P.

Uni isnt really my thing but ill see what happens...

[yungatart]

You are just starting the rest of your life.

How it will be is already formed in your head.

It will be what "you" make it, no one else! John.

Listen to this fella....he speaks much wisdom!
Good luck out there in the real world...it is neither better, nor worse than school...how it turns out is up to you!

[imdying]

You think you're depressed now... wait till you realise that you've now got to actually work, and that you've lost the largest on tap repository of poon that you'll ever have access to.

[jafar]

An old man once said to me ' every day above ground is a good day' so make the most you can of every day. Do that & you won't go far wrong

It can be a bit scary leaving school to head out into the unknown, have confidence in yourself !!! The "I can do it "attitude will get you far, failing that bullshit often works too

[madmal64]

To me the attitude thing can be a bit like the good old object fixation thing. Keep focused on it and you will get what you are focused on. Im sure you understand what Im getting at.
I fairly sure we all have days that suck and want things to change.
Last Sunday was a classic example for me. I was helping Nasty at the start of the Cheese cutter ride, directing people where to park their bikes in the rain. I was not enjoying it, wet, not feeling good about it at all. Got a bit pissed off having a wet head and then I started letting all the other things get to me. Put my helmet on and it was still raining and..... total change of attitude. I didnt give a flying hoot about the weather and I was a shit load happier.
I suppose its because I stopped it raining inside my head that made all the difference.

[F5 Dave]

Interesting posts.

I always remember being told "Best years of your life"

What a lot of crap. Being at school was necessary but you are still young enough that people tell you what to do like a kid & you have no money.

What a revelation to get a job and have some pingas coming in. Your self worth is better, you are doing something and getting paid for it. Ok so when you start you can't start at the top, but it will come with time and effort.

[switches to old curmudgeon mode] the problem with the yoof of today is so little realise why they are being employed, they see it as a continuation of school where you do projects. 'The Man' doesn't owe you money.

[switches out] Businesses are in business of making money. If you can help them make money then you are useful. That is when you will succeed.

Why would a business want to employ you? Well that is a good question. If the answer is that you understand the simple concept above and can relay that impression on potential employers then it makes you a few steps ahead of the competition.

In a recent thread a wise Jim said he had to make a job out of getting a job. Don't be like a plonker & go on holiday & wait for something to come to you avoiding the possibility of rejection.

I've never enjoyed life so much as leaving school, after a few F.around jobs I got some direction.

Go out, prosper.

[jrandom]

My parents hate their jobs, most people I know do, can't help think I'm gonna end up like that. This all sucks.

Pfft.

I knew what I was going to do as a profession from age 10 or so, and fought my way through to it in spite of stiff parental opposition to the idea, a starting position of relative poverty and the fact that I'm basically a lazy bastard.

I have no time for school leavers who have no idea how they could contribute to society.

Go join the Army.

(Seriously.)

But if the idea of throwing away your personal freedom and laying down your life in third-world shitholes for a meagre share of my tax dollars doesn't tickle your fancy, then it probably doesn't really matter what you do. A certain type of person will always succeed in life. The world needs smart people who get things done.

If that's you, congratulations.

If not, just try to find pleasure in the simple things. You only have six decades or so left. Spend them wisely.

[Mom]

Don't really know why I felt compelled to make a thread on it. Part of my confusion I guess

No its a good thread. You are at a watershed time in your life, the big wide world awaits and it can feel daunting.

I was talking to my 19 y/o son last night. He left school wanting to go into the Airforce, but wanted a gap year to live a little before the regime and discipline of the Air Force became his reality. His idea of a gap year and mine were poles apart, his version went something along the lines of lie around on the couch all day with the curtains closed watching DVD's working 15 hours a week at New World.....LOL

He decided that Air Force life was not what he wanted to do, he wanted to join the Police Force. They wont take kids straight from school so he needed to do something. He enrolled for a course at the National Security & Investigation College and did a private investigators course. He also left home, Auckland is not really a sensible commute from here. During the time he was doing the course he developed type 1 diabetes. Thats the have to inject yourself several times a day with insulin to survive. This diagnosis makes him inelegible to be a police officer, so he was back to square one.

The college helped him get a job, he is now 2IC security at a shop in the new Albany Mall and loving it! He still keeps in touch with a few friends from school, but mainly he is out there flatting, meeting new friends and having a great time.

He made the comment to me about how uncertain he felt 12 months ago, and how great his life is now!

You will be fine mate, change is a challenge, but it is GOOD!

[Ixion]

No point trying to map out what you're going to do in life, cos whatever you end up doing will be something else.

Thank gods someone invented computers, cos otherwise I wouldn't have a job where I get paid money to hang around on the inderwibbly all day (thank gods someone invented that, too).

The job I do didn't exist when I left school , and would have been totally incomprehensible to careers advisors etc (didn't have them either, pity they were invented).

Just hang in loose and follow y'star. Wherever y'end up , and whatever y'end up doing in 20 or 30 years time, it'll be something y' totally would never DREAM of now.

Bloody exciting thing, this future shit.

OH, and whatever happens, you'll probably end up having about six different totally unrelated jobs anyway, and whatever you train for will be obsolete by the time y'finish training.

[Coyote]

Get yourself laid. And report back.
Your situation is not an ending - but a beginning.

Got a girlfriend. A plus with leaving school is I get to see her more often

Welcome to the real world!


Now fix them!

Cheers

See below, got some plans

Interesting posts.

I always remember being told "Best years of your life"

What a lot of crap. Being at school was necessary but you are still young enough that people tell you what to do like a kid & you have no money.

What a revelation to get a job and have some pingas coming in. Your self worth is better, you are doing something and getting paid for it. Ok so when you start you can't start at the top, but it will come with time and effort.

[switches to old curmudgeon mode] the problem with the yoof of today is so little realise why they are being employed, they see it as a continuation of school where you do projects. 'The Man' doesn't owe you money.

[switches out] Businesses are in business of making money. If you can help them make money then you are useful. That is when you will succeed.

Why would a business want to employ you? Well that is a good question. If the answer is that you understand the simple concept above and can relay that impression on potential employers then it makes you a few steps ahead of the competition.

In a recent thread a wise Jim said he had to make a job out of getting a job. Don't be like a plonker & go on holiday & wait for something to come to you avoiding the possibility of rejection.

I've never enjoyed life so much as leaving school, after a few F.around jobs I got some direction.

Go out, prosper.

I love a Calvin and Hobbes strip about one of Calvins days. He's forced to get up, waits for the school bus in the rain, gets bullied at school, teacher points out that he's an idiot, comes home, does homework, then he's tucked into bed and his mum says "sleep tight, big day tomorrow". Calvin sighs. I couldn't help but laugh as it described my life basically

I've had an afterschool job at the local motorbike shop (Maidstone Yamaha) and I'm going to do more hours over the christmas break. So at least I'm sorted with a job for now. I'm planning to go to Weltec to do automotive refinishing, I've yet to sort that out (student loan red tape). That starts in March so I've got a fair bit of time to earn a bit of money (pay off the VFR mainly). I've also got another task, to make some fairings for RG100's race bike. I spent my time in graphics this year designing them, now it's time to make the dream a reality. And who knows, whilst he shows them off racing someone else may like my style and would like me to make fairings for them. Could start a business (or at least a hobby business and spend the week on a day job).

So yeah

[Coyote]

Well I luuurrrve my job! It feels like playing and I can't believe I get paid so well to do it. It only took me 20 years to find . . .

Two things for you, young 'un. Firstly, you can't out do your own self image. (Think about it! Change the way you think about yourself and the world is your oyster). Secondly, behave your way to success has a lot going for it.

Sit around being gloomy and people will think - "that person is a sad bastard, I'll go talk to that cheery fella over there instead".

Another useful thing sometimes is to allow yourself a good coupla days to have a complete wallow and pity party. Chances are, you'll get bored and look for something else to do.

Learnt a lot about that in the depression thread on here. I've since changed but I can still slip into bad thoughts every so often. I was seen as one of the more outgoing and funny people at school, unless they were all humouring me

Go join the Army.


The world needs smart people who get things done.

If that's you, congratulations.

Thought about that but I've always thought when I join up I'd get sent to war against Australia.

Well I like to think I write on this site clearly with good spelling, rthr dn lik dis lol, so that's a start.

with 4400 posts im not surprised you dont see them

Hey, that's been done over several years! Plus the few mates I have outside of school I've met on here

(4400 is just the tip of the iceberg considering PD and RoR don't count)

[Toaster]

Dude, if you find it hard getting up for school you will find it harder getting to work. Hours are longer, less breaks (actually no breaks for people like me) and you have to pull finger and work damn hard for a good career.

That may sound bad, but basically if you want to get somewhere in life... own a home, travel, etc etc - it is all about personal responsibility and getting stuck in.

Go hard, dont get too hung up on the unknown. Lots of shit happens and you have to roll with it, learn from it and apply what you learned. Lots of years ahead of you to work out what you want to do. Nothing wrong with trying different things out too.

Good luck.