Graduation. Many of us look forward to this day our whole lives while some don’t think about it until their senior year of high school. Some get to graduate earlier than others but why would someone graduate early.
My name is Kevin Ngo and I am currently a senior at Hunter High School and am graduating early to enroll for the spring semester at the University of Utah. There are many reasons on why some people graduate early and for each is their own but this is my story on why I graduated early.

A little bit about me, during my sophomore and junior year of high school I had served in student government as sophomore and junior President. I was involved in many extracurriculars such as Track and Field, Wrestling, FBLA, MESA, DECA, Key Club, Yearbook Staff, and many others. Now some of these extracurriculars such as Wrestling and Yearbook staff did not last long, I participated in some for a very long time such as MESA which I was apart of for 6 years. But why would someone so involved in school and the community want to leave early?

During the end of my junior year in high school I had run for the position of SBO president but ended up losing the election This made me feel like I did not have as many ties and a reason to stay my entire senior year. As a student, I was ahead of credits than most of the students in my class. So after losing, I asked myself if I should stay at school or not. As life continued I realized there was a lot of things I wanted to do but I didn’t want to spend my life in school any longer than I needed to. My uncle, who is a real estate agent, asked me if I had any interest in selling houses, and of course, I did, and I told him yes and he said he would help me through the process after I graduate in order to get my license in real estate.

With all of these reasons adding up I decided to graduate early, but was graduating early for everyone and should I graduate early?

That is up to you to decide, although I am very scared to move onto college, It is probably the most satisfying feeling to be able to move on from high school or general education in general, just like leveling up in a game or passing your final exam for a class, graduating high school is just another stepping stone you step on to move forward. Some decide to go to college, others go and chase their dreams. Whatever you do shouldn’t be decided by anyone else rather by your own motivation and chasing your own dreams.

But graduating early is not just all good and fun, there are some hardships you have to go through. When it is your senior year you realize that everything is your last, the last game of the football season will be your last, the last prom will be your last. To some who have developed close relationships with teachers, you won’t be able to talk or see them for long periods of time. Some of your closest friends are departing and some you will never see again in your life. Some because they moved, others because they choose a different path from yours. Everything is a last and the closer the time comes the sadder it gets.

Also, you are rushed through your high school experience, choosing to graduate early isn’t something you do last minute. It is something that you plan on doing and something you think about beforehand. Experiences will present themselves making you change your mind or even make it so you want to move forward even faster and the whole process to excel. Applying for college and FAFSA is double the work as you have to do it earlier than most and college and high school events with conflict with each other.

I have been on an emotional roller coaster as this process comes closer and closer. The feeling of never being able to experience something ever again, and losing most of the connections I have made in the past year made me sad. The thought of never going to high school again and choosing the right schedule was a bitter-sweet experience.

Everything will have a happy and sad side to it, but at the end of the day whatever makes you happy is the path you should walk down. Choosing to graduate early is also something you should think about academically and financially.

When you are in high school you are sometimes eligible for some concurrent classes that will make your college life a lot easier and go by faster as well as save you thousands of dollars. While in high school you are allowed more time to apply for scholarships and to improve your test scores in order to place in higher level classes. Placing in high-level classes save the rigorous process of getting through to the required course for your gen ed or major.

In conclusion, my experience of early graduation is something that has had it ups and downs and now that the spring college semester is going to start around the corner there are some things that I still want to do and wish I could, but at the same time there are many things that I am excited to do and start as this time comes by. I have taken the classes that are offered at my high school that will help me reach my goal of graduating from college.

Whether or not you graduate early or not, is up to you and you should be the one that decides on it.