GED Stories

Name: Joshua
Age: 17

What motivated you to get your GED? Dropped out in eighth grade, was fourteen years old. Working a piss poor job. Fast food. I looked around at myself, at my coworkers, my family and friends. They were all great people but losers. Pot smokers, alchies, lower class people who were stuck in the same endless job as I. Each check was a disappointment, we were all stuck but couldn’t get out. I don’t want to struggle, I don’t want to move from fast food job to fast food job. Continuing dissatisfaction with the job caused me to put my two weeks notice in, after seven months of employment there. I am moving to a different environment, in with my father who is far away. I am going to have to get another crap job, but while up there I’d like to study in my free time, earn a GED, and do my best to pursue higher education so as to try and make something of myself.

How have your friends and family helped you? It’s been a personal matter, but with a large family I’ve had some help. My mother tried to get me to start home schooling, but because of laziness, unwillingness, and pretty much being a leech, that went nowhere. My sister tried to get me to take an at-home-high-school-diploma course along with her, but for various reasons (most, unwillingness and fear) I didn’t do that either. Otherwise, it’s just been me, and just recently have I been struck with the realization that, holy ****, I made a mistake and need to fix it as soon as possible. I was a fool, an idiot. “I see!”, said the blind man to the deaf man.

What problems have you faced? I need motivation, I need to stay focused. A huge problem with me is lack of concentration. I will read something and then ten seconds later go do something else, I will start things and never finish. It’s always been a problem and because of it I originally dropped out in the first place. Something needs to strike me, something needs to finally get me motivated enough to actually sit down and study.

What do you hope to gain from getting your GED? I hope to do ANYTHING. Anything and everything, I want to live. I want to go out, get the GED and prove everyone wrong. (Selfish? Maybe so, but good when it comes to motivating me.) I want to show I am not a dumb piece of ****, I want to go to college and learn and meet so many different people, live and find love and have a good time whilst doing it. I want to find a job that will give paychecks that don’t make me cringe. I want to have things, I want nice things, I want to start a family, I want to do EVERYTHING. I’ve missed so much that I have a lot of catching up to do! But the GED is just the first step to all of this, the key to the kingdom. And that first step is always a doozy, they say…

Joshua,

You’ve got a lot going for you for the GED. You’re very verbal, well able to express yourself. Try taking a practice test… see if you’re ready to pass a few of the GED exams. Once you get a couple of the exams that are easier for you behind you, you’ll narrow down what you need to study, and that may make it easier to stay focused, knowing you only have a small way to go.

And get your family on board. You’re moving in with your father… if you can, get him to help you set up a study schedule and give you reminders (and maybe incentives) to keep with it.

Now, obviously we don’t have a lot of information, just what you’ve given in your story, but have you considered that you might have ADHD? The way you describe being unable to concentrate, always moving on to something else, sounds a bit like it. You might consider talking to a doctor, to find out more. Both understanding of ADHD and treatment of it have advanced a lot, and you may be able to find good ways to cope with your difficulty concentrating.

You’ve got a lot going for you. Don’t give up… keep reminders of your goal around you all the time. It’s probably closer than you think.

The GED Academy