GED Stories

Name: Hannah

Age: 17

City and State: Oklahoma

What motivated you to get your GED? I have always been on the more advanced side as far as students go. Throughout elementary school I was placed in accelerated programs. Instead of doing sixth grade, my parents chose to pull me out and opt for homeschooling, placing me a year ahead. Now I am in a mixed state of my junior and senior years of high school and am being held back by a simple lack of credits. I am uninterested in high school. I’m ready to move on with my life. It is because of this that I have decided to obtain my GED and move on to college in the fall a full two years earlier than originally planned. Through the research I’ve done, and the number of testimonies I’ve heard, I feel like this is a good option.

How have your friends and family helped you? My mother has supported me the most of anyone.

What problems have you faced? The first problem I have faced is my father’s opposition. He saw it as taking the easy way out and being a failure. He believed that I would be constantly competing for jobs. It was difficult to get him to understand that the face of education is changing and that many people are using the GED to get an early start. As far as academics are concerned, math is my weakness. However, I am confident that with enough studying, I will do well (I am not pursuing any mathematics or science in college).

What do you hope to gain from getting your GED? I am hoping that with the GED, I will be able to go farther and sooner in college than I would have. I want to obtain a degree in languages or photography (my two passions), travel the world, and potentially work as an interpreter or photographer. I have no plans to spend my life sitting behind a desk in a cubicle farm. My only apprehension is that the stigma of the GED being the “quitter’s diploma” will hinder me. However, I will remain hopeful, without stretching into naivety.

Hannah,

It sounds like you really know what you want! It’s true that many people get their GED early and are much happier for it, especially when they feel that high school is only holding them back. It’s great that you want to get going with your life. A danger to getting a GED early is that it does encourage the idea that there is an “easy way out.” When it comes to high school and college, a diploma does signify that you have learned something, but it also signifies that you have stuck with something that is difficult, not only to others, but to yourself as well. Once you enter the workforce, there will be many times that the job seems pointless and boring, even in the most exciting of occupations. School not only educates us, but prepares us to stick with things during those tough times. If you’re excited to get started with college, that’s great, and we wish you the best of luck with your GED and future goals. Just keep these things in mind as you progress through college and beyond.

GED Academy