My high school regrets: Why I wish I tried harder

OPINION: There's two kinds of high school students, I was the lazy student. Don't be like me

A woman writing on a note pad. Picture: Bev Lacey

THERE are two kinds of high school students.

The bookworm types who are career-driven, goal orientated and focused on the task at hand.

Then there's the lazy, class skipper who's more of a distraction than a magpie flying into a window.

Regrettably, in my school years I was the latter.

I scraped through without studying, putting in the minimal effort time and time again - much to the frustration of teachers and my parents.

My assignments were dodgy, sometimes handed in on a scrap piece of paper, the night or morning before.

I'd manage a pass and laugh about it, "mission impossible, accomplished".

What an idiot.

While my advice to students is to ultimately not be like me, if you do get a poor OP, it's not the end of the world.

In this day and age, there literally are more options than ever, and new career pathways are always emerging.

Sometimes, not going to university straight from high school is a blessing in disguise.

For me, if it would have been an immense waste of money and time as I would have continued the same bad habits and failed.

Or chopped and changed my degree in hope, before dropping out altogether.

Plenty of students I know drop out at an early age, only to go back in a few years time.

I certainly was not ready and later attended at 22, thankfully, a little more mature.

So if you're bummed about your OP, don't worry, as it's never too late to achieve your dreams.

Originally published as My high school regrets: Why I wish I tried harder