Year after year, Lincoln students going to elite colleges are the valued while those bound for state schools or “other adventures” are pushed to the side. Traditions such as decision day, the senior assembly, and cake in the hallways for those accepted to colleges only serve to further the idea that college is the only valid path after high school.

The fact that students are feeling the physical effects of stress about college should be an indicator to administrators and parents that something is seriously wrong. Seniors are getting sick, having panic attacks, and not sleeping because of the pressure they are under to do well in their classes and get into a “good” college. School should not be so stressful that students don’t want to go. They should not feel judgment and pressure from the administrators dedicated to creating a safe school environment. They should not be valued as a person by the college they are going to, and those choosing other paths should not feel undervalued and unappreciated.

I decided during my junior year that I would take a gap year after high school because I realized that the thought of another four years of school made me want to throw up. Since then, I have fielded constant questions about why I’m not going to college right away, what I’m going to do instead, and judgment from those who don’t think I’m making the right choice. I receive emails from the Counseling Center about who has been accepted where, when the next deadline is, and how to apply for financial aid and scholarships. I have been in class periods devoted to teaching me to use Naviance. For a long time, I had to justify my choice to myself whenever someone told me where they were applying, because I had come to understand that college was the  only viable option. Never have I been offered any assistance by Lincoln in choosing a gap year plan or deciding if college is even the right choice for me.

Administrators and teachers will say that “college is not the right choice for everyone,” but they don’t make other paths seem valuable. They file students under “other adventures,” send emails out about the ones who get into top schools early, and make IB the norm. It’s not healthy for students, and doesn’t give them the option of trying something else before making a final decision about college.

“You don’t have to go to college.” It’s a true statement, but I didn’t perceive it as one until I made the decision to break from the norm. Nobody has to go to college right away. You will have the same options whenever you decide to go, and you can choose to go for yourself, not at the insistence of a school that says it is the only choice.