Success Happy

is there anyone here who has had a successful life leaving school in year 10?

i m 17 years old and female. my dad has always told me how terrible people's lives are who leave school early. i do not live with him for various reasons. currently things are becoming unbearable at my mothers house. literally unbearable. i have a will to live and i m trying so hard to do anything i can to survive. but every obstacle that gets in my way only makes the fire inside me grow dimmer. i have had a few thoughts of suicide but i really dont want to go there and i m quite determined to survive and i have so many reasons to live. i have tried to move out but its beginning to look impossible. my friend suggested that i take a year off to get everything organised then go back to school. i m in year 11 right now. i think if i left school i would never go back.. i mean who wants to go back to being a child when they can have freedom? i guess i could continue everything in tafe. problem is i have no money, i have a dog and quite frankly, i m completely petrified of messing up my life. i know my future is pretty much determined right here in year 12 but i m not sure i can actually continue this way. but to be honest, i dont even think year 12 would do much for me. my dad was always fixed on me becoming a doctor or scientist or engineer. something that would put me at the top i guess. every time i mentioned becoming an artist, dance teacher or something i wanted, he would tell me they dont get much money and i will ruin my life if i do that. he plans for me to go to university afterwards. but i realised i dont want to do anything like that after school. i m not obsessed about getting a great job, just something that pays the bills and maybe a hobby along side. i ve been told i am an intelligent girl and i have the capability to do well in all my subjects, but i dont believe my job is the only way to show my talents. i think i can do that in life. even if i left school i doubt i would go to university. so then whats the point of finishing school? its why i want to know if theres anyone out there who left school in year 10 and still made a success of their life.

Public Comments

1. I Just dropped out, I'm in 11th grade too. uhh my cousin dropped out in 8th grade and he has his own place and is able to eat every night. It depends on if you can get by with necessity or if you want to strive for luxury. I personally find extravagance to be pretentious...
2. My best friend dropped out of college. Meet the guy she was going have prefect life with and decide hey I need to get my high school diploma while he's in Iraq so he will never know. She did and went on to college just fine.. Just look around your area for programs that will help you finish or even finish early(night school)
3. I didn'lt leave school at 17 but many sucessful people have. Richard Branson is one that always springs to mind & he is now a multi, multi millionaire (if not billionaire) (he owns all the Virgin brands, planes, music etc) and he just started out by selling second hand records from his bedroom... If you have something you want to do career wise, (& you don't need uni or more school qualifictations to be able to get there) then go for it. Your dad just wants the best for you & doesn't want you to struggle financially, which is the worst, & is enough to destroy someone. If you have something you want to do & have a welll thought out plan of how to achieve it then great. If you don't know what career/job you want to have then staying in school may be a good idea. In my opinion, (generally speaking here) someone who joins a company at 16 by being the office dogsbody, has as much time to work their way to the top of the company as someone who went to uni etc & got straight in at the top... As long as you are passionate & headstrong, then nothing can stop you. So it all depends on if you have a plan & if it's practical... & if it doesn't work out, you can always go back & study, you may be a few years behind others, but at least you'd then know what you want. As for the suicide issue...I have been there myself many times, and yes, your whole life may never get better, but there will always be happy smiley times (however few & far between) which will make you glad you hadn't ended it all. Good luck, I wouldn't be 17 again for all the money in the world lol, do what feels right in your heart & ignore what people & family tell you. :-)
4. I am a 21 year old female from Australia. I dropped out of high school when I was 17 after finishing year 11 (I wanted to drop out after year 10 but my mum wouldn't let me - although I'm now thankful for that as it is much easier to get a job with a year 11 pass on my resume than it would be with a year 10 pass). I was depressed, had anxiety problems and was very suicidal, and just couldn't face going to school anymore - I thought it would kill me. I worked full time in a fast food restaurant from 17 until 20, where I was able to complete management courses on the job. A bit over a year ago (after I turned 20), I managed to find myself a very good job working for a bank, and in the year I've worked there have managed to get 3 promotions and several very nice pay rises, and now know what I want to do with my life - I plan on studying human resources management this year. The majority of the people I work with or have worked with at the bank have finished university and have one or more degrees. But, given that I am a high school drop out and have a high ranking well paid job, I don't believe that university was a necessity - especially since I've gotten to the same place career wise as they have, and much sooner in my life. Also, I am still friends with many of the people I went to high school with and who finished high school - most of them went to university or are still at university, although some of them have not done any further study. The thing that surprises me with most of them is that they aren't doing anything with their lives in comparison to me. One of my friends finished her arts degree and is working as a check out chick? The ones that do have full time jobs are earning minimum wage and are not at all happy in their jobs or their lives. I believe, based on my own experience, that you can go on to be successful at anything you want to do even if you don't finish high school. You just have to make the most out of your own situation. I also think it's important to actually do something - don't leave school if you haven't got a job or something to go to. Even if it's a crappy job lol. You just need to have something. I'm not sure where you're from but in Australia, there are options for further study such as TAFE institutes, and mature age entry into university courses. If you decide later on that you want to finish school or complete further study, it's always an option for you to go back and do that. The main thing is to make sure you do what is going to make you happy. Career wise, you need to do something that you enjoy or find interesting or something that makes you happy - because you'll spend 40 odd hours a week there so no point doing something that you don't enjoy. And if you enjoy your job and can pay your bills - who needs everything else? You might like to talk to a career counsellor as well.. try googling that lol, you might be able to find a cheap/free one. Sorry that this was so long, I just started typing and didn't notice. Hope it has helped somewhat, and good luck with whatever you decide.