I believe that embracing our childish sides has many health benefits, both mental and physical. We are constantly told to be “more mature” and “prepare for the future” that we rarely seem to have time to bring out our more childish sides. Practically our entire young life is set aside to prepare us for the future and it seems that this prevents us from being able to be fully present and to live in the moment. The Junior Cert is designed to prepare you for your Leaving, which prepares you for your next step, be it college, a PLC, an apprenticeship, a gap year, or entering the workforce. Once you are a first-year the main objective is to prepare for the Junior Cert. Constantly preparing for the futureĪs a primary school student, one of the focuses is to prepare you for secondary school. Looking back at these decisions, I really believe that young people are being forced to grow up very quickly. Before I was even a teenager, I had made a major life decision. At age 12, I had to choose my subjects for secondary school. I should not be surprised by this as we had to make an equally important decision when we were four years younger. I find it rather unsettling that at the age of 16 we are faced with this major life decision. This is a rather daunting prospect to me. If you make a poor choice now, your entire future could be negatively affected. The number of points you get can ultimately decide your career paths. This in turn affects what college course you might get if you want to go to college. Your decision will affect the number of points you get in your Leaving Cert.

While this decision might appear to be small and unimportant to many, it actually has a major impact on our futures. It is getting to that time of year where Transition Year students, like myself, have to start seriously thinking about their Leaving Certificate subject choices.

Teens growing up too fast