Have you ever looked back on your life and imagined it to be totally different than it is at this moment in time? It doesn’t matter how many times you wish you would have changed one simple choice in your life, it wont suddenly change unless you step up to take the chance of having the change done. It won’t get done by itself. Lyuba G., a student at an advanced Gene Juarez Academy, is studying to be a teacher, has said, “I would have my own salon and I would work any hours I want,” when asked how her life would be different if she would have gone to school after high school instead of at the age of 28.

Not every high school student realizes how much of their life can change with a split second of a decision. Although career choices should never be made in a split second, they should be thought through with goals in mind. Lyuba has said, “Goal setting is very important in life, it will help you achieve what you want.” It’s as simple as that, goal setting. You can set those goals and add on to them as you go through life. The best goals to make? Lyuba makes it easy, simply “make the goal achievable and always strive to do better and be better.” Sounds simple, right? That’s because it is.

Many people even at an older age than high school students don’t realize how much setting goals can change your life. Lyuba has said, “I would have definitely gone to college, I would be so much more successful now in life.” After high school, Lyuba worked at SeaTac Airport where she started at baggage claim for ATA Airlines. After a few years working there, she was promoted to manager, sadly, though; she was laid off due to the company going bankrupt. A few years after that, she realized what she really wanted to do. She didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk any longer, so she decided to go to school.

When Lyuba was asked what inspired her to take the chance of achieving her dream, she replied by saying, “I was told that the company I was working for was laying off people and that I might be one of them. That inspired me to find a career that I have been wanting to do.” It might sound easy to sign up to a program and begin once you are accepted but Lyuba tells us that it isn’t easy. She said, “Now my life is basically just school. I don’t have time for anything, my family, my work, and no time for myself.” That’s not the only hard thing, especially in these hard times, she is also struggling financially.

Even though Lyuba is going through such a hard and stressful time, she has said, “This is what I do and what I love. I can teach others and inspire them to reach their goals even though it may be hard at that moment but you can reach the goal as long as you have one.” Nothing will get Lyuba down. Since she didn’t make the right choice of achieving her long time dream at the perfect time, she ahs to struggle to make ends meet. That’s definitely not what high school students dream of for their future.

Most high school students dream of a perfect career that they love and having their own family by the time they are at the age of 28. None of them would think that they would be put into Lyuba’s situation. They don’t see themselves struggling in school or financially. They also don’t see themselves barely ever seeing their family.

Even though Lyuba has just 3 weeks left of school, it’s getting harder each week. She has said, “I have a lot of studying to do and we have a lot of presentations and lesson planning.” It seems she has presentations due every day, since that is what a teacher does on a daily basis, presenting information to their students. That’s what Lyuba sees herself doing in the close future, teaching a bunch of students who just want to achieve their dreams.

You can tell from what Lyuba is going through that you don’t want to go through such stressful times as she is. She did the amazing; she set a goal as went out to achieve it. That is what every person should do, set a goal and achieve it. It shouldn’t matter how hard that goal is, you just have to take the first steps on the way to get to the finish line!