Book review

Life after high school

Where Do I Go From Here? Getting a Life After High School
By Esther Drill, Heather McDonald and Rebecca Odes

You truly cannot judge a book by its cover. At the first glance at the cover of Where Do I Go From Here?, I was less than encouraged. Why would I, at 17, have the slightest interest in a book created by the founders of the Web site gurl.com? All I could do was reminisce about my preteen years, when everything was about "Gurl Power."

I could not have been more wrong about this book.

Where Do I Go From Here? presents the traditional college path in a new light and provokes thought about trying other post-high school routes, such as traveling before heading off to college.

The book begins by telling readers to find their strengths and play off them to make the best choices for the future. It deals with issues such as leaving a comfortable environment at home, having financial hardships, dealing with motherhood and your religious beliefs.

It explains the importance of gathering information to be a more informed decisionmaker. It talks about research tools and how to use them, and about seeking expert advice. It also prepares you to accept rejection.

The book moves on to the paths you can take to pursue your goals. It presents a well-rounded argument on behalf of four-year and two-year colleges, as well as internships, starting work right away and taking time to travel.

The college section particularly interested me because college is my plan. Unlike books that give you the bland version of college (lectures, sitting in classes with 500 other students), this book gives you what seems like the truth. For example, it talks about how your roommate may not be the ideal person but you can learn to live with that.

It lists the standard colleges and universities (think Ivy League and Big Ten) and the not-so-standard (top party schools). It also talks about social issues in college, such as eating disorders, date rape and binge drinking.

The book moves on to give information about specialty schools, such as those at which you learn a trade (cosmetology, dental hygiene, paralegal). The book looks at programs such as ROTC as a way to finance college and joining the military as an alternative to college.

Also, it does more than just mention the option of taking a year off to travel around Europe; it gives you a checklist of things to take, many of which are sometimes forgotten, such as a journal, a raincoat and detergent for washing your clothes.

The last section of the book deals with financing your dreams. It talks about getting scholarships and setting up bank accounts. It even shows how to balance your checkbook and create a budget.

Where Do I Go From Here? is by far the best book I have found in its genre. It tells you what you want to know, not what your parents and teachers have been telling you for years. It throws a different spin on old issues, such as choosing your major, and it sheds light on different topics, such as preparing for an audition at a performing arts school.

Most of the advice you find in books and magazines is one-dimensional. They tell you that once you leave high school, college is the next step toward a happy future. But that does not define happiness for everyone.

For many, going to college and then starting a career is the right path. For others, that route isn't ideal. This book profiles many options adequately and without bias. Not many resources give seniors the opportunity to realistically look at alternatives for their future.

This book shows that as long as there is a will, there is a way. And not everyone's will is identical.

Britta Hays, 17, will be in 12th grade in August at Seminole High School and is deciding what to do after graduation next year.

"Where Do I Go From Here? Getting a Life After High School," by Esther Drill, Heather McDonald and Rebecca Odes, Penguin USA, $15, 185 pages.

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