Once a VOXer, always a VOXer. Our series “Life After High School” features recent VOX ATL alums giving the teens coming up behind them the real deal on what life is like after graduation.

Imagining what life after high school was gonna be like for me got me through endless, meandering early mornings and late nights working on group presentations. The thought of speeding down the highway of my hopes and dreams, free and independent was intoxicating.

It was also bullsh*t. 

The truth is, life after high school just…isn’t that different. 

Don’t get me wrong, your world does change once you step out on your own. But for me, doing a summer internship away from home and then moving to Savannah for college didn’t really change anything internally, and even externally, in some ways. 

At one point, I stopped waiting for school to feel natural, for things to make sense, and just decided to move through it and trust the decisions I make. The things that happen are just the things that are supposed to. If I could give any advice, it would just be to think about it not as a change or transition, but another step in an ongoing process of growth. You aren’t moving on but growing upwards. 

You can’t slice your life into neat little portions of befores and afters. Nothing feels like an after, just a now. And right now, I am a college student, trying to make it to classes on time, juggle work, and get more understanding of the person I am inside. It’s still all a mess, but one thing I’ve realized is that it’s a mess that’s completely mine, and taking ownership of it is the most exciting process yet.

Erin Davis is a VOX ATL alum and 2019 graduate of North Cobb High School. She is currently attending Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), majoring in film and writing.