Just turned 18 and need some major life advice?

Okay, now that I am a legal adult I'm going "oh my god why didn't I prepare for this day! Why did I slack so much!" I'm starting my senior year tomorrow so I still have one year of high school left. I've never had a job yet and I don't even have my driver's license because I just really didn't care about getting it (until now). My grades have been pretty bad (Cs, Ds, Fs) so far and I really plan on doing better this year but I can't help but feel that it doesn't really matter this late into high school and I'm just screwed. What do I do from here!? Really, I've got two parents who really don't have any interest in parenting so I'm turning to YA as a last resort. Please help! My 18th bday was a big wake up call that I'm on the fast track to nothing more than a life-long career at the local McDonald's and government support- how can I change that?Just turned 18 and need some major life advice?
Don't panic. Lots of kids are "late bloomers," and do very well in life. Go to your high school guidance office and check out some career and college options. Take some personality and interest tests and find out what kinds of jobs might appeal to you. Then start looking at colleges or tech schools that can get you going in that direction but are not highly selective in their admissions. Many two year or community colleges will admit you without stellar grades, as long as you graduate.



If college is even a remote possibility next year, sign up RIGHT NOW for the fall ACT or SAT test. There is probably a registration deadline coming up within the next week or two. Even if your grades aren't great, if you know your stuff, you might do OK on the test.



If you don't have at least a 2.0-2.5 right now, you may want to delay going to college and try to base your application on your grades this upcoming year (which you say will be better). Consider getting some "life experience" between high school and college. Work for a while and save your money, because you won't qualify for a lot of scholarships. Join Americorps or the Peace Corps - that will help you get into college, and you will have time to mature and decide what you want to do with your life. If you have an interest and are of the right personality type, all branches of the military are desperate for enlistees. They will give you job training and pay for college when you get out.



The main thing now is to figure out where you want to be in a year. Then go to your guidance counselor and ask for help mapping out a plan. You can still do most anything you want if you are willing to work hard for it. Good luck!Just turned 18 and need some major life advice?
so start now u have a year left in school during that year u can get a job and save the money.Just turned 18 and need some major life advice?
dont worry your still in h.s. so your not that bad yet. my best advise is do the best you can the rest of h.s. then go to a community college. apply for f.a.s.f.a and all the governemnt aid you can get and you can go to college for free practically and sometimes they even pay you a little extra for cost of living. then get your general degree in college and from there decided what your carreer will beJust turned 18 and need some major life advice?
Well it's definitely not to late to turn it all around, you just need to stay motivated and take the necessary steps. It's good that you have goals, just figure out what to do with them now. Good for you for wanting to turn over a new leaf at only 18, You're definitely not destined to be a failure. Good luck!!
If you can, try lots of elective classes in your final year. You can inexpensively continue trying things at a junior/community college, too.



You have to figure out what you really like to do and what you are good at. If you figure out what you should be doing, you will be more motivated.



That's even more important than succeeding in school. Though showing a huge improvement in senior year will make admission easier, if you decide you want to go to college.



There is nothing wrong with trade schools and such. I think they are underrated, and that college is overrated as a solution to every young adult's problem of picking a life path.



Also, a top priority should be learning interpersonal communication skills. You will benefit from these when you are with friends, at school, at work, all the time. You will succeed, while high-achievers with poor social skills will often struggle or be limited in what they can do.



There are lots of self-help books about improving your interpersonal communication. Search "interpersonal communication", "etiquette", and related subjects in your nearby libraries' catalogs. Read as many of those books as possible; each one will have different examples you will learn things from.



I'm not in high school anymore, but I still take notes when reading those kinds of books; it helps me to remember everything.