The Journey Ahead

It is crazy how much your choices now affect your future. Even if we wish or think we will change, the probability is pretty slim. So I have been trying to settle some good habits that hopefully I'll still have in years to come. Senior year is coming up and senior summer is here so my life on my own is not far off! Scary, exciting, and time to settle a couple of things before I go.
Well to tell you the truth I have been planning and preparing for this moment for a long time. It was always middle school, high school, college, job, marriage, kids, etc. I always had this general plan that I tried to keep as a map forward. I have already tried to get some good habits established into me so that when I do move onto my future, I will be ready.
The most recent addition of preparing myself is having a budget for food. I asked my parents if I could have a weekly allowance to buy my own food so that I could establish a couple things. Learn how to budget the money wisely. Learn how to make some pretty awesome, cheap, and healthy meals so I won't gain the freshman 15 or whatever. Learn how to budget meal plans to where I don't have wasted or unused food in the fridge. Well they agreed and I have been trying to budget myself with 10 dollars a week since I'll probably own the food basics already. I know it kind of sounds crazy, but I love doing this kind of stuff.
Also I have tried to establish self- discipline and self- sufficient attributes. I try to keep my room clean and do homework right when I get home so I don't procrastinate. I have tried to learn what it is like to earn your own money and save some money. I blame my parents for all of this. My dad is very stingy, but good with money and has taught me to understand the value of a dollar.
I remember when I was younger, like in 5th grade to 9th, I would get a monthly allowance of 20 dollars. I would have to buy all of my stuff too. For those years I would buy my own school clothes and budget throughout the year how many extra chores and jobs I would need to do in order to have around $250 for school clothes. I was a pretty crazy kid. Then I realized I could just be saving that money for college and since my parents are willing, they can buy my clothes. But boy did I learn to be a smart shopper and buy clothes with the best deals.
Why am I telling you this? I'm just letting you know that I have tried to prepare myself my whole life for the moment when I'm out on my own. But there are still a couple of things that Senior year will have to provide in order for me to be absolutely ready.
For example, I still am a little on the undecided of actually what I want to major in and what I want to do with my life. The one I like the best right now is being a teacher. Even when I was little, one of my favorite games to play was school. I would make my two older sisters my pupils and I would give them math, spelling, and reading lessons. I even went so far as to create my own library so they could check out books. But this senior year I want to find out if that is what I really want to be.
Also I hope I'll be able to get into the college of my choice and receive a couple of scholarships. It isn't always about the place you go, but your attitude, but it doesn't hurt to go to a place you want to go. Money is the driving force to pushing me forward and I'll need something to pay all those bills with.
I also envision my senior year being the year to maintain a strong healthy relationship with my family. Family is all you got when everything else is gone. I think to help me succeed in life I need to have that peace that my family is supporting me and we are on good terms. They are the ones I can turn to when things aren't going well or when I just need someone to talk to when I'm lonely.
In reality I feel senior year is just a year to prepare for the next chapter in your life which will prepare you for the next chapter and so on and so forth, but I feel if I choose to focus on how senior year will prepare me for my complete future than I loose sight of some of the important details in life. That is why I chose to focus more on my immediate future rather than my whole life. Just remember, senior year is a huge bridge you are crossing, but it is only the entrance to the unknown journey ahead.