The commonly known board game called “The Game of Life” begins with a fork in the road: dive into a career path or go through college before starting up the career path.

Nearing the end of high school, seniors are meeting the same fork in the road and they either have a set plan or they’re still figuring it out. However, there are other roads leading up to this, such as the one of juggling a job, school and extracurricular activities.

On a recent poll on The Signal, “What are your plans after high school?” the selection of going to college came out on top with 50 percent of 20 people and in second place 25 percent of people selected just working. After high school, these are the two most common paths people choose which, in reality, opens up to more possibilities.

As a senior, the biggest skill I learned to focus on was time management. I found it easy to make keynotes on a mini calendar I carry around in my bag, but thanks to technology we are able to set reminders and track our “To-Do’s” with our cell phones or even on a laptop. Getting in the routine to really organize the things needed to be done in our lives can seem tedious, too much of a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be.

By learning this skill I realized the amount of stress taken off of my shoulders due to the organization required for time management. I knew when to plan socializing with friends and family, when specific homework papers are going to be due and how much time it will consume. I knew how to plan around my work schedule and what days I could dedicate to binge watching my favorite TV shows. Time management is a huge skill to learn for life.

Often I get asked by family and friends, “Are you ready to start life?” regarding after high school. Learning time management has especially helped prepare me for the world outside of school. Understanding the concept has further prepared me for a life after education by showing me the importance of everything having a balance.

I am ready to begin the next chapter of life, even though high school didn’t show me exactly how to be an adult, it did teach me communication skills, how to follow instruction and it even taught me to be humble. I’ll continue utilizing these skills for the rest of my life, though I have many more lessons to learn even after high school.