I know…I know…I have not been a good blogger. I have not updated Need To Read much because I’ve read a bunch of stuff that I either wasn’t that enthusiastic about or was adult fiction that I didn’t really feel like blogging about. I have not updated here though for a very good reason.
I am writing a brand new book!
Yes! It’s true! And I’m really excited. But I need your help! The life advice I need is not for me. It’s for my main character, Jamie Lexington-Cross (fancy name, eh?). Here’s the deal…and I need your brilliant ideas…I need to come up with something cool for Jamie to do after high school that definitely requires a HS diploma, but is NOT going off to college. At least, not traditional college.
Here are some ideas I have already:
The military
The Peace Corps
Beauty School
There’s nothing wrong with any of these ideas, and Beauty School might actually work, but I’m not sure that you have to have a diploma. And it is IMPORTANT that it is an actual diploma, and not a GED. So hit me with your best ideas! If I use yours, I’ll send you an ARC from my stash (and I just got the Penguin Fall ARCs, so I have about 50 to choose from!). Thanks, everyone!
She could be a foreign exchange student…she could train to be a luthier…she could go into photography…or dog grooming…or dog training. Maybe she wants to open a day care center or some other business of her own. Maybe she applies to the police academy or wants to be a fire fighter or a paramedic? Maybe she simply backpacks around Europe for a year?
Have her join AmeriCorps and help clean up hurricane damage in Mississippi and Louisiana!
Still thinking about Katimavik…she would need her parents to sign her application to the program, maybe they would only agree to do that if she finished high school?
If your character lives in Canada, Katimavik would be a cool thing for her to do after school. I kind of wish I had done this instead of going straight off to university. I am pretty sure that they used to require completion of high school but I just checked their web site and unfortunately (for your purposes) it doesn’t seem to be a requirement any more. http://www.katimavik.org
Personally owned internet businesses are a hot thing, especially with how technologically savvy young people are today (I do not include myself in either the savvy or the young people category…). Many of these entrepreneurial businesses don’t require any degree–after all, how would your customers check to see if you were telling the truth? So this may not be what you’re looking for, if having a high school degree plays an actual role in your story.
As another idea, I’ve always thought it would be great fun to become a chef, or a baker. There are trade school programs for the food making industry all over the place.
I hope you find what you’re looking for, Joelle! How fun that you’re working on a new book. Keep us posted.
If your character is interested in animals there is an Animal Welfare Certificate program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops BC, which is only 2 years long and can be taken partly through distance ed. There may be some other interesting corepsondence/distance ed programs, too. Sometimes you see ads for distance ed/corespondence classes on buses, etc. They always seem abit suspect, which could make the option more intriguing.
Writing a brand new book? Yay!
Checkout http://www.wheretherebedragons.com…if your character happens to know another language and is passionate about the world-it might be an aspiration to lead a group…some other ideas: tree technician-its a cert program and your character’d get to hang out with (or maybe even in) trees..or…massage therapist. What about an apprenticeship in a trade? Maybe in a specialized industry-instrument making or bookbinding.
I Think Jaimie may want to work with or start a Non-Profit having to do with anything she is particularly passionate about. It would be a good opportunity to meet new people/characters for the book as well as do something good for her community. Americorps perhaps?
Let’s see……….
You can get just about any job with a GED now-a-days. Not as picky as they used to be.
However, if you were going to be working in a setting with kids in a school/education environment, it would be adventagous to have finished high school. With the drop out rate increascing yearly, one could use their own story of surviving high school for motivation and inspiration for the young ones.
Well, you have my brain working now.