Do you ever think that our parents could be keeping us from doing what we want to do? Probably about little things: like going out with our friends when our rooms are a mess, but there may be some things that we students don’t know that they’re stopping us from.

Did you know the the High School Guidance Office sends out a letter, each school year, to the parents asking for permission to give United States Military recruiters information on their child? How many of the parents say yes to this?

According to the High School Guidance office, there is only a handful of parents who approve to have their children be recruited for the military. Why is it that parents are fine with the hundreds of letters that come in the mail to their child’s home from colleges with the same intentions as the military?

After searching Naviance (the student resource on colleges) for the four major branches of the Military (the United States Army, the  United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force), little to no information popped up — the reasoning behind this is that going into the military to serve our country is not college, but should these be on the website as an option anyway?

It is difficult to get the number of students from Glen Rock who end up joining the military after high school — perhaps because there are not many. In our small, northern New Jersey town, expectations are high for us students — from our parents, our teachers, our classmates, and everyone around us. As a senior, you cannot walk around town without being spotted by a parent of a classmate or your parents’ friend without being asked “where are you going to college” or “what colleges are you looking at.”

Do our parents control where we go after high school? Are we too blind to see this? By our parents declining the information request by the US Military from  the Guidance Office, that closes some doors for the students here. Going into the Military after high school could be a great opportunity and open many doors.

It is hard as a seventeen year old to know what you want to be doing when you are forty some odd years old. Going to do the most honorable act for our country could be a perfect way to find yourself, friends, and what you are ultimately passionate about.

The United States Military also offers something called a “G.I. Bill,” which gives the people of the military money to pay for college. That means you could potentially go to business school without paying a dime. This could be such a great opportunity for many students knowing that college is so expensive.

“I haven’t the slightest clue with what I plan on doing after graduating High School, I have not decided what I want to do with my life,” said Tyler Joachim (15’).

It takes time to figure out who you are, what you want to do, and what you like. It is very important for students, parents and the community to understand that, which is why all the options possible should be there.