{"id":23506,"date":"2026-09-09T13:59:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T23:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=23506"},"modified":"2026-09-09T15:01:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T01:01:05","slug":"2026-student-voice-its-okay-to-not-have-everything-mapped-out-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/2026-student-voice-its-okay-to-not-have-everything-mapped-out-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Voice: It\u2019s okay to not have everything mapped out right now"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kayla Kobayashi, James Campbell High School<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As college application season approaches, I know that, for myself as well as many of my peers, the thought of submitting applications that seem to determine where we’ll be for the next four years can feel overwhelming. At least for me, there are parts of my plan that I still haven’t figured out. However, I think it’s important to remember that it’s okay not to have everything mapped out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many students, especially in high school, plans for after graduation can weigh heavily on our minds. Everywhere you look, people are talking about their dream schools, future careers, or the major they’ve wanted since they were ten years old. It can sometimes feel like everyone else has their life planned out already and that you’re falling behind. But the truth is, everyone is on a different timeline, even if it doesn’t always look that way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

High school isn’t supposed to be the time when you have every answer. It’s the time to experiment, explore your interests, and figure out what you enjoy. It’s the perfect time to join a club you’ve never considered before, apply for an internship, volunteer somewhere new, or take a class that sounds interesting. You might discover something you’re passionate about, or you might realize that something you thought you loved actually isn’t for you. Both outcomes are equally important steps in figuring out how you want to spend your time following high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after high school, it’s completely normal for your plans to change. Many college students switch their majors after realizing what they originally chose isn’t what they expected. Some people take gap years, transfer schools, or even change careers years after graduating. Choosing one path now doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think as students, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have everything figured out by the time we’re 18. But realistically, we’re still growing, learning, and discovering who we are and what we like. It’s okay if your future doesn’t look exactly like someone else’s. It’s okay if your plans change. It’s okay to answer “What do you want to do after high school?” with “I’m not sure.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just remember that everyone’s path is different. Your journey won’t look exactly like mine, and mine won’t look like anyone else’s. Being at a different stage doesn’t mean you’re behind, it just means you’re finding your own way. The future can feel uncertain, but sometimes that’s what makes it exciting. You don’t need to have your whole life figured out right now. You just need to keep moving forward, one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kayla Kobayashi is a senior at James Campbell High School and an ambassador for the Academy of Health Sciences. She is actively involved in the HOSA (Future Health Professionals) club on campus and is a member of the school\u2019s golf team. After graduation, Kayla plans to pursue a career in psychiatry. Outside of school, she enjoys golfing, baking, and spending time with friends. She wrote this piece while working as a summer intern on HIDOE’s Communications Branch team.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kayla Kobayashi, James Campbell High School As college application season approaches, I know that, for myself as well as many of my peers, the thought of submitting applications that seem to determine where we’ll be for the next four years can feel overwhelming. At least for me, there are parts of my plan that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":23509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,893,1022,1619,1622,1623","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,22,21,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-hoohaaheo","category-news","category-student-voice"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":30,"label":"Highlights"},{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":21,"label":"News"},{"value":51,"label":"Student Voice"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026-06-25-Campbell-High-Summer-Learning-Campus-DSC02269-1024x512.jpg",1024,512,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":30,"name":"Highlights","slug":"highlights","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":30,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":30,"category_count":3,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Highlights","category_nicename":"highlights","category_parent":0},{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":89,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":89,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":362,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":362,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0},{"term_id":51,"name":"Student Voice","slug":"student-voice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":24,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":51,"category_count":24,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Student Voice","category_nicename":"student-voice","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-16 20:43:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"post_status","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}