I Finished High School. Now What?

By Stacey McCrory

Learning how to navigate so many choices and decisions after high school can be overwhelming and confusing. In this straightforward and practical guide, you will be immersed into a world of possibilities with godly advice based on real life scenarios.

Allow the stories and topics in this book to transform your thinking now and carry you into adulthood. Be proactive and act instead of feeling hopeless. There is always a solution, so make every effort to find one. Just know you are not alone in these experiences and everyone starts at ground zero.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973657620

Stacey McCrory

Stacey McCrory was born in Louisiana and raised in Mississippi, living 14 years of her younger adult life in Baton Rouge, LA. She currently teaches a college and career class at her church and is going into her eighth year. She enjoys pouring into this age group and helping them prepare for God’s kingdom.

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Copyright © 2019 Stacey McCrory.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-5763-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5764-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-5762-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019904386

WestBow Press rev. date: 5/16/2019

Contents

Preface

Part 1: The Heart of the Matter

Flashback!

Diving Deeper

Priorities and Church

Part 2: This Thing Called Adulting

Navigating Adult Life as a Christian

Not Considering College?

Tips for College-Bound

Apartment Living

Dorm Life

Home Life

Supplies

Campus Activities and Free Food

In the Beginning

Part 3: Response and Responsibility

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Words of Caution

A Proactive Life

Part 4: Budgeting and Money and Stewardship

Credit Cards

Pinching Pennies

Checking and Savings Accounts

Renting and Budgeting

Saving Money by Living on Your Own

Splurges

Is Investing for Me?

Working and School

Part 5: Relationships

Friends

Your Relationship with God

Building New Friendships

More than Friends

Part 6: The Next Chapter

About the Author

For all the college students at Crossroads Baptist Church. These past seven years have been so amazing getting to know each one of you and watching you grow. Michael and I love you very much and think of you as one of our own. We know that your future is so important for God’s kingdom, and we want to see you be successful in all you do.

Thank you so much to my husband and to all my children. You are my inspiration! I love you!

Preface

This book is more than just practical advice. It’s about real life and the struggles we all face. It’s about the things we either don’t know or didn’t think to ask about. Your parents can’t teach you everything, and some things have never been second nature for you; however, you can learn. The knowledge you will gain from the information in this book will also teach you some life skills. Someone else has made all the mistakes and struggled for you so that you don’t have to. These details are written down here so that you can start with an advantage. You won’t think to yourself in the future, If I only knew then what I know now.

As we grow older, our thinking becomes more mature, and we start to enjoy different activities. What we used to think of as fun isn’t so much fun any longer. As we change, our attitudes and ways of thinking change with us. Here’s a scripture about growing into an adult that comes to mind. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways (1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).

You will have so many questions about what decisions to make when it comes to college, your career, or other life choices (e.g., credit, buying a home, saving money, needing relationship advice). In this book we talk about all these things and more in detail. The Bible is one book that has teaching on work ethics, life choices, stewardship, and relationships. You will see scripture references throughout this book used to back up the advice along with practical guidance based on people’s personal experiences in each chapter.

I know what it feels like to be as lost as a goose and trying to make the best decisions. This is the most important time in your life and can alter your life’s direction forever. One NewsNow report divulged that roughly 70 percent of Christian college students going off to college end up leaving their faith during their first year on campus. This is one statistic I would like to see much lower. My heart goes out to this age group. There are so many changes right now, and they have many decisions to make. I saw a need for a book with biblical perspective and godly advice to help this age group understand that the choices they are making now have consequences and far-reaching results. You must take life and yourself serious in your endeavors. You must be focused and not scattered, running around aimlessly like a chicken with your head cut off. If you had someone to help you look at your options and tell you what you are getting yourself into, it would make life so much easier. That is what I have tried to do here—to give you all the details in one place so you can succeed at the start and not muddle your way through it.

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The Heart of the Matter

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A s you wind down your senior year in high school, there is so much excitement in the air, so much to consider, and lots of decisions being made. Have you decided to go to college? Maybe you have decided to work in a position that doesn’t require a college degree. Some careers are based on skill, aptitude, or hands-on training. Where are you thinking about living? Will you live at home, rent a place, or live in the dorms? Have you sat down with a pen and paper to see what you can afford? Will you stay in your hometown, or are you feeling God leading you somewhere else?

In this book of practical advice, we will discuss these and many more important life-altering questions. You will learn how to make every decision count and how to research in a smart way. This book will address both college-bound and work-bound students. How do you navigate each of these avenues? It’s like you step off the graduation stage, and then you are thrown into this whole new world! After high school, you will be moving forward