Big Life After School

At what point do we learn what we want to do with the rest of our lives? Is there an age, or a defining experience, at which it all clicks together and we’ve discovered our passion and purpose?... Nope.

And yet we ask our adolescents to make life-altering decisions at the ripe old age of 16, commit their time and resources (which many of them don’t actually have) into a path they may or may not like, with a brain that is not even close to being fully developed. 

With hindsight, we know that you can always change your path. But it’s hard for adolescents to know that, especially in the pressure cooker environment of school, family expectations and social norms, all being navigated with a body coursing with hormones and fear.

Many of our schools have wonderful programs that support work experience, college tours, and access to trades. Many aren’t so fortunate to have those resources. But what we can give all of our students is the assurance that they’re going to be okay, and the skills to make big choices.

As part of the B.I.G. L.I.F.E. After School module, we created the B.I.G. L.I.F.E. framework students can use to form a hypothesis that they can test. It does not reach a “final life decision,” but rather gives them the tools to take the information they have to make informed choices.

During the R&D phase I took B.I.G. L.I.F.E to corporate execs who, by the looks of their careers, I would have sworn had it all figured out. And yet, to my surprise, the framework was useful for them too. They were still wondering, dreaming, and evolving their idea of a big life, but the key is that they were doing it with curiosity and forward momentum. Not with paralysis and fear. 

We leverage the framework to form a hypothesis and evolve with curiosity. We also include the Voice of Small (negative self-talk) to reframe regret. Students have embraced the excitement and potential of the path ahead.

In community,
Lex