The usual route for students to get a cap and gown takes about 13-14 years of their life, three different types of schools, multiple classes, taking the ACT, and the courage to continue on every year.

However, it’s not that uncommon to deviate from the traditional route; it might mean going into programs like Millard’s career academies, taking more advanced classes, or taking a leap and ending your high school career early through early graduation.

Many students recently have decided to take that leap and move on to their interests a year earlier than expected. Rather than choosing to stay the normal four years, it’s becoming more common for students to choose their own route towards that short walk on stage to obtain a degree.

“I wanted to get out while I was younger because I have a lot of things set up for me out in [Los Angeles], so I didn’t really want to spend another year in Omaha,” junior Carter Mohning said.

Mohning is one example of a student taking that leap, pursuing a career in music and entertainment in Los Angeles, and making pop and rap music while attending school to earn his bachelor’s in music production.

This is not the only reason why students are leaving school early; students have also decided to explore the world through study abroad programs, getting a sense of culture outside of the US.

“Its been my goal since I was a freshman, I want to study abroad because I want to broaden my horizons and have fun while I volunteer,” junior Laura Flaugh said.

Flaugh is participating in a volunteer group that will travel to Argentina and Tanzania over the next school year before heading to college.

These are some of the reasons why students have decided to graduate from high school a year earlier, but some students think that it can be an opportunity to challenge themselves in new beginnings.

“I wanted to start my career earlier because I couldn’t see myself furthering my career if I had just stayed in school,” junior Claire Savage said.

For these reasons, these students have been weighing the ups and downs of their decision, especially regarding relationships and the loss of opportunities in high school.

“I expect to live my life, I’m living it right now, but I want to be in the city I want to live in, and I want a place I can call my own,” Mohning said.

On top of that, students in this route face a challenge of a stacked schedule of required classes and electives to get within three years in high school.

Even with the downsides of this path, many students have also looked on the bright side, focusing on what they want to do next and how they will start earlier than their class.

“I was applying to colleges without the pressures of the rest of my grade and I was just going through that on my own,” Savage said.

With the pressure of college applications and the concept of senioritis, they have taken a huge sigh of relief that they got their business taken care of early.

While early graduation may seem like a daunting task for people who don’t go through with it, these students know how to work with the system and know what they want to do in their lives, wherever they end up in the future.

“I always thought that like, this might be a weird way to look at life, but in a 100 years, you’re gonna be in a hole underground, so basically go for it,” Mohning said.