Dear Future President,

Currently, the age for becoming an adult in the U.S is 18. When you are 18 you are usually still a senior in highschool and your brain is not yet fully developed. This may lead you to not make the best life decisions that will affect your future. Before you are an adult, it is required that you have an education. Yet some 18 year olds chose to drop out of highschool for whatever reasons, and regret it later on when they have a family to support, a home to pay for, a car tank to fill, groceries to purchase, etc… Receiving a high school diploma will be sure to affect the job you have later on in order to provide for all of these things. This is why if the age of being an adult is 19, it will be illegal for students to drop out of school until after they have graduated, or at least until they are 19. “Right now, The United States has an 80 percent graduation rate which means the other 20 percent are choosing to drop out. (Race, Ethnicity By. "State High School Graduation Rates By Race, Ethnicity." That’s nearly 1.2 million students dropping out every year. I am not saying none of those people will go on to do great things, But chances are most of them will be wishing they stayed in high school to further their education for free, or possibly had even gone to college. Statistics also show that students who live in more poverty than others, are more likely to drop out due to needed work hours or multiple jobs.I believe pushing the age of being considered an adult to 19 should be the priority of our future President because too many students are dropping out of highschool and depriving themselves of a further education and higher skilled jobs.

I am an eighth grade student at Chaska Middle School East and I cannot imagine students in my grade making the mistake of dropping out of Highschool and possibly ruining their otherwise bright futures. “Statistics show that more than 60% of job opportunities in the skilled labor force require a high school diploma.” ("The American Academy." Why a High School Diploma Is Important. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2016). And unless a low skilled career, is something you would chose to pursue, chances would be better of getting a higher skilled job with that diploma. “Receiving a high school education is important. While going to school can certainly be stressful at times, it is well worth the pressure. Having the tenacity and perseverance to complete your high school education, even when times are very hard, is important in demonstrating and developing integrity and a good work ethic.- Jenna Welsh” This matters because persevering through whatever struggles you are dealing with in school can help you learn to do so in future events.

Not only am I a student, I am also a little sister to a 19 year old Chanhassen high school graduate and Madison University student. When I attended my older brother’s graduation ceremony, I couldn’t help to think how disappointing it would be not to be able to graduate with the hundreds of kids you have spent the past 12 years of your life with and accomplished so much as a class. “College graduations signify that student life is over and the graduate is embracing adult life responsibilities. -Anonymous K-12 employee.” This matters because it is hard to feel very accomplished of your twelve year in school if there is nothing to prove what you have accomplished.This is why it is important for students everywhere to have no choice other than to graduate.

Age 18 should be the age of becoming an adult for many reasons as well, but an important one is that there are a lot of logical explanations for dropping out of school and most are completely justifiable. Recently I read an article on a teenage student who did not continue their studies due to a pregnancy and needing to care for their baby. They obviously felt the needs of their child were more important than a highschool diploma and they should have every right to make that decision. “If a student is getting abused and hurt at school that may cause depression and wanting them to end it. In my opinion that's horrible to want them to end it at such a young age... Also they might not have the money and can't keep up with the pay checks in their house.-Sheila Collod.” It matters because by that point in a person’s life they should have enough experience that they know what is best for themselves. This is why 18 should stay the age of being considered an adult.

Something the president can do to resolve this situation is enforce a law in which you aren’t considered an adult until age 19, students would not be able to drop out unless held back. This issue is connected to the global goal of good jobs and economic growth because that is something that is difficult to achieve without a high school diploma. Also, this would help the US support The UN because they would be working to achieve a UN global goal. Supporting the UN matters because it shows they are actually making a difference and all their support isn’t for nothing. Making the age of being an adult, age 19 should be a priority for the next president because less kids need to be dropping out of school to help make America a better place. 

Sincerely,

Emma B. 

This image helps to illustrate my point because it shows a large group of students getting to celebrate all they have accomplished and being proud of who they have become.