So I came through a somewhat decent high-school. I know decent is entirely subjective but let's just say....it was a little ways away from an inner city school, but a ways away from the well-off high schools too. Now I don’t know about you, but I've always viewed high school as a critical point in a kid's life. It's like the rite of passage from everything from social acceptance to figuring out how your body works. A lot of the decisions that have to be made during this time are extremely critical and hold the most weight for a young kid because at this point any and everything you do can affect your quickly approaching adult life. Every. Thing. Believe me here lol. For example, I threw the biggest of curve balls in my financial life at the tender “adult” age of 18. A lot of my friends got locked up in high school. Others became kids raising kids all because they "grew up" too fast. A lot of my friends found out the hard way that all those simple suspensions and all that class skipping equated to denied access to college and so forth. So believe me when I say these years are special for you. And this isn't to scare you....it's simply to let you know that the beginning of your adult decisions begin now. Choose wisely.

Now where it applies.....

As I mentioned before that, I figured out I wanted to be an architect at the age of 7. I understand this is something that most won't have figured out by that age, but if you have even the slightest idea by high-school that that's the route you want to go down....I encourage you to stalk that profession! Google it religiously! Check for things like the annual salary in that field, what types of knowledge you should know, try and take applicable classes, and etc. If you have no one around you to look to you can always ask your advisers or teachers. They're actually helpful if you bother them a bit. Take it from the girl that went through high school completely unaware of the related courses I could have taken until my junior year all because I didn't ask. Don't be like me lol. You could even try reaching out to those you admire in the field already because very few things look better to future employers than an ambitious and proactive young person so get to it. I know you can do it!
 

Much love! 

Signed,
The black woman still trying not to be the only Black Aspiring Architect you know

P.S. Feel free to hit me up if you or anyone else you know have questions concerning this field. I'm here to pass on whatever information I have installed on my mind's hard drive.