High school graduation day is filled with celebration, shared memories and relatives asking what the future holds. Parents and adults push the idea of going to a University for four years to get a degree in some field, forming a misconception that a bachelor’s will always equal success in the desired career.

At just 15 years old, junior Alexa Alderete-Raygoza gave birth to her first child. Likewise, junior Cherokee Cobb is expecting her first child toward the end of her junior year of high school. Both of these young mothers defied social expectations and the stigma around them.

During her seventh grade class, sophomore Lydia Olmsted received an assignment her teacher explicitly referred to as the “dumb kid” worksheet. The teacher wasn’t confident in Olmsted’s abilities, not because she was behind in math or any of her classmates, but because Olmsted was born blind.

According to law, teens are not allowed to purchase cigarettes until they are 18 years old. Once they hit that milestone, they have to wait three more years until they can legally purchase alcohol. Age restrictions prevent teens from hurting themselves and others, but are they implemented to guide or restrain?