Sometimes the system isn’t broken, it’s just not built for people like me. I didn't rebel, I just rerouted.

I didn’t hate school.
I just hated that school.

My parents had a clear plan for me:
Go to school.
Go to college.
Work in IT.
Simple. Safe. Structured.

There was just one problem — none of that ever felt like me.

I wanted to build. I wanted to work with my hands. I wanted to be around machines that moved. The high school I was in felt like something out of an '80s movie — cliques, noise, and a system designed to shape people into something I didn’t want to be: the same.

So I made myself a squeaky wheel.
Loud enough that the school was glad to see me go.

And it worked.

After a few... strategic disruptions and a lot of persuasion, I walked into the guidance counselor’s office and told them I wanted to transfer to the local trade school. They agreed.

I signed the paperwork myself. At 13.
No parent signatures. No official approval.
Just me, a pen, and a decision.

Then I kept it quiet until it was too late to undo.

Looking back, it sounds wild.
But at the time, it made perfect sense.
I wasn’t trying to rebel — I was trying to get to work.
I wanted a path that made sense to me — and no one was going to stop me.

And it worked.

That trade school gave me the skills and space to do exactly what I wanted — which turned into a high-paying tech job as a teenager, time in motorsports, and eventually, building systems for everything from public to private sector companies.

I didn’t reject education.
I just didn’t wait for permission to find the right kind.

Sometimes the system doesn’t need breaking.

It just needs re-routing.

#NontraditionalPath #VocationalEducation #LeadershipSeries #BuiltNotBought #YouthPrograms #ProblemSolving #GritAndGrowth #OperationsMindset