For some, the nerves of exams can be hard to shake off, while others dive head first into what they’ve always wanted to do.

Going for your dreams is the only way to live. Whether it’s screaming into a microphone with sweat dripping down your brow in front of thousands of people while on tour with your favourite band, or being part of the team who discovers a cure for a deadly disease, it’s better to go for it than not.

Face your fears and learn from as many people as you can.

After this year’s HSC results are released some of the regions brightest kids will leave the Bega Valley and possibly never return. Others will remain and help society progress in the areas of art, science, business and most importantly socially.

A 2013 Australian Institute of Family Studies report revealed young people who leave school early are at greater risk of experiencing long-term unemployment, slipping into social exclusion and facing mental health problems.

“While school retention rates for Australia are at their highest levels ever, there are still significant numbers of young people who leave school early,” the report by Elly Robinson and Veronica Meredith states.

The report reveals the importance of young people socialising. It also investigates the influences of student’s socio-economic status, residential mobility, parental education, parental separation, family structure and parenting practices on early school leaving.

With rental prices skyrocketing independence is possibly harder than ever to obtain. The have nots will have to work harder for what they have. And as the report shows, while students have no voting power, their socio-economic status, not just their intelligence, can influence their direction in life at a young age.

With thousands of students around Australia preparing to take a leap into the world after years of schooling, it’s an opportunity to give them a chance, be patient with them and allow them to become the best people they possibly can be.

The HSC will not be the end either. According to the ABS, it’s estimated 66 per cent of Australians have at least one non-school qualification. The data shows most Australians without a non-school qualification were working in retail, a sector which appears to be slowly disappearing.