Adults always seem to say the best years of their lives were their schooldays. However, I have always looked forward to leaving school and becoming more independent.

I remember going to school every day feeling really negative, just because I knew I had to go. One day, however, it hit me that I was never going to get out of going to school, so I decided to be more positive and to look forward to what the day held.

Slowly, I started to realise that school was actually really enjoyable for me. I was surrounded by friends, I could have a laugh, within reason, and I've been taught about the world from the safety of a supportive environment.

Now I look at school in a different way. I see it as the small picture; preparation for the real world.

There are so many decisions that I need to make about my future while I am at school; what my career plans are, what college and courses will be right for me, and, in fact, whether I want to go on to further education at all. Currently, I want to study six A-levels.

Unfortunately, I can only take four and I am in a dilemma as to which ones to choose. I know I'm not the only student who feels similarly frustrated by the A-level system.

The worst part is narrowing down my choice into something that will definitely be of use to me in later life.

My next concern is that I may not enjoy what I have chosen. Will I have wasted an opportunity on something I don't enjoy or may not go on to use?

Or am I ignoring all the opportunities I could take, just to make my life easier?

I have learnt that whatever decision I make, it will teach me something, even if the lesson learnt was not the original reason for making the decision! I have also learnt that there is always more than one way to reach a destination; continuing my education in college is just one way for me to begin to carve a route through life.

It may be the first opportunity to make a life-changing decision, but it definitely won't be the last.

There are things that I find devastating right now, like a finding that a piece of art coursework that I have put all my effort into, has got caught in the rain and is now as useful as an empty glue stick.

However, I am beginning to realise that the difficulties I experience now, however trivial they may seem to adults, are actually good preparation for later life.

Being a teenager has taught me to prepare for anything that comes my way, because you never know what's around the corner. Maybe your grades weren't as great as you thought they were going to be.

Maybe the friends you thought were closest to you, the ones that would never harm you, start drifting away.

Getting back up is the hardest part for me, but every time I do, I feel as though I've achieved something, and I'm stronger for the next thing that comes my way.

● Nadia Achha is in Year 11 at St Ursula's School.