Have you ever wondered why I have to go to school? I'm pretty sure everyone has asked this question once in their life and you probably still haven't gotten the answer you want. Your parents might say, “Because it's important to learn.” But why? Why do you need to learn? There are many important reasons why you need to learn. I will explain them in my essay. But first you need to know that finishing your studies means graduating from high school. If you drop out of high school because you feel like you don't need to learn, this can have long-term effects on you and is definitely not a good decision to make. You shouldn't drop out of high school because you are more likely to live in poverty, you won't get many jobs, and you are more likely to commit a crime than someone who graduates from high school. You should not drop out of high school because they are more likely to live in poverty and not have enough money. Typically, high school dropouts earn $19,000 a year. High school graduates earn $28,000 per year (Career Connections). That's a big difference, almost $10,000, which is a lot of money to lose! Over their lifetime, high school dropouts earn about $1 million less than college graduates and $200,000 less than a high school graduate (11 Facts About High School Dropout Rates). And it doesn't end here! High school dropouts are twice as likely as high school graduates to live in poverty and to be homeless (Career Connections). It may be hard to digest these statistics at first, but consider this. Pretend you're playing a board game. There are different spaces with different things happening in your life. Each space is a year. So, everyone starts in elementary school and middle school… halfway through school… coming out of high school? Career Connections, 2008. Web. 3 April 2014. The abandonment dilemma. Care to Vote '08, 2008. Web. April 3, 2014. .11 Facts about high school dropout rates. dosomething.org, 2011. Web. April 3, 2014. Keeping Children in School: Preventing Dropout and School Discipline. Fighting Crime: Investing in Children, 2014. Web. April 3, 2014. Today, more than half of high school dropouts don't have a job. Huffington Post, February 21, 2012. Web. April 3. 2014. .