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From KQED.

Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.

When I graduated from high school in the year 2000, Bill Clinton was president, the economy was roaring, and the dot-com boom had not yet busted.

The United States had won the Cold War.

9-11 hadn't happened, and neither had the decades-long quagmire's of the war on terror. It was a time of remarkable optimism. The Consumer

Sentiment Index, for example, read over 110, one of the highest readings ever. Earlier this year,

that same index fell below 50 for the first time since the survey began

in 1952, even though we're not even technically in recession. That is to say, it's a different

time, a different educational matrix, and there are still the eternal worries about school,

growing up, friends. Producer Blancatores recently was a guest for a career

day at Skyline High School in Oakland, and she spoke with a bunch of students who you'll hear

from throughout the show. But first, let's just start with a sample of what they had to say.

I am thinking about what my life is going to look like for the next couple years. I'm actually considering taking a year off, so otherwise known as the gap year, to really kind of explore my options.

I am thinking of going to college and studying photography, actually.

...