#81: Stop Waiting—Start Deciding: How to Choose Your Next Step After High School

If you're in high school and still unsure what you want to do after graduation, you’re not behind — you’re just standing at the starting line. In this episode, Brittany breaks down the fear of making “the wrong choice” and explains why taking any step forward is better than staying stuck.

From her own story growing up in small-town North Dakota to working in New York and Orlando, Brittany shares how each decision — even the messy or unexpected ones — opened new doors. She’ll talk about:

• Why structure matters in your late teens (and how college can provide it)
• The truth about student debt and why education is an investment, not a burden
• The myth of the “gap year” and why momentum is everything
• How to surround yourself with dreamers instead of lifers
• The single phrase that will change your future: Don’t wait for clarity — create it.

If you’ve been waiting for a sign to move forward, this episode is it.

Transcript

Brittany Noltimier (00:00)

If you're in high school and you still don't know what you want to do after graduation, that's okay.

But here's what's not okay.

staying stuck because you're scared to choose.

You don't have to have your whole future figured out.

You just need to...

Make one decision that leads to the next step.

Hello there and welcome back to Dance Colleges and Careers. I am your host, Brittany Noltimier and this is the podcast where we talk about all things dance, colleges, and careers.

Today I'm talking to you high schoolers about what are we doing next and

whether that's college, a career in dance or something else, or like, are we just confused? wanna break some things down, tell you some things that worked for me and what I've seen for other people, and help you make a more educated decision.

So one of my favorite things to do is to talk with students or people about their journey. ⁓ Where are they gonna go to college or are they starting work and what do they wanna do for work and what type of environment do they need to put themselves in to reach the goal they're trying to do? And so I, even people my age and older, I always ask them their journey because it's really cool, it's really interesting. And what we...

thought we were going to be as a little kid usually almost always is completely different than when we get older. I always thought I was going to be a dancer, knew I wanted to be a dancer, but honestly, I had no idea what that journey even meant. I had no idea the possibilities. I had no idea some of these jobs I've done in my career. I didn't even know they were a thing, you

again, that's okay.

I wanted to open up discussion about this because, when I was in high school, it was a difficult decision, but it was still easy in a sense. Okay. And I think things have changed a little bit, at least especially in the last couple of years where now everybody's like, oh, we have to learn how to do everything. you know, it's just, it's kind of a different

talk about it a little bit. So when I was in high school, the question was not, you going to college? It was what college are you going to? And that was in North Dakota. And this is something I continuously say to this day of what I'm so grateful for is that in my high school, in my class, I think about 90 % of people went to college. That's huge.

My hometown is really small. It's only a public school. Everybody in the area went to Devil's Lake High School. And, ⁓ I personally thought I got a really good education. had good teachers. We had a good, safe environment. We had a nurturing environment. And the other thing is we didn't know any different because it's the only school within a many mile radius. education was really pushed in my

in my town.

So it was easier for us in the sense where we just all knew we were going to college and there were opportunities to go to the community college for free practically.

There wasn't the excuse of finances because we had the community college in town I feel very lucky that that was pushed onto us, that it is, this is the next step. go to college after moving to Florida. I've been here for 10 years now, a little more than 10 years, and I don't get that same vibe here. And I think a lot of it has to do with.

Mickey Mouse, Disney World being here, and so many people wanting to work for the mouse. And so, and you can do that whether you've gone to college or not. And not saying college is the only end all be all, but it certainly is a great next step in our lives. it gives you direction for four years or two years or three years, however long you go to school, it gives you direction. So if you're

not exactly sure yet. If you're not sure where you need to move or what to do or what job you want to have, it gives you a little bit of time while gaining education. And it is a strict curriculum. It is stair stepping you exactly on where you should be and when. So it gives you a really nice structure. Like I know when I was 18, I needed that structure so bad. You know, I needed the independence to move out, on my own

if I would have done that only and not had the structure in my life, I would have been a mess. I would have been totally lost. Like, what do I wake up and do? I don't know. You you're so used to going to school, having this structure. So that's one reason why I think college is an amazing choice. And almost everybody can go to school for very little

And if you're concerned about finances or college being super expensive, you know, I was hearing that a lot in Florida, people are like, Oh, well, I can't go to college. can't pay for it. Well, of course you can't pay for it yet. That's that it is set up in this way. I paid off my student loans at age 27. I'm very proud of that.

But I had a huge amount of student loans and I worked my booty off and I paid them off when I was 27 years

People think like, I can't do that because I'll never be able to pay it off. Well, that's why you go to school to get an education, to get a job that will pay more so that you can actually pay for it. No, when you're 18 years old, you should not be making enough money to be paying for college. Or maybe you are and that's great for you, but it's not the norm. It is unlikely that you're going to...

Be in a job where then you can go to a really expensive school. And then if you are, it's unlikely that you're going to even go to school because you're like, well, if I go to school, then when I come out, I'll be getting a job where I'm making less than this. Okay. So these are, this is kind of a lot today. I know it's a little bit of chaos because this is maybe what's going on in your brain. You're feeling the chaos. So I am very glad I went to college because I wanted that structure. needed that structure

and it led me to where I want to be today. Not only because of like, I danced and I got that education, but it's about who you meet along the way, your network, your people, your community. And that is also who shapes you.

So whether you want to go to school or you want to work or wherever you are right now, what you need to do is surround yourself by go-getters, by people who want more in life. Yeah. When I lived in New York City, I worked at this restaurant. It's not there anymore, but it was a wonderful restaurant.

And everybody who worked there were performers. So everybody had big dreams. You know, the restaurant was great. We made great money there, but that wasn't the dream. That was the job in between while we were trying to reach the dream. So it gave us something to talk about,

We would talk about our auditions or new shows coming out and we'd see shows and, that was an empowering place to be. So while people might be like, well, that's just your day job. No, that was an amazing day job for me. I was surrounded by people who were go-getters, dreamers striving for the next best thing while making a fat check. Yes. So that after I made that money, when I

was when I got the job I wanted to, I was able to do what I wanted because I had saved up and was in a comfortable position to be able to make choices, not just based out of necessity, but out of what I truly wanted. So in that New York restaurant, it's what I would call dreamers. And then when I came to Florida, I was working at a lot of different jobs. And then I was like, ⁓ I'll add a restaurant to it too.

I wanted to be able to go to Disney World. So I started working at this restaurant at Disney and I did not experience that the same. Whereas in New York, everybody was in the same pocket. Everybody wanted to be in the next best show. Whereas in Florida, some people were.

content at the restaurant. Some people were still going to school to become like engineers or something. And so the dreams were all over the place

And I just didn't feel that push or that community supporting my dreams as well. And like, I needed that. I need the empowerment around me. And I was looking for that. I was looking for others around me to be inspired, to inspire me so that I could stay engaged and always hoping for the next best thing.

if you're afraid to go to college because you're afraid of student debt, I would get rid of that idea.

There are so many programs and grant programs and scholarships where you can get an education.

And if money is what's holding you back, then you just haven't done enough research

and you kind of have to have a mentality change because education is supposed to be an investment in your future. It is. Like I said, I paid my student loans off at 27. When I was in college, I had $0. I'm telling you $0. I didn't buy anything. I remember the first pair of sneakers that I bought myself. They were a pair of Nike shoes.

And it was definitely like the summer after my freshman year of college, because that's when I had my first like legitimate job where I was making a consistent paycheck. It's okay. It's okay. You don't, it's okay to not have money at 18. Nobody expects you to,

Education is an investment for your future.

Now, there's the other side of it where I know the world has changed in the last five years. And maybe you're like, nope, I'm not going to school. But there are a few good decisions and a few bad decisions. I'm gonna take a year off. I'm gonna take a gap year.

I'm going to take a year off and travel. Okay. When you're 18, you don't have any money to travel. You don't.

And every time I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, please don't do that. by telling yourself you're going to take a gap year, you're, setting yourself up for failure. by saying when I have to wait until I figure out what I'd like before I spend all that money trying to figure it out.

Sure, you don't need to spend four years trying to figure it out, but as soon as you make a decision, it guides you to the next step in your life. Even if you go to school and you're like, whoa, I hate this, ⁓ but I made this friend over here and their parents have this business and I got a job with that business, then going to school wasn't a complete failure.

Right? Because it led you to this next step to meet this person that brought you over here to this dream job at a much younger age than you were hoping

So just taking a gap year is not a choice. Taking a gap year, taking a break from education, no, that's, it's ridiculous because you're never gonna go back. Once you leave school, it's very, very, very challenging to ever get back into it and to continue learning how we learn in school. It's a skill that we have and we kind of get out of it as we get older. So do yourself a favor.

Don't just say, I'm going to take a gap year to figure it out. Like, what are you going to figure out? No, it doesn't work like that.

The next thing I wanna encourage you to do is get a job.

Even if you're like, no, I never want to work for somebody else. I want to be an influencer. My, maybe it's what your parents do. Maybe you already have a huge following, but still go get a job because you'll learn more skills in a faster amount of time than you will over years and years trying to figure it out yourself. And just, just regular jobs. Like I got a cash register learning how to handle money.

And then when you're in those environments, you first of all learn what you like, you learn what you don't like, you learn what you want to do for your future, you also learn what you don't want to do. And those are all important lessons to have while you're making a paycheck. You don't have to, if you get a job, you don't have to spend every single day there. You don't have to work 60 hours a week to learn these lessons, especially if you're going to school. That's ridiculous. You need to prioritize school.

and make just a little bit of money.

Your future is a spiderweb in front of you. It can go any direction and it will go many directions and you'll do some things that you really hate. And then guess what? You can quit and move on. And then you go, okay, well, at least I know I don't like that. Or if you are working at an airport, like maybe you really want to travel and you do that. And the thing is what you do doesn't mean you're, you're sucked into that for your whole entire life.

What I'm doing today is very different than what I was doing seven years ago. They still correlate and they connect and it grows on what I've done in my career, but it's not exactly the same thing.

So stop waiting for the perfect plan. Start where you are. Just start something.

the best thing to do is to put yourself around other people who inspire you. Maybe that's people that are older than you, maybe it's people in a career that you wish you could be a part of, then you need to put yourself in those environments.

I have many of these teaching jobs and as I'm getting older and I get different jobs, then some of those jobs I can pass on to other people and I have. And so who do I pass them on to? A random Facebook post? No.

I passed them on to the people who assisted me, the people who helped me out, the people who I know they're training, who I trust, and they've gotten these amazing jobs at a younger age.

because that's what my mentor did for me. They needed somebody to fill a hole. I was available. I got to teach at this amazing, incredible convention that toured for three weeks when I was 22 years old. I was terrified. I was so nervous, but it started my future. It started my future in competitions and conventions, and it's also started my love for it.

of just from four years earlier being a student to then being the teacher.

the fastest way to know the right answer is to take action. if you're thinking, well, I think next year I might not want to go to school, I might want to work. Go get a job right now and see if that's true. If you don't have a job and you're thinking that's what you want to do next year, go get it now.

Cause you might do that and be like, ugh, I don't want to do this. Or you might love it and it could pivot into something even better for you.

energy is contagious. So is mediocrity. So be careful with that second part. Energy is contagious. So is mediocrity. Yes.

So stop waiting for someone to hand you permission, make a decision, take action, do something, apply for a school, apply for a job. Or if you wanna be an influencer, if that's your goal, then you gotta start today. Make a strategy, make a plan,

you want to be a makeup artist, you can't only watch makeup artist videos, you have to practice yourself. In dance, if you want to be a dancer, you can't just watch how to be dancer videos and expect that to work. Absolutely not. You guys know that because you are dancers or performers. You have to physically do it. And that will take you to the next step.

Surround yourself with dreamers, doers, and people who just make you want to be better.

That's where your future starts.

If you stuck around this long, I have something special for you on my website, www.brittanynoltimier.com/81 the number of this episode. Thank you so much for being here on Dance Colleges and Careers. If you have any questions or a specific topic you want to learn about,

Send it in to me.

It's up to you. Don't wait for clarity. Create it.

Until next time, be brave, tell your story, and own the stage.