As a classroom teacher, I spend my days surrounded by students. I get to hear their questions, concerns, interests, frustrations, crushes, new slang, favorite song lyrics — all of it, wafting around me all day like conversational confetti. Listening to them inspired me to create some fictional teens to introduce each section of the magazine in their own voices and offer content relevant to their — and, hopefully, your — lives.

The issue opens with Jamal and Noah, two juniors who are just beginning to seriously consider what their lives might look like after graduation. These friends will help you explore options for college and work while passing on the information they’ve received about personal brands, setting goals and keeping track of it all.

Next, Priya will tell you about her plan to join the armed forces before attending college. She’ll steer you through a chapter on college admissions, financial aid and how to find the right school for you. Her bestie Mateo will step in for the next section, in which he’ll admit to some of his mistakes as well as consider some common challenges and conflicts that we all encounter at some point. He’s got some great life advice for saying “sorry” like you mean it and advocating for yourself.

Finally, Chloe will bring it home with strategies, recipes and reality checks to get you started on adulting like you’ve been doing it forever. Whatever is coming your way in the next couple of years, NEXT has got your back.

Need to know something that we’ve missed? Or got some winning tips and tricks that you’d like to share? Drop us a line at editor@floridanext.com or here at FloridaNEXT.com.

Let’s pull up our sleeves and get to work!