"why should i even graduate?"

I just did a term paper on high school dropouts in one of my courses and I saw a lot of statistics that I knew were somewhat true, but are still sad. Dropouts are much less satisfied with their jobs than those who graduate. Dropouts make, on average, drastically less money than do their counterparts. Dropouts can, without intending to, cause their children to dropout for various reasons, including economic status, the dropout's aspirations for his children, the children's aspirations for themselves, etc.

I'm not saying that if you drop out you have no chance at a future. However, I am saying that if you drop out, your chances of being successful are slim, even if you can sing well or are a great pianist or something. Chances are, you will live your life in regret and you will have a lot of hardships to overcome. And if you have children, they too will have hardships. Please, for your own wellbeing, don't drop out of school.

I can think of a few reasons I wouldn't want to work at McDonald's:

1) It's not challenging. Mind numbing, repetitive work is corrosive to the soul. It is to me, anyway.

2) Little to no job security. Unskilled workers are easily replaced by other workers or even by robots.

3) Little respect. People respect you more if you have a high-status job.

4) Instead of helping people get fat, why not do a job that makes the world a better place?

5) What happens when you get old and can't work? No way McDonald's has a decent retirement plan...

6) Little power. If you don't have money you end up getting pushed around by people who do have it.

7) Think of your country. What are we going to do if someone declares war on us and all of our citizens are unskilled idiots?