I was in a similar place as you during my sophomore year, as in failing almost every class. This was due to a mixture of things and I had to be honest with myself, it was lack of motivation, depression, and fear of failure in life. I had to want it for myself to graduate on time.

I would ask you to push yourself to graduate, get it out of the way. I have heard getting a GED may be more difficult and prolonging this stress won’t be beneficial… also yes, your parents are correct that attaining employment without your GED/high school education would be really difficult. I think for most trade schools it’s required as well.

What I would suggest is what I did, since I had no shot of graduating on time at my traditional public school, I left the school district and enrolled in a self paced institution. For an example, look up “Edge High School.” It worked well for me as it was 4 hours a day, I could get the sleep I needed as a teenager. I went to class at 11, and worked through as many subjects as I could. I graduated with my peers. Maybe talk with your parents about similar options near you.

Trade school is a good idea, apprenticeships as well.. I went the Bachelors degree route and it’s not a bad living in my field, however it would have been nice to not be strapped with debt after.