These Celebrities Empowered Themselves When They Dropped Out Of High School

Studies show that a student drops out of high school every 26 seconds. That’s the same as 7,000 a day. From those dropouts, few have the tools to thrive in life without proper education. On the flip side, you have people who dropped out but went to have successful careers. Read ahead and learn how stars like Johnny Depp and Cameron Diaz didn’t finish high school and chased their dreams instead. Some of these names will surprise you.

Reeves Didn’t Fit In

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The Matrix star Keanu Reeves bounced around from city to city many times as a teen. He went to four different schools over five years. His last stop was at Etobicoke School of the Arts. He ended up getting expelled when he was 16.

He said, “It was a very small school and I guess I didn’t fit in. I had conflicts and run-ins with the staff. The principal and I didn’t see eye to eye.” He also said he couldn’t stop asking questions even if it got him in trouble. Luckily, Reeves had already begun acting, since he was nine. He pursued acting full-time once he left school.