Alright, I'm 14 years old, attending high school in Oregon, turning 15 on the 23rd of January. Because of certain issues, I did not do so well in grades 4-7. Right now I'm at a C average. Will I have to raise my grade average any? And because of financial issues, there is very little chance I'll be able to afford college. Will it impact my chances negatively if I don't attend?

I'm a good kid - I have not gotten into any trouble with the law, except in July of 2007 when a friend of mine pranked 911 at a skating rink when he was bored. Me, being the honest one, told the truth that he did it, and I had to go to the court office and was interrogated, I guess, by someone, on it. Sorry I cannot elaborate more, I don't remember much from it. I did not have to pay fines, attend classes, or anything, but I believe I'll have to get my record expunged at 18. Other than that, I have not done anything else.

The city police force is not recruiting, but the Sheriff's Office is. The county criminal deputy position sounds appealing, as it's the same as a city police officer, except working for the whole county, right?

I have never smoked in my life, but my mother smokes around me. If this continues until I'm 21, will I be able to work around it? I do minor exercise, I'm not a football player or anything like that though.

Finally, do departments discriminate based on sexuality? I've heard that they do on things such as being bipolar, but I would like to know if it will impact my chances because I'm gay. I read an article that sometimes it takes heavy mental and emotional tolls for gay police officers to stay closeted, so being out as early as possible is what I would aim for.

So yeah, that's pretty much it. I work well with others and my language and grammar skills are high, I read at a college level.

Thanks for reading, I'm eager to hear your responses and I'm planning on doing a lot more research in the future.

You might not have to, but you should raise your grades as much as you can. Don't sell yourself short about college. Community colleges are inexpensive, and there are still loans and grants out there. It could impact your chances if you don't attend. It depends.

If you're telling the truth, I wouldn't worry much about the prank call. Continue to keep out of trouble!

City and county law enforcement officers do basically the same things in many areas.

Stay away from your mother when she smokes. Start working out more!

Sure, departments consist of individuals, and individuals sometimes discriminate. Personally, if I were you, I would stay in the closet!

Good luck!

Join the National Guard and become a MP. You will have a great chance at becoming a police officer.

I don't know any openly gay police officers!

Dude, don't do it!!!!