Hey there!
I joined this forum to hopefully talk to a few seasoned veterans of herpetology about some questions I had! First, some background, I am a rising sophomore in high school, have owned numerous pets in the past, including Mammals, Fish, and one Reptile (Will elaborate later), and I am very interested in getting a snake! I've done a TON of research, and I think ball pythons are a good place to start for me when it comes to snakes, but I am worried about some things!
First of all, I plan on going to college after im finished with high school in a few years, and I fear that bringing a snake would be a burden for me and a lot stress for the snake. Has anyone here had good/bad experiences with school life + a snake? And, to add to that, should I wait until i'm done with college/ High school to get my first snake? I come from a well off family, so money isn't an object as long as I live in my family home, but what happens when I move out?
My first and latest reptile owning experience was a Lavender Leopard gecko, but probably is the root of my anxiety for most of these questions. I loved my Gecko very much, and had a great time interacting with her, but she probably didn't come from the most reliable source (I bought her at Petsmart when I was very young) and from her first shed she had pretty big problems. Long story short, tons of vet appointments and home treatments that were visibly very uncomfortable for her kinda makes me scared about getting a snake and having it get sick under my care. How can I make sure if or when I buy a snake that it is healthy and will be as healthy as snake-ly possible in the long run? This is not to say I couldn't take care of a snake with health problems, I understand that they happen sometimes and you have to take it in stride.
Finally, I know I love animals and would never acquire one without being relatively assured I could take care of it to the best of my abilities, but I have this fear of having to give away an animal to a rescue or sell it because I couldn't handle it our my parents (for whatever reason) would not let me keep it. I know that a snake, especially ball python, will live for a long time, and I would never want to jeopardize my snake's long and happy life with me like that, is there any way can do a trial run of sorts? Im not planing on breeding reptiles, i just want one as a companion, so should I perhaps buy an older adult/ acquire a rescue first before I commit to a young snake?\\

If you managed to make if through that, thank you, and if you can answer any of these, thank you even more! I hope you have a great day!