Questions about requirements to become a Registered Nurse

I am in a private school and i'm hoping to finish up the required work for the highschool diploma in about a year, I might be able to take a CNA class at my local adult education center but is it required to become an RN? I'm also planning to move a few states away once I turn 18. Could this cause problems with licensing? I've heard of going from one status to the next and working as one untill you have the requirements for another like CNA to LPN (LVN) to RN then MA and Ph.D Would you recommend this or just going straight through to the RN?