Tuesday, November 09, 2010

what do you want to be when you grow up?

I have watched three of my four children struggle with this question for the past several years. One is in grad school now and she has a pretty good grasp on her career and how to achieve what she wants. Carolyne has always had a plan that is at least five years out and she pretty much sticks to it and modifies when she needs to.

Kelsey and Biz, who are in undergrad are still working on it. Kelsey has narrowed her focus to where she is headed and what she wants to do with her life.(After three years of college I would hope so!) Biz, who just started her first year of college with a fiery passion for music and through music she was going to make a difference! She has begun the painful process of discovering that this passion is not a good fit for a career choice in fact all of her music classes are making her miserable. That would be a pretty good indicator that this is not what she wants to spend the rest of her life doing.
Mohandis Gandhi
 She wants to change the world and all I can think of to say to her is: 
 
"Be the change you want to see in the world"

and

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Gandhi




Whatever path she chooses I will still love her no matter what and I will be proud of her because I know that whatever she chooses she will do it with love and with a fiery passion to make a difference. College is where you discover who you are and what you want. Some people figure it out before they get there and just march right through college and then out into the world. Others need to take a little more time and explore different paths. It took me a little over 40 years to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up and quite a few years in the school of hard knocks. I don't want that for my children I want them to find a career that they love because then they will never have to work a day in their life.