Today, I was explaining to my six year old grandson that my 18 year old was about to leave for college. My grandson wasn't quite sure the purpose of college so trying to explain it simply I told him it is where you go to learn about what you are going to be and what you will do when you grow up. Of course, in is six year old logic the response I got was :
"Why do you have to decide what you are going to be anyway? Why can't you just be yourself."
Putting aside all the ancillary reasons of
Years ago when I was very ill and uncertain about what future was ahead for me, I wrote letters to my three young boys. I wanted to make sure if I wasn't around they would have some reminder of their mother and my hopes for their lives. As I heard my grandsons proclamation today, it reminded me of one of the things I wrote to each boy under "advice from mom". I wrote:
"Choose a profession or a job you enjoy. Don't let the worries of the working world succumb your every moment. Find happiness in what you chose to do".
In my own grown up way, I think I was actually trying to relay the same thing to my boys that the simple mind of a six year old was inquiring about.
By the time I had written these letters, I had been in the working world for about 20 years and was in the mid part of my
I sometimes revisit my own choice of field of study. I can say with some certainty that if I had followed my own advice (or knew what that advice was going to be) I would have most likely walked a different path. But way back then I was coming from a very small town and it was a new age of women beginning to enter the workforce. So some of the choices were directed by our instructors.
Well.....what is done is done. I continue to tell my son to "search" for the type of work he would enjoy and then follow that line of study. Whether that can really happen or not, who knows. My older two boys are out of school now and in the workforce. We will see if they are able to find their end dream someday. Have you found yours?
By Lynn Fountain, CGMA, CRMA, MBA