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Teen to Teen
Talk: Being Practical
by Elizabeth Horner
My dad has never made a particular secret of the fact that he wants me
to be a lawyer or a business-woman. I’ll call him up on the phone, as I
do every week, talking about my American Literature class, and after
I’ve finished my ten-minute long speech, he’ll say, “Why don’t you talk
to some people about taking a business class. You know, you have to ask
questions early or the opportunity will just slip away from you”.
Thanks, Dad. Real supportive!
In reality, though, I know that’s exactly what he is trying to do: he,
like many parents out there, is just concerned about his child’s
future, and wants me to be practical in my choice of degree. What he
has never understood is that I worry about what happens after
graduation, too. The confidence I communicate to him about my prospects
is a lot of times, a farce; after all, how am I supposed to know for
sure if I’m going to be able to find employment right away. 7.3% of the
population is unemployed, and I can’t guarantee myself that I won’t be
one of them nor could I if I went to med-school. The world is an
uncertain place.
With that in mind, may I put my two cents? Parents: understand
that a child is going to be most successful when they are pursuing
something that they are passionate about. Even if the statistics are
not always behind their position, if they want it, they will be willing
to put more effort into their classes, into their applications; they’ll
be willing to move where they can find a job they like, and otherwise,
do anything it takes to prove you and the world wrong. At some point,
you were just like them. And even if you chose something more
practical, time has probably proven that even the safe jobs do not
always remain so.
To the teens and twenty-something: there is something so incredibly
tempting about college. It’s not like high school where almost every
class is mandated; you have your choice of major, you have your choice
of minor, of electives. If you managed to get some AP credits, you
probably don’t even have a science, language, or math requirement to
meet. And yet, that low hanging fruit might stop you from looking to
the better fruit higher up the branch. You don’t want to use these four
years goofing off, but making the next fifty years after graduation
easier.
So, here’s what I suggest: go after the major that you want, without
guilt, without reservations, but also without any mistaken ideas that
your choice won’t affect how your life plays out. When it comes to your
electives, however, I think we can all afford to play things a little
smart. I, personally, am not particularly good at language or
computers, and yet I’m planning to take a computer programming class
during my junior year for the express purpose of making myself more
appealing to publishing houses, when I send in my application. In
short, know the industry you plan on going into, and build your
schedule, not around the minimum requirements for that kind of job, but
around being an ideal candidate for that position. With the rising cost
of college, each one of us owes it to ourselves to get the most value
out of our experiences there.
I’ve heard people claim that college was the best time of their life,
and that has always made me really sad. Because, to me, college should
not be such a separate experience from the “real world”, just our
introduction to it, a chance to work on the balance between fun and
practicality that our adult lives will be about. Of course, we may
choose to make our time lop-sided, to throw all our cards out on the
table in one go, but I think, in the long run, we’re all happier
knowing that our most precious, high-flying dreams have something
comfortable to fall back on.
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