Consider this : you are already who you are going to be
One springtime afternoon, when my son was in 7th grade, the guidance counselors visited his 6th period class. He was not at all prepared for what they asked him to do.
He came home very sullen and with a backpack full of career choices. There were at least four different booklets with small print describing every job you could possibly imagine. Nuclear Physicist. Landscape Architect. Urinal Attendant.
“It’s time.”
“For what?”
“The guidance counselors came in today and told us it’s time to decide what we are going to be. They are coming back tomorrow for answers.”
He spread out all of the materials. Pet Food Tester. Teacher. Nurse. Mechanic. “Am I ‘geared toward the helping professions’? Do I need a structured work environment? Would I do best working outdoors? Am I a ‘people person’? Do they want me to think about what I like to do now when I am twelve or later when I have to work?”
For a kid who was not once overwhelmed with his homework assignments (he just never did them) this one seemed to be very different. He sat at the kitchen table for a long time.
It was nearly impossible to wake him up the next morning. I truly believe that he was awake all night pouring over all of his career options–looking at his Ninja Turtle alarm clock and thinking, “It’s 3:47 in the morning and I still don’t have this figured out!”
“You okay, babe?”
“Yeah. I’ve got it. I figured out what I want to be when I grow up”.
“You have”?
With his braces FULL of powered sugar donuts he said, “Dunk tank clown.”
“Is that seasonal work?”
“Probably. During the colder months I want to be the innocent guy in police lineups.”
And then he left for school. And he was fine. I was fine. We both knew what he was going to be when he grew up. He was going to be Buddy. Funny, smart, creative Buddy.
You, too, are already who you are going to be. Funny, smart, beautiful, talented, thoughtful, creative. Just be Emma.
I am gathering wisdom from the far corners of the earth to give my older daughter, Emma, as she graduates from high school. What would you say to her? Or to your own 17-year-old self? What thoughts would you ask her to consider? You can submit your advice (instructions here) and 37 of those will be posted over the next 37 days, one each day, culminating in a free e-book of all the submissions after her graduation on June 14th.
