I was in the break room at work yesterday reading, and I overheard our coding manager talking to one of my coworkers. Both the coding manager and my coworker are women in their mid-40's with kids headed to college. My coworker mentioned to the coding manager that her daughter would be touring some colleges in the next few months, and they struck up a conversation on the costs of college, and the ideas their daughters have about college/life after college. This was their conversation:
Coding Manager: What schools is Katy touring?
Coworker: Oh, she's going to check out NYU, Columbia, and UCLA.
Coding Manager: Wow! That's great! Columbia's pretty pricey, huh?
Coworker: Yes, and Katy wants to be an actress. She is insistent on majoring in acting/theatre.Her father is whole-heartedly encouraging her, while I'm telling her to work out a plan B immediately! I am not wasting all that money on an acting major so she can end up a waitress!
Coding Manager: AHAHAHAHA! An actress?! Let me guess, she doesn't care about money, she just wants to be happy?
Coworker: Yes! Exactly! *shaking her head*
Coding Manager: She'll change her tune REAL QUICK! Make sure she gets that back up plan worked out! Try to encourage her to go into business or health care. Isn't it so silly that young people don't understand the real world? I told my daughter she has two choices if we're sending her to undergrad: pre-med, or pre-law.
At this point, I was starting to get uncomfortable, and a little afraid that I'd speak up, so I left the room.
My coworker and her husband can afford to send their daughter to Columbia. That is fantastic! It's great that they've planned and set aside money to send their daughter to college. And I totally understand having a plan B, because it's obviously EXTREMELY hard to make it in the biz, but I certainly don't understand why you wouldn't encourage your children to go after what makes them happy in life? ESPECIALLY if they can attend college on your dime, without taking out loans that would put them deeply in debt?
We get one shot at life. Shouldn't we spend it doing things that make us happy?
I just think it'd be a really sad world if no one tried to follow their dreams.
I made a promise to myself in the break room yesterday. If I am lucky enough to have a child headed to college one day, I will tell him/her to major in what makes him/her come alive, whether it is music, social work, acting, or underwater welding, I want to encourage him/her to follow that passion. We only get one life. Might as well enjoy it.
Coding Manager: What schools is Katy touring?
Coworker: Oh, she's going to check out NYU, Columbia, and UCLA.
Coding Manager: Wow! That's great! Columbia's pretty pricey, huh?
Coworker: Yes, and Katy wants to be an actress. She is insistent on majoring in acting/theatre.Her father is whole-heartedly encouraging her, while I'm telling her to work out a plan B immediately! I am not wasting all that money on an acting major so she can end up a waitress!
Coding Manager: AHAHAHAHA! An actress?! Let me guess, she doesn't care about money, she just wants to be happy?
Coworker: Yes! Exactly! *shaking her head*
Coding Manager: She'll change her tune REAL QUICK! Make sure she gets that back up plan worked out! Try to encourage her to go into business or health care. Isn't it so silly that young people don't understand the real world? I told my daughter she has two choices if we're sending her to undergrad: pre-med, or pre-law.
At this point, I was starting to get uncomfortable, and a little afraid that I'd speak up, so I left the room.
My coworker and her husband can afford to send their daughter to Columbia. That is fantastic! It's great that they've planned and set aside money to send their daughter to college. And I totally understand having a plan B, because it's obviously EXTREMELY hard to make it in the biz, but I certainly don't understand why you wouldn't encourage your children to go after what makes them happy in life? ESPECIALLY if they can attend college on your dime, without taking out loans that would put them deeply in debt?
We get one shot at life. Shouldn't we spend it doing things that make us happy?
I just think it'd be a really sad world if no one tried to follow their dreams.
I made a promise to myself in the break room yesterday. If I am lucky enough to have a child headed to college one day, I will tell him/her to major in what makes him/her come alive, whether it is music, social work, acting, or underwater welding, I want to encourage him/her to follow that passion. We only get one life. Might as well enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment