Dear High School Juniors and Seniors,
I know at Thanksgiving and Christmas or other major
family gatherings you are always asked the dreaded question of, “What are you going
to be when you grow up.” The thing is you and I both know you already know what
you want to be. But when you start responding to their question of what you
want to be, they tell you, you can’t be that.
See you know what makes you happy, you know what you
would enjoy doing for the rest of your life. It is usually something you are
very passionate about and would love to do for the rest of your life. But in
society today, that is not enough. You have to have the highest pay, or you
have to be the most successful.
I want to be
a kindergarten teacher, but every time I tell my family that I always get the
speech of I will never be able to afford anything and I will be broke for the
rest of my life. My identical twin sister on the other hand, is going to school
to become a nurse. She is the family’s favorite. All I get told is, “I better
make sure I marry someone rich”. But money isn’t the reason you should go into
a certain occupation. The love and passion for what you do is why you should go
into a profession.You want to wake up every morning and enjoy going
to work. Why would you want to be miserable doing something you don’t want to
do every day. I enjoy working with children and teaching them from the beginning. I want to teach because "to teach is to touch a life forever." So I am going to follow my dreams and become a kindergarten teacher regardless of what my family says or thinks because that is what makes me happy.
If you want to travel, travel. If you want to be a
musician, do it. As you apply to college just remember it is your life and you
should do what makes you happy. When you are young it is the time to experiment
and find out who you really are. Enjoy your life and be happy. Follow your
dreams and don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t be in life.
Sincerely,
The Future Kindergarten Teacher
I completely agree with your blog and I think this is very relevant especially around Thanksgiving. There is the notion that Thanksgiving is all warm hugs and smiles--however, some people feel enormous pressure around the holidays, and this pressure often stems from their family members. I am in the same boat as you. I come from a family of scientists, doctors, and lawyers. I am a Comm. Arts major here at FSU and many of my family members do not understand the job possibilities that are associated with my major. I have tried to avoid their comments but it can be very hard not to take them to heart.
ReplyDeleteMoney can't buy happiness, but lack of money pretty much ensures a lack of happiness.
ReplyDeleteInstead of striving to reach a goal (being rich, touching a life forever), consider focusing on
establishing a system.
I also want to be a kindergarten teacher in the future so I absolutely agree with you. Often times I do not want to go home for the holidays because I know that my whole family will be asking about my future plans. I remember when I was applying to colleges everyone was trying to get me to major in something other than education because three out of my twenty cousins where education majors. It amazes me that the people who are supposed to be the most supportive of you are often the ones who disagree with everything that you want to do in life.
ReplyDeleteBeing an education major myself, I totally agree with what you are saying! Following your dreams and doing something you love is what matters! When you do something you love, you will make the money you need to survive doing what you are doing. There may not be a big house, nice car or a lot of money in your bank account but you will feel good about yourself. Money should not be the end all be all. Being a teacher, touching a life forever is a system. It is what pushes great teachers to do the best they can everyday for something they truly believe in . I think it is very important to teach children to never give up on their dreams.
ReplyDeleteHow many graduates get to become kindergarten teachers, and how many end up teaching fifth graders?
ReplyDelete