quote:What if your son wanted to be a musician? Would you discourage that? The odds are slim and none that he becomes the next Harry Connick Jr. and a multi-millionaire. Suppose that is his ultimate dream. Suppose he falls short of that and winds up as a music teacher who occasionally plays weekend gigs in a wedding band. Suppose that does not lead to a wealthy life-style but one that is completely able to pay for all those real-world things you mention above. Suppose that completely makes him happy. Would you discourage that or should he go into something practical like accounting, engineering, or management - even though his passions drove him otherwise?
I don't make the distinction that the arts are any less practical than the sciences when it comes to making a living. While wealth will make a person more comfortable, it's not a necessity for happiness. There are infinitely more musicians and artists making a living than baseball players. If a dream is tied to wealth, I'd want to certify it a real dream before I continued on. My answer is simply, what makes one happy must be tempered by one's responsibilities and duties. Many times both can exist, but sometimes we have to chose to cope, face the crisis and look for other opportunities for happiness. I guess these days, I'm looking for a little less "me" and a little more "we" in our future leadership.
Swampboy,
quote:I'm really asking if a young man is always better prepared for life by obtaining a degree that makes him initially acceptable to grad schools or hiring managers and whether he might actually learn more from the process to totally committing himself to a goal he probably won't attain. Even in the failure he's likely to encounter, might he not learn more about himself, what he's capable of doing, and what it takes to pursue grand goals than if he just built a resume? Isn't this the difference between making a living and choosing how to live? Between setting your own course and letting others do it for you? Frankly, in the economy our kids might see over the next generation, learning how to operate without a safety net might be the best preparation a young man could have, anyway. (Or is this just my mid-life crisis that I'm projecting on to him?)
I dectect some serious introspection in your words.......All of us have committed ourselves to goals we didn't attain. No matter what your suggestions are to him, he will probably chose to do it his way. Isn't that how it should be anyway?