If I Wasn't Doing What I'm Doing Right Now...
A lot of my coffees with teenagers involve them figuring out who they are. Somebody told them they have to have these kinds of things figured out by the time they're 18 so they can make the proper choice of college so they can get trained & prepared for the next 60 years of their lives. I don't have the heart to tell them that they're actually going to be figuring out who they are for the next 60 years of their lives and really all they can do at this point is make an educated guess and hope for the best.
Of course, that's really what we grown-ups are doing, too.
But, they seem to think it's important and I don't dismiss it. It's age-appropriate stress. So, we talk about it and they let me overpay for hot water flavored with ground beans and various milk-based product. In return, I ask them lots of questions and listen. They make certain deductions on their own and get happy with their choices and it alleviates the pressure and then they tell me how wise I am and what a great friend I am. I don't have the heart to tell them they figured it out all on their own...let's let that be our little secret, okay?
But that's how it works.
Recently, one of the teens turned the tables on me with this little phrase: "If you weren't doing what you're doing now, what do you think you'd be doing for a living?"
Hmmm. I thought for a minute. I'm okay with awkward silences. Sometimes I even try to create them for my own amusement...but this one was genuine.
And, you know...I think I wouldn't be doing too much terribly different.
I could see myself working at some Christian college or seminary as a professor of youth ministry. That might be what I want to do when (if?) I grow up.
Maybe writing books--but you have to do something else to support your habit.
But I honestly think that if I couldn't do what I was doing now and was going back to university knowing what I know about myself...
I think I'd get a double major in education and English. And I'd have tried to get a job as a high school teacher teaching senior English (Literature) and creative writing. Maybe assisant coaching one of the baseball teams. And, if it were a private high school, teaching Bible, too. Or for sure volunteering at my church teaching a high school guys' Bible study.
So, mine wouldn't be too terribly different. Would yours?
A lot of my coffees with teenagers involve them figuring out who they are. Somebody told them they have to have these kinds of things figured out by the time they're 18 so they can make the proper choice of college so they can get trained & prepared for the next 60 years of their lives. I don't have the heart to tell them that they're actually going to be figuring out who they are for the next 60 years of their lives and really all they can do at this point is make an educated guess and hope for the best.
Of course, that's really what we grown-ups are doing, too.
But, they seem to think it's important and I don't dismiss it. It's age-appropriate stress. So, we talk about it and they let me overpay for hot water flavored with ground beans and various milk-based product. In return, I ask them lots of questions and listen. They make certain deductions on their own and get happy with their choices and it alleviates the pressure and then they tell me how wise I am and what a great friend I am. I don't have the heart to tell them they figured it out all on their own...let's let that be our little secret, okay?
But that's how it works.
Recently, one of the teens turned the tables on me with this little phrase: "If you weren't doing what you're doing now, what do you think you'd be doing for a living?"
Hmmm. I thought for a minute. I'm okay with awkward silences. Sometimes I even try to create them for my own amusement...but this one was genuine.
And, you know...I think I wouldn't be doing too much terribly different.
I could see myself working at some Christian college or seminary as a professor of youth ministry. That might be what I want to do when (if?) I grow up.
Maybe writing books--but you have to do something else to support your habit.
But I honestly think that if I couldn't do what I was doing now and was going back to university knowing what I know about myself...
I think I'd get a double major in education and English. And I'd have tried to get a job as a high school teacher teaching senior English (Literature) and creative writing. Maybe assisant coaching one of the baseball teams. And, if it were a private high school, teaching Bible, too. Or for sure volunteering at my church teaching a high school guys' Bible study.
So, mine wouldn't be too terribly different. Would yours?
.jpg){kind=avatar}
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home