Midway through his first semester in college, my nephew has decided that the academic scene just isn't for him; at least, not right now.
He needs time to clear his head, and I support him completely. I know he's in for a veritable shitstorm of awkward questions and snide remarks from friends pretending to have their lives completely together. Still, he made a brave choice to pack it in before he wasted any more time or money, and, being a talented kid with a solid base of support, he'll be just fine, wherever he ends up.
Thinking about my friends and family--more specifically, thinking about where they were when they were 19 years old--he's on familiar ground. I can't think of a single individual I know who is now doing what they were or even what they were thinking about doing at that age.
Case in point: when I was his age, I was in my second year of astronaut training. I was convinced that I was going to be the first man on Mars-an opinion shared by most of upper management at NASA. I was on the aeronautic fast track until the fateful day I went to Alpine Valley and saw the Grateful Dead. The next morning, I turned in my flightsuit for tie-dye and sandals. In one long jam, I had gone from the next Buzz Aldrin to the next Perpetually Buzzed. Blame it on Garcia.
And looking back, do I regret my decision? Hell no. I mean, are we any closer to landing on Mars?
Didn't think so.
So there you go. The kid will be allright. As George Harrison said shortly before shuffling off this mortal coil, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there."
Hare Krishna.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have always figured that most kids lose a year or two somewhere. Better in the beginning of college years than, say, at 35 or 40 when responsibilities are more and anxiety higher.
ReplyDelete