July 22, 2007 09:19 AM
What Kind of Future Do Teens Want?
I was reading a review on Salon.com the other day, about Daniel Brook's new book, "The Trap".
According to Salon,
Daniel Brook's new book argues that 20-somethings are forced to choose between living by their ideals or making a living.
Well the book seems to be more about activism, but I started pondering the idea of teens and their future plans. I am the mother of a 17-year-old, and I have many friends who also have kids who are either in late high school or in college or trade school. For a few years, my daughter has been considering a career in education. Since she is now a senior in high school, many people ask about her future plans, and when she tells them she might like to be a teacher, she often is met with this: "Oh, there's just NO MONEY in being a teacher!" Usually she doesn't respond, but sometimes me and my big mouth will chime in "I imagine a career in education is rewarding in other ways" or sometimes even "well we just want her to be happy. How happy are you in your job?" if I don't like the person very much.
The truth is, I can't even count how many people I know, around my age or older, who are absolutely miserable in their jobs. And many of these folks, by society's standards, are quite financially successful. Not that you can't be both happy and successful, but I think many people in my generation--remember yuppies and D.I.N.K.s?--went for the big money jobs, and some let their dreams slip away because they were just too damn scared they couldn't pay the rent. At my old job at a very large corporation, the big joke was that everyone was well-paid but was also either in therapy or divorced or both. But it really wasn't a joke, it was the truth. And in quiet conversations, some of my co-workers would reveal that their jobs were killing them, but they couldn't quit because they had a mortgage/kids in college/needed the health insurance/etc.
I've been talking to lots of teens lately, because there are usually a few at my house every day, and life-after-high-school is on all their minds. And what I'm hearing from them is that they want to be happy--not like their parents, not necessarily driving Hummers, but happy. What a lovely sentiment.
