Make Good Choices

My oldest is slowly but surely starting to narrow down his college search. He's still got another year before he has to get really serious about it, but he's my oldest and tends to be really serious about almost everything almost all the time.

My attempts to help haven't been met with enthusiasm by my son, the Lovely Bride, or his grandmother.

"Why would you suggest Bob Jones University?" my mother asked.

"I thought maybe he could get a minority student scholarship," I said.

"We're hardly an underrepresented demographic in higher education," she said.

"I bet we are at Bob Jones," I replied.

No matter, it's not on his list. So far he's identified a school in the South, another in the West, and a third in the Midwest as places he'd like to visit. They're all good schools, very different but well ranked in the field that's interested him almost as long as I can remember.

He reminds me of my best childhood friend N., who had a dream that someday he'd be an accountant. Sure enough, that's what he became, and while his actual job has shifted a bit over time, being a CPA led him into the job he currently has and loves. Not my cup of tea, but it works for him. So there you go.

My own college career was a little more checkered. Small college, large university, small state schools, grad school, with military service and work thrown into the mix. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to be. I'm not sure I'd follow the same path if I could do it over. But, I like what I do well enough, it gives me the free time and security and flexibility I want, and it puts a roof over our heads. So, again, there you go.

I have no idea why my son wants to do what he wants to do. Honestly, I don't care. If that's what he wants, have at it. He's got things sketched out, undergrad, then grad school, then a career. Maybe he'll love it, maybe he won't, but it's his dream, not mine, and he deserves a shot at it. We'll visit some schools, he'll make his choice, and the Lovely Bride and I will do what we can to make it work. And some day not long from now, there he'll go.