Skip to main content

career counseling

The other night I met with one of my old favorite students.
She was smart and funny and played soccer and liked good music and was a complete smart ass.
How could I not like her?

I could see a little bit of me in her.
And some of the rocky she was traveling down and not talking about.
I knew.
Because I’d been down my own paths.
It when you look at someone and see them going where you have already been,
You can’t help but want to go a little ways with them.
And ease the burden a bit.

Neither of us are really sappy like that.
So mostly we just talked about music and soccer….but we would occasionally venture into heavier topics like parents and love and worth.

And now she is a little bit more grown up, but finding herself on a less rocky but narrowing path…
So I took her out for some “career counseling”.
And I ate her chips and sucked on my drink and tried to make her think about her future.
And question where she is and where she wants to be and who she wants to bring with her.
And I kept telling her to leave. (not the table, just the town).
For a little while.
Because it is so hard to figure who you are in the same context you have always been in.

But she has good people with her and she doesn’t want to go anywhere.
And maybe that’s ok too.
Maybe lots of people (or even just one or two) can make that rocky path a little smoother. As long as they are willing to walk forward with you.

And we laughed and ate more chips and she suggested maybe that I should be taking some of my own advice.
Because I have been on this same path for a while.
And it is not a bad one. Hardly rocky at all.
But sometimes I wonder if I could hack it in a different direction.

All I know is that no matter what road I’m on….
My people are coming with me.

Comments

Those moments where the student unexpectedly becomes the teacher are pretty unique.
This left me nodding in agreement :)

Popular posts from this blog

Either/Or

Recently I met an old friend for lunch. He was actually my senior high prom date. He wasn’t just my prom date, but had been my friend for a good part of high school. And our group has mostly stayed in touch through the years. But not him. Even though we live in the same big metroplex, I hadn’t seen him in almost 15 years. At prom, He even won some kind of senior superlative, Mr. BHS or something like that. In other words, he was well-liked, nice, funny and smart. And it helped that he drove a Camero. We didn’t break up or have a falling out. He kind of just disappeared. And not just from me, but from everyone. And I had looked for him. At class reunions. On myspace. And eventually, only about a year ago, he finally showed up on facebook. When he did, I suggested we get together for dinner or something. And he responded with a really awkward email. Explaining that he was gay. Warning me. Trying to let me out of my dinner invitation if I wanted. And I already knew this. Possibly I had ev

me too

I used to never question God. It was just part of the way things were. Just like I believed in Santa and the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. And eventually I grew up and started to wonder. I always believed, But occasionally I started to wonder if he was always good. If he really loved me. Singular me rather than an all inclusive version. That he was paying attention. That my prayers mattered.` And I didn’t know that I should play by the rules. That questioning these outloud things in a Bible study or Sunday School class Will get you bumped to the top of the prayer list. Because I know. But sometimes I wonder. And I didn’t need their scripture memory verses or their books or their prayers. (but I guess prayers never hurt) And I was just hoping for someone else to say “me too”. And, Jason Boyett’s book, O Me of Little Faith Is one great big “me too” And like most books I like he asks a whole lot more questions than he answers. Hard ones. Ones without real answers. Ones that make me wa

imaginary friends

Recently I had a friend disappoint me. I didn’t tell them. And I didn’t write about it when it happened. Instead I seethed a little and got angrier and slightly resentful and finally dumped it on my husband. (who had some great advice that will come later) And. I have hesitated to write this piece because a lot of my real life friends read this. Maybe even the one I’m writing about. Maybe not. Actually I’m not really sure. And to be honest the best pace to work this out would be with them. Just them. And not on line. But. It’s not really about them. It’s more about me. And I don’t think there is so much to work out anyways. So, if you are my real life friend and are reading this and wondering, hesitantly or fearfully if this is about you. It might be. But it probably isn’t. And again. Even if it is. It’s not REALLY about you. And if it isn’t. It could be. If we have been friends for more than five minutes, we have probably had a moment like this. So, back to me venting to my husband.