I give my children different career advice that my parents gave me

• My parents told me to study something that would pay enough to support me.
• No one told me to choose a job I couldn’t live.
• I appreciate the advice they gave me, but I want to encourage my children to follow their passions.

Recently, my 13 -year -old creative child told me that he wanted to be a screenwriter and television director. When he was younger, he entertained the idea of ​​becoming a doctor like his father or specializing in finance and working with actions.

“These ideas sounded very well for a while, but I can’t stop thinking about it,” he said with a flicker in his eyes. He has mentioned it for some time, but after watching “The Office” – a favorite program of me and my husband that I let her look despite the raw humor – he was sure it should have been TO DO.

And who am I to tell him that he can’t?

I give my children different career advice from what I got

While we were talking about his aspirations, he asked, “Do you think I have what it takes?” Suddenly, I heard the voices of each adult of my childhood: “Writing is a hobby, not a career. It will not pay the bills.”

I told him that he was very creative and thought he had what it took to succeed. It was the truth. But there was more to my answer than to simply persuade him to put all his efforts in this dream.

When I came time for me to apply to university, my parents gave me two advice: choose a career that pays you enough to support yourself and the one who will always have job offers.

It was constructive advice – and I will transmit this wisdom to my own children – but maybe they missed a little detail.

At the time, I knew that English and science were the two subjects that interested me the most. I also liked to work with children, and the idea of ​​working in a school appealed to me. So when my mother suggested speech therapy as a potential career, it seemed to be a perfect adjustment. There was an increase in jobs for speech therapists (SLP) in 2001, when I started university and I signed up in the course that introduced the major.

I loved writing, but no one said to me: “Choose the work you can’t live.” That was the advice I never received. And so, I let the writing escape in the dust of my childhood.

I had a parent by living with a chronic disease

After obtaining my master’s degree, I worked in the field as SLP in a primary school for a few years until the birth of my son. It was not difficult to say goodbye to a busy workload and endless documents, but I finally failed to feel like a professional.

Related stories

Instead of khakis and a blouse, I wore pajamas or leggings during a good day. I was mom – And a woman looking for a diagnosis that I finally discovered was multiple sclerosis – and life was now filled with many first, both wonderful kindergarten and the first frightening of the disease.

I intended to go back to work when my younger son was in a day school, but between mothering and life with chronic illness, my inner creativity won.

I started writing again

I started slowly. At the beginning, I just wanted to connect with others who also lived with an unmatched disease. When I finally received my diagnosis, I hoped to be a defender of those who remained unmatched as well as the MS community, then I continued to write with these objectives in mind. But, later, as my publications widen, I wanted to diversify – write on parenting, the policy that had an impact on the life of my family and what I thought of the recent episode of My favorite television show. I wanted to write everything.

Without a diploma in journalism, I had a lot of homework to do. I joined the groups of writers on social networks and I read how to send editor -in -chief fields that are noticed. Over time, I got used to the radio silence and the discharges of the publishers. Lots of searches behind the scenes finally allowed me to put my foot in the door. But it was not easy.

On a whim, I sent an email to an editor in a publication that I sucked in to see my name. Like any enthusiastic creator with a goal, I sent a draft of a test on which I worked. He was rejected. The same day.

Five years later, I won my first test in this publication. Often, I wonder how I found success in an industry in which so little happen. Then, I remember having written gives me the sparkle that I see in the eyes of my son when he speaks of scripting – that is why I think he also has what it takes.

I am grateful to have a diploma on which to fall back if necessary

My parents gave me good advice before going to university. I do not break the bank as an independent writer. But, because of their advice, I have a diploma on which I need it if I need it, and I will never regret having this safety net.

I believe that there is more to transmit to children than to choose a career only according to the remuneration and the availability of employment. Like any parent, I want my children to live comfortably and with employment safety, but I also want them to pursue the career they cannot live in – because it is life. If my children’s eyes light up when they talk about a career with a low success rate, I urge them to follow their dreams with an alternative plan in place.

I am honest with my son on the way few writers succeed, but I also advise him to pursue what he cannot live because I want him to wake up every day knowing what it does to love this that you do. Having a plan B is the key.

“A hobby can Be a career. “And with these words, I gave my son the hope that I have never received.