What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up???

    It was probably the middle of the first semester of my freshman year in high school. The year was 1960. It was my very first meeting with my high school guidance counselor. After sitting down in the guidance office and waiting for several minutes, I was ushered into his office. Even before sitting down his first question to me was…” So, are you a German immigrant?”

   It was a puzzling question. I had not uttered a word yet. No one had ever asked me that before. Why would he ask such a question? I didn’t speak German. I spoke English.

   Asking him why the question, he responded by saying that he thought because my last name sounded German, perhaps I was a new immigrant into the United States. Well, no!

   After a few more questions, he got down to the purpose of this meeting and as most high school guidance counselors ask students and help plan and select courses for the coming years, … “What do you want to be after you graduate from high school? And like most other high school freshmen probably answer…” I don’t know yet. I know I want to go to college and take a lot of different classes.”

   His response caused me to sit back in my chair and become very quiet for a moment. “I am not sure college is the right place for you. Your grades so far this first semester have not been of exceptionally good college quality work. You may want to think about working at a local gas station or maybe going to barber school if you want to learn a trade.”

   Fast forward 65 plus years. The decisions that students make these days about careers at an early teenage year are still somewhat difficult. And today, with all the changes in society, all the advances in technology and all the new fields of work and potential employment, that decision is probably even more difficult today.

   There is still the need for doctors and lawyers, scientists, and teachers. With the development of technology and trips to the moon and beyond, there is an entire new generation of work, study and employment. Many of these new areas, nonexistent, 65 years ago, offer great jobs, professional advancement and sometimes high salaries and great pay. But we still need plumbers and electricians, car repair mechanics, roofers and builders. We need farmers and people who can fish, truck drivers and airplane pilots. We need strong men and women to build roads, maintain bridges and help us get from Monday to Friday each week, whether it by driving a bus or subway or the local senior citizen’s bus.

   Here is the challenge, however. Compared to the new jobs and professions available for today’s young people, many of these more traditional positions do not have the glamour and societal status of these newer areas. The more traditional jobs still, as they did in the past, require that you get your hands dirty. Dirty hands can really mess up a cell phone keyboard of the touch screen of an iPad. But…..

   Recently on several television channels, they have been running advertisements featuring high school students talking about vocational programs and the current need to fill many vacancies in the more traditional job world.

   In addition, several of the vocational schools are offering special programs and tuition prices to encourage students to learn a more traditional trade. In fact, there are programs that allow for students to combine their senior high school year and attend a vocational program and get a jump start on earning the credits needed toward a degree. After high school graduation, the students can also receive a financial bonus to continue their program.

   And one of the newer trends? In addition to classroom instruction, some businesses now provide onsite learning and work, along with a paycheck that could lead to a permanent job. Because of the demand for work well trained workers the business may even help pay any tuition costs the student may have.

   Now I will admit that my early career choice led me to wearing white shirts, ties, and suits. But while still in high school I took advantage of several part time jobs that included working in the local pharmacy, learning to interact with the public and come to a better understanding of the importance of patience. On occasion, I did get my hands dirty and still do some days

   And a note to the guidance counselor who said I did not have the academic skills to go to college, I did pump gas for a few months before heading off to college. By the way. That was when gasoline was about 22 cents per gallon.

   But my experience in the guidance office helped me decide that I wanted to become a teacher and after going back to graduate school after a few years in the classroom I became a guidance counselor for several more years. And with a closet full of white shirts and suits, I eventually worked my way into various levels of educational administration. But I sincerely hope that along the way I was able to help some students chart a path for the future.

   Planning a career at the age 0f 15 or 16 years of age can be a challenge. If I were meeting with a student today in my cramped little guidance office, after listening to their dreams, wishes and hopes, my one piece of advice that I would offer, even today, is to keep your options open. Work hard, learn from your mistakes and successes and above all, be honest with yourself and those around you. Your dreams of today are just the first step to what the future may have to offer. Keep the doors open.

   And by the way, the skill I learned as a teenager in pumping gasoline comes in pretty handy these days. Now if we could just get the price down a bit.

 

Your Town, My Town, “Our Town”

 

  The local newspapers will soon be filled with the schedules for upcoming high school graduations. It is a proud time for the graduates, parents and families and the teachers. Twelve, thirteen and in some cases maybe even more years of hard work will culminate with presentations, speeches and family parties and the possibility of a kiss on the cheek from a favorite aunt or grandmother. And while graduations are often viewed as an ending, the reality is that it may be just a beginning.

   I recently overheard (eavesdropped) in a discussion between a soon-to-be high school graduate and several adults. The adults' questions were pretty traditional: What are you going to do next year?......Any plans for the summer? And the soon-to-be graduate's responses was that he was taking the summer off and was planning to go to college in the Fall. I am getting out of this town,” he said in a firm and committed voice. “I am tired of this small town.”

 

   Most seniors graduating from high school in Maine, and I expect across the nation in many other states as well, are graduating from high schools in relatively small towns. Small towns are part of our nation's fabric and as the line from the television show “Cheers” reminds us...'where everyone or almost everyone knows your name.' (Remember that show?)

 

   As a prerequisite to graduation though, I would encourage every graduate along with his or her family, attend a presentation of “Our Town,” a play written by Thornton Wilder back in 1938.      

 

   Although it would come across somewhat dated, its message still rings true today.  For those who read the play back and school but may have forgotten its content or for others who skipped class that day, “Our Town” is a three act play set in a small, fictitious town in New Hampshire back at the turn of the 20th century and takes a look at average citizens and their everyday lives.

 

   What made the play a bit unique is that no scenery, sets or props were used and the actors used only mime and body actions, forcing the audience to use a bit of imagination to help set the scene.

 

   The play is divided into three acts. Act I is about daily life, the comings and goings of ordinary people in Grover's Corner, NH. Act II is built around families, love and marriage and the stresses that can sometimes accompany these relationships and families as they grow and change.

 

   Act III takes place in a cemetery just on the outskirts of town and tells about those in town who have passed away and one person’s search and struggle for eternity.

 

   Emily, a main character, dies during the birth of her second child but decides to return to Earth if only for just one day.  After spending just a few minutes back on Earth she finds it too painful, realizing how much of her life should have been valued while alive, “living every minute to its fullest” and how many times the enjoyment of the 'living moments' went unnoticed or overlooked. Sad and disappointed, Emily returns to the afterlife, watching, as her husband grieves by her grave side as she takes her resting place alongside those who passed away before her.

 

   Listening to the soon-to-be graduate talk about “getting out of town,” I can understand his excitement about moving away and starting a new life, filled with excitement and new challenges. Growing up in a small town can seem really boring and lack adventure. But the message in the play is still relevant in today's fast paced world, a world not really that much different than the one of 1938. It is all about people and values.

 

   No matter where you go or where you settle, there will always be a world of ordinary people, people just like you and me living in places like Grover's Corner. Some will become your friends; many will find jobs and careers. Many will marry and raise families. Sometimes, during those ordinary days, there will be times of struggle and stress. But problems will be solved, solutions will be found and the next chapters of life begin again.

 

   What we often overlook or fail to remember is the message in Act III. Even in small towns where you feel that everyone 'might' know your name, you can learn the importance of the value of each and every moment of your life. Regardless of where you are headed or end up and sometimes in the eagerness to move on, we overlook the values taught to us in those small towns, by the people who were part of our lives, the lessons learned, not from my town or your town but..... from “Our Town.”

 

   Congratulations to the graduates of 2022 and may your lives be filled with the hopes, dreams, and the values of the “small towns.”