It is time. It is time that our fledgling that was just a silly, toothy, yet curious person, one who till few years ago required day care after school is entering a phase where the very identifier has the words 'High' in them marking a sort of apogee of primary learning.
It was certainly a different time when my spouse and I on another continent also reached this age but due to the naming standards of the day or the style of schooling we did not do 'High School'. It was simply a passage through grades ending in 12th grade scores that would determine what if any curriculum we were likely to pursue, in order to chart the course of our lives.
Now a different age, an age of internet, an age of pocket sized super computing, ask and you shall receive search capabilities and instant gratification devices and services, our child embarks to seek higher education that will be a key stepping stone to her future.
The pricing for said service or schooling has certainly been re-defined and the equations have gotten perhaps more complex. Will the investment of money and time pay off in terms of an enriched citizen that contributes to the world at large or plays his or her role in forming the super structure that we call our civilization? Is it obscurity or prominence that she might seek? Is it something that one starts to seek or goes with the flow?
How prepared does she feel when she finally emerges on the other side as a graduate ready to take on college? Will decision making be easier or more difficult than it was for us, where the impetus to seek a professional degree vs. say liberal arts, was a statistical bet against finding oneself ill prepared for the employment market.
Is gainful employment a mere phrase or true to form likely to be 'gainful' all around as she finishes high school and jumps into the collegiate track? Is college really the next frontier or will it or could it be something different? Is entrepreneurship by virtue of being a silicon valley native what she might strive for?
It is time to ponder. But what is for sure is that she will remain curious. Curious of the changing nature of the world around her, the facts she gleans from visiting different pockets of the world, the foods she eats, the friendships she makes, and through it all that knowledge will hopefully translate into wisdom.
It is time then for her to make decisions that will be informed. No regrets then.
It was certainly a different time when my spouse and I on another continent also reached this age but due to the naming standards of the day or the style of schooling we did not do 'High School'. It was simply a passage through grades ending in 12th grade scores that would determine what if any curriculum we were likely to pursue, in order to chart the course of our lives.
Now a different age, an age of internet, an age of pocket sized super computing, ask and you shall receive search capabilities and instant gratification devices and services, our child embarks to seek higher education that will be a key stepping stone to her future.
The pricing for said service or schooling has certainly been re-defined and the equations have gotten perhaps more complex. Will the investment of money and time pay off in terms of an enriched citizen that contributes to the world at large or plays his or her role in forming the super structure that we call our civilization? Is it obscurity or prominence that she might seek? Is it something that one starts to seek or goes with the flow?
How prepared does she feel when she finally emerges on the other side as a graduate ready to take on college? Will decision making be easier or more difficult than it was for us, where the impetus to seek a professional degree vs. say liberal arts, was a statistical bet against finding oneself ill prepared for the employment market.
Is gainful employment a mere phrase or true to form likely to be 'gainful' all around as she finishes high school and jumps into the collegiate track? Is college really the next frontier or will it or could it be something different? Is entrepreneurship by virtue of being a silicon valley native what she might strive for?
It is time to ponder. But what is for sure is that she will remain curious. Curious of the changing nature of the world around her, the facts she gleans from visiting different pockets of the world, the foods she eats, the friendships she makes, and through it all that knowledge will hopefully translate into wisdom.
It is time then for her to make decisions that will be informed. No regrets then.
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