Dear Dr. Laura,
I think it was the wrong question when we were asked, "What do you want to BE when you grow up?" I think the question should be, "What do you want to DO when you grow up?"
At age 13 I read my dad's copy of Louis Nizer's, "My Life in Court" and decided to BE a lawyer. There were no lawyers in my family, and I never saw one working up-close-&-personal, until I graduated from law school. Before that, I only read books, or saw TV and movie images of glorious summations in court. The actual day-to-day work law and the ethics of that environment were never depicted accurately. I once had a boyfriend who wanted to BE a writer. He was writing a novel that stayed half finished for at least 6 years. One day, he finally realized that he wanted TO HAVE THE NEED TO WRITE, i.e. to BE a successful writer. He didn't want to just work, he wanted to have the passion for the work that he was creating.
I hope these examples help make my point: ask your children what work they WANT to do when they grow up, not what they imagine they want to be.
Lisa
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