Information Related to "Is Life Only About Fun! Fun! Fun?"
| Audio/Video |
|
What's wrong with just doing whatever your want? Find out how to get your kicks in life - but not those that kick you in the teeth!
by Les McCullough
ound counsel can be packed
into only a few words. When I was in my teens, I heard a small-town
police officer say something that has stayed with me. Several
of my friends and I were in possession of some beer in a car when
the officer pulled us over. He didn't arrest or ticket us. He
made us pour the beer on the ground. "What you are today,"
he told us, "is what you will be 20 years from now."
That officer's saying stuck with me because I didn't want at age 36 to be as reckless and irresponsible as I was at age 16. The 13 words uttered by that policeman made an impact on me. Their effect wasn't immediate, but they tempered my actions from then on.
I began to think seriously about what I wanted to do and realized I wanted to achieve more than my parents had. I loved my father and mother, and they were fine people, but they were limited by their background and education. I wanted a career that I enjoyed, not one that just earned me a living. My father had a job, but my mother had to work to help pay their way. That wasn't how I wanted to live.
Do young people want only to have fun and bear no responsibility? Actually, what may be surprising to some is that many of them show a surprising capacity for responsible decision-making.
But they need guidance and training in making right decisions. Parents should start when their children are young to teach and direct them to see all sides of a question, then let them know that as they mature some decisions will fall to them, although others will still require input from adults.
How many parents live in the house they want in the city they want or even in the country they want? How many
have the job they want? How many take the vacation they want when they want?
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "Is Life Only About Fun! Fun! Fun?"
Other Articles by Les McCullough
Illiteracy: