Saturday morning philosophy...take two...the high school grad. This is take two because take one got boffed. Yesterday was our kids high school grad. High school wasnt the best time for him (or me for that matter), and the paper is well earned and well deserved as a testimonial to having to get er done even when you know its a crock. High school a crock? Absolutely. Other than pitching a few ideas about what to to with yourself and getting you ripe enough to get out there and work, high school does not prepare you for much in this life. In fact, nothing. The valedictorian speech was brutal and totally unrealistic. Confucius has been dead a long time and was probably huffing glue, but nonetheless she went on about his be happy thing, blah, blah. This girl saves the world, ends hunger, and is in for a seriously brutal reality check if ever getting into the workplace. In high school theres all these anti-bullying campaigns, well guess what kiddies, business is a fancy word for bullying. Corporations are rank for that crap so get used to it. Why do you think we dont have widespread solar energy, cant get a decent govt, etc,etc...think about it. Now find your happy place, deal with it, and start earning a living. The bills are due on the first and theres only 30 days to go. HAUL ASS. Funny how that doesnt get taught in school, hunh? Why do you think there are so many bars, so much dope, etc? Because people need to cope. Coping is hard. They get shitfaced to forget. In all that, people make mistakes, piss off their loved ones, smash into innocent ones, all that stuff, because theyre getting pushed around. Happy people dont do that stuff. In high school theres deadline extensions, do overs, re writes...sorry kids, this aint no video game. You screw up and best case scenario youre unemployed. Next, divorced, lastly but least painful, youre dead. Game over permanently. Youre off the island. See? School misses a whole giant chunk of whats happening and as I watched these optimistic young speeches I was happier than ever we didnt bullshit our kid or sugar coat anything. Sure, hes not the eternal optimist wholl save stray kittens and build orphanages in the jungle, but hes tough, smart, and a survivor. He has a plan thats subject to change if it needs to, can lower his standards enough to weather the storms without freaking out that his Audis been repossessed because of downsizing (see corporate bullying), and he has no false expectations that his significant other has to have Mattel stamped on her ass to be awesome. No sir, this life is about adapt, change, deal, fix...then repeat. Its a whole lot of crap where the trick lies is seeing the positive in any of it to get through it. Turning manure into fertilizer is the key to happiness but they didnt say that either. As the grads crossed the stage Mama and I were gauging the fail rate, not of high school finals but of the long term race. Each grad submitted a little card that the teach read out loud as to their plans and where they were off to. I think only one openly admitted Fort Mac to make the big bucks. Realistically? Theres another hundred or so in that bunch that are in for a very rude awakening. There are the ones where its a vocation and you can tell. There was a strapping young lad who was straight as a post and walked with serious authority who was off to be in the infantry. You could tell just by the stance this was a German shepherd of a kid and yeah, I have no doubt. Sometimes you can just tell. The rest? The bus for Fort Mac leaves in an hour... Not that theres anything wrong with Fort Mac, but the residing joke here is that it becomes the honey hole for when everything else shits the bed. Didnt make it as a philanthropist rock star? Labourer in Fort Mac pays awesome. Your Sherpa vegetarian tree planting experiment went sour? No biggie, the camps in Fort Mac are serving up bacon by the bucket 24 hours a day!!! Yes kids, you can be anything you want to be, but you have to ferociously stick to your guns. Be a survivor, be sharp, and forget absolutely everything they just taught you in school. The only thing you learned was how to conform, say yes, and believe even when it was a crock. Not bad skills to have, really, but still not enough to make it. Final observation...as I looked around at some of the parents yesterday Im thinking there has to be happy gas theyre breathing that we dont know about. Either that or they never told their kids anything and are in complete denial. I would never surrender my keys to a kid whos off to party all weekend and think thats ok. Is that just culling the herd? Oh sure, most will make it, but THINK. Oh wait...see what I said there? Silly... As parents we should be obligated to prepare our kids for real life. Thats our job, not the schools. By the same token, its ultimately up to us to openly discuss these things with our kids and make sure they are going forth as prepared as they can be. Yes, it takes time, yes it takes honesty. Brutal honesty. But how can I lie to somebody I love so much and say its all awesome? I can however be there, even after hes left. Be the sounding board or the users manual for when the boss is a dick, shit hits the fan, the baby crying makes them insane, all of that. So, to the high school, thanks for the reading and writing part, and the officially discharge papers...it was a nice ceremony, but no offence, we still remain his most important teachers... Kid, weve had your back since day one. Your mom and I will die helping you through this...its why we get old. Seeing you navigate through societys gong show called school was your first test and you made er. Level two, man...college. Give er shit!!!!
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 14:53:37 +0000
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