I am at that scary point in my ‘journey’ as a parent where my eldest son is gearing up to go off and make his own way in the world. It is amazing and worrying and completely unchartered waters for me.
School is going well. He worked hard last year in spite of the usual teen distractions and is hopefully on course for some good results next summer. So we move on to the question of what comes next. We have talked a lot over recent years about what he would like from life and he like so many other teens doesn’t have the luxury of having his future mapped out for him. He drifted into the GCSEs that interested him and with a flair for English and Design Technology, I was always certain that they would make up part of his A Level studies.
He always talked about wanting to be a journalist but I did think that he would look at Graphic Design. But it would seem not as he has decided that he wants to do Creative Writing. This does concern me a little.
Now I have to say at this point that I have always wanted to be a writer and this blog has been amazing for me as I am able to write what I like, when I like and other people actually read it. It isn’t writing in the sense of writing novels or stories, I am nowhere near the heady heights of journalism, but it is a little space for me to write and I love it. It gives me a sense of calm, it is a hobby and sometimes even therapy.
I have thought a few times about doing a writing course to try and improve my skills and to catapult myself enthusiastically towards writing the books I have always wanted to, but my job is a teacher and writing for me will almost always be a hobby.
So now I have the dilemma. Do I pat the teen on the back and reward his ambition to follow his heart and a career in writing? Or do I be the sensible parent and try and gently coerce him into going for the safer option of graphic design? The whole ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ question is an interesting one; I’m forty something and I still don’t know, so I understand that at seventeen it is a completely unknown quantity.
It is really hard as I know that the harsh reality is that whatever you choose to do at university or elsewhere, jobs are hard to come by. Realistically though, if you do a course that is more geared to a specific job, the law of averages means that you have more chance of getting a job at the end.
Having said that, if he does do a degree in creative writing, there are lots of exciting possibilities that could be his for the taking, the sort of jobs that I could only ever dream of doing.
If I’m honest, the teen will do what he wants to do. Quite often if I try to influence him one way, that pushes him quite firmly in the other direction. My role now is more cautionary and advisory. I have expressed my concerns over his choice of course, but ultimately if it makes him happy and he works hard, I know that the fact that he wants to go to university is a positive as that alone will be such an important part of his development and I hope that he will have the time of his life.
And who knows, he might be the next J K Rowling. Or at least the male equivalent anyway. I won’t be worrying then will I?
Ahh it’s a tough one isn’t it?!
My degree is in journalism and although I was lucky enough to get some semblance of a career out of it, it was far from a ticket to a job! If he does veer back towards journalism and wants to chat through the realities of the course and life afterwards (I graduated in 2007) then feel free to put him in touch with me. I have no idea where a creative writing degree could get him, but it’s better that he do something he loves than spends ££££ and 3 years doing something his heart isn’t in.
Thank you so much for commenting, I have had a good look at what might follow and I know that there are different options for him. The most important thing is that he enjoys the course and I am happy that he wants to go to university at all, so I will support him whatever he does.