I got to visit my dad\u2019s side of the family this weekend. They are the middle Californians. Some of them were complaining about \u201cKids these days\u201d. Kids these days, apparently, do not help with harvesting the crops like they used to. Like all of THEM did. What\u2019s the world coming to?<\/p>\n
Some of my cousins made the point that there are child labor laws now. Good point. Those pesticides are only for adults!<\/p>\n
They were all extremely congratulatory of my degree. \u201cWhat was your major again? English?\u201d<\/p>\n
My aunt said it best. \u201cWhat are you going to do with your degree? It\u2019s fine to be educated, but it\u2019s important to be able to eat. What are you going to DO? You can\u2019t eat a diploma!\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the cousins said, \u201cWell, you can, but only once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath and looked over the fence. I talked about how, when you live frugally, making a living is not as hard as it looks. I said that I was looking to do something meaningful, which would be exciting and focus on the things I love. I said I wanted to help people see the beauty of literature and affect the culture of America, but that I wasn\u2019t sure what form that would take.<\/p>\n
She looked at me blankly and said, \u201cAre you going to be a teacher?\u201d<\/p>\n
My family loves me. She wants to make sure that I will be okay.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what I had to tell myself the whole way home.<\/p>\n
All of us liberal arts majors have the same conversation after graduation, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I got to visit my dad\u2019s side of the family this weekend. They are the middle Californians. Some of them were complaining about \u201cKids these days\u201d. Kids these days, apparently, do not help with harvesting the crops like they used … Continue reading