Man With A Plan?

In an early scene of the 1990 Julia Roberts/Richard Gere movie Pretty Woman, there’s a dude walking the streets asking people, “What’s your dream?”

Or as he says, “wha’s yo’ dream? Everybody gotta have a dream!”

I admire people who have a dream, a plan. It’s likely going to change but to have a goal is a good thing.

Graduating from high school, my goal was ___.

That’s a blank space.

College? I’ll go because isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?

Whatcha gonna study, boy?

No clue. #manwithoutaplan

That, by the way, makes for a poorly-motivated student.

By the time I started college I was working full-time at a radio station, but it didn’t seem like career stuff. It felt like something I could do until my real job sent me an invitation with a bottle of champagne and a signing bonus.

Since one shall not find what one does not seek, a real job never materialized, forcing me to continue my pretend job.

I did enjoy radio and worked hard at it, but it took a long time for me to believe this was going to be my career work. I remember thinking, man, if I can just do this thing until I’m about 35, I’ll have it all figured out by then.

No, I wouldn’t have. By the time I hit my mid-30s I started figuring some things out, but by then I had decided to ride that radio pony until it threw me off.

Further, I had dropped out of college because radio was way more fun. So if radio had fallen through, I would have ___.

That’s another blank space.

These kids today… 

#1) An 18-year old I randomly met, headed off to college soon.

“Whatcha gonna study?”

She wants to be an actress. If that doesn’t pan out, she thinks being a doctor in a trauma ward has appeal.

Why a trauma ward?

“You know, when a chandelier falls and pierces your body, I’d be there to help you.”

Yeah, right. Unless you’re performing the exact same surgery on Grey’s Anatomy, which I suspect is the only place such a surgery would ever be necessary.

#2) My 11-year old niece wants to know if she can live with us when she attends the University of Georgia.

“Whatcha gonna study?”

She wants to be either a veterinarian or study culinary arts.

Being the guy I am, I suggested she do both. Her failures as a vet could yield some tasty offerings at suppertime.

She wasn’t amused, but I dismissed that as her not understanding the high level of sophistication in my humor.