Here's the thing, I'd been so involved with passing the classes etc, that I didn't give too much thought as to what I'd use the degree for or much else for that matter. The idea of preparing for life beyond college was lost on me as I centered my thoughts on one thing for 16 years-a formal education.
I landed a nice job as a science writer less than a month after graduating and I had a boyfriend, yet without classes, tests, grades and assignments to organize my life around, I felt completely lost.
The mistake that many parents make-and I write about this in my semi-autobiographical novel Again and Again-is to assume that if a child is doing well in school then every other area of his or her life is also on point. We need to broaden our assessments of young people and balance the messages we're drilling into their heads about school. Yes getting a formal education is absolutely necessary, but there is oh so much more to life! We need to tell children this.
Degrees alone don't make people happy. Further happiness is not embodied in any one goal-ie the degree, the job, the money, the house, marriage, having children etc. Happiness is an art and a science. It's something you must learn on your own because unfortunately it's not taught in most schools or in most homes. It's something you must seek for yourself. And since we have no village to turn to, it's an individualized process.
Two books I've found extremely helpful in my own quest are Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness and Dan Baker's What Happy People Know.
Leah Mullen, Author of AGAIN AND AGAIN
Please visit my site http://www.leahmullen.com/ blog: http://mylifeisapageturner.blogspot.com/ life coaching column: http://www.bellaonline.com/site/lifecoaching Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/leah_mullen Do we read the same books? check out my shelf http://www.shelfari.com/leah_mullen Visit my profile on http://www.amazon.com/ to see my latest book reviews and guides including "Be a Self-Actualized Black Woman!"
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