My daughter, 
Lauren, called me tonight, and told me that since I was stalking her on Facebook, I should use the time wisely to go check out a poem she had written for her Career Planning class. Now, Lauren is a very special young woman. She has pretty much always chosen the easy path in school. She is the self crowned queen of “doing the least amount to get by in school.”
Now, this would absolutely send most parents through the roof. Especially when their daughter is incredibly intelligent and talented. But, I have come to believe that Lauren just may know more than you and I put together, and she just may know the secret to ultimate happiness. Pretty cool, for a 19 year old.
Lauren undoubtedly knows herself incredibly well. She has taken a full inventory of herself, and knows what works and what doesn’t. She is the most self-actualized teenager I have ever met. But, Lauren also knows more than most adults what she does – and does NOT want in her life, now, and in the future. And by being completely true to herself, and her heart, Lauren has defined to the Universe what she will – and will not accept.
The long term moral of this story (while yet to be proven) is that Lauren will probably be happier than 98% of her peers, when she is 50. (And yes, Lauren – some day, you WILL be 50!) Wouldn’t we all give our right arms to be so happy with what we do every day? I bet she will be, and we can all learn some lessons from her poem.
Do you know yourself as well as she does? Do you know (and have the courage to define) what you will and won’t accept from the Universe? Do you have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, and take whatever you get – because you took that stand? Perhaps if we all did a bit more of that, our society would be much happier. Just maybe..
Here it is….by Lauren A. Ballard
When I grow up
When I grow up…
I want to work somewhere cool, surrounded by colors
You can just forget math and science, cause I really hate numbers.
So what’s a girl to do, when she can’t decide
What she wants to do, with the rest of her life?
I sat down one day, weighed out the good and the bad
Quite a depressing experience I had to have
I came up with some jobs I thought would be fun
To help narrow down to my number one
See I love little kids, they always make me smile
So I know as a teacher, time would be worth while
But do I really want to spend my day with 8 year olds?
Sometimes thinking about it makes me cold
I thought about psych, but that’s a “no”
See I’m way to sensitive to just let the bad things go
I love to write, and I talk a lot
Maybe journalism that would be hot
One thing I’m good at, is throwing a great party
And if you come to one of mine, you won’t be sorry
I could be a party planner but I don’t want to deal with brides
For my fear of bridezilla’s makes me want to run and hide
Corporate America is so not for me
I hate rules, regulations, and authority
Networking and being social has always been my thing
A job doing that could get me some bling
I’m more the perceiving type
I go with the flow and I love life
I haven’t yet quite chosen my major
But most likely communication, or public relations
Either an event coordinator or something in design
I need a job where I can work and have fun, all at the same time
So whether I teach, coordinate, network or write
I’ll be happy doing whatever, as long as I’m living my life!