"Don't go to university": a letter from a mother to her children causes some discussion
In life you should do what you want most and not what you are forced to do - this is what Cathy Brown thinks, a mother who, after so many years, has understood that, perhaps, the key to happiness does not lie in always doing what "seems sensible" and in getting top marks in college, but in following one's own passionate instincts. It is clear that every parent would wish the best for their children, but there are so many ways to wish happiness and prosperity and, for Cathy, it's not forcing your children to go to college. She herself was a girl who, in order to please her parents, enrolled in university; she always got top marks and if she sometimes found herself with a lower score, she couldn't accept it: but was that really happiness? Today Cathy is an adult woman and has written a very meaningful letter to her children, which ideally is addressed to all young people and all parents who have the pleasure of reflecting on these concepts.
To summarize her thoughts, we will transcribe the sentiments, paraphrasing the letter, which most struck the recipients of the message: "Don't go to university". We have the duty to be clear that, with this letter, Cathy did not want to diminish the importance of having an adequate cultural knowledge or having a good education behind her, but rather not being too conditioned by the need to have a degree at all costs. If you don't have a great passion for a particular course of study, perhaps it's preferable to do something else. Cathy says she feels much happier knowing that her children can do the thing which is right for them and not for society: "I'd rather you grab a backpack and hitchhike to Siberia, or start a business making natural soap, or volunteering in Haiti, whatever." All this is to say that she already feels very proud of her children and that she doesn't need them to go to university to feel even more proud.
Cathy doesn't sat these things casually, but because she knows what it feels like to live thinking she has to get the most out of life. Today she has three children and is a journalist, but when she was young she was literally "obsessed" with achieving her goals, in what we could define as an eternal race against time and against everyone else. Of course, she graduated with honors and she did it in part to satisfy that desire "dropped from above", unconsciously imposed on her by her parents. However, she does not want to repeat the same mistake with her children and she feels that she has to leave them free from this bond. "I couldn't care less if you go to college or not" writes Cathy provocatively, and continues: "I would like you to do things that are only apparently irrational, but driven by passion. There are a million ways to support yourself financially and you don't have to care about what others think. Learn to embrace, celebrate and value spontaneity. Don't kill good ideas by thinking too much. "
Useful and dispassionate advice, therefore, which could help many undecided and insecure young people to find their own way.
