Choices Today, Choices Tomorrow

(I’ve spoken at middle schools and high schools for almost twenty years, so when people ask me what I talk about with students, it’s tough to narrow it down to just one topic. I talk about many things.

However, there’s one thread that comes up pretty often. It’s about choices. For students who have a hard time imagining WHY their education is so important, I like to use the concept of choices, or options. Everyone can relate to that.

I encourage you to share this with any middle school or high school students in your world. Read it with them, in fact.)


Suppose that you opened your closet this morning, and found twenty shirts and twenty pairs of pants. But all of the shirts were identical, and so were the pants; same color, same design, same everything.

Then you walked into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. You opened the pantry and found ten boxes of cereal...all exactly the same. And nothing else.

Later you turned on the television, hoping for an escape. But something was wrong, because there was one program on, and it was being broadcast on every single channel. That’s it.

I know all of this sounds ridiculous. When you look in your closet, or your pantry, or on TV, you’re going to find lots of options. You’re used to that, and it’s hard to imagine life any other way. We’re all spoiled by the choices that we have everyday. We expect them; in some ways we even demand them.

All right, now let’s look at the options you’re going to have in a few years, and no, it doesn’t take a crystal ball. I can tell you right now how many choices you’re going to have with your life in just a few years, and I can do it by observing how seriously you take your education today.

It doesn’t matter to me what you want to do as an adult; in fact, you probably don’t know for sure yourself, and that’s okay. For some people their decision changes several times. That’s okay, too. BUT, what does matter is how many options you give yourself.

Imagine two different students in middle school or high school. Both of them have lots of friends, and both of them enjoy doing fun things. They both wear cool clothes and have the latest gadgets. On the surface, they’re very similar people.

One of these students, however, doesn’t pay much attention to his education because...well, because that’s just not very important to him. Why bother? He won’t be out on his own for a few years; it’s time to just party and be cool!

Before you know it, though, time flies by and he’s finished with school. Suddenly it’s time to get serious...but something terrible has happened. By blowing off his education, the number of options he has in life have narrowed, and narrowed some more, and then narrowed even more. What’s left are just a few scattered - and very unglamorous - jobs that don’t pay well, and certainly don’t provide him any of the great things he wants in life. Essentially, he has very few options. It’s like the pantry full of one box of cereal.

Student number two, however, has fun and still parties, but also concentrates on her education. She works hard, she learns, she absorbs, she grows. By the time she graduates, her options are almost limitless; schools want her, businesses want her, and she’s able to pick and choose from several possibilities. It doesn’t matter what she wants to do: by working hard in school, and taking her education seriously, she has a ton of options. Eventually she’ll choose the one that not only provides her with all of the good things in life, but something that she really enjoys, too.

Listen, it’s sometimes difficult in middle school or high school to see beyond the next turn. You have a lot going on, and a lot of pressure to conform to what your friends think is important. The problem is that some of your peers are going to make horrible choices that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. You, however, get to make your own decisions. Sure, it’s important to enjoy life and have fun with your friends. I hope you do! But remember, the choices you make today regarding your education will ultimately determine what choices you have for the next fifty or sixty or seventy years after school. And that’s the truth.

Choose wisely.

 

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