Be A Little More Organized...

Last night, my daughter and I had a serious talk about being more organized and prepared. The reality is that we can’t simply write a check for college, and I want her to understand how important scholarships can be. Scholarships come from grades, activities, and effort.

At one point she said, “I know you’re disappointed in me.”

I told her I wasn’t.

Do I think she could do better? Yes.
Do I think she could try a little harder? Yes.

But I’m not disappointed in her. I will be proud of her no matter what she chooses to do with her life. But if her choice is to go away to college, then she’s going to have to have some real skin in the game.

What I did tell her is that one day she might be disappointed in herself.

Not today. Not this week.

But maybe next year, when she doesn’t get into a college she really wanted to attend. Or next May, when she has to choose between schools and none have offered enough financial aid. Or five years from now, when she looks back and realizes that if she had just put in 25% more effort, she might have opened fifty more doors.

I know this feeling because I’ve been there.

I love my life. I love my children. But I didn’t follow my dreams when I was younger. I didn’t put much effort into getting into colleges because I had no real intention of going. My parents pushed it, though, and when I didn’t get into the schools I wanted, I was upset.

Then in college, I made another mistake: I put other things ahead of my studies. Even though I got good grades (thank you, photographic memory), I didn’t pursue what I actually wanted to do. I was too busy chasing the wrong things.

I don’t wish my life were different.

But sometimes I still wonder what it would have been like if I had been writing movie scripts somewhere. That would have been amazing.

And maybe - just maybe - I would have been able to send my kids to any college they wanted without them having to worry about scholarships.

And here’s the real kicker.

After giving this long lecture on responsibility and preparation… I showed up to work today without my laptop and not dressed up for St. Patrick’s Day.

So much for responsibility.

But maybe that’s the point.

We’re all human. We all make mistakes. We all have moments where we fall short.

The question isn’t whether those moments happen.

The question is what we do with them.

Do we accept them and lower the bar for ourselves?
Or do we acknowledge them - and push ourselves to do better next time?

I guess that’s a question both my daughter and I will be asking ourselves today.