"So I've got a friend, who I met at Frys. He's an older guy. He's got a car he wants to give me and soon he's starting a business so when I'm 18 and a half or 19 I think I'm going to move out and move in with him and work for him."
"Doing what?"
"I don't really know but he's going to have this business."
"OK. Well, good luck with that. Get it in writing and get a title for the car."
I walked away just shaking my head. Silently I thought "At least he didn't tell me he's going to become a rapper. He might as well though... A couple hours later I talked with him again.
"OK, so I've been texting him and finding out more about this job."
"OK."
"So he's going to be a rapper. And he says we'll find something for me to do, something I'm good at. Something that will make me $1,000 a day and I can probably start doing it from home--maybe finding new beats online."
"And how old is this friend?"
"In his 30s."
"And how many rappers do you know?"
"A few."
"It's a tough business to get into."
"Well I'm still going to have his back on it."
Sometimes J fits into statistics and stereotypes so well it's laughable. And you do have to laugh. I have to laugh. I'd worry about this plan if he were planning on moving out tomorrow but he's giving himself a year or two to get things in order--and J has never stuck with anything for more than a month so I'm hopeful this too will fade.
To be honest this career path is just as realistic as his ideas in the past. He wants to be an engineer. Of course he's terrible at math and school in general. We recently had to talk him out of quitting school to get his GED and go to work full time--an idea he had despite not being able to even find a part time job. He also showed some interest in HVAC--until he found out he has to improve his attendance, behavior and his grades to get into that program.
I try not to use this to shame J in any way. If he were to read it some day I hope he would agree with everything I've written about him. I just have to record this conversation so that when he does finally find motivation to find a career that works for him we can look back at this and laugh and laugh. Some day when he stops sleeping in and blowing off school and realizes it really does take hard work to get where you want to be--I want him to remember that lost boy who sought out every easy opportunity and thought all his problems would be solved if he became a rapper's assistant.
"Doing what?"
"I don't really know but he's going to have this business."
"OK. Well, good luck with that. Get it in writing and get a title for the car."
I walked away just shaking my head. Silently I thought "At least he didn't tell me he's going to become a rapper. He might as well though... A couple hours later I talked with him again.
"OK, so I've been texting him and finding out more about this job."
"OK."
"So he's going to be a rapper. And he says we'll find something for me to do, something I'm good at. Something that will make me $1,000 a day and I can probably start doing it from home--maybe finding new beats online."
"And how old is this friend?"
"In his 30s."
"And how many rappers do you know?"
"A few."
"It's a tough business to get into."
"Well I'm still going to have his back on it."
Sometimes J fits into statistics and stereotypes so well it's laughable. And you do have to laugh. I have to laugh. I'd worry about this plan if he were planning on moving out tomorrow but he's giving himself a year or two to get things in order--and J has never stuck with anything for more than a month so I'm hopeful this too will fade.
To be honest this career path is just as realistic as his ideas in the past. He wants to be an engineer. Of course he's terrible at math and school in general. We recently had to talk him out of quitting school to get his GED and go to work full time--an idea he had despite not being able to even find a part time job. He also showed some interest in HVAC--until he found out he has to improve his attendance, behavior and his grades to get into that program.
I try not to use this to shame J in any way. If he were to read it some day I hope he would agree with everything I've written about him. I just have to record this conversation so that when he does finally find motivation to find a career that works for him we can look back at this and laugh and laugh. Some day when he stops sleeping in and blowing off school and realizes it really does take hard work to get where you want to be--I want him to remember that lost boy who sought out every easy opportunity and thought all his problems would be solved if he became a rapper's assistant.
Comments
Post a Comment