Month: May 2019

May 1, 2019

Today was career day my niece’s school.  She knew she wanted to be an engineer or a scientist but wasn’t sure which one to dress up as.  My brother told her to be a chemical engineer because that is what her Aunt Amy got a degree in.  She now wants to be a ChemE because it is an engineer and a scientist.  My brother posted the pic in our family’s FB group.  My twin sister responds that her daughter wants to be a chemical engineer too.   Who knows what they will end up doing but 2 young girls that I adore want to be chemical engineers because of me!   Too bad I ended up in computer science.   As much as I love the part of the story that they want to be like me, the part the makes me happy is they are strong, intelligent girls who know they can be anything they want.  They say there aren’t enough girls going into STEM jobs but my family is the exception.  It never crosses our minds that we like “boy” fields.  My daughters and nieces are gifted at math.  I didn’t like math in school, I loved math.  I still love math.  When my sophomore daughter asks for help in her junior math class, I love re-learning it quickly so I can teach her.

I doubt myself all the time.  I get nervous about taking professional leaps.  I sometimes underestimate my professional value but I have never believed that being a girl means I am not good at math or science or engineering.  We have all been given gifts in our lives and it is our responsibility to use them.   I’m not sure if it just because our dad embraced our analytical abilities or our strong-willed personalities wouldn’t allow us to think otherwise.

My first two children are very comfortable with their strong analytical strengths.  My youngest is different.  She is one of the very best kids in school in math.  I think she has missed maybe 1 or 2 problems on a test this entire school year.   Her teacher knows that she is good and he gives her a lot of praise.  I loved this in school but she gets embarrassed by it.  She doesn’t want to be in advanced math next year because most of her friends won’t be in that class.  She is at the stage in life where she worries too much about what other people think about her.   She doesn’t yet realize the gift she has.  Did I do something wrong with her.  How can she possibly think this?  I am hoping she grows out of this.  I know I got out of AP chemistry because I had no friends in the class.  She knows that story and I told her that I regret that decision even though it wouldn’t have mattered, I missed the second half of the class when I was an exchange student.  Lucky for her, I won’t let her get out of taking the harder class for friends.

Kids change career choices throughout their childhood.  The advice I always give to my kids is go in the direction of your gifts.  If you are talented at something you should take classes using that talent.  Eventually it will lead you to the career you are looking for.   I tell them to ask people they know what they would be good at because they can’t even comprehend all the careers there are out there.  Finally, I tell them to be nervous and try new things.   As I always say “life would be boring if you are never nervous”.  I can’t predict what they will all end up doing but I am certainly excited to cheer them along the whole way.

TEA RECOMMENDATION:  T2 Tea – Gorgeous Geisha – yummy and something different