聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Being that I like learning about different cultures and the past, one of the tidbits of knowledge that stuck with me over the years was that in China during the Three Kingdoms period a tradition developed for children picking what career they would follow.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The prince of the Eastern Wu Kingdom had died and his father, Emperor Sun Quan, was worried as to which of his grandsons would succeed him. A citizen from Wu suggested the Emperor place items on a plate and ask his grandsons to pick something off of the plate. One of his grandsons picked up a bamboo slip (ancient Chinese paper) and an imperial belt (symbolizing royal power), thus he became chosen as the successor.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A measuring tape = architect, sword = law enforcement, green onion = intelligent (green onion and intelligent being homophones in Chinese writing), abacus = businessperson, yuanbao (ancient Chinese money) = a life of fortune, book = scholar, stamp = civil servant, etc鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I think it鈥檚 interesting because I know for myself, being told I could do anything, and listening to young people鈥檚 dreams: someone I know is either going to be a doctor or a make-up artist, while someone else is thinking veterinarian or hairdresser. These different jobs are very different indeed and how do you really choose what you want to be these days?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I originally figured I should be a math teacher when I went off to university鈥� then discovered high school math was very different than university math and switched to history. I then did a work practicum in a classroom for a pre-Education class that had to be taken. I passed the class and could have applied into Education, but I realized although I like teaching kids I just felt like that profession wasn鈥檛 for me.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 And coming here鈥� well I had just returned from traveling abroad and was looking for a job. I had my history degree and was at a loss for what I could do with it, but luckily Cindy was willing to take a chance on me here and I鈥檝e come to love what I do. Although I felt lost for many years thinking, 鈥淚f I can be anything in the world what should I be?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I sometimes still wonder if I鈥檝e found what I will do for the rest of my life or if I would ever change things up again. And this seems to be a common problem amongst some of my friends as well. One is learning about computer programming, but says she questions herself that at 26-years-old she should be pursuing something new.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I learned about the tradition in China of children picking their career as a baby when I was in university and when I would go through my 鈥渨hat am I going to do with my life?鈥� moments鈥� well鈥� I would think of that tradition and how easy it would make it. You鈥檇 pick something and that鈥檚 what you would be trained for, for the rest of your life. You鈥檇 have a sense of direction. Then I鈥檇 wonder if that was really any better. Like, yes you鈥檇 know what you鈥檇 be doing with your life, but would you be happy pursuing it?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although I wonder if what I鈥檓 doing is what I should be doing sometimes, I鈥檓 happy. I鈥檓 happy with my journey thus far and wouldn鈥檛 change it. Could the same be said if the aforementioned tradition was the norm?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 There are no limits as to what you can be in today鈥檚 society, which can cause stress for young people deciding what they want to do with their lives. However, this ancient Chinese tradition would also be stressful because what happens if you choose something as a baby which you are trained for throughout your life and you absolutely hate it?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So, I guess there鈥檚 no perfect solution. But, for some reason opportunities and being told you can do anything actually causes stress. You don鈥檛 want to limit what your kid can do, I get that, but when they spin their tires not knowing what they should do, be supportive of them. It鈥檚 a big life choice.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I鈥檓 lucky my parents are extremely understanding. They told me I could do anything, but are always supportive of me if I decide to change path. For example I was worried to tell them I was close to failing my math classes in university and that I needed to change my major. I shouldn鈥檛 have been worried because they simply understood and encouraged me to pursue my next step.
