On The Road To Success

My son who will be 20 this year, a lost soul much like his Mother for so long, got his GED last year, in less than two weeks, with great scores. I didn't have any doubts he could do it. He started out in school in the gifted program but he was not a competitor and as parents we were not "upper class". He was picked on and singled out, even by his teachers. Yet we were always called upon because of his grades, even though the teacher said he wasn't at the bottom of the class, he was in the middle; "average" in an above average class.

I believe its not always the parents who leave lasting scars on their children. Teachers are the first socialization and entrance into the big wide world. These are our children's first role models outside the home. Some children will remember only teachers that were their favorites and made a positive impact on their lives. Other children will remember only the experiences that were negative and the teachers that caused them.

In high school, my son felt pressured to "figure out" what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. In the end the pressure was too much and he quit high school. He didn't get his drivers license until he was 18 and after much coaxing and tough love, he finally got his GED. Months later he suddenly grew up and had a mature aura about him and he no longer fit in with his crowd. Yesterday, he began the process of applying for college, was accepted for financial aid and grants to become a Psychologist.

One of the tasks he had to preform was to write a letter to his councilor about the benefits of the program at the community college where he participated in the GED program. I was highly impressed. Being trained in Business Communication and a poet, I recognized in him a natural ability to express himself with the written word and I can't say that I could have done better than him and especially at his age. There was a tad bit of jealousy but a whole lot of pride.

I can honestly say now that "I did good" and all the fuss that everyone gave me about my parenting him and not being "tough" enough didn't change my ways and I'm thankful It didn't. I learned a long time ago that this child was "not" going to "conform", no matter what punishments were implemented, his "indifferent" attitude was not going to change. I parented him with an attitude of "he'll have to figure it out on his own", I had faith that as I figured it out, he too eventually would and it worked and he did!