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A discussion I had with students during “Career Day” at a Chester elementary school in 2005. 1. Write down your desires! Put your dreams down on paper. Dream BIG! DREAM. What does that mean to you? What do you want to be? The dream I had was to be an entertainer, but there are many kinds of entertainment and it took many, many years to realize that I am living my dream now. But now my dream serves a different purpose. 2. What have you dreamed of becoming? Was it a scientist, doctor, lawyer or sports figure? Signing big contracts means you have to know how to read so nobody cheats you. Where do you learn that? Right here, right now! It also means you learn to write and spell correctly. 3. In order to count your millions means you have to know math. You must understand percentages so your manager doesn’t take too big a share of your money. To understand contracts you also need to listen to and trust people in authority (teachers, principals, and your parents). Where do you learn that? In school! At home! You must understand the difference between truth and lies, especially from your friends. 4. While we are on the subject of necessities, think about this: in order to reach your dreams, you have to be alive. That means you have to pay attention to the kind of people you hang around. What kind of things are you doing? You have to surround yourself with people who think like you. Gangbanging and hanging with drug-dealers won’t get you to that dream you had. Open your eyes and see the real world, not some video. People who use guns and knives out in the street end up running from the law, in jail or dead. And if you’re dead, you don’t come back the next day to try it again! 5. While you are moving towards your goal, you must pay attention to who you look up to, who you admire. Just because a person is good at basketball doesn’t make him a good man or a real man. 6. Do you like to have people telling you what to do all the time? Open your eyes and open your minds. You have to think. Every time you allow your emotions to run wild you can get into trouble. Then someone else gets to tell you what to do all day long and all night too. (What time to get up, what time to go to bed, what time to eat, what time to do everything) 7. Each of us is unique! Find what you do best or you waste your life. There is no need to make ourselves different. We are all different! Have you ever looked through a telescope or seen the pictures of the stars and galaxies? You were looking at the universe; and you are a part of it. Well, I want you to know that there's an entire universe inside you. And you are in control of it. Take care of that universe and treat it right. 8. There are some things that we grown-ups have screwed up. No question about that. Some of us have done some really dumb things. You have an opportunity to change and correct some of them and make them right. But you have to pay attention right now if you are going to cause change. You have to start learning how to do that right now. Start sharpening your skills and learning how the world works. Right now! Prof. Rick Berry |
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