 |
RISK TAKING
Have you ever had a child leave home? This is what my parents witnessed when I left home.
- 714 miles away to college: FAIL
- 909 miles away to another college: FAIL
- 3,084 miles to yet another college: SUCCESS
- 2,405 miles to graduate school: FAIL
- 2,435 miles to another graduate school: SUCCESS
And that was just the first decade after high school. What I gathered in education, wisdom, friendships, experiences and love were more than worth the failures that came upon me, whether of my own doing or due to circumstances beyond my control. And my parent’s knew that would be the case.
Now, this is what I have witnessed as a parent myself.
- My first daughter went 1,282 miles
- My second daughter went 1,077 miles
- My third daughter went 1,726 miles
- My fourth daughter went 356 miles
And that was just their first move away from home. Most of them have moved many more times over many more miles since then. They have had their share of failures and successes as well.
I am obviously not one to tell my offspring to not take risks. But don’t think a mistaken thought here, I worry over what is happening to them, whether they are having successes or failures and how I might be able to help them, no matter the distance. But I also know, just as my parents did, that if they are to continue to become the strong, wise and joyful women I see them becoming, then they have to go down the path of risk.
Risk: It’s the only way to become who you want to become.
Quote by Tim McMahon
