Teach your children well

One of the silliest things you’ll hear as a new graduate is “now

you’re entering the real world.”

High school is the real world. There are real pains and struggles

as well as love and triumph.

What graduates are entering is the real world without a safety

net. Even bad parents are supposed to make sure kids have enough to

eat and a place to sleep. Suddenly kids are responsible for their own

everyday lives, not to mention their futures.

Of course, to the new graduate, that lack of safety net only

translates into freedom. Sweet, amazing, shocking freedom.

Parents who would love to keep their children safe at home to

cuddle on a regular basis send them off to college to do who knows

what. Suddenly there’s 24-hour access to new friends and a world full

of experiences, both good and bad, safe and unsafe. This is the time

that parents cross their fingers and hope everything they taught

their kids will stick.

Many young college students spend their first year or two testing

that freedom and those experiences. Sometimes, it takes that time for

young adults to realize that they really are the only ones who can

determine their future -- and that a life of partying won’t get them

very far.

But for parents who did teach their children well, who emphasized

education, self-worth and responsibility, the future really is

bright. Even the kids who lose sight for a moment and get overwhelmed

by the freedom, usually come back to the straight and narrow if

they’ve been taught well.

And for those young adults who feel they didn’t have the support

they needed at home, this is the time to take control of your life

and make it what you’ve always wanted. Professors and fellow students

can provide invaluable encouragement, along with your own realization

that it’s in your hands.

In the meantime, enjoy the summer. Earn some money, head out to

the beach and spend all the time you can with family and friends,

because, while it’s not fair to say you’ll be entering the “real

world,” it is fair to say things will never be the same.