Dreams, Talents, Working and Unworking
In a few months’ time, my daughter Imogen will finish her university degree. She’s started thinking about what she would like to do next.
“I have three lofty dreams,” she says.
One of them involves a piano, a microphone and a box of make-up. Can you guess what she wants to do?
In this week’s podcast, I talk to Imogen about her dreams for the future. We discuss the following questions:
What are Imogen’s dreams, and is it possible for her to follow them?
Should I encourage her in these dreams?
Or should I point her in the direction of safe and secure employment?
We all have talents. Are we obliged to use them?
What might the word ‘unworking’ mean?
Using our own definition of the word, should unschooling lead to unworking?
Unschoolers are different. Can this be frustrating?
And what new adventure might Imogen and I be setting out on?
Show Notes
Blog posts about following dreams
The Power of a Few Encouraging Words
Have you ever had a dream? I have. When I was a child, I wanted to write children’s novels. But somewhere along the way, I gave up the idea of becoming an author. There was no time for dreams. I had to be sensible and get a regular job with a regular income. That was what was expected.
The Opportunity to Discover, the Freedom to Choose
I want my children to have the opportunity to discover their talents, and the freedom to pursue their dreams, whether or not I feel they will lead to a good career. Of course, they might make a few mistakes along the way, go down a few dead ends and have to start again. But that’s okay. They have my unconditional encouragement and support whatever they choose to do.
There seems to be a minority of people in the world who say, “I’m really lucky. I get to do what I enjoy most each day… and I get paid for it!” Everyone else goes to ‘work’, and passions and interests have to fit into the leftover hours of the working week.
Music
Frammenti, by Andrea Carri, (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)
I hope you enjoy our podcast: Dreams, Talents, Working and Unworking.
The photos show Imogen working towards one of her dreams.