Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is my dad's birthday. One thing I always notice on both of my parents' birthdays is that they are young compared to everyone else's parents. And I love it. My dad was never too old to go hiking with us, play in the yard, wrestle, or ride snowmobiles. He still has the energy to work out regularly, scuba dive, and just play around with the kids or the dog.

I went to a very interesting forum/lecture at BYU about a week ago from a visiting professor, Phil Gardner, from Michigan or Michigan State. He spoke about students in my age demographic as an interesting product of economy, baby-boomer culture, and parental and societal messages and the impact this has had on education and careers. Unfortunately, a lot of what he discussed was the entitlement, "I am special," "The world owes it to me" type of attitudes many of my peers share. He discussed things like young adults lacking direction, being unwilling to commit to an employer, refusing to do something because it's "not fun," and playing the victim when someone thinks work is subpar. Perhaps all individuals who hear this lecture in my age group think they are not a part of this group of people, but as I sat and listened, I truly believed that I was not a typical fit for most of these issues.

Sure, I remember learning about how special I was and self esteem throughout elementary school. I do get caught up into wanting nice furniture and a decent sized home and cars with all the luxuries--then I realize how long it took for my parents to get their own matching bedroom set or a home with enough bedrooms for everyone. I do sometimes feel like people giving me feedback are the bad guys instead of me being the one with the problem. But, for the most part, I know how to work hard, how to dedicate myself and my integrity to an employer, how to set goals and follow after them, how to be dependable. I know that I don't have to have cable tv or brand new clothes because that's what I had at home. And I trust that my parents are fair and it's not a competition with my own siblings to see who got more from mom and dad than another.

I paid for my own undergraduate degree, without student loans, parent assistance (thanks for lunch, Dad!), or debt. I graduated from BYU in three years, cum laude, and independently moved to NC (barely 21 years old) because I knew that decision would further my career and educational goals. I graduated with my masters degree from a top, prestigious and accelerated program, completing 60 credit hours and a 9-month long internship in 13 months. I took initiative to seek out a scholarship for grad school and was one of 10 people selected nationwide for my essay on accountability in school counseling. I have worked ultra-full time in the middle of no-where, 90-120 hours per week, with delinquents and critical supervisors for 22 months--outlasting over 100 other counselors. And I am now married, have a full-time career as a career counselor and have helped over 210 students, with an average of 2-3 follow-ups per student. I have co-chaired and spear-headed three campus events, serving over 1,800 students and increasing participation by over 400 from previous events. My husband and I have paid off one car, and will shortly pay off the other, over 1 1/4 years early.

I don't mean this as a brag sheet, but rather a tribute to my dad. As I look around at so many of my peers who fit the profile of the students spoken of in the lecture I attended, I see that they didn't have a dad like mine. I owe all of my success to both my parents, but particularly, my work ethic, sense of integrity, flexibility, ambition, and determination to my dad. As I get older, I realize the courage and drive he has instilled in me--that I should go after excellence and not settle because I am scared of failure or the world or because I merely do not feel like it. Thanks Dad! I really appreciate all you have done to help me become the woman that I am. Happy Birthday!