> My kids get regular doses of “No limits!” and “You can be whatever you want!” in school, and I resent it because it simply isn’t true. You cannot actually be

> My kids get regular doses of “No limits!” and “You can be whatever you want!” in school, and I resent it because it simply isn’t true. You cannot actually be whatever you want. That’s harmful, sentimental garbage. Fact is, the real world is chock full of limits. I've long observed that modern culture and media seem to be really stuck on this idea that kids everywhere are having their dreams held back by evil adults who just want to crush their dreams, for no good reason in particular. The archetype in many movies is that some adult is telling some kid to abandon his dreams. I always found this interesting because no one ever attempted this with me. As suggested, they attempted the opposite, and told me that I could be whatever I wanted. Ultimately I think this was well-intended, but harmful advice. Most of the things I like or care about aren't just infeasible careers -- they're not jobs at all. The things I'm "passionate" about are just not career-worthy. I like reading books, playing video games, doing house chores while listening to podcasts, and talking to friends. It might sound stupid, but as a younger adult (18-25) I really had the mistaken impression that I didn't enjoy work because I hadn't found a good job yet. Really, there was nothing I enjoyed in my life which could actually survive the transition to a career. What I just described is really all leisure, and can't count as work. Yes, you can technically make a career out of the things I listed, but they cease to bear much resemblance to how I participated in them. Casually playing a video game occasionally is much different from developing or writing, or reviewing games. Occasionally reading a good book is much different from being able to write a book, or reviewing books for a living, etc. And a proclivity towards enjoying a book every so often says nothing about one's ability to make a career out of books. I suppose the point I'm trying to drive at is that there is a wide berth between what someone is interested in, and their ability to make that into a career. I would have benefited from being forced into the workplace sooner so that I could realize that all jobs out there are "work," even if there are some enjoyable aspects to them. ie, that there are fundamental differences between work and leisure, and that a kid who enjoys some hobbies is totally incapable of identifying his "passions." But, no one really seems to want to tell that story, at least in popular media. They want an easy good guy and bad guy. They seem fixated on the idea that as a child I truly knew myself, and in some sense was pure -- and that the world was an adulterating influence, bitterly set on holding me back. The opposite was true: as a child I barely know myself, and the world was ready to teach me important lessons, but mentors and media kept trying to protect me from learning about the world.