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I've been coming to realize, particularly in the past 4 months since I graduated college, that my generation is really strongly prepped to look for a system to follow. We apply for internships and residencies and shows, instead of going out and making the things we want to make. We look for jobs, instead of looking for someone who will pay us to do something interesting. It's not that we're not free, or capable, or surrounded with opportunities -- it's that we're set up to only go for opportunities when somebody "accepts" us to one.
Maybe your kids aren't of this mindset yet. It might be my peer group. But one of the most exhilarating thing about being out of college is the growing realization that I get to invite myself to whatever opportunity I want. It's generally terrifying. But I'd say kids should go somewhere that is open-ended, vague, full of exploration, and emphasizes them figuring out what it is they care about. At the very least, it shouldn't be about a career anymore.
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