listening...for your passion

Scary realization today that sometimes my students actually listen to me. Yikes. Of course, this is a good thing. But it's also a little frightening because it means I have to remember to always speak carefully and thoughtfully and knowledgeably and sincerely. Phew. I know, this seems very basic - like we should do it all the time. But I'm sure we can all think of times when we haven't. And honestly, it takes great care to do it all...and great energy and emotion, too.
My reminder today came in the form of a 9th grader who came to talk to me about his schedule and whether or not her should drop one of his music classes to add another math class. He wanted to know which would be more impressive on his resume. After a few questions about other things related to what he likes to do, why he was thinking about this, etc... I realized that I'd failed to ask the most basic but simple question of all - what he loved, math or music? His face lit up as he said, "I love my music class. I mean, I like math but I love music." My response was simple, "Do what you love. Stick with the music. Seems like you've found a passion, go with it." We talked a little about how lucky he was to have found something he really loved. He agreed, said he would talk to his advisor, and then the Dean of Students. Apparently when he went to see our Dean of Students he asked his questions about math and then said, "Well, I've talked to college counseling and she says to do what I love, so I'm going to stick with my music classes."
I know, I know...some of you are thinking that this might not have been the most practical advice. Some of you are thinking, "Please don't let her ever have kids of her own because they will just go through life finding what they love and not being bothered with reality." Some of you would argue that another math class might serve him well at some point in his life. And, yes, all of that might be true. But I think sometimes you have to do the thing that doesn't make the most sense on the surface because it feels right in your heart. Because it's linked to the thing that drives you and brings a smile to your face. Because it's the thing that completes you (as cheesy as that sounds). You might have to make sacrifices to do this - to follow your passion. It might someday mean a pay cut. It might mean not being able to spend certain time with friends. It might mean a lot of things. It might mean that people question you and that the world doesn't understand you. You might be called foolish or stupid or naive. But I truly believe that the more we can follow our passions, the happier we are in life, and the better we are for ourselves and for our world. And I guess if students start to learn that by taking an extra music class rather than a math class then I'm going to keep talking in hopes that they will listen.