Deflecting the dreaded midlife malaise
Issue 69 : Nov/Dec 2009
In this issue, Graham Watt puts forth a convincing argument that a wonderful education is available to the young person who invests his or her college-tuition funds in building, and then cruising aboard, a sailboat. I agree whole-heartedly. There’s no reason for youngsters to go to college until they’re ready to buckle down and until they have some clue about what it is they’d like to study. Until then, why not go out into the world and earn a few practical experiences in the school of hard knocks? The best lessons are the ones we learn by figuring things out for ourselves, especially if we make a few mistakes along the way.
The young people who choose sailing over college will almost certainly find out what’s really important to them, learn where their natural gifts lie, and come to understand themselves in a way that those who join the herd and follow the prescribed path never will. It’s much more likely that they will also learn to think independently.
Clearly, this is not the choice for everyone. If they all made this choice, the lessons would be diluted beyond reason. So for those young sailors who already have a marine-related career goal in mind, BoatU.S. has just put together a terrific guide to selecting colleges. View it at http://www.boatus.com/colleges.
It’s the perfect time
With the job market the way it is today, however, perhaps this is the perfect time for those few who have the right set of inclinations and interests to take an early sabbatical. If I were to counsel today’s young people, I would tell them that learning how to use tools and creating something with their own hands are highly valued and very satisfying goals, and the skills acquired will serve them well over the years ahead. How very rewarding it would be to celebrate an accomplishment such as building a boat by making a world cruise aboard the product of your labor.
It’s very possible that if some of today’s youngsters were to go forth to see the world now, they might deflect the midlife malaise that affects many who come to realize that they have been committed to a bad career decision made at age 18. After all, those who delay college can always attend later, when they understand their goals and are committed to pursuing them. It will only get more difficult to get away later when adult responsibilities tie them down.
My hopes ride on all young people (whether sailors or in some other independent endeavor) who will follow the path less chosen, who will select their own education, who will march to a different drummer.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
