So this week I had two heart-to-heart conversations with my students about real life lessons they should know... because let's face it: someone should tell them. No one told me and I really would have appreciated a heads up.
- Conversation 1): Sometimes all you have is looks so you better marry someone you are attracted to.
They asked me what I meant and I calmly informed them that there would be days when they absolutely loathed their spouse and the only thing getting them through the agony of frustration would be their spouse's good looks. They asked if that had ever happened to me and I simply asked them to look at a picture of Quinn and decide for themselves. I pointed out that he is tall, dark, and has a full head of hair he probably won't ever lose. I said these features were definitely not lost on me when I was selecting my eternal companion. They were shocked that I would say something so "mean." Not mean I told them, just practical. They asked if I was "living on Quinn's looks" at the moment. I said no. Mostly it had just been that baptism by fire first few years but that now we have more to go off of than looks and I actually really like him.
- Conversation 2): Prepare yourself, half of what you make you will never ever see.
I was brunt and frank with them on tax day about the reality of taxes. I broke the news to them that 40% of what they make will automatically be taken by the government and that if they are LDS like me, 10% more will go to tithing. Some of them were smart enough to do the math and figure that 1 out of every 2 dollars they'll make, they'll never keep.
Do you still think I should get a raise? I asked them after we talked over some of the things their taxes will pay for. Many of them hesitated. The smart ones then made the jump to a national health care plan and in not so many words I let them stew over the cost/benefit analysis of increased welfare. There were some few souls who seemed not a bit taken back by these sharp and cutting numbers. When their friends asked them why they remained calm and unangered, they stated proudly, "My family doesn't pay taxes. I'm illegal."
