What we say: What next after the Schooling effect?
It's hard to believe that Schooling Fever is only a week old.
The good thing is that I finally have a positive "where were you when..."
story, rather than one relating to some disaster.
So what next?
Now that swimming has been "legitimatised", you can imagine more than a few pushy parents wanting their kids to start on that (potentially) golden path.
But should it be the parents pushing?
Unless you do want to send your kids off to some brutal training camp, as seen in videos of child gymnasts in China, there should be some free will.
And as much as I wish my parents had forced me to learn the piano, or continue that brief dalliance with the trumpet - oh, the fun I would be at parties - I'm happy they supported my passion for design.
Not that it was a passive interest from their side. They still pushed, and were blunt when the results were less than satisfactory.
But they let me find that path.
And let's not forget that no skill is just arrived at.
The brand of equipment or name of the school has little bearing if the hours are not put in. It takes time to hone a skill and drive to push the limits.
Yet this talk of drive to succeed should not be kept to the young.
Everyone needs to find that new pursuit, no matter what his or her age is. Find that spark, and you can find that drive.
For me, I'll just give my neighbours fair warning: There is a trumpet I have been eyeing for some time now.
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