Quote:
Originally Posted by GauleyPilot
From what I have heard listening to today's teenagers, a great number of them have no ambitions for the future. They care to talk more about "hanging out" that night rather than something happening ten years down the road. I sense that they feel shut out from the opportunities of past generations, and I feel in large part they are right.
I think about this frequently. I'm only 20 years old, but I do wish I had worked harder in high school and right now in college. I was not a bad student, but pretty average. I made A's in subjects I like, B's in ones I was ambivalent about, and C's in ones I disliked. When I did choose to apply myself, the results were great. I suppose it is better to gain wisdom eventually rather than never, but when I look back at myself 5 or even 2 years ago, I cringe at who I was and what I thought was important. Knowing what I know now, I would have done things so much differently.
It is true that the opportunities that existed for past generations are harder to get to today. I live in metro Atlanta, and every student in high school here wants to go to UGA. Back in the 70's, successfully filling out an application was the admission criteria. Today, the average freshman GPA is a 3.7. Average does not cut it anymore.
I have to accept that my academic choices could preclude me from having a successful aviation career or a USAF flight slot, even though I am punctual and a hard worker. I take it in stride and try to focus on what I can change, and learn from the past, not dwell in it.