High school is such a fun and confusing time for teenagers. We are supposed to figure out exactly or at the very least, generally, what we want to do with the rest of our lives before we even turn eighteen. Most of the kids in my high school planned to attend college and I was one of those kids. I was not certain of what I would want to be but I narrowed it down to a teacher, writer or lawyer. Fortunately there was enough in common with all three choices that I could get started immediately with undergraduate work and narrow it down later during my sophomore or junior year. My boyfriend on the other hand was completely lost and could not decide if he wanted to go to college or get a ford franchise like his father. I was not in favor of the ford franchise idea and made it perfectly clear to him that if he was not going to college I could not guarantee what our future would hold for us.

It may seem harsh to be so blunt; especially when you are in a relationship with someone, you care about a great deal. I could not however picture myself in a life of used ford dealerships with a replica of his parents’ life. I was extremely disappointed that he was even considering a ford franchise because he was such a talented artist that I wanted to see him fulfill his potential in this area. He claimed it was a practicality issue and that when comparing used ford dealerships or a ford franchise with art there was no contest, he would choose art. However, when it was a question of money and the ability to provide a stable existence for a family there was also no contest, art would not pay the bills. I found this to be a very pessimistic and negative approach to the world at only eighteen years of age, when we were supposed to see the world as full of hopes and dreams that could be realized with enough dedication and hard work. I guess the impact of having a father who is in the position to fund a ford franchise is something that I just could not understand because even if my father were in that position he would never offer such a thing and I would never accept such a thing. The values that we are taught as kids do eventually sink in and I realized that the discussion with my boyfriend over our potential future had a lot less to do with used ford dealerships and a lot more to do with values.

It is not as though there is anything wrong with wanting to run a car dealership, I just could not accept letting go of your dreams that early on in life. His point was that he could always do his art in his spare time and still enjoy it and if he were successful enough, he would have even more time to do it without the pressure of financial obligations weighing him down. We parted ways after graduation. I went on to college and he ended up with a ford franchise.

Running a Ford franchise wouldn’t have been a bad job when you look at the fact that if you set it up in the right place then you could make yourself a lot of money in the long run. Ford cars are always great sellers and the dealerships are always making a lot of money. Whether or not he made it into the millions remains to be seen.