In Perspecitve - A Little Advice for the Ladies

In Perspective - A Little Advice for the Ladies

By Rodney Hays

It's almost that glorious time of the year when schools let out for summer break and teachers begin drinking binges that last until early August.
Just kidding. Most teachers drinking binges last until mid-October.
As May rolls around many students will be finishing up their high school careers and moving on to the next chapter of life. Many of the students will also be young ladies. Most of the rest will be young men.
Finishing up high school brings along with it many decisions in life. There will be decisions about career choices, about education, about relationships, and most importantly about whether to own a cat or a dog. These decisions will be tough. They will open themselves up to second-guessing. Most of you will want advice on what to do with these major life decisions. And that is why I am here.
I am always more than willing to offer my advice, no matter how useless, trivial and not based on real life it is. Hey, it's what I do. This week I would like to offer some life advice for the young ladies out there.
I am an expert on giving advice to young ladies for two reasons: 1) Many of the women in my life have been young ladies and 2) I am a man. So sit back and take to heart what I'm about to tell you. Feel free to clip this column out and place it in your journal, diary or some other notebook where you can refer to it often throughout the next couple of years.
The first piece of advice for you young ladies is about career choices. There are a lot of career choices out there for you ladies. It isn't like the 1340s when jobs for young ladies were limited to housewives, midwives and ex-wives.
I know it's a crazy world out there and many jobs seem like work. These are the jobs you want to avoid as a career. I'm not suggesting that young ladies find jobs where they can be lazy. I'm telling you that finding a job where you love what you do and you want to go to work everyday is one of the keys to happiness. Don't forget this.
A lot of young people make the mistake of chasing a job that makes a lot of money. After several years in those types of jobs, many people realize the money is nice but the career has become a prison, with the same white walls, terrible food and only an hour in the yard every day.
Don't make that mistake. Do what you love.
Now let me give you a word about education. College is a really nice option. I think everybody should at least give college a try. You never know where you might excel. But, ultimately, college isn't for everybody. But you know what is for everybody: education.
Never stop learning. No matter if it's in a school setting, at the foot of a mentor or from a life-long habit of reading (books, not In Touch magazine), you need to keep learning. Books are expensive. Classes are expensive. Education is expensive. But still ignorance is even more expensive.
And that brings me to a little advice on relationships. Many girls become infatuated with guys in high school. I don't know why, guys are jerks. I know because I am one -- not an actual jerk, but a guy.
Many girls base a lot of decisions on guys. Let me help you ladies out.
First, the type of guy you choose will make a difference. I know some of you are saying, "Duh." And you would be right. But even though some girls know this little fact, they still choose a guy that is a bad seed thinking they can change him.
Here's the deal, ladies. You will not change a guy. The only thing that can change a guy is that guy. You can take on a Project Guy thinking you will mold him into the person you want him to be. You will be sadly disappointed. Figure out what you want in a guy and go out and find "that" guy. Don't try to make some other guy into "that" guy. Don't lower your standards with a Project Guy.
Also, don't let guys make major life decisions for you. Many girls base what college they will attend on where a boyfriend is going instead of where they will be best served. Sometimes this works out. And some people also win the lottery. The best thing a young lady can do is what is best for her. If that guy is really meant to be the one, nothing (including four years apart) will keep that relationship from happening. Haven't you guys seen The Notebook?

And that brings me to dogs and cats. Please ladies, get a dog. If you must get a cat, only get one. Cats just scare me. But maybe that's a personal issue. Do what you want on that one and don't let some guy tell you what pet to have.
I look forward to hearing about how all of you succeed in life. Success comes when you are happy and leaving a legacy behind with the lives you touch every day. Start now.

To read more of Rodney Hays' humor, check out his blog at www.rodneyhays.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rodhays. And check him out on Facebook.