Career, Bright Future, etc

'How does growing up on a farm work out for a child?' doesn't have one answer. My son (15) and daughter (12) have both lived on farm since they were 6 and 3. Both are now capable of comprehending the fact that they've had a different childhood compared to what they could've had. Both of them have very different takes and ideas about their future paths. Isn't that how it is in all cases? Siblings with the same upbringing and circumstances do grow up to be different. 

My daughter doesn't think much about this issue. She has the ability to live in the moment and make the most of it. I think it would be interesting to navigate through my son's mind a bit.

He acknowledges that there are advantages of growing up on a farm, not going to a school and isolation. But the flip side troubles him too. Similarly, he acknowledges the importance of good food but loves junk food as well. He can't deny the need to have healthy habits but also can't stay away from the phone and miss out on the world of information and entertainment.

Planning for future is understandably a daunting task. He is well informed about the decaying systems of governance, education and to an extent business management. But he doesn't necessarily have to fight for the larger good. There are individual aspirations of affluence and power, which don't seem unimportant to him. 

What he seems to realise is that by continuing to live on the farm, he will neither cause any larger impact nor will be able to meet his aspirations of affluence and power. There are some benefits of continuing here, but they seem frivolous - at least as of now. 

The world is evolving very fast. The pandemic seems to have accelerated the evolution. The future will surely be much different from what we can imagine today. Thankfully, as a parent I don't need to instruct him to a familiar bright future. He is doing his bit to find answers. Also, he can draw from his experience of childhood and mainstream perspective, which everyone around ensures he doesn't miss out on. 

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