Smart Cookies

I graduated from high school a year early and began my college career commuting to Eastern Michigan University from my parents home. The neighborhood in which I grew up was working class and we were an anomaly with only 2 children. I was the first person in my extended family to graduate from college and I am grateful for that opportunity.

Well, a few decades later my children can’t comprehend college years without travel abroad, a DVD player, laptop computer, i-Tunes/ i-Pod/ i-Phone, and parents that can pay their way. Our oldest daughter has always excelled at school. When I begged her to play high school basketball she was masterfully persuasive when she explained that academics were her “thing” to be a first string participant in. She entered University of Michigan with a semester and a half of AP credits and avoided my advice to major in something practical (meaning something where you’re employable upon graduation). Instead she pursued a Russian and Eastern European History track that included living in Russia. And of course I was right, despite graduating with honors she had a difficult time finding a job (note my 95% being right reputation).

That means I can be wrong 5% of the time and this was one of those times. Because she is not only intelligent but extremely hard working and ambitious she was able to think out of the box and find a path that led her to a successful career as a Senior Investment Associate at a major consulting firm. Recently I had the opportunity to attend an open house at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business that included good food, champagne and a chance to meet some brilliant classmates. My dear child is beginning a new milestone in our family. Not only is she pursuing her MBA at one of the top business schools in the world, the company where she is a highly valued full time employee is PAYING FOR IT! I am excited for her and for me.

My daughter and I are both smart cookies with an above average IQ. To my immense pleasure she’s been parlay that intelligence into a much broader range of experiences
than I ever dreamed of for myself. And she’s been very generous to share many of them with me. Luckily I am a witty and entertaining companion and only minimally intrusive.

Here's my smart cookie with an up and coming smart cookie (or maybe I should say smarty pants for now).