How should a client respond to therapist's impairment?
Is it too late for me? Please let me know what you think. -- Hopeful
DEAR HOPEFUL: I love your question, because I am somewhat of a personal expert on this particular subject. My own mother started attending college when she was 48 years old, after several years spent working as a typist in an office. She went on to get her undergraduate and then her master's degree. Education late in life changed her life in profound ways. It was also wonderful as a young person to see my mom (who raised my siblings and me as a single mother) taking tangible steps to pursue her education.
Community college might be the best place for you to start. Community colleges offer quality education at a great value. You may have help financing your education through scholarships and grants. Explore all of this thoroughly before making your decision. I assume your entire family will be thrilled and proud if you make this life-affirming choice.
DEAR AMY: I have a few words for "Upset Engineer" (whose parents were discouraging her): Don't give up your dreams! I majored in electrical engineering, and like you my parents didn't think it was "feminine" and wanted me to go into medicine. Like you, I came from a culture where parents felt they could dictate their children's paths. I tried their medicine suggestion (briefly), then understood the true meaning of being grown up: making your own decisions and leading your own life.
Forty years later I have no regrets -- I have been a successful engineering executive, a CEO, and am happily married with two children. But achieving my dreams required growing a backbone and making it clear (politely) to my parents that these were my decisions to make, and mine alone. -- Fellow Female Engineer
DEAR ENGINEER: The enthusiastic response and encouragement from women engineers is inspiring. I hope "Upset" is paying attention.
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(You can contact Amy Dickinson via email: askamy@tribpub.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or "like" her on Facebook. Amy Dickinson's memoir, "The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, a Daughter and the Town that Raised Them" (Hyperion), is available in bookstores.)
