[My mom] wants me to finish high school, you know, successfully. She wants me to go to college
and to become an RN. Like I said, she wants me to basically do everything that she wasn’t able to do
when she was younger, when she was my age.
Some youth recognize how long they would need to be in school in order to enter the occupation
they are interested in but find the length of time daunting. Sheena is a 16 year-old female who wants to be an
eye doctor but does not want to be in school for the length of time required for that field. She says:
To tell you the truth I’m tired of school, even though, like I want to become an eye doctor, but you
still got to go to college for all that medical stuff. And I…I just can’t do a total of eight years of
school!
Although Sheena is daunted by the length of time she would need to be in school, she has a clear idea of the
necessary steps to achieve that goal.
Backup Plans
Some youths who give clear expectations for their future careers also have backup plans in case
those plans fall through. Terrence is an 18 year-old male whose mom is currently enrolled in college. He
plans to go to college for business, but will go into the Marines or the Air Force if college does not work out,
and he specifically calls this his “backup plan.”
Thomas is a 15 year-old male who lives in Robert Taylor Homes. He wants to play basketball, but
knows this is only a dream so he is planning to be an architect and use sports as a means to get through
college. Thomas says:
I’m just going to use basketball to get through college, but if I get drafted or something, that…hey,
that’ll be good! But I ain’t, I don’t really…that’s like a, that’s a dream. I wouldn’t want to live my
life doing that and then don’t get into it. That stuff. So, if I do get into college, if I do go to college, I
want to get a degree in architecture. Something I can use.
Timing of families
The youth who have aligned educational and career expectations often discuss their family
expectations in relationship to their educational and career trajectories. Tiana is a 14 year-old female who
wants to be a doctor and plans to wait to have a family until after she is done with college. Tiana says:
I know I want to go to college, finish college… I know that I want to study like in the medical field,
because I’ve wanted to do that since I was little. I know I want to be in the medical field, and I know
I want to finish college, and then, like become a doctor. I know I want to do all that, I know I want
to do that… [I want to have] a family, someday, yeah. Like, when I get done with school and all
that. Have a family in the future. Just one child, that’s it.
8
Convention