This past week I was talking to a friend whose partner is going through the difficult decision to give up her studies. And I realized that she has ended up where she has because people have said “You’re smart. You should study more.” Why don’t we say “You’re smart. You could do anything. What would you like to use your smarts for?”

There are a lot of very unhappy PhD students and academics. Which demonstrates that even smart people do not always find intellectual labour satisfying.

I have a BA. I’m the only one of my close high school friends who didn’t continue after undergrad. But then I was always the one who hated sitting still and being indoors. And it turns out that, with one or two stellar exceptions, we’ve all ended up pretty much at the same place in life.

I tell my kids to do whatever they want, as long as they do it well.

Act One. Hey Mister DJ.

For NPR’s Adam Davidson, dropping out of college is the worst thing any young person can do in this economy. So when Adam’s favorite cousin DJ does just that, Adam brings in a professor of economics from Georgetown University to help persuade DJ to get back on the right track. Only after hearing them both out, the professor thinks Adam, not DJ, might be the one on the wrong side of things. (10 minutes)

It’s not that DJ was especially passionate about a particular craft — rather that he was perfectly happy with a life that has thus far included any number of jobs (construction worker, bouncer, etc.) that aren’t in any danger of getting shipped overseas.

If I may ask, which small liberal arts college in New England?