Your own Katmandu

'You really must become a writer,'' she said. 'And you must get out of this deadly town, too-as soon as you can. You must find what I should have had the courage to look for,' she said, 'what we should all have the courage to look for.'
"What is that?" I said.
Her answer was this: "Your own Katmandu."
--excerpt from Kurt Vonnegut's novel Deadeye Dick

We are reading 2 excerpts from this novel in my 10g class, and I thought this excerpt was amazing. I think a lot of time students lack encouragement from their teachers and parents. Sometimes our job as older people is to recognize and nuture talent we see in younger people. They need direction and help to understand and realize their full potential.
This made me think of myself when I was in high school. I pretty much was a well rounded kid: always got good grades, was ahead of my class in math and played sports. I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself going in to college but I knew I was interested in Japanese and traveling. It wasnt til I took freshman english that my teacher told me I wrote pretty well. I got an A in the class when most people (from what he said) only got B's and C's. I never really paid much attention to this tho. Then in my senior year I took a Black Studies course that involved writing and the teacher told me that I wrote exceptionally well. I took an independent studies course with her the next semester and we developed my writing skills. Had someone told me prior to this and more improtantly had I listened, I think I would have double majored in International studies and english. Ah well.....
This doesnt really apply to people who dont teach or work with youth I suppose. But it just occurred to me that sometimes younger people are so caught up in other things that they dont take notice to what's special about them and sometimes it takes an older more wiser person to point things out to them.
The second part of the excerpt was kinda wack. The boy tells his parents that he wants to be a writer and they encourage him to do otherwise. He ends up gettin a degree in pharmacy and ends up workin some deadend job selling watches, perfumes and cigs. Later he enters a playwright contest and wins. I wish I could read the entire book. It sounds interesting just from these 2 excerpts.
Well anyway, if you havent already done so, find out what makes you happy. A lot of times I think we are scared to follow our dreams, and be great. Or maybe just lazy and dont want to put in the effort to make our dreams come true.
Whatever the case, you should try to find your own katmandu at some point.....