Counsels to My College Child Now When He Needs to Hear It Later

Here's my response to a friend who doesn't get it yet but I understand. Thanks for the honest opinion, that's what I need take on different audience who may or more possibly still not get it more after writing this.  Some minds are open some are closed, it's how we grow as positive loving fun adults. 

I just took time for  this long text because I love that person and care for her inputs why I Vlog my counsel to a teenager, and actually meaning to write a blog again and this is my first post (if you don’t mind) After I paused for a year now but now that my clarity to do what I want is finally open.  

The Past

Maybe It will take some time for late bloomers to understand, like when I started the unofficial Facebook Counselor Group for the Navy (Called CareerWise) in 2008, no views and it was widely  criticize by my fellow Chiefs, DC headquarters, Sailors for many months until 2 years later got  37k followers (mostly Navy counselors hub when it started) – the most in many Navy group pages and got awarded for it twice.  

Also, I started Video logs page in 2005 called Astro-Family I've been doing for 17 years non stop on my son’s journey  is all for memories and like your Instagram for posterity, but I never intended to promote but if I can market it, it’s OK too.  My son hated those videos for years, now I share it to him and really loved it. Like Myla (my wife) just said, maybe my critic is not my  type of audience who listens to long counsel (I listen to others myself), but the videos are just representation of what exactly I did for 20 years for Navy Sailors whose ages are between 23-30 who listened to my career counseling on something like:

1  How to Get Promoted.

2 How to Budget

3 How to Deal with Boss

4 Where is the next duty station

5 How to be a Millionaire Sailor (my regular Workshop as the Financial Petty Officer)

6 How to Transition (my 3 day monthly workshop)

7 How to find a job

Etc.    I enjoyed it and got paid for it.

Did that everyday as a job in an old acceptable format – classroom and office, not video.  Also maybe if you read a few books of authors whose audience is only one, their baby son or daughter to be read later my format just happens to be a Vlog and using a free cloud to store it.

Some examples of Books as Expression Meant for their Child but Others to Read 

From me book shelf that inspired me to do the same but in a Vlog format and all about college, career, commerce, culture and Christianity. 

I just googled "Books Written for their Son" or daughter and these images came about.  There is actually more than these because with indirect titles, it will not show up like this bestseller - The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. 

Back in my Navy story, then maybe  I crossed the line, when a new boss (I get new boss every 2-3 years as they also transfer stations) didn’t get what I do outside the box (it’s military, I realized, duh).  He hated me for it because maybe others loved it.  I reported him like a whistleblower (powerful man in DC) on something he did, so I was forced to retire and he retired a year later to become the head of military career counselors in Virginia to get back to me by blacklisting me as counselor. So I got no referrals for years.

The Present 

Anyway, this format is not yet acceptable - just like most everything I did - Out of the box. 

Back in the days, parents save physical legacy (house, money, etc) that means valuable for them then, but now, children ends up selling them for virtual items. 

Then came saving photos, videos, that means precious time for memories - for now and too common, that true value is lost.  Jpegs saved in their hard drive that crashes.  Them came a few now Instagram and Facebook to store them.

The Future 

Now, I thought, instead of Tictok, or dance silly just to get a 🙏❤️😆👍, I still defaulted to what I do my way without too much effort, just being my self as a retired counselor in the beach with zero effort.  But I can still do silly things like Zumba and karaoke for the type of audience who doesn't need to think much, just laugh or cringe.  They is OK too. 

Also, this is my other side that no one know and merging my serious and loose personality may disorient some of them.  But having a diverse friends and at the same time loves culture and proud of  their culture, no matter how acceptable it is to others as long as it’s harmless could understand where I’m going.

This is Not an Actual Counseling to my Son 

With regards to communication with my son, that’s personal.  I speak to him everyday. But not all these topics that only a working professional adults can get it.  As counselor I realized, we don’t advice because they will always do what whey want, they just want to affirm what they believe with a counselor. Some even paid for it.

Why Explain When Some People Only Listen to what they Want 

I realized, explaining why I do this may even worsen my selling point as some humans don't like to be told what is right or what is wrong.  But some will have a more open mind.  I just want to state my case. 

And so that’s why I Vlog to my son like a Counselor Chatting with my College Child.