poor students! they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. the parents mean well: they are trying to steer their sons and daughters toward a secure future. but the sons and daughters want to major in history or classics or philosophy-- subjects with no "practical" value.where＇s the payoff on the humanities? it＇s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. the intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field.

luckily for me, most of them got into their field by an indirect route, to their surprise, after many roundabout ways.the students are startled. they can hardly conceive of a career that was not preplanned. they can hardly imagine allowing the hand of god or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.