Jump to content

anyone shot down by a guidance counselor?


Haden Olmsted

Recommended Posts

  • Members

Im making this thread because i was reading the church musician one and it got me thinking about some of my conversations and experiences with ignorant people... so here we go...

 

When i was a junior (11th grade) in high school (a whopping 3 years ago lol), the respective guidance counselors (you were assigned on based on where your last name sat in the alphabet) came to talk to you on what you wanted to do with your life... that whole deal everyone goes through about what your future should be. To start things off, the lady i got assigned, or rather sentenced to, was a complete incompetent. she could never remember my damn name, or anything that i was interested in, or anything important about me. If you need a good example think of the guidance counselor from Orange County... the one who mixes up the transcripts... that was basically her... in fact they even looked the same.

 

So this lady brings me and a few other of my class mates, who were also assigned to her, into her office to talk about "the future". As usual, the lady began to push the "college experience" to the extreme. I had already planned on going, but some people have other plans right? After the other kids get the rigamarole on which school they "should" being going to and what they "should" be studying... finally it my turn comes up...

 

She sits me down and begins to ask me what Im interested in, even though we have already talked about this a hundred times before... I give her my simple answer, "I want to study music, and specifically the guitar". I continue to explain to her that iv researched a few different schools, and looked into different degrees and certificate programs, and talked about it with my dad, and even went to a college fair, and talked to several of the schools I had looked into. Sounds like i did my homework right? Her response to all of my dreams, hopes and ambitions was this this...

 

"That all sounds nice, but you need to grow up and get a real job..." - exact quote...

 

I couldnt believe this crap. naturally I told her that wasnt her decision to make, and that this was the right path for me, and that everyone i knew was supporting me. I went home and told my parents and private teachers and even my guitar teacher at the high school, all of which were shocked that this was the "guidance" i was getting. Luckily i haven't let it bother me too much. Im in school studying music production and jazz guitar, and will be starting my second year in the fall.

 

If you all have any stories like that post em. Lets all share our emotion beatings from the one they call the "high school guidance counselor"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 91
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

 

Im making this thread because i was reading the church musician one and it got me thinking about some of my conversations and experiences with ignorant people... so here we go...


When i was a junior (11th grade) in high school (a whopping 3 years ago lol), the respective guidance counselors (you were assigned on based on where your last name sat in the alphabet) came to talk to you on what you wanted to do with your life... that whole deal everyone goes through about what your future should be. To start things off, the lady i got assigned, or rather sentenced to, was a complete incompetent. she could never remember my damn name, or anything that i was interested in, or anything important about me. If you need a good example think of the guidance counselor from Orange County... the one who mixes up the transcripts... that was basically her... in fact they even looked the same.


So this lady brings me and a few other of my class mates, who were also assigned to her, into her office to talk about "the future". As usual, the lady began to push the "college experience" to the extreme. I had already planned on going, but some people have other plans right? After the other kids get the rigamarole on which school they "should" being going to and what they "should" be studying... finally it my turn comes up...


She sits me down and begins to ask me what Im interested in, even though we have already talked about this a hundred times before... I give her my simple answer, "I want to study music, and specifically the guitar". I continue to explain to her that iv researched a few different schools, and looked into different degrees and certificate programs, and talked about it with my dad, and even went to a college fair, and talked to several of the schools I had looked into. Sounds like i did my homework right? Her response to all of my dreams, hopes and ambitions was this this...


"That all sounds nice, but you need to grow up and get a real job..." - exact quote...


I couldnt believe this crap. naturally I told her that wasnt her decision to make, and that this was the right path for me, and that everyone i knew was supporting me. I went home and told my parents and private teachers and even my guitar teacher at the high school, all of which were shocked that this was the "guidance" i was getting. Luckily i haven't let it bother me too much. Im in school studying music production and jazz guitar, and will be starting my second year in the fall.


If you all have any stories like that post em. Lets all share our emotion beatings from the one they call the "high school guidance counselor"

 

 

what college do you end up going to?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Thier job is to try to give direction,,,but mostly the direction of the monitary system..get a loan go to clledge get a 9-5 take out another loan buy a house...it never freakin ends,,,,she is from the system,,thats how the system works,,,its called slavery...we all need shelter food,,so we have to pawn ourselfs out the best we can....if you can do what you love and help others with your tallent..while this system still exist...I would consider that priceless..:thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

what college do you end up going to?

 

 

I go to Shenandoah Conservatory of music in winchester va. Its one of the better schools for music in my area, but not really known outside Virginia. The degree Im in is one of the only ones out there that combine a professionals degree with performance, so i get to study both equally, which is great, that way ill have performance skills and skills to get a solid job working somewhere as a sound engineer or a producer hopefully.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Mine told me that I'd be lucky to get into the state university (VT, which is a good school but not a huge stretch for in-staters), so I'd better apply to several junior colleges as back-up. This when my GPA was 2nd best in a class of 300, and my PSAT and SAT scores were >90%.

 

Our guidance counselors were really good with messed up kids who were on the verge of meltdown, but they were pretty much useless in any other scenario.

 

Ultimately, you have to take responsibility for getting information from multiple sources and picking through the inconsistencies. Much easier to do with help from parents, teachers, etc - I was lucky that way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

I go to Shenandoah Conservatory of music in winchester va. Its one of the better schools for music in my area, but not really known outside Virginia. The degree Im in is one of the only ones out there that combine a professionals degree with performance, so i get to study both equally, which is great, that way ill have performance skills and skills to get a solid job working somewhere as a sound engineer or a producer hopefully.

 

 

That's awesome. I was a music business major at Lee University for a few years. I dropped it though. It broke music down to it's most minute mathematical components and taught us rules and stuff and i eventually just began to hate music. Also it was all classical so I didn't really enjoy any of the music execpt for some of the romantic period stuff. So i changed majors and now i like music again lol. It was just too much technical stuff for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am 43 now i had the same conversation with my guidance councilor..His name was Carney Lansford..Now remember this was 1985..I said the same thing about wanting to study music mostly guitar and vocal..He gave me the speech of the chances of me becoming a professional musician is the same as becoming a pro athlete.

 

The funnest thing about it is i said well i could become a music teacher...His response was how that was not a very rewarding career choice.Well what the hell was he a teacher..

 

To make a long story short i went to California enrolled in Guitar institute and also attended a community college later...I ran out of Money and to pay for tuition i joined the Army reserve for the college fund as soon as i finished Advanced individual training i was called up to full time duty..Who would have thought but in the Army i found my home and enlisted in the regular Army ..

 

But i never forgot my dream of being a musician ...

 

After 11 years in the Army ..I was injured and medically retired from the service...I now am a full time musician..I work as a free lance contracted studio musician to pay the bills and i will do anything from commercials to porno soundtracks but its money..I also teach guitar and play in a traveling Blues band..

 

This fall after all these years i plan on going back to school and finishing the last 26 credit hours i have to go to get my Bachelor of the Arts degree in music ..I hope i'm saying that right its been a long time since i was in school...

 

The bottom line is that we have the right to dream..We also have the right to strive for that dream no matter how bleak it may be..But we also must role with the direction life takes us...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The only guy I know who studied music in a University ended up working in a bar, massively in debt. It's a harsh world out there

 

 

I know two; one made it bigtime as a Broadway musician and arranger, the other got into a fight and sustained a traumatic brain injury. Not sure what that says about the musician's dream and reality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Oh and to add to the discussion of crazy advisors. When i talked with my advisor about dropping music he began to ask me why, and i told him because the program only taught classical music and i did not want to be a concert pianist or a music teacher. Then he began to try as hard as he could to convince me that I should stick with music even though that's not want i want to do with the rest of my life because "your college major doesn't really have anything to do with what you want to do with the rest of your life. You don't need to be a music major because you want to be a musician, you need to be a music major because it will make you a better person". I replied really how is that i thought we were just learning baroque counterpoint and how to dissect music. He then tried to undermine my belief system asking me if i believed there was technically good music and bad music and what were the parameters. I said i don't know that you can define music as good or bad, it's all in what one prefers. He than tried to convince me that because i did not believe there were musical absolutes for good and bad music that eventually andy belief i had could be compromised based on the situations since i have a mind set that there are no absolute(all this based on me not thinking good and bad music could be defined). I honestly had no idea what to say. I couldn't tell him he was an idiot and point out the fact that he just blatantly tried to make me question my entire belief system in order to manipulate me into being a music major still, and continue doing something i did not want to do. So i just said ok. Then he began to tell me that he just wants what's best for me and for me to make the right decision(which in his mind was music) and left and switched my major anyway.

 

sorry for the long post lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My guidance counselor was a nice guy but none of us listened to any authority anyway and he knew it. That's probably why he was decent. He knew pushing {censored} on us was a waste of time.

 

I can't say I really remember much of anything he may have "suggested". Which leads me to believe he was just punching the clock. But then I do remember he did really seem to care about us....so who knows. Maybe he was just doing what he thought he should for kids in that type of neighborhood.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Oh and to add to the discussion of crazy advisors. When i talked with my advisor about dropping music he began to ask me why, and i told him because the program only taught classical music and i did not want to be a concert pianist or a music teacher. Then he began to try as hard as he could to convince me that I should stick with music even though that's not want i want to do with the rest of my life because "your college major doesn't really have anything to do with what you want to do with the rest of your life. You don't need to be a music major because you want to be a musician, you need to be a music major because it will make you a better person". I replied really how is that i thought we were just learning baroque counterpoint and how to dissect music. He then tried to undermine my belief system asking me if i believed there was technically good music and bad music and what were the parameters. I said i don't know that you can define music as good or bad, it's all in what one prefers. He than tried to convince me that because i did not believe there were musical absolutes for good and bad music that eventually andy belief i had could be compromised based on the situations since i have a mind set that there are no absolute(all this based on me not thinking good and bad music could be defined). I honestly had no idea what to say. I couldn't tell him he was an idiot and point out the fact that he just blatantly tried to make me question my entire belief system in order to manipulate me into being a music major still, and continue doing something i did not want to do. So i just said ok. Then he began to tell me that he just wants what's best for me and for me to make the right decision(which in his mind was music) and left and switched my major anyway.


sorry for the long post lol

 

 

Sounds like he was religious.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Sounds like he was religious.

 

 

yeah....but he just used whatever he thought he could to keep me as a music major. Lee University is a Christian university so since i go there he figured he could try to confuse me into thinking i wasn't a good christian cause i didn't believe the right way

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Every day of my life from my councilors and my mom. "Oh, yes we support music in your life, but... You need to focus on a more reasonable job. Making it in music is hard." NO DIP SHER-feakin'-LOCK! I wouldn't be trying if it wasn't hard. And if its hard, how am I supposed to make it if I don't give it my all? I do have a backup plan, but they refuse to listen to that and just say "Well, you need a real plan" Really? Getting my associates in computer technologies before I graduate high-school and already having an IT job over the Summer doesn't qualify as a good back up plan (btw, in case you've lived in a cave for the past 20 years, computer industry has awesome pay, growth, and stability for those who keep up with technology.). But no! That needs to be my "FOCUS" and I need to "put music aside"...

 

/rant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I am 43 now i had the same conversation with my guidance councilor..His name was Carney Lansford..Now remember this was 1985..I said the same thing about wanting to study music mostly guitar and vocal..He gave me the speech of the chances of me becoming a professional musician is the same as becoming a pro athlete.


The funnest thing about it is i said well i could become a music teacher...His response was how that was not a very rewarding career choice.Well what the hell was he a teacher..


To make a long story short i went to California enrolled in Guitar institute and also attended a community college later...I ran out of Money and to pay for tuition i joined the Army reserve for the college fund as soon as i finished Advanced individual training i was called up to full time duty..Who would have thought but in the Army i found my home and enlisted in the regular Army ..


But i never forgot my dream of being a musician ...


After 11 years in the Army ..I was injured and medically retired from the service...I now am a full time musician..I work as a free lance contracted studio musician to pay the bills and i will do anything from commercials to porno soundtracks but its money..I also teach guitar and play in a traveling Blues band..


This fall after all these years i plan on going back to school and finishing the last 26 credit hours i have to go to get my Bachelor of the Arts degree in music ..I hope i'm saying that right its been a long time since i was in school...


The bottom line is that we have the right to dream..We also have the right to strive for that dream no matter how bleak it may be..But we also must role with the direction life takes us...

Carney Lansford? Seriously?

 

01-28-2006042836PM.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I don't remember my guidance counselor, if I had one, but my little brother's guidance counselor was on her third marriage and her kids were the school stoners. She screwed up a lot of kid's lives.

 

Little brother did have a choir teacher that ruined a big part of his life back in seventh or eighth grade. They were doing a rehersal and the teacher said, in front of the rest of the class, "don't you know you were singing off key?" Little brother was so embarassed that he has not sung a note since then.

 

Follow your dream. My favorite quote is: If you never take a chance...you never had a chance.

 

Surfy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

i dont recall ever getting any useful advice from a guidance counselor.

 

same with the high school aptitude tests, which were actually less than useless, advocating dated and irrelevant drudgery.

 

im glad i went to college though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Little brother did have a choir teacher that ruined a big part of his life back in seventh or eighth grade. They were doing a rehersal and the teacher said, in front of the rest of the class, "don't you know you were singing off key?" Little brother was so embarassed that he has not sung a note since then.

 

 

I had that from a music teacher when my voice broke.

Singing scales and getting mocked by the teacher.

Before that I would sing my socks off.

After that, not a sound in company for many years.

 

Teachers and counsellors are all human with human failings but some of them need to found a new career.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...