Attention!!
A hard question
As a student, one of the most
frequently asked questions I face after
“What’s your major?” is “Well, what
do you plan to do with that?”
That’s a tough question. It goes far
beyond academics; it entails my life’s
goals. I must ask myself what is most
vital and of real lasting value.
Moreover, I must ask myself how I can
pursue that, make it part of my life,
and still leave behind some of that
which is important to me when I’m no
longer here. These are the questions I
must face every time I hear the
question.
For a woman, I believe this decision
is especially difficult. The popular
propoganda of the day dictates that a
woman should have a taxable
income, for if she does not, she is seen
as “less” of a person.
How many times have you heard;
“Where does Mary work?”
“Oh, she doesn’t. She’s got two
kids — she’s just a housewife. ”
Or, writing a check at the grocery
store, the checkers in most towns ask
women for a work number. When the
reply is “I don’t have one,” the
woman is often met with a puzzled
look and then, “Oh, (pause) you
don’t?” which can certainly make a
woman feel lowly.
Who are these women made to feel
insecure and “less than successful?”
They are the strong, noble women
who have chosen to put first in their
lives that which truly is most vital and
of real lasting value. They are the
women who put aside the material
things which eventually crumble to
dust and are blown away by the wind.
They are our mothers. And it is about
time this nation woke up to the value
of motherhood and the tremendous
amount of time, effort, responsibility
and strength it takes to raise a child
with values, integrity and self-esteem.
How many children today are
victims of day-care centers before the
age of two because Mom’s job comes
first? I don’t care how good some day
care centers or babysitters may be,
they can never take the place of a
parent. When a child is thrown into a
situation in which he is a number and
no longer an individual, where there is
little or no bonding between parent
and child, where he is made to feel
second-best because deep down he
knows that Mom’s and Dad’s jobs
come first, that child is no less than a
victim of his parents’ selfishness.
I’m not attacking parents who must
have two incomes to survive. I’m
talking about families who pay
anywhere from eight to 13 thousand
dollars a year in child care alone so
that both parents can work. Maybe
they break even, maybe they don’t.
I’m talking about women who believe
it should be their choice alone
whether they send their children to
daycare or take care of themselves.
How can a child be expected to
grow up with confidence and self
esteem if he is one in a crowd at a day
care center? How can a child NOT
bond with his toys (materialistic at a
very young age) when those toys are
all he has to bond with?
Our children are our only hope for
the future, and the only legacy we
leave behind us when we’re gone.
Any couple who does not want the
responsibility of raising their children
has absolutely no business having
children. Anyone can have a baby.
But it takes time,, effort, patience and a
lot of love to raise children with values
and self-confidence.
There’s a lot of talk these days
about women’s lib and women’s
rights. But the truth is, women have
been free for a long time. Only in the
past 30 years have they become
slaves to the propoganda that they
must have a taxable income to be a
“productive member of society. ”
You may call me a bit too “old-
fashioned” and my ideals “archaic. ”
You may say that I’m missing out
on a lot and that I slept through the
sexual revolution (which, incidentally,
nobody won). I say to you that any
woman can be anything she wants to
be. But if you’re going to do
something, do it right. Be prepared to
give it all you’ve got, or think again
about doing it. If you’re going to have
Photo by Kathy Haueman
Laura Gilliland, a senior
Russian language major, wrote
this week’s Attention//column.
a family, you’d better realize your
responsibility as a parent. Once
you’ve accepted that responsibility,
hold your head high, honey, because
you are one of a kind, you are golden,
and you are in the process of shaping
the future. No one can ever take that
away from you. *
My major is Russian language. It
has taught me a lot about the world
around me. Maybe one of these days
after grad school I’ll teach at a
university, maybe I never will. But
what really matters will be my family. I
pray to God that I won’t have to leave
my kids and go to work. Because just
like my Mom, my kids and my
husband are going to come second
only to God. I never thought I would
hear myself say this, but proudly I tell
you that, one day, I’m going to be
housewife and a mother. I only hope I
can be the kind of parent that my
parents were to me.
Senior journalism major Elva Nolan took this week’s Attention!!
photo.
Editor’s Note; This Attention!! page will be used each week as a forum
for you, our readers. We encourage you to submit any original work that
would be suitable for publication in At Ease.
Opinions expressed on the Attention!! page are those of the author, and
do not necessarily represent the opinions of The Battalion. Texas A&M
administrators, faculty or the Board of Regents.
Pictures for the Attention!! page should be black-and-white shots that
are unique either in content, angle or technique. Columns, essays of poems
should be no longer than 500 words and should be either printed or typed.
Don’t forget to put your name and phone number on anything you
send us. Then drop it off at The Battalion, Room 216 of the Reed
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