Rachel is so talented.  She is creative and changes with the wind.  Since we’re heading into high school next year, this makes me kind of nervous.  I’d like to customize her education to allow her to explore her interests and prepare her for that time in her life.  However, with her frequent changes, it’s very hard to plan.

(1) For years, she wanted to be a hair stylist.  Not my first pick, plus she was very young at the time.  It’s a fairly good fit since she’d enjoy creating new hairstyles and seeing the fruit of her labor many times each day.  

(2) After about 6^th grade, she decided she wanted to be a pastry chef.  This was due to her newfound love of the Food Network channel.  She truly enjoys seeing the cake decorating challenges and the amazing creations people make.  She’s even asked to take the Wilton Cake Decorating class here in town.  I’ll let her do it this spring – after basketball season is over.  She’s just so busy now.  I think she’d do well in it, but I’m concerned about the costs involved and time commitment.  It’s very hard to make money making wedding cakes…unless it’s a hobby.

(3) Now that she’s involved in the church youth group, she’s changed her mind again this year.  She decided she wants to be a nurse.  I fail to see how this career path fits her talents, skills and personality considering how she cannot STAND the sight of blood and she is not big on math and science.  Nevertheless, I have checked with local hospitals and was pleased to find out they have programs for 9^th graders who want to see what nursing is like.  It’s a career-bound program that is so cool.  We’ll see if she changes her mind before then.  Personally, I think she’s wants to be like a certain person she knows and admires entirely too much.  {argh!}

(4) Last week, she began sketching a house and designing its interior on a sketch pad.  She was absolutely absorbed with it.  She is excited about it, and spends a great amount of her spare time working on it.  I suggested that she might enjoy being an architect or interior designer.  Her eyes beamed with delight.  But, when she discovered the only university with an architectural program in our area is the U of A (and not the college she wants to go to because a certain group of people are going there – argh again!), she seems to have lost interest.

There have been other ideas, and I’m sure there will be even more to come.  At this point, I’ll just let her try a variety of things, within reason.  Hopefully and prayerfully, she’ll choose a career path that will maximize her amazing talents and one she will enjoy.

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