HappiNest by Judy Holland

Author:Judy Holland
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-02-15T16:00:00+00:00

Reaching for a Dream with Help

When parents work with young adults to help them reach a dream, it makes a huge difference for everyone. And it can greatly enhance the family bond, as long as parents don’t get too immersed in their kids’ lives. Will is grateful that his parents support his goal of hitting the country music charts, even though he feels frustrated at times when they push him to promote himself more. A 25-year-old Nashville singer/songwriter from Plattsburgh, New York, Will almost made it big when NBC scouts selected him to try out for The Voice. The network picked up the bill for Will’s flights to Los Angeles, as well as his hotel and daily expenses for a month, but he was cut just before he was to appear on national television. Although he struggles to pay bills working as a barista 35 hours a week and is plagued with “second guesses and worries,” Will says he is still “in a good spot.”

Like many young adults of this generation, Will is closely tied to his parents. His father Bruce, a contractor who builds commercial poultry and dairy barns, and his mother Suzy help him pay for special projects such as recording an album or making music videos. Without their help, the road to stardom would be daunting. He’s grateful they paid for his college education at St. Lawrence University, where he played in a band and sang in an a capella group. He understands why his parents and brothers push him to put his songs online. But he wants to develop his singing and songwriting rather than market himself. “I’d rather have my voice speak for itself,” he says.

He worries about being a financial burden on his parents but realizes becoming a successful singer/songwriter “takes a lot longer than if I would get an accounting job downtown. . . . The path I’ve chosen, it’s going to be more up and down. I have to work a lot to make ends meet.” He seeks stability “financially and relationship-wise” and aims to buy a house one day. But for now it’s enough that he has figured out “who I want to surround myself with.” He can’t fathom abandoning his dream. Says Will, “I don’t find anything else that I can wake up thinking about.”

Suzy, director of advancement at a Catholic school, says she and Bruce invest in Will’s dream but worry about his future because the music business is so competitive and unpredictable. “It’s not like buying a car,” she says, “It’s not tangible. You don’t know what the outcome will be.”

They stay close to home and limit travel because Bruce owns his own business and is “very hands on,” his job is physically demanding, and they care for Suzy’s 94-year-old mother. She says they should allow themselves more leisure time now that their boys are grown, but their kids have always been their top priority and “assisting them with their dreams always feels like the right decision.” She adds: “I would give them all the money I could if we didn’t need to plan for retirement.

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