David Magallanes
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By David Magallanes / Guest contributor
Across the years, having talked with thousands of young people on the verge of launching themselves into the world of adults, I have noticed that there are those who know exactly what they wish to study or do to achieve their goals; on the other hand, there are the others who have no idea whatsoever what it is they seek, and they feel very far from arriving at any decisions about their future.
I got to thinking about these observations when I saw, recently, the film “Frances Ha.” With that type of last name, I thought the main actress was going to be Chinese, but as it turns out she is an everyday American, a young lady, 27 years old, living in New York. She is aspiring to be a professional dancer, but is very lost on her path toward maturity. “Ha” is not really her last name, but how she becomes known as such is clarified at the very end of the movie.
After this movie, I went across the freeway to an art exhibit at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo (http://www.studiochannelislands.org/events/open-studios/) and talked with several of the artists. I’m always interested to find out how they got to be artists in spite of the obvious risks and sacrifices involved, as well as the outlook for pay, which at least at the beginning of their artistic careers, is generally quite low.
Just as this young lady in the film, these artists longed to get to where they could fully express what resided in their souls. But, in contrast with the actress in the movie, in most of the cases, they knew without any doubt whatsoever, and from a very early age, that they were born specifically to paint or draw, just as other know that they were born, for example, to write, act, erect buildings, build businesses or teach children.
The support of parents and other benefactors who note the exquisite uniqueness of a child — who by his or her very nature has something precious to offer to the world — is critical for the talents and skills of the child to flourish. It falls on us, then, to help your young people, be they children or older, to discover their purpose in this life for the good of the young person and in fact of society in general.
Everyone wins when a talent and a path intersect.
— David Magallanes is a writer, speaker and retired professor of mathematics. You may contact him at adelantos@msn.com
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El Conocimiento de uno mismo
Por David Magallanes / Columnista invitado
A través de los años, habiendo platicado con miles de jóvenes a punto de lanzarse hacia el mundo de los adultos, he notado que hay aquellos que saben exactamente lo que desean estudiar o hacer para lograr sus metas; por otra parte, hay otros que no tienen ni idea de lo que buscan, y se sienten muy lejos de llegar a una decisión respecto a su futuro.
Me puse a pensar en estas observaciones cuando vi recientemente la película “Frances Ha”. Con ese tipo de apellido, pensé que la protagonista iba a ser china, pero resulta que es una americana cualquiera de 27 años de edad, viviendo en Nueva York. Es una señorita, anhelando ser bailarina profesional, pero quien anda bien perdida en su camino hacia la madurez. “Ha” no es realmente su apellido, pero cómo ella llega a conocerse como tal se clarifica al merito final de la película.
Después del cine, fui al otro lado de la carretera a una exposición de arte en el Studio Channel Islands Art Center en Camarillo (http://www.studiochannelislands.org/events/open-studios/)) y platiqué con varios de los artistas. Siempre me interesa saber cómo llegaron a ser artistas a pesar de que obviamente hay riesgos y sacrificios de por medio, y que necesariamente el pago, al menos al principio de sus carreras artísticas, es generalmente pésimo.
Tal como la señorita de mi película, estos artistas anhelaban llegar a expresar plenamente lo que habitaba sus almas. Pero, a diferencia de la protagonista de la película, y en la mayoría de los casos, sabían sin la menor duda y desde muy temprana edad que nacieron específicamente para pintar o dibujar, así como otros saben que nacieron, por ejemplo, para escribir, actuar, construir edificios, edificar negocios o enseñar a los niños.
El apoyo de los padres de familia o de otros benefactores que se fijan en la exquisita unicidad de un niño—quien por su naturaleza tiene algo precioso que ofrecer al mundo—es fundamental para que florezcan sus talentos y habilidades. Nos corresponde, entonces, ayudar a nuestros jóvenes, sean niños o más grande, a descubrir su propósito en esta vida para el bien del joven y de hecho de toda nuestra sociedad.
Todo el mundo gana cuando un talento y un camino se coinciden.
– David Magallanes es un escritor, orador y profesor jubilado de matemáticas. Se puede comunicar con él por e-mail a: adelantos@msn.com.
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