Living as a Leader

Being My Daughter’s Agent

Our daughter Christina is in her senior year of high school. Like many seniors she is in the middle of determining where she will go to college. In Christina’s case she wants to attend a school that has a ballet program that will enhance her chances of dancing professionally.

In this process I’m working for her as her agent. I’m representing her as she goes through the application, audition and school visit process. My goal is to help her sort through all her college opportunities and to discover which one is best for her. The right opportunity is the school and program that fits her as a person and will prepare her for her future profession as a dancer.

I believe the right school will be the school she’s “called” to attend. Calling is the place we’re to be, the thing we’re do or the words we are to say in any given situation. Discovering our calling requires understanding our self, knowing God’s Word, seeing our options and envisioning our future. It also helps to have people along side us as we go through this discovery process. And a discovery process it is. This is why I’m Christina’s agent; my job is to help her discover her calling for the next few years.

One other important job I have as her agent is to help her understand that opportunity does not equal calling. Because Christina’s talented and committed she has many opportunities. She’s receiving quality offers from good schools. Some schools are even pursuing her. Her challenge is not to confuse an opportunity, even one that is pursuing her, with calling. They are not the same thing.

Calling is personal; it’s unique to each of us. The best path for Christina may be different from other dancers. Her calling will be the place where she will grow as a person and fulfill her vision of being a professional dancer. It’s the only place for her to be.

2 Comments

  • Philip

    “Don’t let the good become the enemy of the best.” I’m blanking on who said that originally, but we said it a lot in bible college.

    • mdperry1

      Yes that is a good reminder as we go through this process. And actually it’s a good reminder in most decisions we need to make. The quesiton is to know the definition of good and what’s the definition of best.

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