At this point in your life, you may be a high school student embarking your way to your college life, someone who has graduated college and is preparing for the work force, or someone who is at home in the comfort of your bedroom or living room. Whoever you are, at some point in your life you are going to have to stumble over an important question in your life: for the next 15+ years in your hard-working lives, would you rather play the family token or career card?

The family token involves parents, children, relatives, and others who are in need of caring. The family is centered around love, support, care, responsibility, and guidance. The family also provides individuals with people to bond, share, talk, and spend time with. Family is also the center of childhood and parenthood. During these crucial times, it is the job of the parent to guide their children onto the right path of life. The parents are responsible for their every action when they venture into this world and, most importantly, provide the opportunity of giving memories to their children. As one of my interviewees, Mr. James Foye, father of three children, said, he believes parents should have sole responsibility of their children when growing up. He says that he has a bunch of childhood memories and he enjoyed it because he felt fortunate for what he was given; he had parents that supported and provided for his brothers and him, and he was taught to work for what he wanted.

It’s important to mention that Mr. Foye worked with his wife to raise their children. A team of parents make a perfect combination for raising children to become well behaved adults. According to the Pew Research Center, since 2011, nearly 42 million adults in the US get remarried to a step-family. Though this is a small discovery, it holds great significance to the majority of families. It’s important for children to see their parents getting along with each other because being with your wife or husband, shows your kids how to act with others, gives them a supporting cast and provides a foundation of what family is all about. If married couples are constantly divorcing, then this may be affecting their children negatively because they may need to leave a big part of their childhood behind and possibly say goodbye to a dearly, beloved family member. A united family brings loves ones close to each other. A separated family brings no one together.

The career card involves your job, co-workers, your boss, a hard-work ethic, and determination. Though careers can be made when an individual comes out of high school, it’s beneficial to go on to college or to post-college schools to recieve further education. Education is useful, but it takes a lot of time away from your life, friends, and family. Having a career can have a huge impact on your life because if you are hired at a thriving company, then you have the ability to be promoted. You could probably start out as a receptionist in a paper company and could gradually work your way up as high as a CEO. Careers also offer salaries that range on an average of $30,000-$200,000. Careers are wonderful but there are always multiple sides effects to work. One negative occurrence is early retirement. Though retirement sounds fun, there’s a shocking study that may make people think twice about retirement. According to Business Weekly, individuals who plan to retire early tend to die before the age of 67. A positive effect of work is the popular afternoon nap. Researchers have shown that half an hour naps boosts heart health, prevents cardiovascular diseases, and has a 64% reduction chance of obtaining the disease. Working has its perks but it also has some negative effects on your body and life.

As I mentioned before, people are going to make a critical decisions in their life. Do people want to have the comfort of loved ones wanting to see them, or would they rather feel better about themselves if they had a financial cushion that they could fall back on. As the very thoughtful Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Do not go where the path may lead you, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” So, I ask you my fellow readers, would you play the family token or the career card?