When I was 28 years old I was offered a very cool job in New York, but, although I had visited the Big Apple, I had never lived there and the idea of moving there scared me.
Luckily, I had a very cool job in San Francisco with Francis Coppola's Zoetrope Studios, so it was easy to turn down New York. But I know the real reason I turned down New York. It was because I was afraid of all the unknowns. Five years later I had spent plenty of time in New York, the fear was gone, and I could have taken that job. By then though, I had a wonderful husband and my first child, Hana.
When Hana was born, I already knew that I wanted to raise a person who would be comfortable in any culture, in any country around the world. A person who, unlike me, could, without fear, take a job in a new city. Unlike the three fairies bestowing gifts of beauty, song and a kiss from prince charming to break a sleeping spell, I hoped my child, and later children, would:
find arts, sports, skills, literature, and friends they loved to help them develop inner resources;
understand popular culture in the United States but not be subjugated to it;
be independent thinkers and people, because my husband and I both believe that you can’t have a good relationship with someone else until you have a good relationship with yourself; and
be comfortable anywhere in the world - true global citizens.
My husband and I have been wildly successful with these goals. All three of our daughters, raised in Los Angeles, are fearless travelers and have worked in:
Cochabamba, Bolivia
London, United Kingdom
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Bonn, Germany
Kunming, China
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mpumalanga, South Africa
Chiapas, Mexico
And have lived in:
Bologna, Italy
Reykjavik, Iceland
Sapporo, Japan
Lund, Sweden
Oxford, England
Bristol, England
Manchester, United Kingdom
...to name a few places. I need to ask them if they felt afraid when they headed off to these parts unknown. I think it was more a feeling of anticipation. I'll check and let you know.
The photo is of my three daughters walking arm-in-arm along a street in Bristol, England.
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