now the discussions are more question/answer. lots more engaging and helps make sure I'm listening while also giving direction.

my daughter recently talked about dropping out of school and going into music as a producer. mind you, she's never create any piece of music ever. she played violin early in life and was actually pretty good, but it didn't stick.

asked her what the plan was. she didn't have one. ahh, you only have an idea. that's probably not gonna work. gave her the bigger picture. showed her what a producer does. showed her they only average 50ish a year. and reiterated the phrase 'starving artist' exist for a reason.

never told her not to do it, but do it in addition to doing college. it was a good talk and now she seems to have better understanding. it was a very calm talk and she even thanked me for talking to her. that was new lol.

as for your nephew, maybe approach him in more conversational way to see if he'll open up. don't go into with the idea of changing who he is because that's up to him. talk him like an adult. directness is cool unless it lacks compassion. if you have time, offer to spend some with him. maybe he just needs to see that somebody cares about him.

Y'all buy those labels, I was born supreme