The Best Piece of Advice my Father Gave Me

For Father’s Day, we asked our members to share the wisdom they’ve received from their fathers. Here are their touching responses.

“Here’s my dad and I on the ferry to Coronado in San Diego. Son of Italian immigrants, he grew up poor so studied hard to get into a good university to be an engineer. He worked hard his whole life but never really liked his job. When I gave up my pre-vet studies to be a visual arts major he completely supported me. “Never choose a career based on money, do what you love and success will follow.” His definition of success was fulfillment of what you do in life. It’s been a hard road earning a living in the creative field but I never regret it. Thanks dad, I miss you!” ~ Maria Moscato

“The well’s run dry.” Not what I wanted to hear from my dad after a college summer job fell through and I needed quick cash to fund a backpacking trip to Europe. The unexpected “no” that fateful day helped me grow to become not only more independent, but also resourceful and resilient. I knew my dad was coming from a good place and he trusted that if this trip was important enough to me, I would figure out another way to make it happen, which I did. I have never looked back and today realize what a gift it was, despite the fact that in the short run it must have been hard for my dad to put that line in the sand, but in so doing I was able to grow up and begin to feel the beauty and freedom of emancipated adulthood.” ~ Julia Holladay

“This is me and my dad at my 16th birthday party. I think he’s dressed as Marshall Dillon, and I’m definitely Morticia. (Halloween was our favorite holiday, and he Trick or Treated with me well into my teens.) Dad has three daughters, and though he grew up during the Depression and WWII, in what was undoubtedly a rough period, he was always a gentleman in front of us. He had a lot of sayings that he inherited from his father, who died long before any of us were born, some of which are pretty old-school now. The one that I love the best is, ‘there’s a seat for every heinie.’ Didn’t get that job? You’ll get the next one, because ‘there’s a seat for every heinie.’ That boy asked another girl to the prom, not you? Maybe it’s for the best, because ‘there’s a seat for every heinie’, and this time it’s not you. And so on. My dad, the philosopher.” ~ Meredith Gronroos

“My dad is a family man through and through. He worked hard his entire career to ensure a secure future for our family, encouraging my sister and I to pursue our dreams and to be fearless in that pursuit. When I was leaving on a 6-month study abroad to Chile at the age of 17, he printed out the lyrics of the Lee Ann Womack song, “I Hope You Dance,” and it is these inspirational words that I always associate with him: “and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance…” Thanks for always encouraging me to dance, dad, and for being my biggest cheerleader, especially in my new role as a mom to your first grandson!” ~ Katrina Oko-Odoi

“My dad was a physics teacher and from the time I was in high school on he always told me: “you’re going to spend much of your waking time working. Take the time to figure out what it is you like to do.” My dad loved teaching. I love being a copywriter. It just gets better and better.” (This is us at the Valentines Day Father Daughter Dance in 1971. Groovy in first grade.) ~ Anne McColl

“It’s one thing to meet your hero – it’s another thing to be raised by him. Here’s me and my pop, Bill, hard at work in 1986. He taught me that if you’re passionate enough about something, and if you work hard enough and keep trying new things, eventually things will work out. He taught me to never take my doubts seriously and to never start out on any venture – be it business, relationship, or a trip – with a negative. Always start out with positives and who knows what might happen.” ~ Rebecca Tall Brown