When My Son Decided Against College I Felt Like a Failure

Several years ago, as high school graduation loomed for my oldest child and only son, uncertainty hung in the air. Yes, he had been accepted to college, and yes, we had paid all required deposits. He had gotten his financial aid package and a few scholarships. He even had a roommate and a date for summer orientation.

But he didn’t want to go.

Two weeks before graduation, he told his father and me that he would be staying home, finding a job, and no, he didn’t want to enroll in the local comm...