09/16/2026
Back in May, I agreed to speak to several classes of seniors at City View High School about what itās like to be a Realtor and NICU nurse. I was TERRIFIED. I hadnāt really done much public speaking before, but God has a funny way of opening doors.
Just a few weeks earlier, I had told some friends, āI really want to get into public speaking.ā
I kid you not, about ONE HOUR later, I had an email in my inbox from a City View teacher I had never met asking me to come speak to her students.
Okay, God. I hear you.
My first class that day was packed, and sitting right in the front row was Marcus. He was engaged the entire time, asking question after question, which honestly helped calm my nerves and made the presentation feel more like a conversation.
Then, right in the middle of it, he says, āYou sold my house a couple months ago in 24 hours!ā YāALL. I was so nervous, I hadnāt even realized he was my clientās son!
After school ended, Marcus messaged me asking if he could shadow me because he wanted to start learning about real estate. I said yes, and somehow āshadowingā turned into an internship. And after multiple conversations about my terrible driving, Marcus also created the position of personal driver for himself.
Since then, Marcus has sat in on at least 20 listing appointments, gone to countless showings, attended listing photos and inspections, helped me pack a clientās ENTIRE house, and gotten to experience all the parts of real estate they definitely donāt put on HGTV.
Now heās only about 30 hours away from completing his real estate courses.
College is so often presented to graduating seniors as the main path after high school, but success doesnāt have one single route.
Thereās something really refreshing about watching someone this young figure out what interests him and actually go after it.
Marcus is already getting hands-on experience, building relationships, learning the business, and putting in the work. Starting this young and having that kind of initiative is going to put him miles ahead.
Now, if he doesnāt quit calling me āUncā because apparently Iām old, weāre gonna have problems. š
This picture pretty much sums up the generational gap between us. We were at a showing the other day when I pointed at something and asked, āMarcus, whatās this?ā He looked at it and said, āI think itās a laundry chute.ā
It was a phone book holder.
I died laughing. In his defense, Yellow Pages and rotary dial phones were already things of the past by the time this kid was born.
Invest in our youth, friends.
Let them tag along.
Answer their 500 questions.
Give them a seat at the table.
Teach them what you know.
Let them see the wins AND the messy parts nobody posts about. You never know what one opportunity, one conversation, or one person taking the time to teach them might spark.
They are our future, and Iām pretty dang proud of this kid.
Even if he does call me Unc.
- Katelyn
