Kennedy: Take the Serious Road
Being the younger brother and later to leave home, Teddy Kennedy formed a close relationship with his father, Joseph P. Kennedy. Teddy quotes his father suggesting how he structure his life (Kennedy, 162):
You can have a serious life or a nonserious life, Teddy. I'll still love you whichever choice you make. But if you decide to have a nonserious life, I won't have much time for you. You make up your own mind. There are too many children here who are doing things that are interesting for me to do much with you.
Teddy made his choice. He tried harder to have a serious life. He made all the errors we all know so much about. But he also made a choice to focus on what was serious. We owe him a lot for that.
Reference
Kennedy, Edward M. True Compass. A Memoir. Twelve. 2009.