How would you tell your parents you want to make a living at chess?

When I told her "Mom I want make a living playing Chess."

                  She asked me, "What is Chess?"

That's great.  I constantly wanted to be a pro Insert Hobby growing up.

And honestly, it helped me gain a lot of perspective on the world and also a deep appreciation for the true masters of many fields...not to mention above average knowledge/experience in many hobbies..which is great for impressing people and networking.

For instance, it will never hurt you to be able to beat the average joe at chess.

I say go for it!  It will broaden your horizons.

Just make sure you never undervalue your education...It is more important than you can possibly imagine at this point in your life.

Are you sure that is all you wanted to tell them?

Don't let complete strangers tell you what you can and cannot do.  You have a long life ahead of you, and these are the most important years.  I say do with them what you will.  I will say this, however:  If you need to ask yourself whether or not disconnecting entirely from reality to play chess is a good idea, then it is a very, VERY bad idea.

If your goal is play chess non-stop for the next 20+ years of your life (at the dinner table, at your brothers wedding, on the toilet, etc.), then you would be far too busy playing chess to doubt yourself.  Obsession is a byproduct of ecstasy... and if you enjoy chess more than anyone else has ever enjoyed it, then you have the makings of a brilliant chess mind.  Did anyone ever tell you to do what you love?  No matter how farfetched?  Here's why:  

The truth is (and this applies to all manner of crafts) most people on this planet have been robbed of their passion.  That is the essence of adulthood.  The biggest irony is that no one has the balls to do what they love most in this world.  I think that is why great minds like Mozart, Fischer, Newton, Goethe, etc. all seem to have superhuman qualities...  and as humans we like to subscribe to these romantic notions of "Heroes and Heroines" of mythical proportions..  but the truth is simple:  These men are who they are because they had the motivation to explore that which struck them most profoundly.  In short, there is nothing they would rather be doing.

I went to college, I now make  .12 more than my non-college buddies!  More mixed messages.

I must clarify this again:

This post is not about me.  At my age (middle aged), and not terribly impressive as a chess player, I have no intention of trying to make a living with it, or even become a GM.  I stated the question hypothetically/humoursly, but I'm enjoying reading *all* of the replies.

Also, got into sw engineering at 15 because I was very passionate about it.  To the exclusion of trig class one day.  I was working on a program in the computer club because I could only schedule that time slot.  My trig teacher stopped by and saw me there and gave me two weeks of detention and told me I'd never make anything of myself if I did that.  I am sure I've made a lot more money in my 35 year career than he ever did as the head of a HS math dept.  

True. But do not confuse passion for a subject with the amount of income one will make. There are plenty of passionate art students who don't have two dimes to rub together.

Life is about tradeoffs. Passion vs money in many cases. In some cases they align. In others, they dont. If money is not important to a person, it is easier to pursue passion.

But the point is, he hurt my little feelings and punished me, and he was in some important ways wrong.  Now, who knows, maybe if I'd followed the straight and narrow and not my passions I could have done something great like become a GM or an Astronaut or a doctor.  I think following one's bliss takes courage.  Remember, if you don't follow your bliss, someone else will.

There are a lot of passionate artists who have made a LOT of money after their death.

I think we are agreed on all points.

Dammit, who let the prole in?

Pfff. Applied knowlege is overrated.

In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice they are not.

I'll stick to theory then, thanks,