Playing Hide and Seek with My Future
Dreaming can take you to wonderful places. At least that was what my father told me. Eight years ago, while I sat in my room, chin on my folded up knees, I asked myself what exactly I wanted to be when I grew up. As usual, my brain came up with billions of seemingly brilliant ideas; I could be a journalist, or better yet a news host, I could be an actor, or maybe even a politician, I could be a business woman, or I could just be the doctor my parents wanted me to be. Everything came to a screeching halt.
A doctor; it is what almost every parent wants for their child. They would have knowledge that their child could save people’s lives, would be ...view middle of the document...
He wanted us to be happy. He wanted us to never have regrets.
After losing his parents at a young age, my dad went through a lot of hardships, none of which he ever explained in detail. Even still, he did everything he could possibly do in his situation. Who is to say that it wasn’t enough? With everything I have now, with the life he has provided me, I wanted to show him that maybe, just maybe, I could find my own true happiness in this hectic world, even if I didn’t follow the path he wanted me to.
Back to that fateful night eight years ago, I strengthened my resolve. The pressure was constantly looming. I only had so much time before my parents knew that I was trying to find another career path for myself. Regardless of how I explained it, to them, it would be running away, a disappointment. Still, to me, it would be the deciding factor for my future. I wanted to seek out my own potential, my own suitable career. And so began the chaos that is my life.
Fifth grade saw me to win my very first of many science fairs. So a scientist? Maybe. Sixth grade saw me to drawing out my school’s garden plan. So an architect? Probably not. Seventh grade saw me to winning desktop publishing awards. Graphic designing?Just a hobby. Eighth grade saw me to being school president. A politician? That plan went out the window when I failed to win the ninth grade election at my high school. Every day was stressful, not because I was pressed for time to find a career. That wasn’t possible. I was prepared for there to be multiple failures. No, it was the fortitude, ingenuity, and endurance that made me frazzled. There was so much to do, so much I desperately wanted to do. And so I did; nothing held me back, not even the thought that all this could amount to nothing.
I spent my days drinking in every bit of knowledge I could find, through whatever ways I could find: playing the flute in the band, giving motivational speeches at large cultural events, writing poetry and articles and having them published, drawing and winning art contests, connecting with the patients at HUP while I...