You Can Be Anything You Want to Be

My parents always had a plan for me. They've been saving since I was just a tiny girl with barely any brain cells, that I was going to graduate with honors, attend post secondary shortly after, and then finally bring home the big bucks. They made it very clear from a young age that I am capable of anything I put my mind to, that I can be whoever I dream of being. Thankfully, I did graduate with honors, I worked my ass off to be able to have multiple options in career paths and make everybody who loved me proud. I thought that was good enough. However, their dreams extended my own. My cousin is a chartered accountant, very good looking girl with her head on her shoulders, big house, no kids, and a successful husband. One day, after taking a year off school to work full-time and save some money (I saved a lot) my parents sat me down and told me I need to hurry up and go to college, that I'm "wasting precious time." Tired of hearing it, I decided I would walk in my cousins footsteps and get a degree in Business. I was rushed into the decision, and there was no turning back once it absorbed into my parents head. Now, I'm not saying that I didn't want to go to school, I very much did, I hoped for a career that I could brag about and be comfortable with financially. I did enjoy the thought of being a business women. However, this is coming from the girl who flunked grade ten math, and I thought it would be a good idea to be an accountant...yeah, right. Anyways, I get accepted for school, my parents are on top of the world, and I kinda am to. Yay me, I got accepted, life was going to come together. Then it all sunk in, four years of being broke and attending school for something I don't even have a passion for. I wanted to work in education, less money but more desirable, for me. I hinted to my mom that I wanted to become a teacher just shortly after she purchased my thousand dollars worth of business textbooks; she basically turned her head the other direction. Apparently that idea was a bust and was to be forgotten. School starts, I'm getting A's, and I'm proud, but I am anything but happy. Accounting class comes, and it is the WORST thing to sit through. You know when you kinda just have to listen to someone ramble on for hours about something you really just don't care about and nod your head like you understand? Ya that was me, and I planned on being the accountant. I dropped out of school four weeks into the program. I felt lazy, stupid, and selfish for doing so. But why? Because I let my parents down? My dad was ridiculously rude about it, passing passive aggressive comments my way every chance he got. I wasn't useful, and I better find a rich husband, according to him. I did not deserve to feel bad over my own life choices. I must admit, I did want to go to school, I didn't want to sit at home and work some shitty retail job for the rest of my being, I just didn't want to do something that didn't make me happy. Don't get me wrong, a business degree is an amazing thing to achieve, and I would love to have achieved it, but why waste my time. I quickly applied for the education program, and I got accepted for the Winter 2018 term. My heart is warm knowing that I get to do something I have a passion for, I'm quite content and humble now knowing that this is what I get to do with my life. My parents aren't the most impressed with my choice, but I refuse to let others dictate my future. I'm grateful for all they've done for me in regards to pushing me to be my best, but they have no right to tell me what is and what isn't going to happen for me. My career choice may not make me rich, but it will fulfill me with joy that other jobs cannot provide me. Of course I know money is an important factor in all things, but money will never mean everything. Do not let anybody tell you what's best for you, figure it out all on your own and pave your own path to success, whatever success may mean to you. Whether it be to travel, start a family, or to just live day-by-day and figure it out from there, do exactly how you see fit.