Living (Your?) Dreams
It is the innate desire of every human to seek his or her happiness in relationships, careers, finances or other aspects of life. Ambition is a unique drive that keeps a person going through adversities, trials, and setbacks. The problem is, whose dream are you seeking to reach? Yours or someone else’s?
There is nothing more inspiring than observing the ambition of a youth who is planning his or her life. Children are encouraged to “Dream big,” and their parents are impressed by their lofty goals and aspirations. We can all probably remember what we wanted to be when we were growing up. However, over time, things change, and many of us encounter confusion regarding lifelong occupations. This confusion can come from many areas: change of interest, self-discovery, and influence from others.
In regard to influence from others, children are often influenced by their parents in their choice of profession; this is often very true within African cultures. In the eyes of many African families there is a handful of respectable professions, and most parents prefer that their children enter those professions. Some of these occupations, physician or lawyer, are chosen primarily for their financial benefit and the resulting prestige. However, whenever this is the case, the child is deprived of his or her personal ambition, and a job that he or she truly loves. Parents often steer their children in a certain direction to ensure their future prosperity. They do this out of love, but it comes at the expense of the child’s happiness. Which is much important?
It is important to choose a job based on what you are called to do. When you finally are in that job you were meant to be in, you will know. Instead of living your parents’ dream, you must live yours. After all, you are the one who will be living it.