Career Choices, Parental Pressure, and the Reality of Growing Up

One of the best sets of people to ask about their dreams are children, and why I said so is because when you ask them, you'll not only hear many mind-blowing career ambitions, but also see the genuine belief in their face and feel it in the way they speak about it, which is just a wonderful sight to behold. Unfortunately, growing up, not many people become what they dreamt of during their childhood; I'm no exception in that regard because I also didn't end up near the dreams I had as a child, and in this article, I'd love to tell you all about it.

Although it's worth noting that during my childhood and among my peers then, my dream stood out to others; it stood out not because it was ambiguous, like the world would think, but because it was kind of awkward that a child was choosing a profession as his dream job, far more surprising that it was even coming from a male child. No wonder when I was asked about my dream job during my childhood, my response almost made the teacher laugh before his face turned serious again and he advised me to choose something else. He even went as far as suggesting some to me from the ones my peers already said, but I wasn't interested, so what then was my childhood dream that caused all this drama?

As a child, my response to my dream job was that I wanted to be a hairdresser, and that was what caused all the drama in the class that very day, while most of my classmates were highlighting their dream jobs, from pilots to doctors, teachers, soldiers, lawyer and the likes, which are great white-collar jobs; me saying hair dresser was kind of hilarious to not just the teacher but also my classmates, but do I blame myself for having such a dream during my childhood? Of course not, because afterall my dream then was shaped by what I saw regularly and the joy I derived from seeing ladies walk into a stylist shop and come out looking stunning.

Given the fact that I also had access to a hairdresser shop and was allowed to do a few practices on the dummy head, it increased my love for the job, and that's why I chose it. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned because, firstly, my parents were against it, and secondly, the society felt it odd that a man would delve into such a profession. Fast forward to present day, many men are doing it and thriving. Well, that's by the way; presently I'm not in any profession related to hair making or styling.

Presently I'm a teacher, and I love my job because inspiring one mind is one of the things that brings me unwavering happiness and fulfilment on a daily basis, so do I regret not pursuing my childhood dreams? No, I won't say I do. I'm happy with what I do presently. Also, if we're to have the opportunity to pursue a career in that job I dreamt of as a child, would I go for it? Definitely not; once again, I'm fine with what I do now. I understand at a point I can't help but wonder how life would have turned out had I pursued a career in my childhood dream.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.