If you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure you’re pursuing a dream that wasn’t yours to begin with right? If I’m not wrong, the path you’re currently pursing was highly influenced by your parents because it’s their dream, not yours. At some point, you were okay with your parents choosing a career for you because you were unsure with who and what you wanted to become but the more you felt being pressured by them pushing you to fulfill their dreams, the more things became clear to you that being a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, etc isn’t what you want. With these long days and dreadful nights of existential overthinking, you realize that you’ve known all this time what you wanted to be. You were just too afraid to admit it to yourself, your family, and friends because of the fear of rejection. I understand. But you should also understand that this is your life and you should be doing the things that make you happy because in the end, that’s all that matters.

If you’re an incoming college student, I say speak up to your parents before it’s too late. Yes, they’ll be upset but that’s temporary. Once they see you succeeding, they’ll know in their hearts that they didn’t make a mistake to allow you to chase your dreams. 

If you’re like me, who’s way too invested in their parents’ field of choice, my advice for you is to simply embrace it! I didn’t know what I wanted to be in college, which is why my parents advised me to take up Medical Technology in 2013. Five years later, I graduated, passed the Medical Technology Licensure Exam, and passed the American Society of Clinical Pathologist (international) exam, all in the same year. Being a medical technologist wasn’t enough for my parents though. They wanted me to be more. They wanted me to become a doctor. I honestly didn’t think I was intellectually equip enough to enter medschool  because I was a year delayed in college but here I am now, an incoming 2nd year post grad medical student who just got promoted! Noticing all of my accomplishments since I graduated college made me realize how truly capable I am, it’s even got me thinking, “Maybe I can become a great plastic surgeon someday and own my own clinic in California.” Because of having a positive mindset, I finally have something to look forward to. 

So never stop dreaming big, even though it wasn’t your dream to begin with.