When we first dreamed

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Sometimes I look back at the crazy desires I had as a child, and I'll find myself laughing. But the truth is that if I had become everything that I dreamt to be, I'd probably be among the top 10 richest people in the world, because my dreams were indeed crazy, but they made sense still.

As a child, I loved the art world so very much. I loved to dance, and I participated in dramas too. To top it all, I loved reading books, and I was blessed with the wonderful talent of writing. There were so many things that I could've become if my parents, especially my dad had allowed it, seeing that I was born in the era when parents dictated the lives their children would live.

My dad wanted me to be a cardiologist. His reasons being that I was brilliant, and I loved watching medical K-drama movies, but what he failed to understand was that I watched those movies so I could improve my acting skills, and when I tried to explain to him, it was dismissed as the naive thoughts of a child.
I have never forgotten the time his best friend read one of the many stories that I had written as a child, and suggested taking me with him as he was traveling out of the country, my dad turned down the offer, saying I was just a young girl with too many imaginations that I had confused for dreams. Looking back to that time, if it was in my power, I would've left with the man, because since then he has been living a good life in Florida, and I'm pretty sure that by now, I would've become a famous writer I had dreamed to be.

On the quest to cheat my dad, and fulfill my dreams, I even lied about being into the sciences at school, while I did arts, but still he found out after I had already taken my JAMB examination, and was preparing for the WAEC and NECO exams. He chose that day to visit the school, and he discovered the truth. As punishment, I had to repeat classes and take science exams which I still passed.
But in the end, none of those dreams were fulfilled. Both mine and his dreams for me, none of them were fulfilled.

I couldn't be the actress I dreamt of being, I couldn't become the famous writer I had wanted to become, I still couldn't become the dancer/musician that I loved so much, and I couldn't also become the cardiologist that he wanted me to become.
Every time, I would blame him for taking my dreams away from me, but I made peace with that because I came to understand that there was no other way for it to be done. If he had let me go on with what I had wanted, maybe people would've said he wasn't giving me a good upbringing.

All of these are the reasons why I don't support parents dictating their children's lives. And I've decided a long time ago that I'll support my children as long as they've decided to indulge in something legal and good. I won't take away their dreams, because some things can never be recovered when they're lost, especially childhood dreams.