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The screaming of an alarm rung throughout my house, yelling and repeating itself until I got out of bed on this breezy warm day. I recall waking up feeling as if my whole life had just clicked together overnight. Applications were due. A few days ago, my high school class was handed papers asking us what pathway we would like to join for our junior and senior year, so that we could gain perspective on that field. I have always wanted to be a lawyer since I was a kid! Everyone around me knew how passionate I was to become a lawyer one day so I chose Law Academy without considering the other pathways. I was extremely excited to turn in my form and wait for the results to come back telling me that I am officially a part of the Law Academy pathway.
The day after we were handed the pathway forms, the school set up a pathway fair for students to get a glimpse of the pathways offered. I found it boring since my mind was already set on studying law. I hovered over the law table, watching the juniors and seniors explain the events and projects that we should expect to see. Their words slowly started to zone out as I saw from the corner of my eyes a brand new DSLR camera. My interest in cameras was small, only taking pictures as a pastime. But that new camera looked as if it had a halo on top of it, glowing to catch my attention. So my feet raised itself and started walking towards the brightly lit object. The table was filled with camera equipment, scripts, and videos playing on loop produced by previous students. Everything felt fresh when I stood at the table.
CAST, Creative Arts for Social Transformation, was the name of this pathway. A senior approached me while my eyes drooled over the camera. He started going on and on about the production teams and other field trips. It was all about film and digital media, something I was not at all highly interested in. Students could create their own content to be broadcasted on the school television, and seeing all the previous productions broadcasted on the small laptop screen in front of me, made me want to join in on the fun too. The senior left me to play around with some of the equipment, for a second there my mind forgot all about law. I was actually considering CAST because of the fun in producing content compared to the workload in Law Academy. My mind flew in a thousand places, a dilemma was put in front of me.
I was not a spontaneous person, there was always a set plan for me. Since little, I envisioned myself arguing with others in debates and proudly yelling “Objection!” in mock trial events. Now, it could be possible that I want to proudly yell “Action!” or “Cut!” on a production set. My parents had a vision for me too, law school. They were similar to the stereotypical parents that make their children become lawyers and doctors. Art was a pastime to them, not a profession used to put food on the table and a shelter above our heads. I suppressed my new interest, thinking that it would go away with time. I filled out my application, putting Law Academy as my first choice and CAST as my second.
I woke up to a nice breezy spring morning, realizing what I needed to do. Having a set life is boring, I need to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new. Surprises are better than expectations. So before I turned in my pathway form, I took out my white out and switched my choices. CAST was now my first and law came second. I held my breath as I dropped the form into the bin, exhaling as I quickly bolted outside, unable to believe what I just did. I did not inform my parents, just in case I did not get into CAST.
Junior year came to a start, I was admitted into CAST, and my parents did not react as badly as I thought they would. I was happy and nervous on the first day of school because for once in my life, I did not know what to expect. Everything was fresh and unplanned. I walked into my CAST media class, ready to embrace the project we were about to be assigned, but also ready to breakdown and admit that I made a huge mistake. To my surprise, I did not have a hard time understanding the concepts, everything came to me easily. From there, my teacher saw my potential and started to invest in me. He set me up every step of the way, making sure I got the best of the best equipment available and as much support as I needed, whenever I needed. Soon, I forgot all about my law dream and made media my dream. I spent my junior and senior year growing around media, eventually applying for colleges with good film programs. Without my teacher’ push, I would never have thought I was capable of creating content for viewers or that I wanted to be a producer/director one day.
If I had not put behind my childhood vision and started a whole new vision, I would not have discovered a whole new side to myself. Taking myself off track benefitted me in many ways, not only did I find myself, but I realized that life is a path with no expectations. You can have visions but they might not necessarily become true, along the way adjustments happen and that is acceptable. Being able to adapt to change is a good thing, do not let obstacles, such as parents who disagree, stop you from fulfilling what you want the most.