PRIYA KAUR

I remember my first year as a teacher doing parent-teacher interviews for my 4th grade class, and the father of one of my students sharing his life plan for his kids. His son (9 at the time) would be a a pharmaceutical engineer. His twin daughters (5 at the time) would both be doctors. I’m not going to hate on a father who has high hopes and standards for his kids, but mapping out the lives of 5 and 9 year olds is bound to leave them with some unwanted pressure. That’s the pressure many of us felt, or continue to feel trying to live up to expectations set upon us. It’s like we’re placed on a track, and have to go where the train takes us, even if that isn’t a direction we want to go. I’m not advocating we become rebels and do the opposite of everything our parents want, many times they have our best interest in heart. But we do have to figure out who we are so we can ensure we don’t get stuck on tracks we don’t want to be on. That may require some intense conversations and a lot of trips outside our comfort zones, but it’s worth it. #LOVE