The journey from growing up to finding yourself is filled with a lot of obstacles. From peer pressure to societal expectations to directives from parents and guardians; you just can’t seem to keep your head above the water.
So many people with big dreams have missed out on their purpose because they thought they owed some people an obligation and wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings.
Finding yourself and pursuing your career need a lot of determination and conviction on your part in order for you to achieve your dreams; because even the closest person(s) to you would discourage you from chasing that purpose if it doesn’t appeal to them.
Sometimes, people go as far as asking you to explain yourself for the decisions or choices you make in your own life. You might feel obliged to respond, but some things are really no one else’s business and you don’t owe anyone an explanation at all; especially when you have the conviction that you are destined to achieve that.
One of the most famous women in the world now, Dunai Gurira, who played the undaunted character of Okoye in world acclaimed Black Panther, got a lot of discouragements from her close pal when she decided to study Theatre in college. Her friend gave her every negative reason not to do so; stating how she would be used; how she would never get anything serious out of it and so on. But she knew what she wanted and she headed for it. By the time her friend started seeing her in minor roles, he knew she was damn serious about what she wanted and then like a blast she was in every one’s face as one of the favourite characters in the movie.
Meryl Streep didn’t get a lead role in King Kong after she auditioned, because the team thought she was too ugly for the role. She said to them “I’m sorry you think I’m too ugly for your film, but you are just one opinion in a sea of thousands and I’m off to find a kinder tide”. Today, Meryl has twenty-one Academy Award nominations, winning three and a record thirty-two Golden Globe Award nominations, winning eight. She was able to achieve that because she didn’t allow people’s opinions to determine how she was going to chase her dreams.
In as much as you know that you are walking on a fulfilling path, and your dreams would positively influence the growth of humanity, please keep at it; even if your ideas sound weird to the people around you. Mistakes? Yes, you could make a lot of them but they would only make you get better and closer to self-actualization. Do not abandon your dreams to please anyone.
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About The Writer
Temitope Ojedele-Adejumo is a lecturer in the Department of English, University of Lagos. Her areas of research interest are Anglophone Postcolonial Literature, Feminist Studies, Popular Culture, Film and Digital Media, and Cultural Studies.
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