If you know me from back in my college years, you know that I was once a pre-med student.

I laugh when I think about it now.

Me. A pre-med student. A girl who is afraid of her own blood. Who looks away and covers her eyes when she’s watching Greys Anatomy or The Good Doctor or any medical show.

Nope, nope, nope.

Medicine was not for me.

And I KNEW it. Deep down, I knew that there was nothing about the medical field I was attracted to. Except for the children. I’d always smile at aunties and uncles and say, “I want to be a pediatrician.”

The kids part? Yeah, I wasn’t faking that. But all the other shit? No thank you.

But it was a source of tension between me and my parents.

My mom wanted me to follow in my dads’ footsteps and go to medical school.

My dad wanted me to NOT follow in his footsteps and, instead, go to business school.

So, of course, I flitted around through college, changing majors as often as I changed clothes. Taking on extracurriculars that didn’t feel right. Doing everything for everyone else.

Until I had a panic moment during my 4th year of college. I needed to GRADUATE. And I was fulfilling requirements for multiple majors, but was nowhere near close to completing requirements for ONE major.

So I went to the registrar’s office to change my major (yet again) to something I could finish quick. I dropped the science route. My GPA was suffering and it was because I had no passion about what I was doing.

Once I started taking classes related to education, I was blossoming. I was getting A’s because I actually started giving a shit about what I was learning.

I can’t recall the specifics now, but I remember this desire to teach causing several fights between me and my parents.

They had good intentions.

My dad was worried that a teacher’s salary was going to leave me living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of my life. (And, I mean, he’s not wrong about that).

But, at this point, my experience showed me that I was meant to be in education. I loved it. In a way that I could never love biology or chemistry or anatomy.

It’s been nearly 15 years since we went toe-to-toe about my future.

But I stood my ground. Knowing I was meant to be a teacher.

And the craziest part of all of this is that now, my parents are so PROUD of the fact that I went into special education. My dad encouraged me to further my studies and go back to school for psychology.

My mom is constantly telling me how wonderful it is that I have a background in child development and how helpful it will be (and has been!) as a mama.

With time, they’ve come around.

Similarly, when it comes to writing in this space, there have been a lot of conversations with my mama about “airing my dirty laundry.” About oversharing. About the “evil eye” and not putting detailed descriptions about my life on this blog.

And, just the other day, when we were chatting on the phone, she made a comment about how she looks forward to each post. How she loves the things I’m sharing. How I’ve captured Ishaan’s milestones so beautifully.

With time, they’ve come around.

ALL I’M SAYING is that people will constantly be telling you what they think is best for you. What to do, what to eat, what to wear, what to major in, what to fill your time with.

And, at the end of the day, you gotta do what feels right for you. Follow your own damn intuition.

Because, with time, they’ll come around.