Shoutout to my parents for making me choose between sports and art in 8th grade

They sat me down and said I had to pick one or the other because my grades were slipping. I chose basketball because my dad pushed for it, and I quit drawing completely. Now I'm 28 and just started taking a watercolor class at the rec center, and it's the first thing in years that actually makes me feel happy. Anybody else get forced into a choice like that and feel like you missed out on a whole part of yourself?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jenny17d ago

Did your dad ever actually watch you play, or was it more about him living through you? Mine was the same way, pushed me into football even though I hated getting tackled. I ended up with a bum knee and zero hobbies I actually liked. Took me until I was 30 to pick up a guitar, and now I'm pissed at all the years I wasted pretending to be happy on a field.

felixfisher17d ago

No WAY your dad never watched you play? That's brutal. All that time on the court and he didn't even care to show up?

oliviat1717d ago

Takes a while to unlearn that stuff. Best thing I did was sit down and actually ask myself what I enjoyed doing without anyone else's input. @felixfisher your dad missed out, but you can still build a life around what you actually care about.