“Mommy, I want to be an artist when I grow up.”

“An artist? Because you like to draw?”

“Yeah! I can draw all day if I’m an artist.”

“Well, you can draw on the side too. Or…you can draw buildings. Like an architect!”

“Or he can be an artist,” my husband abruptly added.

Yes, of course. Of course he can…

Nigerian children know this conversation all too well. When their parents talk about career choices, they know they can’t get too imaginative. There are only three options: doctor, lawyer or (h)engineer. 🤓

Thankfully, my parents let us choose what we wanted to do. And look where that got us…

Ha! Just kidding. My brother is in information technology, my other brother is an electrical (h)engineer, my sister is in education, and I’m in communications.

My parents supported our decision 100%. As long as we were passionate about it, they were all for it.

That means a lot when your passion is communications. A Nigerian? In the college of liberal arts? That could take a parent to an early grave.

So, you want to kill me? Here. Take! Take this knife-oooh! Let me die!

Nigerians are so dramatic. LOL.

I tried to chase the money trail early on to find my passion. It didn’t work out too well.

In middle school, I was leaning toward coding. By high school, I changed it to computer engineering. Later in my freshman year, I was feeling the “software engineer” title.

But communications kept tugging at me.

It came easy. When I was free to write without a whole bibliography attached to it, it felt natural. When I asked people questions, they opened up to respond.

So, I ended up joining the journalism team in my senior year, had a column titled “Hoprah” to talk about different trending issues, and the rest is history.

Actually, it’s not history at all. I went to college, majored in broadcast journalism, started my television news career, and the rest is history.

Yeah… still no. I left the news industry (here’s why), got into public relations and then the rest is… nevermind. There’s no history.

And that’s just it. With communications, I was able to dabble in a lot of the same concepts in different industries. It has been quite the adventure, and I enjoy what I do.

But imagine if my parents were to tell me in high school that I needed to stay on the engineering track no matter what. I would be miserable.

Sadly, I know too many people who also have Nigerian parents and went down fields they didn’t fully enjoy.

Some had to change because their grades weren’t making the cut (very understandable if you’re being pushed to be in medicine yet steady failing biology), and others made it into their field of non-choice and remained unfulfilled.

What a life.

So, as I think back on my very windy and unpredictable career, I thank my parents. They didn’t know where I’d end up, but they knew that they were going to support me in whatever I worked hard to become. 💪🏾

I have to pay that forward to my kids.

The oldest one is 6 years old, so I already know he’ll change his career every month. He’s already said football player, artist, policeman, video game programmer, engineer and doctor. 👨🏾‍⚕️

I can’t let my bias steer him in any direction. All I can do—as my parents did—is sit back and let him figure out his path while I stay as a source of encouragement in the background.

Full disclosure: I might slip up every now and then and give an extra nudge in favor of the doctor and engineer options when careers are discussed. It’s the Nigerian in me, but I’m getting better.

In reality, there are so many other options in so many other fields that are just as good. All I can really do is pray he makes the decision that is best for him.

Have you read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”? It’s a business book that’s actually an easy read. I know that was a random question, but it ties into this topic perfectly.

So in this week’s video, I’ll be talking more about how the traditional mindset about jobs could actually be keeping you hostage in life.

It’s not all about money, either. Just tune in this Friday to hear more.