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Dreams or Family?
He never expected matters to become this challenging. Why should his parents come in to direct him regarding his career? After all, it was his life that was at stake, not theirs. Why should they prevent him from realizing his dreams? Since his childhood years, Carson had dreamt of becoming a basketball player, everyone in the house knew about his love for the game. Basketball permeated his life in every aspect; it was as if his heart found its beat from the ball’s dribbling. Everything that he possessed was stamped with the symbol of Basketball. His bedroom wall was filled with pictures of legendary basketball players such as Lebron James and Michael Jordan. His wardrobe was entirely composed of basketball jerseys, which he had bought with much of his savings. His tattoos were all inspired by symbols from the game, and his devotion to the game went beyond the normal love that children have for sports. He considered Basketball as his master, and his role was that of an obedient servant, always ready to perform the biddings of the game he cherished and adored with his whole heart. But now a crisis had developed like a bubble, and he had a gut feeling that the bubble would bust very soon. He had to choose between obeying his parents and his love for the game. What would be his choice?
It had become common to hear Carson’s mother yelling at the top of her voice late in the night because Dwayne was bouncing the ball in the house at 1:00 am. But this time, the house was silent, not because everyone was sleeping. On the contrary, everyone was awake, but no one was talking. Just a few hours ago, after the sun had set and the moon had risen, there had been an acrimonious dispute between Carson and his dad. His father was insisting that he has to join Medical School, but Carson had remained adamant that he will pursue his dreams as an athlete. The argument rose to a peak so suddenly since his father was not the type to accept defeat easily, especially from his son. When his father’s voice became thunderous, Carson did not yield to his father’s authority; instead, he raised his voice. The dispute turned into a brawl, and without any notice, Carson felt a punch landing on his cheek. He knew that he could not retaliate. Therefore he locked himself in his room without having dinner. He sat at the floor and just kept silent. The silence was not a peaceful one; it was a noisy one. His mind was troubled at the prospects of the future, how would his life continue without Basketball? Taking him away from the game was like sucking out the breath that gave him life. But he also immensely loved his parents; he had seen the enormous sacrifices they had made to ensure that he had a good education and make him happy. He had no intention of disappointing them, and he had promised himself that he would repay the kindness of his parents in any way possible. How would he now reconcile the two desires, the desire to fulfill his dreams and make his parents happy? He had to think, and this night was the only chance he had to think because he knew that his parents were waiting for his final decision, and that decision would determine how his life after tomorrow would be like.
As Carson sat on his doormat, his mind raced back to how he was brought up. He recalled the story behind his naming, and as far as he could remember, it was his parent’s wish that he should be a surgeon. He was named after Dr. Ben Carson, who, according to his parents, is the ‘greatest surgeon in history.’ His parents had filled his room with books authored by Ben Carson, such as Think Big, Gifted Hands, and others such as books. It must have been a disappointment to his parents when he said that his role model was Michael Jordan and not Ben Carson. In school, he was a brilliant student, which is why his parents believed that Medicine was the course for him. He had attained excellent grades, and he was expected to advance his studies in one of the careers within the science field. But his heart was always in the basketball court. His mind had never considered the option of operating on bodies and treating the sick. To him, Basketball was the alpha and the omega, it was what he thought as the first thing in the morning when he woke up, and it was also the last thing on his mind before he slept. And now as he looked on the Carson books lying on his table, he thought to himself, Am I not thinking big simply because I think of Basketball? Are my hands less gifted because they are more talented in dribbling the ball rather than surgical operations? He knew it, deep down in his heart that he could never become happy as a surgeon. What pained him most is that his parents also understood him, but at the same time, they were compelling him to take a different path. He’s decided that he would have one last meaningful discussion with his parents. Hopefully, they would understand his point of view.
As Carson walked out of his room that day at 4:00 am, he knew that a change was bound to occur. He found his parents sitting in the living room, each one of them lost in thoughts of the night and the future. Then Carson cleared his throat. “Hmm,” and said, “Mum, Dad we need to talk.” Those words moved like a sharp arrow from a quiver and struck right at the heart of Carson’s Dad. He was surprised at how reasonable his son appeared and the boldness that he manifested in approaching his parents. Carson’s mother replied, “Son, we don’t need to talk, what we need to do is ask for forgiveness.” “Forgiveness?” Carson seemed surprised. “Yes, son. Forgive us, as your parents we desire the very best for you and our greatest joy is found in seeing you being happy… we…we…” His dad began to speak, but something seemed to hold the words from coming out of his tongue, he coughed and soon took up his statement from where he had left it off. “We have overstepped in our duty of guarding you to controlling you, we were exceedingly worried about your future and in such a state we have done regrettable things to an extent of hitting you.” Carson could not believe what he was hearing; tears began welling up in his eyes. Was this true? Did his father swallow his pride and consent with Carson’s position? This was not what he expected, but it was the reality. All he could say was, “Thank you father, thank you mum” as tears choked his voice, the parents drew near him, and they had one huge embrace. And then, Carson heard those magical words that he had longed to hear since he finished high school. His parents told him, “We support your decision to be an athlete and we will support you every step of the way.” To Carson, it was a dream which had come true as he was now free to pursue his dream and, at the same time, make his family happy.