When I applied to college, I lied to my father. He had raised me on his own and with that, had come the pressure to be self-sufficient. He was not strict, but he could be pushy when he started to worry about my future. Naturally, he had wanted me to choose a 'sensible' career. Tangent, what even is sensible, who gets to decide what sensible is? It makes sense when you think in terms of making money. Still, I had seen my dad cry himself into a beer even with the stability of a good job. It made no sense to seek the same misery when happiness seemed a decision away. So I lied and applied to a college a city away to study English literature. It was only a matter of time before the other shoe would drop. It wasn't that I was scared of his anger, I just knew I needed to make this decision without another person in my ear telling me all the ways I was mistaken, and why my decision was wrong. I needed this, mistake or not.
So I got in, told my dad, watched him cry, cried with him, and a few months later I was on my way to what seemed like another planet to live on my own and pursue my dreams.
If I could go back to that moment, I would try and stop younger me from making what I believe is the worst decision ever. Knowing 17-year-old Julie though, I would not have listened, not even to myself. even with a time machine, the result would remain; me sitting at my desk at 3 am on a Saturday, ramen cup at hand, and a deadline from an evil employee trying to convince the masses of why coffee from DunkqueenTM is the 'best coffee in the whole world'.
FML!