It was 1975 and I was happily attending college on a full ride tennis scholarship. Doing what I loved was actually paying big dividends. In addition, I’d landed a gig making $15 an hour teaching tennis for the city parks and recreation department. Cha Ching!
One day my slim and tanned body connected with someone who was very close and influential in my life. They looked at me and uttered these words, “So when are you going to get a real job?” Apparently, 8 times the current minimum wage of the time wasn’t enough.
Today if I heard those words I would have blown them off, but as an eighteen year old girl who was the first in my family to go to college, I latched onto those words like a bulldog on a bone.
I quit my high paying dream job and did exactly what this person expected me to do. I got a job as a cashier at the Pantry
Pride Grocery Store making a whopping $2.10 per hour. I hated every moment of it, but that didn’t matter. At least I had a real job.
I know what you may be thinking. Shame on that person for doing that. Balderdash! Shame on me for giving that person that much control over my life-altering decisions!
I was a really good tennis player, good enough to be ranked and picked up by a college tennis team. And I was the number 2 seeded player on that college team. I could have had a career doing what I really loved to do. Instead, I auctioned off my happiness to the closest bidder.
Why am I walking down memory lane in this post today? Because I want you to live a life with no regrets. I’ve regretted my decision for decades. Oh sure, I’ve moved passed the angst but I still wonder from time to time what might have been.
Here’s my point. Aside from God Almighty, there is no person on the face of the planet that has any control over your life unless you give it to them. I’m not talking about kidnapping or being held at gunpoint. Certainly the abductor would have some control. I’m referring to your normal life.
Everyone deserves the right to pursue happiness. People will have strong opinions about whether making a lot of money hitting tennis balls around is a healthy pursuit but at the end of the day, you have to live with you, not them.
Don’t let someone else railroad your dreams by opinions. LIVE YOUR DREAM! Period!
Has someone made a statement that altered your course? Share it here!
Oh Reba, how I grieve for that young girl who'd had such a number done on her that she believed a lie. But...God blessed you and brought you to a place of beauty. And without a doubt, because of what you've been through, you've helped so many others!
Pat you're absolutely right. I believe that ALL things work together for good. Wisdom is forged on the anvil of suffering. Thanks for sharing.
When my husband and I told my parents that I was going to only work part-time outside the house and try to focus on a writing career. My Dad looked at me and said, "It's about time." That rocked my world, because I never realized he was paying that much attention to the dreams of my youth. I really love my Dad for this.
What a wonderful revelation for you Becky. I'm sure that meant a lot to you. Thank you for commenting. I'm glad your world got rocked!
