I just came home from 2 cousins' graduation blow-out party. They both graduated from the same high school yesterday. I learned today that they will be going to the same school again for college.

J, a typically tall, good-looking teenager wants to be a pilot but his relatives in the States said an emphatic NO to this. He was told to forget about being a pilot and study to become a nurse instead so that he can easily go to the States. My other cousin, T is a very beautiful girl, her mom says she doesn't know what she wants but will be enrolling this June at the same nursing school as J. I couldn't help but compare myself to both of them when I was a fresh high school graduate several years ago. Yes, I was practically groomed to become a doctor by my parents but they still gave me a choice. I chose to take up Medical Technology as my pre-med course so that I can still have a good paying hospital job if I choose not to go into medical school. I believed then and I still believe it now that choosing the course you want to take up in college should depend on where your interests lie except for situations beyond your control (like lack of sufficient funds for your desired course). Why do I say this? Because if your course was really your choice, no hardship can ever stop you from getting that much coveted college diploma. If I really didn't like medical school, would I survive the grueling schedule of a medical student? I don't think so. Maybe this is why there are lots of grouchy people around - because they are not happy and content with what they're doing.

I don't blame my aunts though for wanting their children to become nurses. At present, it is the easiest way to have a better life abroad. But are we perhaps short-changing them by choosing for them what they should become?