"Professional profession"

Mrs. Okafor shouted at her daughter who had just announced that she wanted to pursue singing as a career, and would wish switch to Music as a course over the Law they had earlier chosen for her.

“…It’s high time you stopped going for those useless choir practice, it’s like they no longer teach you songs but stupidity. Why…”

“Mum, are you stopping me from choir practice because I want to study music in school? The choir has nothing to do with this; I have always nursed the interest of becoming a musician. I have the talent and…”

Nnena tried explaining to her mum before her tantrum cut her short. She was getting tired of the whole drama at home with regards to her future. This was the third year she has been at home, after failing to secure admission into any University, her parents had wanted her to study Medicine, even when she wasn’t good in science subjects, it took the help of her uncle to convince them that she was better in Arts, but that was after she has failed the Post UTME for 2 years, trying to secure medicine.

Even when they finally agreed she switched to Arts, they were still bent in choosing the course she would study, they had chosen law, which she opposed vehemently, and after failing to secure admission again she wasn’t yielding to them this time.

If we had all studied what our parents wanted for us, I bet there wouldn't have been Musicians, Actors, Models, and even Bloggers.

Why pressurize your nerdy son to study law, when he can't even win a simple soccer argument with his classmates, always backing out even before the argument begins, not that he ain't sure of his facts, but he is too weak to pull through arguments. How then could he win a land dispute in court, unless you intend grooming him into a charge and bail lawyer. He might know all the constitutions and codes of conduct, but if he can't defend them, he would be just as good as a car fanatic that knows the brand and model of every car but don't have and can't drive one.

And why push your soft daughter to study medicine, when she can't even stand the sight of blood, even the sight of a dead rat sends shiver down her spine and lizards scare the crows out of her. How would she treat her patients? Only God knows if she wouldn't run out of the theatre when an accident victim is brought in for surgery, unless you are grooming her into becoming a roadside chemist.

You force your playful son to study Engineering, when everything that matters to him is soccer and he can't even differentiate a fuse from a socket. What interest would he have in the course while at school?

Often times our parents spell out the courses and careers they want us to pursue in school, without considering our passion and interest. Every parent wants their ward to be a Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Banker, and few other careers they tag "Professional and respectable". I wonder who originated that phrase for our parents.

What then happens to other careers? Are they not professional and Respectable as well? Typically, a child might get the tantrum of his life the day he confesses to his parents his intention to be an actor, a model or a musician, those careers are reserved by our parents for the less intelligent and disciplined people.

Today, those careers we regarded as inferior are what the society sees as big and very lucrative. "Professional" is a learned and well trained person in a particular field and as sweet as the word tastes, it does not imply to just a set of professions. Today, we have Professionals in every career in life, Professional Divers, Footballers, Models, Designers and these people stand out in their various fields.

Coco Olorunfemi, Linda Ikeji and many more are wonderful testimonies of those who have made a profession out of "Laziness". Isn’t that what our parents called it, these people virtually have no office or suite address. There office is their tablets, phones and laptops and every morning we run to their web pages for latest information. We even read their pages more than we read national dailies. They are professional bloggers.

How much does Mikel Obi's bank account swallow weekly as wages, even when he is practically not working, but just sitting as king of the bench and watching matches, yet the money flows in, Whether he plays or not.

Practically, those careers or professions our parents tagged inferior, are now the big earnings and most sought for in the world. Check out how many upcoming artists you see every day, hustling to get their music on Pulse Ng, NotJustOk, tooExclusive etc; they don't mind spending their last dime, because they believe in the testimonies of Phyno, 2face, Wizkid, Olamide etc.

As much as some parents would oppose me, if my son tells me that he wants to be a footballer, I would be his first coach, if my son tells me he wants to be a musician, I would be his Manager and if my daughter tells me she wants to be an actor, I would be her director and so goes for other professions.

Appreciate the passion and interests of your kids, only then can they accept you as a career counselor. They should learn all the ropes of their career from their parents.

Don't drag your kids into studying what they are not passionate about, so that they don't end up like a Mass Communication student who graduated with first class, but is too shy to interact with people, I wonder how he would gather his news.

Train your kids to be themselves and not to be a shadow of one successful uncle you see as a role model for them.