I don’t have family members that have gone to college. Some haven’t even made it to or past high school. I struggled trying to find the perfect candidate for this. I thought of my cousin Cindy. She’s a sophomore in college and that’s about as close as we are going to get.
We used to be really close and we still are, just…people grow and go their separate ways. She knows I love her. This was honestly perfect for us because she said she’s been meaning to talk to me about college and life itself. So, killing two birds with one stone.
I texted her on snapchat, I know typical teenage move. It was the only form of contact I had for her. I asked her if I could interview her for one of my classes and she said sure. She asked questions about the questions. She wanted to be prepared.
Me: Okay so first question, what’s one thing or piece of advice you want me to take with me?
Cindy: friends don’t exist and always work hard for what you want
Me: the first part I kind of have an idea why lol and the second I also know…Why do you think we tend to lose focus on our dreams and find the easy way out for certain situations
Cindy: because we get lazy…plain and simple. We humans are an interesting species. We say we want the money, we say we want a certain outcome and get mad when it doesn’t happen after we didn’t move one finger. Some people think fairy god mother’s going to come and bippity boppity boo this shit and it automatically appears.
Me:LMAO are there any methods or rituals you perform to regain focus that I could use?
Cindy: yeah…pray and look at a picture of your mom. Praying always helps me because I feel like god is very close to our family especially yours, I mean look at everything your family has been through. And I say your mom because damn, that woman works her ass off for you and your brothers. She wants to see you succeed in life and not struggle the way she does.
Me: yeah my mom is really my biggest blessing. I can see why the whole mom picture works. What about school wise? What do you think would be the best thing to do when choosing a career path?
Cindy: Well we all know you want to be a pediatrician. You’ve been talking about it since you were 8. I mean every time we played dolls when we were little you’d always say your barbie was a doctor for kids. I admired that. You’ve always been so sure about what you wanted to be and always showed passion for that career. You also had a passion for law but not as much as becoming a doctor for kids. My advice is to continue to stick to what you’re passionate about. It’ll be best for you in the long run. Do something you love, not something others will love for you to do.
Me: I love that…I think I have one more question.
Cindy: go ahead
Me: do you think I’m ready?
Cindy: no…but you will be. You’re never truly ready for anything but you always make sure you are when the time comes. I wasn’t, I’ll tell you that. I was scared especially because I was the first in my family to go to college, you’re the first in yours but I gotchu. I won’t let you fall baby. Now I’m not saying you won’t fall in life…there will always be times you wanna give up, but I’ll be here. Never doubt that. So will everyone else.
Me: ngl(not gonna lie freedman, that’s what it means), I’m scared. It’s scary to think that I’m a couple months away from the rest of my life.
Cindy: I know, it’s okay to be scared. But don’t let that fear overcome you. You overcome your fear not the other way around.
After this we began talking about personal topics. It led to an even longer conversation about us and my family. It’s been a while since we’ve had that. I really enjoyed having that conversation with my cousin. It might’ve been a school assignment but it led to an even bigger conversation about ourselves. Her words stuck to me. I don’t know if they’ll ever leave. I loved hearing that my hard work is actually noticed. It’s a conversation I really needed.
Thanks Freedman…