There lived a girl in a small town once. She had just turned seventeen. She was a lovely young woman, full of life and very cheerful. She wanted to study drama. But, she was being pressured by her parents to be a businesswoman. The young girl was gifted with acting. She knew she was too good at it.
She conveyed the message to her mother that she wanted to study drama. The mother agreed and said " Go and do what you wish, love." After a few months, the girl observed that her mom never acknowledged her perfect skills of acting. Why pretend supporting me, the girl thought. No amount of success in drama was ever appreciated by her mother.
The girl used to sit next to ner mom in their big car. The girl listened to music while her mom talked away about the young and pretty girls in town who were ' too smart for a small town'. 'What about me then?', the girl thought. She really felt that her own mother underestimated her a lot. She used to listen to her mother praising all kinds of girls, but she always failed to praise and appreciate her own daughter. The girl did not let it bother her. She hardly thought about it. But, these signs from a parent she looked up to hurt her.
One day, she could not hold it any longer. She asked her mum, " Am I not smart enough to go and live in a big city?" Her mum did not respond! The girl was shattered. All the people she met had always told her that she was so bright, smart, self-assured and independent. Why was her own mother behaving this way? Was it fear or was it just pride getting in the way to say 'Yes, daughter. You are good at what you do'? Why was no one listening to the young girl?
That night, while showering, the girl burst into tears. It did not make any sense. Nevertheless, she felt even more determined to make it huge in the world. She knew that she could rely only on her own shadow if she wanted to be successful.
That was the driving moment. The young girl let the tears flow so that she could let off some steam. As she got dressed, she realized that it did not matter. One day, she was going to make her dreams come true and show everone around her that she too is smart enough to be independent.
A parent is the source of self-esteem for every child. The girl sensed a tiny loss of self-esteem because her own mother never patted her back regarding what her daughter loved the most. Telling her child that ' Do what you want' was not enough. That is not support. That is just pretending to support, when in real, the mother was living in denial about the plans her child had for her own life.
The girl became wiser and more independent. This episode was truly a blessing in disguise. She learnt a huge lesson- She needed to have her own back.