Parents, a career in the creative industry is also worth pursuing
Our attitude and our effort are the two things in life we are in total control of.
What you need to know:
- My parents had enrolled me into law school but my personality always pointed me in another direction.
To my parents, the only careers worth pursuing are law, medicine, and engineering.
It was very difficult for me to tell them that I wanted to work in the creative industry.
My parents had enrolled me into law school but my personality and the entire story of my life pointed me towards another career.
I was about nine years old when I won the best actress award at the provincial level (back when we had provinces) drama competition.
In my high school days, I was known to be very opinionated but also quite the entertainer. I loved history as a subject.
You can’t imagine how heart-breaking it was for my parents after it dawned on me two years into law school that it wasn’t the career I wanted for myself.
Gang rape case
This realisation occurred to me during my judicial attachment. I sat through a gang rape case that had been in court for six years.
The defendants had allegedly gang-raped a woman and, every time they had a hearing, they’d come up with excuses for adjourning it.
I realised that the judicial system in Kenya was not as effective as I had thought.
Being someone who can’t stand the thought of being in a position where I’m expected to help someone yet I can’t, I knew this is not what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing.
After a lot of introspection and brainstorming, I figured I’d love to speak out on social evils.
I started a blog that picked up very well, where I’d address issues affecting my peers and me.
Online content
Later on, I started creating content on YouTube and Instagram. Currently, I am a radio presenter at Kenyatta University Radio.
The conversation on career change with my parents is still ongoing.
I realised that parents feel handicapped whenever their child wants to pursue a career path they’re not familiar with.
It’s easier for a parent to ask a doctor they know to guide their child. Content creation on the other hand is a new career and I understand their worries.
The deal is that I have to finish my law degree then maybe I can pursue a journalism one.
If you’re persistent, your parents will eventually come around. We have a responsibility to make creative courses and jobs desirable for the future generation.
Our attitude and our effort are the two things in life we are in total control of. I can’t wait to see this come into fruition.
Gachambi Nderitu, 20, is a student at Kenyatta University.
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