Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
This week I celebrate turning 18; which technically means I turn legal. I come of age - it is legal for me to drive, to do whatever I choose and also for me to be held responsible for the things I do and don't do.
As I look back upon the past 18 years of my life, I cannot help but force myself to evaluate what I have done, where I am right now and where I am headed in the future.
Not many of my readers know this but I have chosen to pursue an education in journalism with emphasis in media, TV and radio.
This decision is one of many that I will be taking from now on towards the rest of my life. I take this decision as an adult and not the child I once was.
My father naturally was, at first, against the idea of journalism as a major; he thought of it as being trivial and something 'unnecessary' which did not have a future in it. Truth be told, he made some sense in coming to that judgment at first; print journalism was starting to show signs of fading away and journalists normally get paid less than hotshot business men.
My family wanted me to go into law or business, apparently it had a future and seemed to be flourishing with riches and treasures - come to think of it, with the economy right now, it turns out my family, and those who doubted my choice, made quite a bad call.
However, I worked hard and showed my passion by applying for journalism schools all over the world and it all paid off in the end, I shall be attending Northwestern University, US, in the fall in my journey of towards education in the art of story telling and media influences.
Luckily for me, both my father and my family took a liking to the idea of me being a journalist one day, even if it meant me being lowly paid and living a life of constant travelling and the pursuit of a story.
Dear readers, some you will come to a stage in your life where you can no longer depend on others to make or aid the decisions that shape and model who you are and who you will become. Nothing can stand in the way of your dreams if you apply just the perfect amount of effort and exert ample passion; all good things come in good time.
