What is stopping young adults from following their dreams?

Their parents, most of the time.

When I was younger, I wanted to become an actress, and it was the only career option I could think of and was able to imagine myself doing. I took theater in high school, had a part in the school musical, and was set to pursue my dream of becoming a Broadway actor.

But then, well, my parents found out about my plans, and they were not thrilled, to say the least. Like many other parents, they didn’t see acting as a viable career option, and they weren’t excited about the idea of funding my college education when all I wanted to study was musical theater. We spent months going back and forth, as they tried to convince me to choose a safer career, and I struggled to give up my one and only dream. I ended up listening to them, mostly because they refused to fund college if I didn’t, and went to study the safest major I could think of: computer science!

The problem was, I knew nothing about computers, and even less about science, and I absolutely hated every single course I had to take, which led me to drop out after a single semester. Jokes on my parents, who had to pay for it, I guess.

Eventually, things worked out, and I found a career path that still felt creative enough for me and had actual career options for the future (Thank you, Cheezburger!), but I can’t say I don’t think of what would have happened if I didn’t listen to my parents and went after my real dream.

This is what I would have told the father below as a warning, after he shared on Reddit that he is trying to do the same exact thing to his daughter, who wants to study the arts in college. He doesn’t want to pay for studies that won’t lead to a career, while she claims college is not really about creating a job training plan. So, should he let her study what she wants, or is it important to stand his ground?