Drive On

It is interesting to follow in your parents' footsteps. Through this process, you see where they have deviated from their own paths many-a-time, just as you may. In fact, I have decided that deviating from one's path is not deviating at all, but simply getting back on the road in a different vehicle. I changed my degree twice at university, and finally found the speed and gear I was looking for. But that's not to say that I won't roll out Tom-Cruise style in 30 years to choose a new set of wheels. 

Both my grandparents and parents have dipped their toes into many careers. But for my current situation, my dad’s career is the most interesting to study. He wasn’t the best student at school. When I read his school reports, I was astounded that this powerful man got a C in maths, a grade paired with the teacher’s comment: “If absence makes the heart grow fonder, he was my favourite student”. Nevertheless, my dad got into Warwick University, and started to impress, and his life trajectory changed entirely. By his mid-40s his nickname in the office was “The Dark Prince”.

My father worked and traveled for over 20 years. He worked and worked until he became the best - and who doesn’t want to be the best? However, after a few years at the top, as the reigning Dark Prince, he decided that his trusty car was rusty, the inspirational music no longer playing on the now outdated radio.

After he quit his long-time job, he decided to use his knowledge of the legal field to do something different. Now, Dad sits in a little home-office, with papers stuck on the walls, crooked picture frames everywhere, wires and cables stuck into things they shouldn’t be stuck into. It’s a kind of organized chaos that my mum has decided she’d rather turn a blind eye to. His new business is just starting up. And he’s the least hipster start-up owner I know: no man-bun (as much as he would like one), no graphic tee, and no trying to pay for literally everything with an Apple Watch.

My dad has had many things thrown at him throughout his career: position changes, office drama, family emergencies, a 5000 mile change in location. Each time, he was able to change gear and drive on through. Now, in a quieter and kinder environment, he sits in his little home-office, calling down for cups of tea and occasional advice or approval on a new article he has written. He’s in a totally different place to where he was two years ago, both figuratively and literally. But he is home and happy and is teaching me all of this stuff that would have taken me 25-odd years to figure out on the job. Stuff that I won’t learn at university, even if I’m the best student in there. The lessons are those I will not learn in the classroom, but rather involve observing the trials and tribulations one comes across when following a new passion with an unknown destination. My dad has helped me to start my journey off a bit faster than how he started his, with an open mind and a sense of adventure. And now, I get the security of knowing that even if my car is to break down, catch on fire, and run into a swamp, I’ll just hop in a new one and learn how to use it.