Reality

My father asked me over the phone. “Yeah,” I said, reluctantly. He asks me questions like this quite often. I suspect he can hear the hesitation even when I think I’ve hidden it. I am working. I am independent. More often than not, I pay my own expenses. These are things I wanted, and I’m glad I have them. But whenever he asks that question, I struggle to give him an answer I believe. Usually, I say whatever comes to mind first. It gets me through the conversation. Afterwards, I’m still thinking about it. In films, people abandon comfortable lives to pursue what they really want. I find those stories inspiring. I also wonder who pays their rent while they are discovering themselves. It is difficult to make a bold choice when other people, bills and responsibilities are involved. You may want something badly and still have good reasons to stay where you are. I don’t think that makes the desire less real. It does make it harder to act on. Then again, responsibility is a convincing explan...