"You'll Never Amount to Anything"

I was half way through my junior year in college and came home for the weekend to visit my parents. At that point, I had all A's and B's, including Organic Chemistry I. I was realizing that I wasn't as stupid as I had previously thought. As the first person in my family to attend college, and even then being strongly discouraged from doing so, I was always feeling inferior to my peers. I sat down with my parents and told them after graduating undergrad, I wanted to pursue vet school. My dad leaned over the table, eyes becoming larger, forehead becoming redder, and told me "You'll never amount to anything, and I'm not paying for a *&^%`!*!)#! thing!"

I can't say I was surprised. I got little to zero help through both of my degrees. I worked for it on my own. My dad was too busy being focused on the dollar amount in his checking account. You see, my dad never spent money on anything very meaningful, other than necessities. He wasn't rich, but never was hurting. He just liked to look at numbers. How ironic that he died last year only caring about the one thing that had zero meaning the last week of his life.

I will remember that "discussion" forever. I know it has inspired me, even though many years later, to pursue my dream of vet school. I have learned that the moral of the story is to never let someone tell you that you can't do something, ever. Last year, after my 2nd round of rejections, I talked with the colleges at why I was rejected. How can I improve my chances for next year? How can I become more competitive at your institution? One school replied to me that I should retake 5 courses to improve my science GPA, and consider applying to school XYZ instead, because "that other school" would be more understanding to a non-traditional applicant. They were telling me essentially, that I was not going to get in to their school. Retaking 5 science courses, for me, is impossible having a full-time job. So I didn't retake them, and stubbornly reapplied to them this year.

And now I am going to become a veterinarian. I have been accepted to that same school that basically told me to give up last year. The school that essentially told me I would "never amount to anything". I am still waiting to hear from one more veterinary college, but either way, I'm in. The only thing I would change is that my dad could be here. I just want to tell him one last thing...