c/dreams-we-left-behind

Vent: I had to pick between a music scholarship and a steady job offer.

Right after high school, I got a partial scholarship to study jazz guitar at a college in Austin. The same week, my uncle offered me a full-time job at his auto shop in my hometown. I took the job because it meant no debt and immediate money. That was 15 years ago, and I still work on cars. I never even picked up my guitar again after that summer. Has anyone else given up a creative path for something more practical? How did you handle it?

My dad told me to skip the art degree and go for IT. I listened.

He said I'd never make a living painting, that it was a hobby. So I got a business IT degree from the local college instead. Now I just fix printers all day and haven't touched a brush in years. Anyone else give up a creative dream because someone said it was a bad idea?

Serious question, I used to want to be a pilot but one test changed everything

I was 19 and sitting in a small flight school office in Daytona Beach, about to take the FAA medical exam. I had saved up for months for the first steps. The doctor was doing the basic eye test and asked me to read the bottom line. I squinted, but the letters just blurred into gray smudges. He told me my vision was just below the standard needed for a first-class medical certificate. I remember the exact number, 20/25 in my left eye. I walked out to my car and just sat there for maybe half an hour, staring at the runway. All those plans, the maps I'd studied, just felt pointless. I never went back. Has anyone else had a dream end because of a single test or requirement you couldn't meet?

I once wanted to be a professional whistler

About 8 years ago, I spent a whole week trying to learn how to whistle the theme from 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'. I practiced in my car, in the shower, you name it. My neighbor finally yelled, 'Are you trying to call a dog or summon a ghost?' That was the end of my musical whistling career. Anyone else have a weird talent they tried and failed to master?

My uncle told me to skip college and go straight into the family concrete business

Right after high school, I was set on going to community college for business management. My uncle Frank, who ran the contracting company, pulled me aside at a BBQ in 2015. He said, 'You'll learn more about running a business by doing it with me for a year than in any classroom, and you'll save $15k in tuition.' I listened, figuring I could always go back. Seven years later, I'm running crews and bidding jobs, but I never did go back. The dream of having that degree and maybe doing something else, like opening my own equipment rental yard, just faded. It worked out okay, but I wonder about the path not taken. Anyone else get steered away from a dream by well-meaning family advice that turned out to be a permanent detour?

I read that 60% of people who wanted to be writers as kids never even try

Found that in a study linked from a blog about creative careers. It made me think about my old dream of writing a novel, which I gave up for a stable office job. Do you think most people drop dreams for practical reasons, or is it more about fear?

Why does nobody talk about how many people give up on learning an instrument?

I was looking at my old guitar case in the attic and found a receipt from 2008 for lessons I never finished. It said I only went to three out of twelve sessions I paid for. Has anyone else started something like that and then just stopped?

A friend told me my landscape photos looked like postcards, not my own work.

Pro tip: I found my old sketchbook from 2012 in a box last month and it was full of comic book panels I never finished.

Looking at those half-drawn heroes made me realize I gave up on that dream because I got scared I wasn't good enough, which is something I think a lot of people here might understand, right?

Cleaning out the garage and found my old flight school application

I filled it out back in 2018, right after my 30th birthday, with plans to start at the small airfield in Dayton. Life got busy with my daughter starting school, and the cost, nearly $12,000 just to begin, felt impossible. Now the papers are just sitting in a box next to the lawnmower. Does anyone else have a folder like this tucked away somewhere?

PSA: Found my old sketchbook from high school in a box labeled 'college stuff' last night.

I was going to be an animator for Pixar, but I took a business degree instead because my dad said it was more stable, so has anyone else had that moment where you physically find the proof of a dream you dropped?

My high school art teacher said I'd never make a living with a paintbrush, and for twenty years I believed her.

I found my old sketchbook from high school and it's just sad now.

I was cleaning out my parents' garage in Phoenix last weekend and found a whole box of drawings from when I was 17. I was going to go to art school, but I took a 'practical' business degree instead. Anyone else look at their old passion and just feel a weird kind of nothing?

I always thought wanting to be a pilot was a silly kid dream.

My uncle, who flew cargo planes for 30 years, sat me down last month and showed me his old logbook with over 10,000 flight hours. He explained the math on how he paid off his training loans and said 'the sky's a big office.' Has anyone else had a family member totally change their view on a childhood goal?

I used to think my dream of being a comic artist was just about drawing well.

For years, I had this big goal of making my own webcomic, but I never got past a few sketches. I thought if I just got better at drawing hands or faces, I'd be ready. The thing I see a lot of people get wrong is thinking the art is the only hard part. The real work is the writing and the grind of putting a page out every single week, no matter what. I know because I finally tried it last month, made a schedule, and wrote three whole scripts before I even drew a line. It was a small win, but it showed me what I'd been avoiding. The art is the fun part; the discipline is the dream. Anyone else start a creative project and get stuck on the wrong part of the work?

My old bandmate in Seattle said something that killed our album idea

We were in his garage studio, listening to a rough mix of a song we'd worked on for weeks. He just turned the volume down and said, 'This sounds like a demo for a band that already exists.' That was it, we never finished the project. Anyone else have a dream that just got shut down by one comment?

Warning: My dream of being a pilot died in a 20 minute flight over Phoenix

The instructor said 'you're fighting the controls' and I realized I just couldn't let go. Anyone else have a dream that ended because of a specific moment like that?

Hot take: I don't think giving up on my art degree was a failure.

My professor in a Chicago studio told me my work was 'too literal' and lacked a 'cohesive vision', which felt like a final verdict. I left that program and started my moving company, but I still paint landscapes for myself every Sunday morning. Does anyone else find their old dream still fits into life, just in a different shape?

My cousin asked about my old comic book idea at a cookout last weekend

We were grilling burgers in his backyard in Dayton and he just said 'whatever happened to that space trucker comic you were always sketching?' I hadn't thought about it in years, but I used to fill notebooks with characters and ship designs. I told him life got busy after I started my office job and I just stopped. Has anyone else had a hobby dream that just faded away without a big reason?

My sister asked why I stopped playing guitar and I didn't have a good answer

My dad told me to forget about art school and get a real job. He was right, but it still stings.

When I was 18, I got accepted to a good art school in Chicago. I wanted to be an illustrator. My dad sat me down and said, 'You'll never make a living. You need a steady paycheck.' I listened, went into accounting, and yeah, I have a stable life now. But sometimes I pull out my old sketchbook and see the stuff I drew back then. I wonder what would have happened if I took that risk. Part of me thinks he saved me from a hard life, but another part feels like I gave up a piece of myself. Has anyone else followed 'good' advice that worked out, but left you wondering about the path you didn't take?

Found my old sketchbook from high school in a box of junk

I was cleaning out the garage yesterday and pulled out a plastic tub full of old school stuff. Underneath a pile of yearbooks was this sketchbook I used for art class. I flipped it open and saw all these detailed pencil drawings of cars and buildings I used to do. I was actually pretty good (for a kid, you know). My art teacher, Mrs. Ellis, told me I should think about going to design school. I remember thinking about it for a while, but then I got a job right after graduation to help at home, and I just never picked up a pencil for fun again. Holding that book now, it's weird to think about that whole other path I didn't take. Has anyone else found something like that, something that made you remember a skill you just let go?

My old piano teacher said I played like I was scared of the keys

I wanted to be a jazz pianist when I was younger, but I gave it up after high school. She told me that about 15 years ago, and it stuck with me because it was true. I just started playing again last month, and I'm trying to focus on hitting the notes with more confidence, even if I mess up. It's slow, but I finally got through a full chorus of 'Autumn Leaves' without stopping. Anyone else pick up an old instrument and have to unlearn a bad habit?

Just realized I haven't picked up my guitar in over a year

I used to practice for an hour every night after work, trying to get good enough to play in a local band. Then about two years ago, my job got busier and I started skipping days. I found it in the closet today, still in its case from when I moved. The strings are all rusty. Has anyone else let a hobby just fade away like that?

Heard a kid at the library say he wanted to be an astronaut, and it hit me

I was picking up a book last Tuesday and this boy, maybe 8, was telling his mom all about Mars. It made me think of my own space phase when I was 12. I had charts of the planets and everything, but I gave it up in high school because I was told the math was too hard. That was over 15 years ago, and I still wonder what would have happened if I'd just tried. Has anyone else let a dream go because someone said it was too difficult?