The Sky's the Limit: One Family's Lost Dreams

This past Wednesday I gleefully boarded a direct flight to Chicago, Ill. from Washington, D.C. I was so glad spring break had finally arrived so I could spend some much needed relaxation time with my family. I had a mock trial tournament the next weekend and the last month of classes looming over me, complete with final papers, portfolios, and exams. I was looking forward to leaving school behind for a week.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as rest for the weary; I had many assignments from several classes, including reporting and writing, which would keep me busy all week. I thought that my family would be the perfect people to feature in my next story for class and that this was a perfect time to double up on both work and bonding time by interviewing my family. They had never seen me work and are always asking me actually what it is I learn to do being a journalism major. This way they would get to witness it first hand.

Before I could interview any of my family I first had to figure out exactly what I was going to ask them. The question I was supposed to ask was "What would you do if you could not fail?" At first I thought it meant what would you do to survive in a situation where failure was just not an option? What would you do to ensure that you were successful? My mother, however, helped me come to what I thought was a better interpretation of the question.

My mother and I collective agreed that the question meant what would a person do if there where no barriers, limitations, or consequences? "I think about things that I usually wouldn't do because I think it wouldn't work." What it really boiled down to was a simple question of dreams. "Kind of like the sky is the limit sort of thing" she added.

"My mother, DeVita Joy, a math teacher and mother of four, was born and raised here in Chicago. She went to Whitney Young High School at the same time First Lady Michelle Obama went there. Somewhere between her marriage and four children, got lost in taking care of others and never got around to doing things for herself. I wanted to take the time to see what some of her aspirations were.

"I would start my own educational consulting business." Joy said, speaking of her plan to her own firm that specialized in tutoring for SAT/ACT prep as well as math and science tutoring.

My mother's youngest sister and my aunt, Lynette Norris, isn't in love with her career as an accountant. She is quick to tell the young people in our family to, "be whatever you want and don't let anyone talk you out of it. When I was your age I wanted to be a psychologist. Look at where I ended up because I let people tell me what career was best for me."

Auntie Nette, as I call her said she would have wanted to either be a dramatic actress or a mystery writer. "They are both very creative careers. I know it sounds crazy, completely opposite an accountant huh?"

Now my baby, well youngest not baby, brother Arthur Joy II heard all the talk and had to get involved. Because he is only eight he actually had a really interesting response. "I would build a huge mansion with all kinds of stuff; two arcades, a pool, you know-- servants quarters, a pizzeria [pizza is his favorite food] and a hot tub" he said

I just had to ask why he needed all of this. He added, "I could play all the time; I'd have everything I wanted." He just got a new Nintendo DSi for Christmas and now his whole life revolves around playing with it and his Wii as much as possible. I guess when you are that small playing is your only priority.

J'han M. Boynes, my friend of eight years and a student at Clark- Atlanta University said she should have gone to Fisk University instead. She had six reasons some economic but most of them personal, "I would fit in with the rest of family [four of her family members attended Fisk] and be closer to my cousin Alaina; she still lives in Tennessee. It would be easier for me to get home because I could fly Southwest" she said.

I never even knew my family members thought about these things. The answers came so quickly like they had been thinking about it for a while. When I really think about I realize that there are things I wish I had done but didn't do. It makes me wonder what stops us from doing the things we really want to do in life? Sounds like another story.

View the Google map to see the locations of the people I interviewed in this story: http://maps.google.com/maps/mm?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=37.0625,-95.677068&spn=52.550571,114.521484&z=4