Katharina Buczek
Ever since this 20-year-old woman was a little girl, she’s dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. So, her love of the ocean and sea creatures fueled every decision she ever made when it came to her education.
“I worked hard in school, got a scholarship to a great university, and finally, after years of effort, I landed an internship at one of the most prestigious marine research institutes in the country,” she recalled.
The internship was extremely competitive, too, so landing the position made her feel like she was finally on the path to achieving her dreams – and all of her hard work had been worth it.
But her family wasn’t as excited as she was. Her parents have apparently always been more traditional and thought she’d only be able to find success by pursuing a career in law, medicine, or business. The idea of her going into marine biology, on the other hand, never made them happy.
So, once she found out she landed the internship and excitedly told her family, they had a very lackluster response. She expected them to at least be proud of her. Yet, they just acted dismissively.
“My dad said it was ‘just a phase’ and that I’d ‘come to my senses’ eventually. My mom was worried about my safety and the financial instability of such a career,” she revealed.
“I tried to explain how much this meant to me, but they just didn’t get it.”
Regardless, she still moved to a new city – where the marine research institute is located – for her internship. And at that point, things in her family became even more dramatic.
All of a sudden, her parents began incessantly calling her. They kept urging her to “rethink” her career choice and pressuring her to return home.
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