My mom always had a passion for the arts. Whether it was singing, dancing, painting, or photography, she had this creative spark that she couldn’t ignore. But it wasn’t until she was a teenager that she realized her true love was photography. She dreamed of continuing her high school career at an art school in Tel Aviv, about 30 minutes from where she lived. In a bold move, she secretly applied without telling her traditional parents.
She waited, hoping for that acceptance letter to arrive. But it never came. It crushed her. But it wasn’t until a year later that she stumbled across something that totally shocked her – the acceptance letter, hidden away in one of her mom’s drawers. She confronted her mom, and what did she get? “It’s not what I want for you. This isn’t what girls do.” And then rips it in front of her. Can you imagine? How crushing. It was the 1950s, and I guess girls didn’t go around snapping artsy photos? 🤷♀️
Here’s the cool thing though. My mom’s story could have ended there. But it didn’t. Even though she didn’t get to follow her dream, that experience made her incredibly supportive of my own artistic path. She paid for piano lessons, clarinet lessons and my dance lessons. I even dabbled with painting. So when I told her I wanted to go to school for dance, she didn’t hesitate. She was all in! And now I get why. I mean most parents would be like, “Where’s the security in dance?” But she knew how it felt to have her passion squashed, and she wasn’t about to let that happen to me.
It’s kinda wild to think about how different things could’ve been if she had gone to that art school. Maybe she would’ve been this world-famous photographer, and I’d be the daughter of a celebrity. (Okay, maybe not, but still.) Instead, she passed on something even more important – the freedom to chase what I love. 🙏
So, here I am, doing exactly that – dancing, teaching, and now a business owner (who knew?!). And I’ve gotta say, I owe a lot of that to my mom. Even though her dream didn’t pan out, she gave me the gift to pursue mine. Plus, now I know where my sneaky side comes from – just don’t go looking through my drawers! 😆
Have an amazing day,
Oreet