PRIYA | URBAN

VII. PRIYA

Chapter Seven.

I LEANED AGAINST Chris's car, as I admired the mural that he painted. "Wow," I was really amazed at how talented he was.

"Pretty dope, huh?" Chris smiled as he faced me. "I've been working on this piece for months."

"Yeah, it's beautiful," I smiled. "What made you so interested in making art?"

"Since, I was a little kid I always enjoyed making art. I remember this one time when my mother brought me these cheap ass colored pencils for Christmas and I use to sit in my bedroom for hours just drawing imaginary creatures, which is how I've become so passionate about it." Chris stated. "As corny as it sounds, my dream is to become an artist. Working with thousands of people around the world to create artwork that's going to last a lifetime."

"It's not corny at all, that's pretty sweet," I answered. "At least you found something that you're passionate about."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"What do you mean, you guess?" I asked. "I still don't know what I even want to do after college, and you already have it mapped out."

"If I got the chance to choose, I would definitely choose this," Chris shook his head. "But, it's not as easy as you think it would be, baby girl."

"Why do you have to choose?" I asked, turning my direction towards him.

"My pops," He said. "He has always counted on me to take over the family business once I finished school and everything. It was like he had my whole life planned out from the jump. I mean he has supported me when I'm making art but he doesn't want that to be a career that I go into. If I told him that I didn't want to run his business and that I wanted to become an artist, he'd really lose his shit."

"You should just tell him, how you feel," I said. "If you know deep down inside that art is something that you want to do, the only way to fully live your life is by explaining that to your dad. I'm sure he'll understand, you're grown, he doesn't have the right to control how you choose to live your life."

"You must not know my dad," Chris sighed. "He's not as understanding as I want him to be, he's ain't worried about shit. He's only worried about what he wants me to be. My whole life I felt like my interests didn't matter when it came to my father. No matter how old I am, he's always going to have that type of mindset."

"My grandmother once told me, the truth often hurts that's why so many people ignore telling it," I said. "The truth may hurt but at the same time, it will set you free from all the bull crap that your dad believes you should be. It doesn't make you a bad person to want to live your own life. Be who you are not who your father wants you to be."