respected his decision after Simon had informed him that he wanted to pursue medical sciences. When Simon had announced to all of his friends and family that he was stopping football, they couldn’t believe it. To Simon, it had felt like it was another episode of Gossip Girls. A month had gone by and almost everyone had started to quiet down.
One rainy afternoon, mid-November, when Simon’s father had asked to speak to him. Simon’s father, John Thomas, was very strict and concerned with the path his son should follow after high school. Simon’s father was among many who were concerned about the decision he had made. There were about two months until the deadline for applying to universities and colleges and Simon had an idea of where he wanted to go. Simon’s father asked him “So have you decided what you want you’re going to do?” Simon nervously nodded his head. “I want to apply for medical school to become a nurse.” His father gave a hysterical laugh, almost as if he was offended. “Is this is a joke? Seriously you must have mistaken yourself for something else.” The room had gone silent. Simon knew that his father wanted to tell him that there are many better paths he could have chosen. After five minutes Simon had stood up, firmly he said, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life, I want to do something where I can help people.” Simon had faintly walked back upstairs to his room and had not spoken to his father for the rest of the
week.