CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 53

which damaged the nerves on the frontal lobe of her
brain, resulting in the symptoms she was experiencing.
She told CARIMAC Times that, at that moment, she
wondered if her life would ever go back to normal.
But when the doctor said the problem could be
corrected with a minor surgery, the joy she felt was
unexplainable.
“Even though I’m OK, most of the time, my fingers
tend to shake a lot,” she said while pointing to her
noticeably trembling fingers.
Green said, once the surgery was done, she began
therapy to help deal with the reason she started
smoking, and hoped it would help her to move past
her experiences. But she expressed that the hardest
part of her experience was facing the people who
saw her when she had the seizure.
She remembers one girl who said she screamed at
her and called her names and, as a result, the girl
refuse d to speak with her, although most people gave
her a hug and asked if she was doing well.
Despite Green’s experience, she still plans to study
forensic chemistry after she completes her degree
in actuarial science.
Almost bound by tradition
Sean-Michael Salter describes his parents as being
very traditional and controlling. He said both of his
parents are in the business field. His mother is a sales
representative and his father is an accountant. In
addition, his father is also the pastor of Praise Chapel
in Montego Bay and his mother is an evangelist.
He explained that when he was younger, his parents
made all the decisions in his life and he did not

mind. But, as he got older, instead of allowing him
to make his own decisions, they wanted to exercise
even more control over his life. A major decision his
parents made for him was with regard to his career
path. It was a decision he wished they did not make
and were not hell-bent on imposing on him.
He said his father has been an accountant for over 35
years and he does not see his children in any other
profession but accounting.
Twenty-three-year-old Salter said he was encouraged
by his father to do accounting from grade nine. He
added that he enjoyed the subject at the time because
it was new to him. But he realised, as time progressed,
he did not like it.
The seemingly shy young man spoke with conviction
when he said he does not want to become an
accountant like his father, nor does he want to do
anything in the business field. He wants to study to
become a graphic designer.
Salter said he was in sixth form when he told his
father he did not want to do accounting anymore.
He was having dinner with his family in the living
room. His father became extremely upset. The casual
conversation he had hoped to have with his father
turned into an argument. He said he quarrelled
with his father that day because he was frustrated.
“I was just tired of doing accounting. I didn’t want to
do it anymore,” he said in a sad tone.
Dr. Gordon Stair said a scientific term has not been
coined to refer to the practice of parents living their
dreams through their children, but psychologists
consider such parents to be “helicopter parents”.
“The parent is not only living their dreams vicariously
through their children but is also deeply involved in

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