Written by Anastasia Kutselik of Richard Montgomery High School
The vivid trees stood out against the gray swab of the sky just like Alex with his dream of becoming an artist in his family. The Najens were a well-known family of doctors and lawyers since they arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Every child was born with the expectation of becoming a doctor or lawyer, continuing the family streak. Every child met it except Alex Najen, who had a dream of becoming an artist. His passion for art sprouted when he was 5; he was always thrilled for art class, spending all his lunchtime drawing with his teacher. Even during other subjects, he would doodle on the classwork, which led him to be scolded by his teachers. Teacher conferences never ended well for Alex, as his teachers would show his parents his class doodles. The nights after conferences were filled with shouting and shaming from mostly his father, who considered his son a disgrace.
Alex’s parents were not the only ones shaming Alex; in fact, every holiday, especially Thanksgiving, his whole family would constantly try to convince him to let go of his dream. No one supported his passion for art, except his grandmother, who was amazed by his work.
“Art is just a hobby, but being a doctor is a career,” his aunts and uncles would say.
“Art will leave you living on the streets,” his parents and grandparents agreed.
Despite these comments, Alex still kept drawing on the paper pads given to him by his grandmother. He was always grateful for her, which gave him strength to continue his passion. Although his parents wanted him to stop, they let him keep drawing to make his grandmother happy as her end was near. So for every Thanksgiving, Alex would paint a huge canvas or draw murals in his grandmother's room to show her his progress. She always adored his work and gave him more supplies to continue it.
When Alex was 13, his grandmother passed away in her sleep, leaving him without his only supporter. Her death hit him like a bus as he crumpled under the negativity of his parents. He only ever wished for his grandmother to come back, as his parents shoved his art into trash bags. As they crushed Alex’s happiness and dream, they filled his time with textbooks on math, science and doctors. The grief inside him left him numb, so he did what he was told and prepped for his planned future of being a doctor. His parents never cared for his expressionless face; the only thing they cared for was his future of being a doctor. Even though that was notn’t his dream, he was shoved down the path, tumbling into the dark.
During the next Thanksgiving, the whole family praised Alex for finally realising art was a waste of time that distracted him from being a doctor. While Alex should have felt accepted with his empty soul being filled with joy, he stayed numb. The acceptance from his family who stomped his dream, robbing him of his only joy, brought him no pleasure. Every night, he would lay awake fantasizing of a world where he lived with his grandmother, painting on canvases as his grandmother knitted beside him. In his dreams, they lived in a house far from humanity, among scenic nature, filled with happiness. Although he wanted to resist, he never stopped studying to be a doctor and tried to focus on this path that was “destined” for him. Even if he tried to protest, he could not continue his art dream, lacking money to get supplies. Eventually, he started becoming more alive as he decided to take the comments made by his family as evidence he was not a disgrace any more and fitted along with everyone else. He posed his happiness in hopes that it would take over him, killing off the negativity. As his senior year began, his parents made his college decisions for him, telling him what would lead to the best future.
Studying at Harvard left Alex drowning in his studies through his whole college life. All he ever did was study, never partying due to his strict parents. Being buried in schoolwork, Alex would be stuck on campus for most Thanksgiving breaks. In reality, he used school as an excuse to not come back to his family, temporarily escaping the fake mindset. So for each Thanksgiving, Alex would go down to a nearby coffee shop and sit there drawing with the supplies given to him by his college friend Nathan. He would lie to Nathan about leaving the campus for breaks, leaving himself alone with his supplies. His lonely Thanksgivings were spent working on drawings, mostly portraits of his grandmother and some sketches of the coffee shop. The shop provided a warm environment for Alex, inspiring many of his sketches as he drew and painted strangers coming in and out. Alex had become close with the owner, who understood his position and treated him like a son, giving him advice or inspiration from time to time. The shop owner would leave Alex the keys before heading to his family for Thanksgiving. The old man reminded Alex of his grandmother, who was always thrilled to get paintings or sketches from him during holidays or random days. The two kept one another independent company; one ran his shop, and the other painted scenes later used for the posters and website.
Every Thanksgiving break was lonely for him until Nathan found out the truth. Finding out about his good friend lying upset Nathan until he found the reason behind it. Nathan was confused on how opposed Alex’s family was on his artist dream, as Nathan's family was the family everyone wanted, with supportive parents who kept life interesting. His parents never fought and taught him that it was okay to make mistakes and have bad days. They were the parents who made their son dessert when he was down, hoping to cheer him up. It left Nathan with an empty feeling to know his friend spent a family holiday avoiding his own family while he and others would be thrilled to go back, as they all missed their families. All Nathan then wanted was for Alex to experience a true Thanksgiving. So he called his parents to explain his plan to them. Before Thanksgiving break, he bought a suitcase and plane ticket for Alex so he could come with him. The night before the flight, Alex sank into his bed, exhausted from studying, and fell into a deep slumber. A snoring Alex gave Nathan a chance to pack Alex’s suitcase with his minimal clothes and fell into rest. Once the clock struck six in the morning, Nathan rang an alarm into Alex's ear. A surprised Alex jumped out of bed, knocking down Nathan. He was slammed into the floor with only a rug softening his fall. They both rose from the ground with Alex screaming his lungs out at Nathan, who instantly regretted waking up sleepy Alex. But he didn’t fully regret it as he explained to Alex why he was woken up. Alex, still agitated, sluggishly made his way to get ready with no clear sense of what was happening around him.
The taxi came to a halt, arriving at a small cottage house. Around the cottage were lush towers of green, occasionally with some spots of colors growing out from them. As they walked up to the door, Alex’s mind was consumed by the scenery. The door opened, and the boys were welcomed home. Nathan's parents were both in age, short and friendly people living in the middle of a dream. Much like the outdoors, verdure took away the emptiness, providing comfort in the home. As they sat down around the table, Alex was interviewed by Nathan's parents with casual conversations of his major, hobbies, and other typical questions. The mention of art drew tons of interest from Nathan's parents, which Alex was not aware he needed. He never had such detailed and in-depth conversations on art, as his parents prohibited him from discussing it. When they realized how passionate about art Alex was, they took him into a room. Walking down the slim halls, Alex was amazed at how closely the house resembled the one in his dream years ago. It was a walk-in art exhibit, adding onto Alex’s amazement. In the center stood a painter's easel with paint stains and canvases paving the way to it. This room was all Alex ever dreamt of, and he was astonished, never expecting to have even one of his dreams come true.
Fascinated by their home and artwork, the empty feeling soon was filled by living partially in his dream. Happiness overflowed in him as he was once again supported in his art, this time by three people instead of one. As he stayed in their home, he helped around the house as a way to thank them for allowing him to use their supplies. Thanksgiving was only one day away as they started dressing the house with decor and holiday spirit. Typically, fall would be the wind picking the leaves off the trees, letting them fly to the ground. As children and adults would pick them out like flowers for a bouquet, others raked them off their “picture perfect” lawns. Many enjoyed the natural beauty of fall with the scenic falling of leaves, wearing jeans and a flannel. But in the middle of nowhere where Nathan grew up, it was all different. Instead of falling leaves, there were blossoming flowers on the background of greenery. The birds mysteriously sang to one another in the shrubs. Thanksgiving was not shown through the weather, but the spirit was still there. Nathan’s parents put up wreaths of fake fall leaves to contrast the plants in their home. They had pumpkins around and baked homemade pumpkin pie.
The aroma of pies, potatoes, and a turkey called in the Thanksgiving vibes. Putting on the final touches, Americans all around the world gathered with family around feasts. In the small cottage, the four gathered around the table. Although there was limited space on the table, it was endlessly filled with various platters. The food varied from salads to poultry, with the classic roasted turkey right in the middle. As they sat down, each took a turn saying what they were thankful for. Nathan’s family were grateful for one another as well as Nathan's success in school.
As Alex’s turn arrived, he stood up with his glass of wine. “I wanted to make a toast tonight. Thanksgiving was always a safe time for me to talk about art with my grandmother. She always enjoyed my work,especially landscapes, which she said were nature and me working together. Sadly, when I was a teen, she passed away. I was always grateful for her support in my art dream, unlike my parents who wanted me to continue the family tradition of being a doctor. Last, I wanted to thank Nathan for becoming my friend and encouraging me into continuing art and buying me my supplies. But this holiday,” he said, turning to Nathan’s parents, “you showed me my first art exhibit since the beginning of my art dream. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to use your supplies and allowing me to make my yearly portrait of my grandmother, who has supported me in person and above through my whole life. May God bless you all!” Alex finished, as the clinks of glass rang through the room as chatter filled the air. This small cottage getaway was just what Alex needed to get him back on track.
After the long break spent painting, Alex and Nathan boarded the plane back to Harvard, relaxed and full from the infinite feast that lasted all break. Arriving at Harvard was unusual, as it opposed the peaceful days Alex spent painting in the exhibit of Nathan's house. Much like New York City, everyone here was rushing to get to dorms or classes, and the human traffic lasted all day long. The whole day felt like the first day of school, where everyone was stressed and unpacking all day long. While others spent their evenings attending parties, Alex stayed back in his dorm, unraveling the box given to him as a present for keeping Nathan’s parents company. The lace ribbon was undone, the doors to new adventures opened. Alex sat amazed at the fresh bristles of the brushes soft like puppies fur coats. The smell of pine came from the pencils, next to a clean, white set of watercolors. This gift meant the world to Alex, who spent the next year using the new materials in his spare time, discovering new forms of art. As he progressed even more, he was encouraged to begin attending painting festivals. There, his paintings were surprisingly noticed by many popular local artists, who bought a few of his paintings. The money made from the paintings excited Alex as his family had made him believe art wouldn’t take him anywhere. Art really took Alex somewhere, as his name began appearing in the newspapers. Unexpectedly, Alex’s parents called Alex, asking him to come home for next Thanksgiving. Alex was puzzled as to why his parents actually wanted him to come back, being unaware that his works became famous across the whole country.
So that following Thanksgiving, Alex had built up the courage to come home to his family. Although his whole family opposed him being an artist, his parents surprisingly started to support him in being an artist. They never had thought that art would be successful, as many artists had become famous after passing away, such as Leonardo DaVinci. But Alex proved them wrong with the help of Nathan and his family and the shop owner who supported him for years. Despite the shocking support from his parents, Alex was skeptical as they only started to support him once he had become known throughout the U.S.A. Though his parents warmed up to him being an artist, the rest of the Najens contained the same opinions as before. Alex’s caution was not just for nothing, as his parents were hungry for the fame, trying to get Alex to mention that they were his biggest supporters who made his dream come true. At the exposed intentions of his family, Alex ghosted them in response to their hunger for fame as he grew to only become more successful. He ended up opening a small studio where he had children come in, providing and teaching them about art to support their art passions.
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