Don't sacrifice creative aspirations

DEAR AMY: I am a junior in high school and am starting to think about what career I want to pursue and what universities I'd like to attend. My parents hold jobs in the medical and criminal law fields, and my older sister is following in their footsteps. Three generations of my family have attended a prestigious university (my sister goes there now). Already, there is enormous pressure on me to go to this school and pursue a career in the sciences. However, I want to study creative writing and journalism at an arts school. My immediate family has expressed disdain for this plan. They are convinced that, though writing is a good "pastime," it is not a serious career choice. I resent having my career choices labeled as hobbies. They say they will support whatever decision I make, but it doesn't feel like that. Should I follow them -- or re-evaluate?Help Wanted

DEAR WANTED: Studying science does not preclude studying the arts.

In fact, each field supplements and enhances the other.

One of my favorite writers, Abraham Verghese, is a physician who teaches at the Stanford University School of Medicine and also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing from the University of Iowa.

If you have any interest in or aptitude for science, you could definitely combine writing and science and have a great career.

Go to the school that will offer you the strongest and most well-rounded education (this might be the "prestige" school). You can decide to specialize (or branch out) later.

It is a time-honored tradition for professional parents to brand the artistic aspirations of their offspring as flights of fancy, but talk to any successful artist, actor, musician or writer, and you will learn that the creative impulse is stronger than parental disapproval.