Tatev

Tatev, 65, says that if she could go back in time, she would go to her late teens when she was studying at Gyumri’s Kara Murza State Music College. She wanted to become a choir conductor, but her father, renowned artist Aghasi Shaboyan, opposed her decision even though he had dedicated himself to the performing arts.

“He [her father] decided that it was better for me to get married, but it was only an excuse to keep me away from it [music]. So I got married when I was 19. Marriage wasn’t that bad, but I’d prefer getting married when I was more mature. Besides, my husband’s family was very conservative. They were native Gyumretsis involved in farming. They didn’t know much about art and didn’t give any importance to it. I tried to change them, and in a way, I succeeded, but my dream was never fulfilled, as my husband told me to stay at home and take care of our son.”

Susan

Sixty-four-year-old Susan’s life has numerous chapters filled with trauma, starting from the loss of her parents as a child to the miscarriage of her daughter when she was only 18. Today, Susan is a happy grandmother of five and the hardships of the past seem to be more bearable. However, there’s one thing Susan always longed for but never got a chance to achieve: higher education, which, in her opinion, would have crafted a completely different destiny for her.

“I dreamt to be a doctor. It didn’t matter what kind of a doctor I would be. There were quite a few doctors in our family and as a teenager I was really inspired by their profession. But I got married very early and realizing that I had to focus on bringing up my children, I decided to put off my plans for an education. I was hoping to get into university when my sons were about 3-4 years old, but my husband insisted that I stay home and take care of them as he didn’t trust nannies and kindergarten teachers. So my education and career goals were never realized and if there’s one thing I would definitely go back and change, that’s my education.”