How many children, or asian children, have been following their parents' choices, decisions throughout their life? I know I am probably generalizing a bit, but from what I see around me, quite a lot of my asian friends are studying what their parents wanted them to study. I must say I am one of the lucky ones whose parents did not force me into science or business. Actually, they never cared about what I study nor do since they don't pay much attention to my education in general. As long as I have my university diploma and get a stable job in the future, they'll be satisfied.
I must say I am quite rebellious. I have never really obeyed my parents ever since I was young. I am an unfilial daughter, I admit. They did tell me not to hang with the bad people and not to do drugs etc, but overall, whatever they told me or lectured, I really didn't listen. I have my own thoughts, my own perspective of things, my own decisions.
I think that parents are supposed to be there to give you advice, to help you, to support you, but definitely not there to make decisions for you. If the kid wanted ice cream, the parent must ask the kid which flavour he/she wants, the parent can't just pick a flavour for the kid. However, the parent can definitely help the kid choose.
I am not trying to say that we should disobey our parents, no. Obey is a way of respecting the other person, and we have to respect our parents. We are so lucky now to be living a better life compared to our parents', and we should thank them for their hard work for that. They know they can't help you forever, so they push you to work harder at school and find a well paid job in the future. They want you to be able to live a life without worrying about money issues, or to live a better life in general. They fear for you, and you know how parents are so protective of their children. They want to see you being successful. This is probably one of the reasons why asian parents always force their children into med or something along that path. (also, I sometimes find that parents make us do things they wanted to do but couldn't....that's just me though)
So, yes, we should obey our parents but we must not forget that, this is our life. If you keep obeying your parents, or take the path they've prepared for you, but you're not happy, then what's the point? You will just blame them for this life you, yourself didn't want. I never let my parents tell me what to do, because I feel that, this is my life, whatever decisions I take, whether they are good or bad, whatever consequences there might be, I won't regret it. Your choices in life, either teach you a lesson, give you experience, make you stronger, or mould you. They should define who you are, not who your parents are.
It is completely normal to be scared of the future. I worry about my future too. I can't even see my future. But if we keep worrying so much about the future, we will be unhappy now, and the present will become the past, and then your past will be unhappy. We cannot see the future. You may have the perfect plan for your future, but life is so unpredictable that anything can happen. No one said that you must graduate at XX age or get a job at XX age, or get married at XX age and then have a family at XX age. Not everything will go as planned. So why don't you just do whatever makes you happy now and live life to the fullest? Be courageous, be brave, be adventurous, be crazy and live a life of your own. Don't be scared to dream a little bigger. Life is full of surprises, if you don't try, you'll never know what you can achieve!
:)
*You may or may not agree with what I said, but that's just how I view life. I still love my parents though. I just don't think they should control me, especially not at this age.
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