When we we're young, we're always asked this same old question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
As kids, we were influenced by the people around us to choose a right answer to that question as if it will predict our outcome in life. So kids tend to choose the idea of what people around them want them to be and not really what they want to be.
During my time, the answers are often, “I want to be a doctor, a nurse or an engineer.” For those are the times that Philippine economy are dependent on citizens going abroad, sending these type of professionals to help out elevate the value of Philippine currency and alleviate even a little bit of poverty.
But what was the impact of this question to the kids themselves?
As experienced told me, kids were forced to lived up to that idea of what their parents want them to be or their grandparents or their siblings or anybody who are significantly present in their life. And as they grew up, it is too late for them to realize that, that dream is not really theirs but someone else's.
It is really sad to see this happening again and again. When will individuals especially parents realize that their kids are not the extension of themselves? When will they realize that kids too, have a life of their own? An opinion of their own. And a dream of their own.
I admire people who went to the same situation as this yet they were able to fulfill what they really want in the end. I admire people who stood and fight for their dreams. And I admire them who choose to follow their own path instead of listening to the sound of dictations in their life.
As these are based on my own experiences, I promised myself not to put my kids through the same circumstances. I will never insist nor influence them in following what I want for them. Nor will I answer for them the question "what they want to be when they grow up?" I’ll just go with the flow, I'll let them discover that on their own. I'll just be beside them if they needed me. And when that time comes, I will just accept and love them still for what they have become for their happiness is my own.
As kids, we were influenced by the people around us to choose a right answer to that question as if it will predict our outcome in life. So kids tend to choose the idea of what people around them want them to be and not really what they want to be.
During my time, the answers are often, “I want to be a doctor, a nurse or an engineer.” For those are the times that Philippine economy are dependent on citizens going abroad, sending these type of professionals to help out elevate the value of Philippine currency and alleviate even a little bit of poverty.
But what was the impact of this question to the kids themselves?
As experienced told me, kids were forced to lived up to that idea of what their parents want them to be or their grandparents or their siblings or anybody who are significantly present in their life. And as they grew up, it is too late for them to realize that, that dream is not really theirs but someone else's.
It is really sad to see this happening again and again. When will individuals especially parents realize that their kids are not the extension of themselves? When will they realize that kids too, have a life of their own? An opinion of their own. And a dream of their own.
I admire people who went to the same situation as this yet they were able to fulfill what they really want in the end. I admire people who stood and fight for their dreams. And I admire them who choose to follow their own path instead of listening to the sound of dictations in their life.
As these are based on my own experiences, I promised myself not to put my kids through the same circumstances. I will never insist nor influence them in following what I want for them. Nor will I answer for them the question "what they want to be when they grow up?" I’ll just go with the flow, I'll let them discover that on their own. I'll just be beside them if they needed me. And when that time comes, I will just accept and love them still for what they have become for their happiness is my own.
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