D.A. Kirk As always, thanks for taking the time to read and leave your thoughts on my piece. You have a wide breadth of interests! I’m glad my writing got you to think and reflect about your past. Maybe I’m being too much of an idealist, but I think if you put your head down and focus on doing what you love and what truly interests you, life will grant you surprises that you would never have expected. I found that I was unhappy in the past because I was only focused on the end goal — money, prestige, social status… I abandoned what I enjoyed doing in the past because they were “unrealistic” career paths with nothing to show for in the end.

I find that the natural progression of a typical Asian child follows a similar trajectory — study hard, go to a good high school/college, get a lucrative job, get married and work until you retire and then die. Your parents, who pushed you so hard to get you through college and nagged at you to do well and get a great job, all of a sudden back away from your life and expect you to figure out the rest of your life by yourself. After being told what to do for most of your life, it’s a daunting task to find out that there are other things to life than having a stable job and a comfortable life (which is obviously ideal, but it isn’t the only path to happiness like most parents preach).

This is not to say that I am the ultimate victim and that everyone should feel bad for me. My parents were fairly strict, but always pushed for me to follow my dream. They had expectations for me, of course, but they made sure that they never pushed their ideals onto me and made sure that I was able to explore whatever I had interest in.

So I want to make sure that their hard work and sacrifices won’t go to waste. The things they gave up to give me a better life will not go in vain. I won’t live this life thinking about what I would do if I had another life to live. I’ll live it fully for the sake of everyone who helped me get far and I’ll make sure to make the best of every situation.

Sorry for the rant, but your story really made me think more about what I need to do and where I need to go in this world. I’m also happy that you’re able to make money off of something that you are good at and that you love doing. That’s the dream right there, and it all comes from your hard work, patience, and sacrifice! Keep at it man, you’re gonna do big things :)