My Parents Rock

"The reason I say yes to your HK trip. It reminds me 30 years ago a young man went to USA with nothing but a young heart. Find the way to live with it, not just to complain it. I knew it is tough to live in a new city but it makes you more mature to think about how to survive in such big city with little time, little money for high presure, high demand. Tell me after you find the answer."

-Fred Jann

My dad is a cutie.  This is his response to my bratty complaints a couple of weeks ago over Hong Kong's crappy school system (which I still stand by, mind you.)  

I had a very sheltered upbringing.  My parents worried about the tiniest things.  I've only been to two sleep overs in my youth. My sister, zero.  My mom and dad always stayed up until we got home for the evening.  If I wasn't invited to something at least two days prior to the event, forget about it, I wasn't going.  

But my parents have always been supportive of everything I've done and wanted to do.  Yes, they would discourage me from taking certain paths and forced me to do other things but in the end, they always just wanted what was best for me and to see me happy.  

I'm writing this because I know none of my travels would have been possible if my mommy and daddy didn't 1) allow and support me to go on them and 2) financially help me out.  They knew they weren't going to see their elder daughter for a good half a year but they still bought my plane ticket.  They knew I would be spending a lot more money overseas but they still wrote the check.  They knew I was growing up and enjoying a world without them in it 24/7 while they're still back at home tending to things but they still helped me pack my bags.  I am one lucky girl.

I think about this every time I step out to Lan Kwai Fong for a night of debauchery.  I think about it every time I have that last chapter of Econ (oh, darn Econ) to read.  I think about it every time I swipe my credit card.  Am I living this experience to its fullest potential? Am I growing up? Am I taking responsibilities for my actions? Am I becoming more cultured and wise?  Am I being productive?  And I hope the answer will be a resounding "yes" every time.

There's still so much that I want to do but the clock is surely ticking away.  I have to act now!

Sidenote: I realize I'm kind of anti-social sometimes. Sometimes (like today) I just want to hole up at the library, take a nice jog by myself and then curl up into bed with a book in my arms.  I don't call anyone, I don't strike up a conversation with the friendly bloke sitting next to me, I don't even crack a smile to the bus driver.  It's not 'cause I'm unhappy, it's not 'cause I'm emo, it's just cause I'm thinking and I have all these thoughts swirling around in my head they're making it hard for me to carry on social routines.  Go figure.