childhood dreams vs. parents..

seems like a really long time ago... actually approximately 8 years ago... anyway, on my way home, i saw a mother who was staring at this booklet titled 'choice of secondary schools'... think she was trying to decide which schools to choose for her daughter, who was seated next to her but was looking out of the bus window, oblivious to what her mum was doing...

my lab partner plays volleyball and he's going to represent singapore in some international match in december... he's pretty stressed and tired now, with school, training, hall... and he said this, i'm trying to find a balance between doing what i really like and doing what my parents want me to do...

once was having a discussion with 'prof tan' about how we are living up to the expectations of parents and this was all he said, it's true that you need to answer to your parents but at the end of the day, it is you yourself that you have to answer to..

sometimes parents tell us that, there is a limit to how much they can offer us, and the rest is entirely up to us... but honestly, many of us still live, trying to fulfill the expectations set for us by them... it's really weird, how they always tell us that, at the end of the day, we have to answer to ourselves and have to take care of our futures, yet subconciously, the opinions of our parents still matter a lot.. is it coz they have gone through more than we did?? or is it coz it's safer to stick to the norm, ie. just follow where society is going towards... making decisions out of practicality and nothing out of the extraordinary??

the greatest irony is how we always say, when we become parents, we will not be like how our parents were.. well, admit it, more than half the time, we fall into the trap of following the same parenting style and rules as our own parents.. coz they have 'been there, done that'.. and they definitely know better than us on what to expect and all.. so no matter how much we try to run away from it, there's no way of escaping...

of course, there are also parents who allow their own kids to run their own lives... it has both pros and cons.. and it differs from situation to situation... some parents lose control of their kids... some parents end up having kids that are too independent... some parents have kids who manage to discover and pursue their own dreams...

so what's the conclusion?? as much as we choose to lead a life of independence, we can never skew away from our parents... their opinions will always matter.. practicality and security of the future will eventually influence us into making decisions that tom, dick and harry will make...

oh wells, this is just a verbal diarrhoea of my thoughts on what my lab partner said... not sure if it made any sense... and there's definitely more which i want to say but i shall hold my peace here.. in moments like these, i question my purpose in life.. what's the point of being on earth.. what my goals are... what i want to do with the next 50 years of my life... where will i be then... blah blah blah... maybe it's the 'hitting-20' syndrome... maybe coz i'm too stressed with school now that i'm thinking gibberish... but whatever it is.. i need Him in my life.. i really do... else i really see no purpose in everything... if it won't for His grace, a million and one things could and would have happened and who knows where I would be now... in this long journey ahead, treading a path of the unknown, i need Him to hold my hand and bring me through it all.. i need Him to carry me when i fall, i need Him to walk with me every step of the way... i need Him...