kevinleemelife happens. how will you adapt?

I intend to spend a year or two traveling the world and doing the little things which brighten everyone’s day.

No one likes to hear their own flaws. Our egos tell us we’re decent human beings and yet other people can still list flaws that we’ve never taken into heavy consideration. When friends give their opinions on what you can improve, you have two choices to make. Either you can become defensive, argue and rationalize, shift the blame to the other person, and potentially lose a friend or you can listen, reason it out, and do your best to improve.

Every once in awhile, it’s good to receive a reality check. If your friends were truly good friends, they wouldn’t mind telling you what you could be doing better so don’t be afraid to ask.

As a parent, you will undoubtedly protect your child from all the dangers of the world. You will teach your child all the knowledge you possibly can to give him/her a push in school and you’ll love someone like you’ve never loved before. And yet, no matter how much you never want to let go, there comes a time when your little baby bird simply has to spread its wings and take flight.

My parents sent me to a private elementary school called Challenger. Challenger was well known for its students, who were all taught at least 1-2 years ahead of the standard grade level in other schools. I wore a standard uniform consisting of a white buttoned up shirt and grey slacks, with an occasional maroon sweater on cold days. My dad set a rule that every day I must study one chapter ahead of the curriculum in all my classes and soon I found myself weeks and even months ahead of my school’s pace. Every few days, I was required to practice Mandarin Chinese and piano. All these extra little pushes at an early age served as a foundation to my education and without them, I wouldn’t have developed the right mindset or discipline to study on my own.

When 8th grade of middle school came around, I noticed that my parents were slowly loosening their rigid control over me. I was allowed to stay up later, my studies no longer had to be routinely paced, and the language lessons dwindled. And because of this newfound freedom, the day I entered a public high school was the day I finally spread my wings. My parents had without saying one word, allowed me to understand that my life was my own, and I would deal with the consequences or rewards of any decision I made. And thus, I studied and I played, and every time I began to lose balance, my parents were there to tap me back into line to make sure I didn’t drift too far.

I think this style of upbringing has been the best any child can ever receive and I am grateful to have been blessed with such understanding parents. By ensuring that my foundation of education and self-discipline were rock solid, my parents were comfortable with letting me do what I wanted, and as a result, I developed a sense of independence and confidence to do anything I wanted with my life.

I can only hope to be what my parents were for me.

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings.