As mentioned in one of my prior posts, I am not taking the liberty to criticize my parents on this platform. I have grown to be a person with a mind of my own and I do not always agree with my family’s actions and behavior. I am not emotionally close to my family, but that is something I am growing to adapt to because I understand that one cannot have it all. I try to remain as fair and dutiful as I can to each of them while protecting my own wellbeing.
The title of today’s post is quite self-explanatory, so I am going to dig right in:
1. Prioritising education over everything else
We were always told that there was no alternate to knowledge and education. My parents always made sure they provided us the resources we need. There was always money for school fees, extra tutors, and books without much questioning. It makes sense to me now why there was not always money for restaurant dinners, vacations, expensive school lunches, or a fancy home like my peers. Even when it came to paying for our education abroad, they gave us the liberty to choose a university without worrying about finances. And today, I know that it was only possible because it is what they saved up for their entire lives.
A few of my peers had involved parents when it came to academics too, but they were terrified of their parents when it came to poor grades. My parents never instilled toxic competitiveness in me. If we did badly in an exam, we were told to try harder next time, but never punished or compared with other children. They were okay with their daughters not being the best performer in the room, which made my childhood a lot more emotionally comfortable than others.
