Career Path: What do I want?

 In a typical Asian household, there is a general stereotype that children are expected to work really hard so that they can work as some of the highest paying jobs in the market. These jobs include doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Growing up in a semi-strict Christian household, something in the medical field is preferred as you would be in an environment where you are helping people. 

This stereotype stems from a culture where children are expected to care for their parents once they retire. By earning a sizeable income, you would be able to take care of any financial difficulties that they may have or want. More often than not, parents are looking to be pampered with new cars, houses, and appliances. Basically, they are looking for recompense for all of their hard work raising their children while they were working. 

My parents are under similar circumstances. Often times, my dad or my mom would cover the fees if my grandparents wanted to do any renovation around their house or wanted a new appliance. As a family, we would go to their house almost biweekly and eat dinner, and my mom would color my grandma's hair to keep the façade that she wasn't getting older. If they ever needed any groceries, the responsibility would fall on my parents to make sure that their refrigerator stayed stocked up. 

Knowing this information, going through high school and everything that led up to college felt like things were going to be planned out for me. I was going to go to a great university, major in some sort of medical occupation, attend graduate/medical school, and go on to make a 6+ figure salary. That way, I could buy my parents the cars that they have wanted, the house of their dreams, and allow them to live comfortably and leisurely until the day they died. 

As my senior year in high school continued and as I was preparing for college applications to prestigious universities, my mom sat me down to converse with her about my college decisions. We talked about some career options that she thought was suitable for me and gave me suggestions for majors and what I wanted to pursue. We were going back and forth for a little bit when our conversation took a more serious note.

She talked about how she wasn't particularly fond of constantly going to my grandparents house almost every other week. She talked about how the work never seemed to be appreciated, and her behavior at the house is what is expected from daughter-in-laws. She reassured me that she would not force me to do such a thing once I got older, and all she wanted to do was rest and take care/babysit her future grandkids. For her, she didn't raise me so that I could be of some use to her once I became an adult. 

That's when it clicked in my mind: my future goals do not have to be determined by what my parents want for me. They are determined solely by my own passions. and will be achieved through my own motivation and perseverance.