My Dad Gave Me A Pep Talk…
I’m 25 right now. Smack dab in the middle of a quarter-life crisis, and I think my dad knows about that. He was never the one to have a way with words, but he gave me a pep talk, a precious one at that, knowing how less and less we see each other as the years went by.
He’s always been a realistic man. He gave me a talk about my career, where my direction will go, where will I end up, what is my action and what I need to do in my life. Being a salaryman myself, my dad is, of course, an entrepreneur. And a successful one at that. He then proceeds to tell me: “I have been feeding you and your sister for a couple of years. Sent you both to college. Buy a house. Buy a shop. Can you do it? On your salary?”
And it hits me like a truck.
Because I couldn’t. A simple math would also point out to the direction that I couldn’t.
He says to me that all of his wealth are his; and that’s true! He actually earned those. If anything, me during my teenage years, it is just a financial burden for both of my parents. Even up until now, I still do feel like a burden sometimes. But that opens up my eyes; that I gotta take action. I gotta have ambition. Youth are not forever, and we have to earn value to pursue further things in life. It is not enough to have a career — in fact, it may not matter at all, in the big scheme of how money works in this world.
And I have to take action. But by no means that all the things that I’ve worked hard upon, all my sweat and tears are a complete waste of time — not at all, even. It is a valuable lesson in life, it is how become an adult feels like, it is life, and in life, everything that happens is a lesson in and of itself. That, I believe by heart. Regardless, I have to have plans in life. If you want to pursue bigger things, chase higher dreams, jump unto the next level; you have to take action. Have grit. Brave the storm. Take risks. And all million of other euphemism — but you get the point by now, don’t you?
Now, I am single. And that leaves me with a million of free hours. The day will eventually come when I have to tie the knot — but even before then, I have to convince the parents of the woman of my dreams; confront them directly and say exactly who am I and what I do. This is, of course, another reason to have value in your life. In your career. In the words that you speak and the actions that you take in your hands; they have to actually mean something.
I have to be better, simply because everybody else too, is reaching out to their dreams. To call a pursuit of happiness is a rat race to nowhere is to take it out of context. We are allowed to have ambition. We are allowed to dream big. And while we’re still young — might as well take your biggest shot at it and hope for the best! Failures makes you wiser, I believe.
My dad also tells me to be more open with my sister. Now, we are a family that is not exactly that close, but I know they both love us. During my childhood years, my sister moved unto another town, and it is also the years when I get bullied severely at school, my dad berates me because of his alcoholism, and my mom got pretty sick. It was not the best years of my life, to say the least.
Those years made me a closed person. I seldom share my feelings with someone else, nor do I open up. I get pretty uptight when sensitive topics are being thrown around — but that’s enough about me. My dad tells me to open up more to my sister. She’s my sister. She’s nobody’s sister but only mine. And I only have one sister. And my dad is damn right about that. Now, I couldn’t just revert back my personality back to my adolescent years — but I could show love in ways that I know best. And I know my dad knows that, too. I hope in the future, I could be more open about myself…it’ll be a long road, but I hope for the best.
My dad, before being an entrepreneur, was also a salaryman, like myself too. He told me that he reached the position of being a Senior, and where does that take him? Nowhere. He’s a senior, he’s more experienced than others, but that’s just about it. Nothing shiny about it. I have to remind myself that the marble title written on your desk dictates nothing about you. You have to make the difference yourself. He explains to me the importance of working hard, being honest, and savvy. Three things that looks simple, but are the hardest to apply in your everyday life.
I’m 25 now. No longer as young as I would like it to be. But life goes on, and there’s no point in weeping what has happened…It’s better to prepare yourself on what will happen. Prepare yourself for it. Face the demons and battle the tides. Life has prepared me for it, and even if I’m not prepared for it, I have to prepare for it. Life meets us halfway and expects us to prepare the best…but we couldn’t. But here’s a little spoiler for you; nobody is prepared, too. So take your chance and go away with it. Go away with your dreams and regret nothing — take all the chance you get, because regret of doing things is better than regret of doing nothing.
I have to become stronger than the past me. Dwindling in this life isn’t easy, but I will make way. I know for damn sure I will. My dad has battled more than I could ever imagine and he’s a goddamned successful businessman. I have to be more like him, in my own way. Sometimes, we also have to be reminded that life is not all sunshine and rainbows. We gotta work hard, and there are, of course, a lot of sleepless nights, but like I always said in almost all of my articles, it will always work out in the end somehow. I know that well. Now, back to work. With more zing this time.
Thanks, dad.
