if you're a friend of mine who's also connected with me on social media, then you would know that i tweet and share artcles on a lot of random stuff. one of the accounts that i follow is "twt_buku", which literally means, "twt_book". the above quote is something that was tweeted from the current curator (which changes on a weekly basis).
i found the statement to resonate within me.
yes, most of the things we have come to know in life was at one point, learned from or taught by someone. and so a cycle begins. if you had the fortune to be brought up by parents that were financially sound, chances are you too would be good at handling your personal finances. if you were sent to school that was dominated by mindless, law-breaking students, chances are you'd get mixed up with the wrong crowd too. if you were brought up by parents that taught you compassionate religion in practice, chances are that you would turn out to be someone who understood that kindness and religious teaching go hand-in-hand.
yes, the likely choice would be presented to you. the easy thing to do would be to just follow that path laid before you. but there is also another choice; another option. there is the choice that you would decide to go seek knowledge and perspective from others and learn to do critical thinking on your own. you would weigh the pros and cons of each choice and decide which best suited you. you would question, you would challenge. and you would learn that the easy option is not necessarily the best option.
and so whatever you've heard from your parents, relatives or just built-in knowledge that you grew up with - you would learn to mix that with things you would learn on your own via books, discussions and such. sure, if faith was an integral part of your upbringing - then you would use that as a basis of your foundation. but this doesn't mean that you can just forego additional knowledge.
anyhow, i'm going off tangent.
what i'm trying to say is, just because you were brought up in a certain way, doesn't mean you have to end up spending the rest of your life that way too. you shouldn't be held back by these confines and limitations. just because a person's parents are racist, this doesn't mean that you should end up being a racist too. sure, it would skewer your early perspective but once you start meeting more and more people and being involved in more discussions with different people, your point of view would probably start to change too. but in order for this to happen, you need to be able to approach the issue with an open mind. and by an open mind, i don't mean in a hippie, liberal sort of way; i just mean in a non-judgmental way.
all my life, i've never thought of being a teacher. but when i read the above quote, it occurred to me that in some instances, i am my own teacher. and once jigglyboo enters this world, i will be playing a part as her teacher too. and i worry so much about this. it's a huge responsibility. i don't want to bring a child into this world and go, "oh, whatever worked for me, will work for her too."
it's a different world nowadays. the challenges she will face will be different than mine. the things that might not be important to me will probably be important in her future. the world will keep changing and evolving. and i need to make sure that i change and evolve along with it. so i hope that i will be more patient and more understanding to take on this enormous responsibility of being a parent.
i want jigglyboo to be well-equipped to take on the world. i want to raise her to be independent but i also want her to be able to see other people's perspectives. i want her to be okay with her studies, but it's more important to me that she is aware of what is happening in the world around her. i want her to be able to stand her ground without forsaking kindness. i want her to be open to new experiences; and unafraid of what the world has to offer.
i know this seems like a tall order - and as a parent, we have to let our kids make their own mistakes. so at the end of the day, i hope to be a parent that allows this. and to be the parent that will be there to catch her when she falls. but most of all, i hope to be the kind of parent that teaches her that the best way is not always the easiest way. there is no subtitute to hard work. there are no limits of what you can achieve - limits are only what you impose upon yourself - anything is possible.
so dream big, work hard and have faith.
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