In today’s essay I would like to discuss the expectation parents have for their children.
Through the ages parents have set up expectation for their children. For example, if you were a farmer, your farm would be passed on to your children. For many centuries parents have had goals for their children and some parents still have expectations for them.
I am now asking the questions to you. Did your parents had expectation regarding what career you should have? Did you follow their expectations, or did you change and follow what you wanted to do?
When I was growing up, my mother told us she wanted to work in a pharmacy. But her path was short-lived, she never had a chance to do that. My older sister always wanted to be a cook, so my mother decided the Little one would be going to work in a pharmacy. She studied and went to work in a pharmacy until she graduated. It wasn’t what my sister wanted to do, but again, you couldn’t argue with my mother.
My sister is not working in a pharmacy like my mother dreamed of, she is working with seniors and handicapped people. She is a healer and likes what she is currently doing. At the end of the day my sister had some resentment toward my mother for pushing her into a field she wasn’t interested in working in.
I was the lucky one, since my mother never understood me, she never saw me for who I was. I was not the chosen one she would live her life through. If you would ask me what I wanted to do, I had no idea. I can honestly say, I am a jack of all trades. I can do anything I put my mind to. For people like me it is difficult to say what we want to do. I have such broad skills you cannot put me in one box. I personally like it that way. Learning is something I cannot stop doing.
Throughout my life I have heard similar stories like my sister’s and my mother. People who try to live their dream job through their children. If you are one of them ask yourself the following questions.
Is this the best plan for my child? Does my child have a gift I am not seeing? Have you ever taken the time to ask your child what they want to do?
You may not like the answer, but you can see their face lighting up.
Not everyone one wants to be a doctor or a lawyer.