what a parent should be like

On Children
Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

we read this for our Lit midterms. I was pretty amazed at how this succinctly puts everything i've been wanting to say to my parents ever since the thought of college came. interestingly, the last part of the exam instructed us to write a reply to that, in the POV of the child. and another thing which kinda served as another impetus for me to resurrect my idea of shifting was a glimpse (worth a second) of how it was like to manage a photshoot...but that's another story. haha

I want my parents to watch "Dead Poets Society", as well as "Gossip Girl episode 6" (there's a little Rufus and Jenny Humphrey moment there which i really liked), which has some themes similar to Gibran's. So they know exactly how i feel right now. Yes, in case you're asking, i definitely wished i could turn back time and so i could have chosen a different course. every time i mention how i hate my course, my mom's tone of voice would suddently change into a medley of frustration and disappointment. and that's what i hate. it's the kind of tone which makes you feel all the more guilty and angry. well, what can i say, my family doesn't want happiness. they want a green card holder.