Support in general can really contribute to anyone's success. We always hope that someone is willing to help us, someone that will believe in us. We need someone to hold the ladder for us to make it sturdy to climb and to make us feel safe because we know for sure that someone is there at the bottom to catch us and help us climb again. In this case, that someone is our parents and family.
Parents' support of their children's ideals and notions can greatly contribute to their success. It will build their confidence and will make them motivated to strive. I would like to show you an example of a parent showing support for their children. The student really has a talent for singing, and they make him/her practice every day. On the other hand, if the student wants to pursue fine arts but the parents don't like the idea and are too ignorant because they think that it is not in demand and will not make a lot of money, they want the student to just pursue architecture. In addition, parents' financial support for their children is a great factor in what children can achieve. For example, if the student wants to become a doctor and they are not financially stable, in most cases, the student will just take another course. Parents' support is evident in students' success. Our parents are there to guide us and show us the way to success. If you heard the song MAPA by the popular ppop group SB19, they describe our parents as a mapa, which is the Spanish word for a map. A map that will guide us shows us the way, and if we get lost, we always have our parents' Ma(mother) and Pa(father) to look back at. However, in my personal experience, when I achieve something academically, to be specific, my parents don't care that much. It's just normal for them because it's to be expected from me. But when I don't meet their expectations, they get so mad at me, like "Justine, why do your grades in this subject get low?” And when I say that I am having a hard time with that subject, they just get even more mad at me. Instead of saying that it is fine, just always do your best. Bounce back in the next quarter. They always think that I should always be at the top. I am not perfect. I have flaws. And I can also have a hard time. If I happened to be perfect, that would be perfectly imperfect. To be honest, I don't want that recognition anymore because it takes a lot of time, energy, and sleep just to have that piece of paper, and your parents and family don't even care. In recent years, I have not even attempted to excel academically in order to demonstrate to my parents and family that I am not perfect, that I am not a machine, and that I have feelings as well. What I want from my parents and family is just to be considerate. Too much expectations make me anxious and pressured that I can't make a mistake. If I happen to get that again, I want my parents to be proud of me and recognize my efforts. I realized that if I have to do something, I will do it because I want to and love to, not because it is what they want me to do.
I would like to use the phrase "out of place" as an idiomatic expression. "Out of place", meaning out of order, not comfortable in or not suitable for a situation, When something is out of place, people always go out of their way to try to fix it to make it look right, to make it acceptable to how they think it should be. I am out of place and I am not afraid nor scared to be. In fact, I am grateful because I am not like everybody else. I am me. I am unique. I have my own identity. I don't need fixing just to become acceptable in this society. I don't need to fit in. To look and act like everyone else. So don't compare me to anyone. I have already accepted myself for a long time. I know who I am more than anyone. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I know my likes and dislikes. And more importantly, I know what I want to be. So don't tell me what to do. Shut the fuck up. Mind your own business. I would rather just die rather than live up to people's expectations of what I should be.
