As a kid, school seemed like a burden and a waste of time and an obstacle that prevented me from playing video games. My parents, who immigrated to America from China, always emphasized the importance of education and its potential to lead to a better future. My father, who works tirelessly at a restaurant six days a week, often talked to me about school, hoping that I would one day have a job in an air-conditioned office so that I wouldn’t have to work in a restaurant like him. However, during middle and high school, I was easily distracted and hung out with bad kids who had a negative influence on me. I didn’t study and failed to meet my dad’s expectations. Then, one day, everything changed. My teachers called my parents and told them that I hadn’t completed any of my homework assignments. Both of my parents were furious. When I got home, I saw my dad sweating and exhaustion etched across his face. As I sat on the bed, he looked at me with a mix of anger and determination, and said something that would forever change my view on education. He said, “I work so hard for you so that you can live a better life and won’t have to work at a restaurant like me.”In that moment, the weight of my dad’s aspirations and sacrifices felt like a slap on the face (not the bad way) but a WAKE UP CALL slap, I realized that education isn’t a burden, but an opportunity that both of my parents didn’t have. This heartfelt conversation was the starting point for a significant change in the way I thought about college.
