Life in a mirrored shadow

Independence as freedom or a shackle of reality

In a very young age, I am thought to fight the battle alone. To strive for myself, I was equipped with skills ahead of my peers to fully arm myself along the way.

I started working during high-school, a working student as they say. People began to think what may be the reason of my initiative. “Was it financial? Am I being forced?” Yet, no one thought that it was for my personal growth.

Time and time again, people ask me, “What makes you work in your younger years?” Your peers are at home, focused on nothing but entertainment and the comfort of their parents’ care, and yet I always answer them with, “I am preparing the seeds of my effort for the future’s harvest”.

My parents taught me that life of independence is not what we always think it is. It is not as simple as “freedom”, it is a shackle that will hold us for life. You can not always stay under your parents care, life will treat you in unexpected ways. Being equipped with skills gives you a fair fight for yourself, an ability to lift the shackle that bounds you.

Am I foolish to follow my parents advice to take the risk while I am young? No! I am now person capable to compete and fight head-to-head with seasoned professionals in the same field. How? Because I listened to what is good for me. I developed skills that practical to use, skills that will help me survive the harshness of reality.

Life is not a fairytale that always end with happy endings.