"What Do You Want Me To Be

when I grow up?"
Raimie asked us this question just the other day. After I wrote the previous post. How apt.

To that, his Daddy told him that it is up to him to decide himself. Daddy added that Raimie is in a position to strive to be what he wants to be, with full support from his parents. An enviable position to be in.

For Raimie - we will support him anway we can. We just want his full commitment in all the things that he does, always.

But for him to learn the value of hard work, us as parents need to set good example to him too! Kids learn from the people around them. Lead by example. I need to remind myself this over and over again.

Of course, having a straight A, athletic, good-mannered boy with artistic talent wouldn't hurt either. ahahah

Anyway, Raimie has a few years still to decide the path he wants to choose. The only path I will object vehemently will be the "lazy bum, unemployed" path. I will not feed or support deadwood! Period.

I end this post with IF

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling – 1895

Comments

  1. That is one of my all-time favourite poems. It never loses its impact, no matter how often I read it.

    Word hard and dream big, Raimie!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heh. I have a one-track mind.

      Workkk hard and dream big. Though you can word hard too and become a writer, if you wish! :D

      Delete
    2. I used to dream of becoming a writer too. Suffice to say I don't have the talent & the discipline for it.

      Yup! Yup! Yup! Work hard! Dream big!

      Delete
  2. i was wondering, perhaps raimie secretly come and read your blog so he knows what you were writing?? haha..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If he does, I'm impressed!

      I think if he does visit, it's just to check what Mommy put up for photos and check whether his photos here are nice or not. kikiki

      Delete
  3. yalar, i think it's still too early for him to think about what he want to be right??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup!

      What he needs to do now is explore and enjoy his childhood! :)

      Delete
  4. he can still take his time to explore what he likes and what he wants..

    ReplyDelete
  5. i just hate parents who specifically want their kids to become this become that.. i mean, don't control the life of your kids, they own their lives and not you the parents who own it..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Normally these type of parents didn't get to fulfill their own dream hence try to mold their children to take up that 'path'.

      Luckily, my parents are quite lenient and let me choose whatever I want to be (expect those bad-bad one, i.e. gangsterism).

      Delete
    2. Nowadays, you hear a lot of tiger moms around... all they want their children do is STUDY, STUDY, STUDY.

      Play also important lah!

      And the world won't end if the child doesn't become a doctor, an engineer, a certified accountant etc..

      Delete
  6. but most of the time, what you wish to become may not end up as what you became..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wanted to be a doctor (isn't every child dreamt of wearing the smart white coat?) or a teacher (got influenced by my primary teacher) but ended up as programmer XD

      And I didn't even know what a computer was back then!

      Delete
    2. We don't know what life has in store for us.

      And for SK, he's so lucky. SO many fields he already entered. So marketable lah, that guy. ;p

      For me, I wanted to be a cartoonist, a writer, an army pilot (applied for it but didn't get through. Boohoo), a forest ranger... xD

      Delete
  7. i have thought of doctor, teacher, artist, cartoonist, architect etc.. but then i studied engineering and then finally ended up working in IT.. and now doing MBA!! haha~~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL... those generic occupations.

      Delete
    2. SK would be a good teacher. He has so many interests, skill and knowledge to impart to his students. *kipas kipas*

      Delete
  8. My girl told me, she wanted to be a hairstylist @_@

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was speechless.... but still smile-smile forcefully to give her morale support.

      Delete
    2. OK what! Can get free haircut & hair service from her! LOL

      Delete
  9. Interesting, all these comments. ^^

    My mother always told me, "You should be a professor." (My mother is like that. Teacher, meh. Go for professor.) I ignored her, as I usually did.

    Many years later I started teaching in Japan because that was the only job I could do here. Eventually I ended up teaching at university, not as a professor (sorry, Mom!), but as a contract teacher. Guess what? I absolutely totally completely love it.

    The moral of the story? Always listen to your mother. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Dad wanted me to be a magistrate. I probably would have tried studying for it, given the chance but of course, I'm not bright enough. xD

      I have much respect to teachers (and professors and lecturers...) Good ones. Not the ones that choose the profession because of the "lax" working hours or because you can enter a teacher's college with mediocre high school results.

      I will never be a good teacher. Complete lack of patience. And I somehow suspect that for punishments - I'll make my students do laps around school. They might not excel in their studies, but they will be fit! kakaka

      Delete
    2. Haha, my parents are both teachers and my Dad has spent the last 10 years saying "you know, you'd make a very good teacher Susie", "why don't you become a teacher?". And oh, look what I'm doing! Teaching! Rurousha, your moral is a good one!

      I think that children benefit from their parents having plans and dreams for them. It shows that they care and want them to succeed. But kids also have to know that they'll be loved and have proud parents no matter what they choose to try.

      Lina, I just found your blog through Rurousha's and it's great. I love Malaysia and I've been enjoying reading about your life there!

      PS - I love that poem.

      Delete
    3. Hi Susie!

      Thanks for coming to visit.

      Ah the wisdom of the elders...of course, if you didn't agree with them at the time, you'd find it annoying. ;)

      Delete
  10. How wonderful that Raimie is already thinking of his future. I do agree with you, whatever our children decide, we just support them 100%.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That boy of mine has a tendency of thinking way too much.

      I guess that's what happen when he's an only child and spend most of his free time with adults. Grandpa, uncles, mom, dad...

      Delete
  11. I think the education system here in Malaysia is too skewed towards academics so much so it has become rote-learning to a big extent. It's little wonder that schoolkids have no choice but to study and study to get good grades. Plus, there is the quota system in public universities. Looking forward to the day when entrance is based on merit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It works both way.

      Iffy education system that is way too politicised.

      + kiasu parents. Why do parents willing to do anything & bend backwards to send their children to notable school? kiasu. What if their children don't get straight As. Worry until cannot sleep.

      That's why tuition classes are so much in demand. And with that fact, even teachers are taking advantage and join the tuition business letting classes suffer.

      Zaini always say, you don't need to be a straight A student to do your job well.

      Delete
  12. Btw, good that Raimie is giving a thought about his career or rather what his parents want him to be. LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He should be spending his free time studying not thinking far into the future! kakaka

      No? xD

      Delete
  13. Love that poem!

    There are still many parents out there who only want their kids to be a doctor/lawyer/engineer and do not take into account their kids' interest / talents. But what you're doing, giving your son options and supporting him will help expand his talents/interests and make him a better person.. So kudos to you and your hubs! Yeay!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But have to remind ourselves too lah... not too much freedom and must put a bit of hard work and hard study too.For discipline.

      I know some people who think we're just the "typical Malay" since for us, it's not all about study from the time our son open his eyes till the time he goes to sleep.

      Delete

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