Every now and then, I will ask Ace what he wants to be when he grows up.
When he was much younger, he went through phases of wanting to become an inventor, a scientist, a forensic doctor, prime minister of Singapore, King of his own island and a policeman...
Then he went through this phase of not really knowing what he wants to be when he grows up...
After dinner today, while we were on our way home, we were talking about what sort of cars Ace wants to buy when he grows up and he says he wants to buy a Lamborghini...
And then we started talking about how to earn alot of money so that he can own a Lambo... and Ace suddenly declared that he knows what he wants to do for his future already.
"I am going university! I am going to major in mechanical engineering... and I will do a honors degree in that..."
I was a little surprised that he has already decided on what to major in... And that he is so precise.. Actually, I am pleasantly surpised;)
When I asked him why he chose mechanical engineering, he said it was because he wanted to learn how to make useful machines and also build robots.
Max told him then that perhaps he can choose Triple E engineering because he will have a larger chance or making robots if he does that.
After chatting more, I discovered that the week-long Maker Faire Camp inspired him to want to build things.
And suddenly Max asked him what does he want to do when he graduates and Ace announced, "I am going to be a policeman!"
And I think it could be because I once told him that his good friend, Kerr gor gor, has an honors degree and thus earns more money in his career as a Police Officer. That impression is made deeper when we met the Policeman Uncle at the Home Team Festival who reminded Ace to study hard and make sure he gets into university if he wants to go into the force..
At this moment where his ambition is huge and his emotions are high, his dad splashed a pot of cold water by telling him..
"Wah lau, study honours and you just want to become a policeman?! Seriously?! You study till honors and you want to become a policeman??!!!! Sigh... I tell you, if you become a policeman, then unless you take a bribe, you will never EVER be able to buy a Lambo..."
At this point, I asked Max to zip it up... I mean, people now at an emotional high talking about their dream, as people who have been working on making our dreams come true for almost all our lives and students of personal development courses that teach psychology, success mastery and goal setting.. this is likely the best chance to motivate Ace to take action to work towards his goals and do well for his P5 and also PSLE....
And even though it is true that if you are a policeman, while it is possible to earn a comfortable living, a Lambo might be out of reach. But there are better ways to communicate this mah:)
I think he suddenly realized that he may have unknowingly crushed his son's dream instead of supporting him and so he kept quiet after that.
And then when we reached home, Max changed and went out again to meet up with his friends who are visiting from overseas.
When Max walked out of the door, Ace came to me and hugged me and cried. He did not say anything but just sobbed rather sadly.
And this is the time I get to put all I learnt in life to good use. I hugged him tight and tell him that there is no need to be sad. Life is like that, many times.. when we tell people our seemingly impossible , grand dreams, most people will not believe us and may try to talk down to us or talk us out of it... or keep reminding us that this is not achievable and yes, more often than not, the people who will do that most are the ones closest to you.
Plus, daddy is in grumpy mood today and that is why he shoot his mouth off without really thinking through...
I hugged him and told him that we love him no matter what and support him no matter what he wants to do... and when faced with people who tell him NO.. he has two choices... be negative, believe them and give up... or... he could have a good cry now and be positive and continue to take steps towards his goal because it is his goal and will affect his life :) No matter what other people may say, this is HIS LIFE and not THEIRS:)
Anyway, I think Ace has decided that he will keep on to his goal... and whenever I tell him something cannot be done, like eg I dun think we can cross the road in time to catch the bus that is approaching the bus stop because we are so far away, he will tell me, "Mummy, don't be negative! Must try.. cannot give up till we try.."
And we will rush along and when we finally get on the bus... he will remind me.."See, we made it! That is why you have to think positive!" Hahaha...
Anyway, I asked him a few days later why he cried that day and he said he does not want to tell me. I asked him if it is because he is sad that his dad did not support him or that his dad did not believe in him... "It is a little bit of that..." And so I asked him what was it mostly about and he said, "I am not going to tell you.." And so... I guess maybe Max may have to ask him himself:) hahaha...
Previous Post: Headphones!
No comments:
Post a Comment