Letter to my parents

My parents are two of the greatest role models in the world. However, they are both huge role models to me in different ways. My dad is the guy I look at if I need any life advice because he's experienced so much through his. He's gone through every struggle of an American high-schooler while my mom has not. He knows the answer to things that are more prevalent in what I'd run into in my high school years. My mom, who has only been in America for about 20 years, did not go through the american education system, therefore she was definitely not the person to look towards for college application questions. All aspects of her life has taken place in Hong Kong, and the experiences she's gone through have been different than that of my dad's. She's a role model to me because she instills the "tiger mom" mentality that is commonly found in Asian-American parents. She's provided a motivation for me to get better, and also is the main reason I've gone through the magnet school pipeline through the years, due to preparing me year after year on what would get me into these schools. I think due to the fact that both my parents were raised in Hong Kong, and the education first mentality they have there is a keep part in shaping who I am today.

My parents are also very supportive in my activities and decisions. Most of their time is devoted to me and the things I like to do. Sometimes I take them for granted and I shouldn't because as I recollect all they've done for me it's just so much that I sometimes lose sight of it. I never think of my parents taking days off and early days in order to drive me all around as that actual action. I take for granted that they have to put all things on hold in order to take me to a game or practice and now as I'm getting older I appreciate that and them so much. My parents also are very supportive of my decisions because if there is activity that I didn't like anymore (such as piano) they didn't force me to keep on playing it, they just said that it was ok and that even though I didn't want to do it anymore it was good that once did. However they are like Mr. McCarthy's parents because they do believe that I can't just sit around the house all day. They wanted me to have plenty of activities and if I ended an old activity I needed to pick up a new one. To be honest, I really don't mind that way of thinking because I think its great to busy yourself because there is always something out there that is much more enjoyable than sitting around at home....especially if you're an only child.

In conclusion, my parents are some great individuals and I love them and will miss them a lot as I move on to college and grow into an adult.

Frankly Speaking

In the book, "Man search for meaning", Viktor Frankl talks about his philosophy on life and the meaning of life. Frankl says that there is one main purpose of one's life and that is often sought after but sometimes never reached. His idea that everyone has a different meaning towards their life finally "clicked" with me this weekend after watching "American Sniper". In the movie, it talks about the traumatic life experiences Chris Kyle went through during his time serving our country in the Iraq War. Chris served four tours in Iraq and each time he went back, his wife would ask him "Why go back and fight when the people you love are right here?". He told his wife that she wouldn't understand, but after reading "Man search for meaning" I understand why Chris went back to fight each and every time. His meaning in life was to protect America, and to make sure that America will stay safe for his family and for his brothers. In the movie, it is seen that Chris's motives or meaning is much different than others, for example, his wife's meaning was for her kids to be with their father, his brother's (as portrayed in the movie) was to stay alive. American Sniper in my opinion is a great link of Frankl's ideas to modern life. Both Frankl and Kyle went through horrible life altering events and at the end both achieved their meaning on life.