This week we went back to the Bayside Community Center for our first LEG of the quarter. There were some familiar faces that I remember from the last time we were here. This time around I sat with someone who I hadn’t spoken with before. Fernando, like myself, was an immigrant from the Philippines. As he was Chinese and Filipino, he attended Chinese school as a young boy. His father encouraged him to pursue a business degree and later take over their family’s business. But for Fernando, a career in business wasn’t what he wanted for himself. His father spent most of his time managing their business and it took a heavy toll on his health. Instead, he pursued a degree in engineering and eventually got a job in the U.S. Eventually, however, he realized that he didn’t like engineering after all. He wasn’t happy. He tried working in real estate with his wife, and enjoyed it -- and so he stuck with it. His lesson for his granddaughter, and to us, was to, “pursue what makes you happy -- and if it changes, then pursue that, it’s never too late”. Hearing this from Fernando was quite refreshing because it is a common theme among Filipino families for parents to pressure their children to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other financially reassuring and “prestigious” careers. This is all done out of love for their children, of course, there is no doubt about that -- but that’s a whole other conversation that I won’t delve into now. Another reason why hearing those words come from Fernando was surprising is that such pressures tend to be much stronger in older generations, at least in my experience. Our conversation with him left me wondering what other values he and other elders might hold that break the stereotypes placed on their generation.
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Claudia MabantaWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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