Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The Bitter Benefit



            I am sure that at some point in your life, your parents have told you to do something that you believe is completely unnecessary. An argument starts up, and in the end your parents give you the old cliché saying, “You'll thank me for this later.” And I'm sure that majority of us always think to ourselves, "Ha. Yea right,” and just shrug it off. I was one of those kids who strongly believed that I would never regret not listening to my parents, but not anymore.
            My parents are your stereotypical Asians. Right before I entered the 6th grade, my dad began cracking down and forced me to start studying for the SAT. He bought one book that was filled with SAT vocabulary words, and every week he would take me to Starbucks to go over the words; it was absolutely dreadful. Every weekend, I would sit there sipping on my frappuccino, wishing to go home. My dad, on the other hand, took great pleasure in showing off how many “complicated” words he knew. High school was three years away from now, what was the rush?
            Four years later, and I’m suddenly a sophomore in high school. I realized I was in desperate need for help with SAT, so I took the initiative to ask my parents for supplementary classes. Of course, they agreed. But even with the classes, vocabulary still didn’t come easy to me. Frustrated and on the verge of rage quitting, I thought back to the days where I sat in a coffee shop with my half-bald headed dad shoving word after word into my head. I hated those days so much, but then I think about how much easier life would have been if I had just listened. So while I struggle through the hardships of high school, I am secretly thankful to my dad, who made an effort to teach me vocabulary— but that will remain a secret between you and me.

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