The Difference Between Mine and My Parents' Attitude on Life

All of my life, my parents are the great shoulders for me to lean on. They share the happiness with me, comfort me whenever I am sad, they are the people who always catch me everytime I fall. However, , my parents and I do not have the same attitude toward my studying, my relationship and money. The contrast in our attitude makes our life, more or less, complicated but interesting.

First, my parents and I have different ideas about studying in the college. From the start, for my parents' attitude, studying in the college means only books and grades. They said to me as I was a freshman, "When you receives your degree, we want you to be able to get a job that will support yourself. We also want you to have grades that will make you a realistic candidate for that job. Don't make college life a waste of time". It means I will spend most of my time in the library, attend all the lectures' hours, study hard day by day and at the end of the semester, I will have to show them my high grades. Following their advices, I do not have free time for myself, I can't take part in any extra -curriculums such as sports, art and literature activities or even a small birthday party held in the dorm. My parents call such things above " the useless-and- waste-of time". Waste of time and useless? Not on my life. How can I waste time with so many new ideas to learn and all the interesting and open-minded people to meet in these activities? How can learning to see the world in a different way and leaving college with a new outlook on life be a waste of time and useless?. In contrast to my parents, books and grades are not enough, I need more activeness and practical things for my studying.

My parents and I also differ in the attitude toward the relationship between my opposite- sex friends and I. I have many friends, boys and girl, in high school, in the university, even at the shop where I have a part-time job. However, I find it easier to have the opposite sex ones as my close friends. They are easy-going, straightforward and less talkative than girls. I do think that we are only friends, that there is nothing unusual in our friendship; moreover, my friends, as well as me, are old enough to know the limitation between love and friendship. On the other hand, my parents do not share the same point of view with me. They always believe that there is no friendship between boys and girls. They consider our friendship as love and "violently" show their disagreement whenever we mention this matter. "These loves will give bad effects on your studying and lead you to nowhere, my dear.", said my mother times and times again. No matter how hard I try to explain, they still keep their attitude, advising me to put an end to "such loves"-which are actually the friendship that boys and girls can have.

The contrast that we have do not end with attitudes toward my studying and friendship but also toward money and the way to spend it. My parents have healthy attitude toward money: they consider money as a tool, as something they have, not something they are. Working hard day by day to support the family, they spend every cent of every dollar of the money they earned economically and reasonably. "A fool with his money will soon parted", my father always reminds me. We spend much money on neither clothes, delicious food , nor presents for birthdays and holidays. My parents save money and never touch the saving in the bank if it is not necessary. Thanks to this, my sister and I could go to university without worrying about financial problem. Compared with my parents, I used to have quite negative attitude toward money. There was a time when I thought money was the most important factor in my life, money could buy me anything I want: happiness, friendship and other people's admiration. I wasted all my money on fashion, expensive jewels, presents for my friends...etc. Unfortunately the salary I got from my part time job could not afford, as a result, I was stuck in debt at a very young age: 18. There were nothing left for me: no friends, no happiness, no respect, but the sadness in my family. Due to this unforgettable lesson, I can not disclaim that my parents point of view is definitely right.

Though the contrast in attitudes toward such things as : my studying, my friendship, and the way to use money is the reason why sometimes we feel upset and even sulk, it do not cause the generation gap in my family. My parents are not always right, so am I. But we know that if we have more chances to exchange our ideas, we can understand each other well and makes our home a really happy family.