absorbedgoose

[absorbedgoose]

My Driving Force

On the topic of “Filial Piety”

Although I was born and raised in the United States, filial piety plays a large part in my life and is the motivation for a lot of my actions. My father is THE most important person in my life. Without him, I would not be where I am. He is the reason why I’m working so hard at my job to get that bonus, to get that promotion, to get the next thing that will further my career. So that I can provide for him when he can no longer provide for himself.

I will make sure my dad is able to retire comfortably in the next few years. Period. End of story. He has spent a majority of his life at a dead end job (line cook) to provide for his family. For 26 years, he has lived as an impoverished immigrant in the United States in order to give me an opportunity at success. Back in China, he had a degree in civil engineering and worked on ships. Instead of living in contentment, he gave up a steady career, uprooted his life, and left ALL HE KNEW behind to provide better opportunities for my brother and me. He gave up his happiness so that my brother and I could have the advantage that is being born and raised in the most powerful country in the world.

It’s very hard to put into words how much he has shaped me. Growing up, I’ve been the burns he’s come home with from working in a kitchen all day. Recently, it’s been him asking me to help him buy compression socks because he legs hurt from standing up the entire shift. And these are minor compared to what we as a family has to go through when I was a child. 

When I was 12, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. We couldn’t afford treatment. He’s had to watch her waste way in pain and not be able to do a single thing about it. After, about a year, she passed away and my father had to deal with that and raise two children at the same time. He had to explain to me and my younger brother why we didn’t have a mom anymore. Why wouldn’t be able to see her no matter how much we wanted to. To this day, he has never cried in front of me. But wait, there’s more...

Some time in high school, my father woke up one day not being able to see out of one eye. His retina had detached. Doctors were able to reattach it, but the eye is basically useless because he can barely see out of it. Yet he still goes to work. Because if he doesn’t work, my brother and I would not have a roof over our heads and food on the table. He has gone through and sacrificed so much that there is no way that I would not do everything in my power to give back as much as I could possible give. 

Nowadays, I am proud to say that I am on my way of being to provide a good retirement for him.