I was angry with my parents that they didn’t understand.
I was 24.
I was a PhD student in the US. On a 100% scholarship. Top of my class. On a fast track to complete my research.
And I quit that. Came back to India. To restart my life all over again. At the age of 24.
My parents were devastated.
They had pinned their hopes on me.
They felt this was the worst decision ever.
And I was angry at them for not understanding!
Until it dawned upon me.
They wanted the same things from my life that I wanted from mine – my happiness and my success.
But their experiences had shaped up their reactions.
My father had struggled in his career, once he decided to quit his first job to try another one that did not work out for him.
Spiralling us into financial debt.
My mother had to bear the financial and emotional burden of that debt.
Turns out, they weren’t against me.
They were just scared that the same thing that happened to them would happen to me!
Everyone’s life experiences shape them up to see the world the way they do.
It is up to us to accept them, even if we do not agree with them.