Thursday, July 9, 2009

My Reflection

Oh my, it's so late! I woke up just a while ago from a nap I took earlier. Playing basketball at the Columbia gym got me extremely tired!

After class, I had a one-on-one talk with Mrs. Lilhanand. We talked about many things like how I was doing, the people I was meeting, how I was enjoying my stay, etc., for a short amount of time. In this talk, I was able to tell her how I was enjoying Columbia so much; I love meeting fascinating people who offer so much diversity to New York City, and that this college was high on my list for prospective undergraduate universities. On the other hand, I explained that my course in Chemistry created new thoughts in my mind. 

Once we finished our short talk, I went over to the library Mrs. Lilhanand assigned to us as homework to visit. Here, I reflected upon my future. For as long as I can remember, my mom has pushed her field of science into my head. She wanted me to be just like her; she wanted me to go to a prestigious college like UC Berkeley, get a BS in science, and go off into the medical field. Maybe, just maybe, my mom thought, through the course of my studies, I would consider going to medical school to become a doctor. Engineering was also something she was alright with me taking. Anything outside of this, however, would concern her. Jobs such as a businessman or interpreter were mere dream jobs. Her intentions are good; I understand that she just wants me to have a secure job to support my own family in the future, but I'm not sure if this is what I want. This program has shown me that chemistry is not my strongest field, nor is it my most interested course, although I do find some things fascinating.

During my reflection, I figured that I expand my horizons, just as I expanded my horizons for college, and look at all the other majors I could take in the future. There is so much that I have yet to see, and now's my chance, before it's too late.

1 comment:

Don Gosney said...

Gabe,

Too many parents want to try to control the futures of their children and they have a tough time understanding that you’re not really their clones. I’m not suggesting, Gabe, that this is the case with your mother—far from it. I often see where parents don’t even talk to their children about what their children might want for themselves. The parents want to decide what their children’s future line of work might be, they want to decide which college they will attend or sometimes they even dictate that they come into the family business.

Our parents are supposed to be there to guide us but not to direct us. They need to listen to their children and then help point them in the right direction so they can best achieve their goals.

We’ve run into some parents with our program that absolutely refuse to allow their children to even go to colleges past San Pablo. I think that they expect their children to stay under their control well into their adult lives and they refuse to cut the strings.

It’s a difficult road to walk, Gabe, and requires an open mind from both sides.

Everything you’ve written about this chem course indicates that you’re doing well and this is the first indication that chem is not really to your liking. You’re the one that knows this better than any of us and it’s good to learn this now so you don’t waste too much time on a discipline that doesn’t enthrall you.

I was way into the math and sciences when I was your age and majored in theoretical physics while at Cal. If I had it to do over again, I can’t imagine even taking a science class. My priorities were set for me back then even though there were other arenas I would have loved to have played in. We didn’t have the kind of options back then that you have today and sometimes decisions were made for us.

One of the purposes of the ILC is to provide you with the ammunition so you can make those decisions yourself. It sounds like you’re on the right path, Gabe.

Post a Comment