The hopes and ambitions of Alex, who is currently studying computer engineering at UNCG and of Li (http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/video/2008/mar/10/li.furong), who is an exceptional violinist practicing at least 5 hours a day in Beijing, are very similar.
Alex wants to be successful, financially secure, help his family, society and
Li also wants to be successful, help her family and
Both Alex and Li’s parents experienced the Cultural Revolution. Alex believes that the CR has helped the Chinese government to learn from their past mistakes. Li is being pressured by her father to be the next great violinist, since his career in the Shanghai Orchestra was put to an end by the CR.
Both youths have aspiration of greatness, devout parents, individual needs and a commitment to hard work.
Education is most important and quite expensive. The entire family must sacrifice in order for the child to succeed. Alex points out that since the majority of Chinese live by the one child motto; it is not unusual for the parents to devote their lives to their one child. This puts a lot of pressure on the child to succeed. Li stated “I do feel under pressure, because my parents’ unfulfilled ambitions rest on me.”
It is interesting that both Alex and Li incorporate the need to help their family, and this makes me wonder if their aspirations and dreams are truly their own, or a reflection of what their parents want for them.
Li plans on becoming an international performer, and once she has reached that goal, she will return to
Both want to make a difference in their country. As Li stated “If I become a performer abroad, I will live there for a while, but in the end I will return to
I hope, for the sake of both families, that Alex and Li succeed.
On a personal note, I witnessed on two different occasions the suicide of two Chinese students at the
3 comments:
This was a thoughtful post. I like that you chose to write about motivation, which is a positive type of topic, instead of the more depressing choice of sex and drugs. Unfortunately, as you shared, the pressure of these expectations (and fear of failure) can be too much to handle.
Jeanette, one of the things that concerns me about how hard Li's parents push her is that for them to consider her a success, they'll accept no less than the best. She can't be a violinist for the sheer joy of music. It reminds me of the Chinese parents that have been in the news lately whose children "love" to swim or run. One father said his pre-pubescent daughter wanted to run across the country, virtually without stopping. Another said his daughter wanted her leds to be tied together as she swam, so she'd get better. How many 8-year-olds want to do that? It seems the parents, like stage parents, are living through their children. To me, it sounds like child abuse.
As you noted, the pressure by parents seems intense which made me wonder about the parents of the Chinese athletes who will compete in the Olympics.That must be some extreme pressure! To have your parents and your country both breathing down your neck must be unbearble at times.
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