Entry 37, Why be a Prodigy?

  Coming from an Asian family, I have yet experienced the craziness of the parents who wants their kids to excel in every possible subject and talent. I was never pushed to learn the piano, I was never pushed to really work hard or anything, my parent's attitude were always just about giving your best shot. In the story of Two Kinds, Jing Mei was pushed into doing alot of things and countless attempts of discovering her talents, sadly, they did not discover any. Her motivation was just to please her mom, just to be the little obiedient girl the Asian culture always promoted. She wanted to also try to see if she is a genius at a certain subject as well. The feeling of not being able to achieve such goal has led to the rebellious act of Jing Mei. She thinks that she is nothing like what her mother wanted her to be, and therefore she did not want to keep trying to be something she would never be and never achieve. The change bitters the relationship with her mother as she had became rebellious and opposing the orders of her mother. This story acts as the differences of American culture and Asian culture fighting against each other. I often change my mind about many things. It all depends on the experiences of the previous events. I believe that many factors can pressure people into changing their mind, mostly peer pressure from friends and family, basically outside forces.