It’s no surprise that life in the past was tough. There was no booming economy, no gadgets, no internet, and minimal access to schools and universities. And I admire the hardships our parents went through in the past and the sacrifices they had to make. But do they need to talk about it every time?
They always say that “you guys should be grateful,” “you guys are lucky,” and say insensitive things like, “oh, why would you cry about that, back in the day….” It’s super irritating.
Especially during family gatherings, parents tend to talk about the struggles of their child and then follow it up with, “oh, that’s the things they’re crying about? Back in the day, we had to worry where our food would come, or where our money would come from to pay rent” It’s as if they also want us to live like that, to live just like how they did in the past.
Isn’t that ironic for parents to say?
Isn’t the goal to provide a better life for future generations?
If we still lived as we did in the past, we would never improve as individuals or species in general.
Parents keep talking about how hard life was before and how much easier life today is. And always thinking that we, the new generation, don’t face any problems whatsoever. Of course, we do; no matter how life might seem easy or fast things are now, we still face problems, just not the same ones in the past.
In the past, people might have had problems regarding access to education. Nowadays, students struggle to keep up with the super competitive and fast-paced learning in schools.
People might have had problems regarding their deteriorating physical health in the past. Nowadays, people are faced with mental health problems.
In the past, people walked to and from their houses. The new generation is struggling to balance their allowance in the super inflated prices of goods nowadays.
You see, just because we can’t see the struggle physically does not mean it exists.
No matter how perfect the outside might seem, there are struggles and battles that we can’t see or witness.
I admire my parents and what they had to go through in the past.
My father was born from a low-income household; he had to deliver “tuba” or coconut wine to neighbors to earn some extra cash for their food. Also, he was a working student back in the day; he told me that he once was a janitor to their university and scrubbed the floors before classes started. I was moved by this when I heard it and was amazed by what he had accomplished now.
But now, he tends to invalidate all our feelings and problems just because he had it worse than us. He would say,” Oh, would you rather have not had food on your plate,” “would you rather be selling corn on the streets,” and all that. It’s annoying.
The goal for every parent should be to provide a better life for their kids. Not only to have a good life in the future but to also help and improve our nation.
And to parents, please don’t try to invalidate your kid’s feelings just because you’ve had it worse. Try to listen and understand; the last thing they want is their parents shrugging it off and not helping them with their struggles in life.