[Parenting] The story of how I, who thought it was fine not to be good at studying, realized I actually wanted my son to be a kid who is good at studying lol
Recently, there's something that surprised me about myself.
I...
I actually want my son to be a kid who is good at studying!!!
Wait, me?
I thought to myself lol
Because, the old me was more the type who thought,
"Studying isn't everything in life, right?"
"It's fine if he just finds what he loves."
I never thought I'd become a parent who cares so much about
what his test scores were or
what his report card looked like.
I never thought that at all.
If anything, I felt like I had that look of
"We're the type that raises our kids to be free-spirited" lol
But then, it suddenly hit me.
Wait, hold on.
I actually do want my son to be good at studying... lol
At first, I didn't want to admit it.
Because when you say "I want my kid to be good at studying," it has this image of
cram school from a young age!
Learning ahead!
Getting into a good school!
For kids who are suited for that,
I think that's fine.
But, it's definitely not suited for my son.
Even though I know that, lol
What I want for my son isn't
"I want you to get good grades."
It's "I want you to be someone who can choose your own life."
I think it probably comes from the feeling I had as an adult that
not knowing things is a huge waste.
I was born and raised in the countryside.
Of course, I love my hometown.
But you know...
I didn't know.
What kind of jobs exist in the world.
What kind of ways to work there are.
What kind of places people live in.
It was a time and place where you wouldn't get information unless you consciously went out to get it.
There were few opportunities to learn that "Such a world exists!"
Of course, you can be happy without knowing.
But I believe there were definitely futures I could have chosen
if I had known.
That's why I think this for my son now.
I want him to see as many worlds as possible.
I want him to know that "There are jobs like this,"
"There are ways of living like this,"
"There are people living in places like this."
And among those, I want him to choose for himself,
"Oh, I might like this,"
"I want to go this way."
But you know.
I realized something here.
To broaden your world, you need a certain foundation, right?
For example, when you get interested in overseas.
If you understand even a little English,
the world you see changes.
When you want to read a book.
If you have the power to understand text,
you can know so many more worlds.
When you think about money.
If you aren't bad at numbers,
it becomes knowledge that protects you.
Studying wasn't just for
getting 100 on a test.
I didn't know that.
The old me
thought "There are things more important than studying."
That hasn't changed even now.
But,
studying becomes the foundation to protect the things that are important.
I've come to think that way.
I don't want my son to go to a good school.
I don't want him to join a famous company either.
I just want him to be someone who can find his own place
after knowing many worlds.
Studying might be one of the things necessary for that.
When I realized that,
I laughed a little, thinking "Oh, I'm actually doing a good job as a parent" lol
It's a little different from the parent
the old me imagined.
But I think this is also part of
changing yourself while raising a child.