A Sad Story Made Funny[1]
Call me Will, or William. My parents called my Leng, but that’s because they are Asian. Anyway, when I was a younger student, five hundred hours of sleep ago, eighty racks of ribs ago, and one thousand Sprites ago . . .
My parents’ good-willed "push" for my success in school resulted in mine and their own downfall. I crashed. Burned out. Gave up. My interest in school gradually changed into nothingness. My grades plummeted, and my parents grew disappointed. I did not try in school anymore, either out of my lack of interest and motivation, or out of rebellion and intention to damage my parent's pride. I had brought shame to my family.
Of course, I didn’t tell them that. If I did, that would be what my parents called a pulika, or a stupid thing to do. My parents preached lessons like this through their short articles about living life. They collected and kept records of these articles, called libings, literally meaning short lessons.
This pulika went something like this:
“Be nice, and nice, but never request a price, For if you expect a reward, only receive a sword,
Selfishness and greed, do to a degree,
Too much of either, you should have neither.”
I was a Rebellious back then. But now, I am an Obedient. I would have been an Obedient back then, too, had I known what Obedience was. How my parents and I interacted in the following years is indescribable. Our relationship deteriorated to a point where everyday life was awkward. I wanted to live my own life, forge my own destiny separate from their control. However, I could not endure what our relationship had become. It felt like they didn’t even notice me anymore. I began to accelerate in my studies once more, this time, for myself, according to my own standards. I came to the realization that, I could not live without feeling loved by my parents. If I could kill two birds with one stone, why not do it? I was only hurting myself by remaining indifferent and rebellious in my studies. If I became more considerate of school once again, I could make something out of my future and life: go to college, become an engineer, all while reestablishing my relationship with my parents. Although I could not regain the degree of geniusness I once possessed, I could finally become happy. My parents eased up with their obsession regarding my grades, and without them breathing down my neck, I lived life without pressure for the first time.
[1] I will be attempting to mimic Vonnegut’s style to make a personal, hard to describe, pitiful, and depressing story about my life comedic and light-hearted.
Call me Will, or William. My parents called my Leng, but that’s because they are Asian. Anyway, when I was a younger student, five hundred hours of sleep ago, eighty racks of ribs ago, and one thousand Sprites ago . . .
My parents’ good-willed "push" for my success in school resulted in mine and their own downfall. I crashed. Burned out. Gave up. My interest in school gradually changed into nothingness. My grades plummeted, and my parents grew disappointed. I did not try in school anymore, either out of my lack of interest and motivation, or out of rebellion and intention to damage my parent's pride. I had brought shame to my family.
Of course, I didn’t tell them that. If I did, that would be what my parents called a pulika, or a stupid thing to do. My parents preached lessons like this through their short articles about living life. They collected and kept records of these articles, called libings, literally meaning short lessons.
This pulika went something like this:
“Be nice, and nice, but never request a price, For if you expect a reward, only receive a sword,
Selfishness and greed, do to a degree,
Too much of either, you should have neither.”
I was a Rebellious back then. But now, I am an Obedient. I would have been an Obedient back then, too, had I known what Obedience was. How my parents and I interacted in the following years is indescribable. Our relationship deteriorated to a point where everyday life was awkward. I wanted to live my own life, forge my own destiny separate from their control. However, I could not endure what our relationship had become. It felt like they didn’t even notice me anymore. I began to accelerate in my studies once more, this time, for myself, according to my own standards. I came to the realization that, I could not live without feeling loved by my parents. If I could kill two birds with one stone, why not do it? I was only hurting myself by remaining indifferent and rebellious in my studies. If I became more considerate of school once again, I could make something out of my future and life: go to college, become an engineer, all while reestablishing my relationship with my parents. Although I could not regain the degree of geniusness I once possessed, I could finally become happy. My parents eased up with their obsession regarding my grades, and without them breathing down my neck, I lived life without pressure for the first time.
[1] I will be attempting to mimic Vonnegut’s style to make a personal, hard to describe, pitiful, and depressing story about my life comedic and light-hearted.
1 comment:
I chose my College Essay for the Personal category because it gives insight regarding my life in a comical way. I feel similar to Vonnegut where I can make a sad story about my life sort of funny and less depressing. It is also very personal, and I think that it is pretty creative.
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