The Cycle

Ever since a young age, I knew that one day I would be faced with a conflict my youth would no longer be able to protect me from. It would come at a time where I would be able to live out my ideal dream, but a new responsibility would take precedence and the well-being of others would detour me from it. Although I’m making progression towards that dream now, I’m hindered by what is thought and expected of me. With my skills that I have accrued over the years, I have unknowingly accepted the challenge of ending the cycle.

This cycle haunts families for generations and young, brave souls must accept this challenge of breaking the vicious cycle and bring stability to their family’s name. Their focus can range from ridding their family of debts or moving them to a safer environment. But the most important factor is bringing their people to a higher standard of living while staying true to their origins and culture. In many households, children accept this challenge at an early age and it becomes the foundation for their potential success. They must sacrifice so much of themselves in hopes of ending a cycle and in most cases, others as well. This changes your motives and makes you question your aspirations. You start to consider values differently and the things that never held much importance to you become your new motivation. In my personal situation, that thing is wealth.

Chasing wealth (a false idealization of happiness) conditions you to a rigid lifestyle. Going to school and making money doing the thing you love, which truly means finding something you wouldn’t mind doing until you die. So we hope for the success in our impossible quest towards our surreal destination in the effort of avoiding a stagnate lifestyle. You must fight pass your struggles and limitations in hopes of freeing your people of their struggles, so that they may live their life anew. But if you fail, all time and effort will have been wasted and all hope is put on the next generation…the cycle continues.

I only hope I can find balance in these conflicting lifestyles; one, chasing the surreal and two, becoming wealthy while evading the stagnant option of artificial happiness. And for the people out there who also accepted this challenge, I hope you are able to conquer the cycle in a timely fashion before it becomes the next generation’s burden.