Stop expecting, and start working for what you want

The difference between the previous generation and ours is that the former did not expect things to be handed to them on a silver platter.

COMMENT

PETALING JAYA: The first month of 2016 was tainted with news of students starving for lack of funds. Last year, it was the whole “Saya Zahra” episode which saw fresh graduate Siti Azzahra Abd Razly highlighting the plight of those like her, just entering the workforce.

When my parents tell me stories of their university days, and how they struggled to financially support themselves, they speak with pride, not self-pity like the current generation does.

Both my parents came from very poor families. Growing up, my mother sold her mother’s homemade kerepek in school for allowance. My father on the other hand, collected empty cans, flattened these and sold them off to other students.

Neither complained of their financial situation and instead, focused on their studies. They were later awarded full scholarships to study in the US. Just to put it out there, that was where they met, fell in love, got married, and were blessed with me!

My mother later told me making ends meet, especially with a child to support wasn’t easy. She had to work part-time at a Chinese restaurant, catering to rednecks that treated her like dirt. My father would travel hours every day just to purchase fresh halal meat to sell to Malay students in the small town of Evansville, Indiana.

They did this while studying full time and caring for a little clingy toddler crying for attention most of the time. Although they never sounded resentful or regretful about their hardship, I couldn’t help but feel sad hearing how my parents struggled through life. In silence, I promised to one day reward them for all the hard times they had endured.

My parents however did not share my sentiments. They said they were thankful for their struggles because it moulded them into the strong, successful individuals they are now. The kind of individuals who were able to provide their children with everything they themselves, couldn’t dream of having.

It was for this reason I made a silent promise that, unless absolutely necessary, I would never trouble them with my financial matters. So while completing my law degree, I worked up to seven hours a day, sweeping and mopping floors, washing dishes and wearing fake smiles to earn tips, just so I could afford a little luxury without having to ask my parents to finance it. Meanwhile, students funded by government loans and scholarships were busy shopping in the streets of London.

Speaking of my parents, their life after graduation wasn’t any easier. My dad worked two jobs to support the family, who was then living in the big and expensive city of Kuala Lumpur. He was at the same time, trying to kick-start his IT business. My mum was raising two little children while working full time in the banking industry.

They went through so much together, that if I were to write a tell-all, it might end up thicker than the Harry Potter series.

My point is we, the youth of today can moan all we want about how hard it is to survive in the current economic climate compared to our parents’ time. As it is, we are already blaming them for failing to understand that we need more financial support than they ever did. We complain about having to eat only one meal a day as the government is not providing us with enough to eat three. We’ve also have the audacity to blame the authorities for cutting our salaries when we fail to repay the PTPTN loans we took to study.

All this unproductive chatter dominates our lives while our fingers lovingly caress the crisp ringgit notes we pluck from our branded wallets to pay for the latest smartphones, or the ridiculously overpriced coffee from Starbucks.

The stark difference between us and the older generation is that they did not expect things to be handed to them on a silver platter. They knew in order to get what they wanted, they had to earn it the hard way. We on the other hand, are a spoilt generation, caught up with complaining of first world problems but preferring to sit and whine instead of getting off our butts to start earning our keep.