Day 183: things I learned from my dad

Yesterday would have been my dad’s 74 years old birthday, but he’s no longer with us. I asked my mom if we needed to do something special to honor him. My mom said she was going to buy flower. I didn’t do anything ceremonial but I did reflect things that I learned from my dad.

My dad and I are very alike, therefore we didn’t get along very well. But I did know how much he loved me, and how hard he worked to provide me a better future when we left China in 1990.

From my dad, I learned about

• working hard. Persistent, focused, persevere no matter what the goal is, how unachievable it seems.
• family unity is ultimately the most important thing in life. He taught me to choose being united and poor, than separated and rich.
• it’s never too late to start a new life. We left China when he was 45 years old, without a job prospect, without knowing anything about the country we were going to live (Argentina). That decision which at the time looks very risky to everyone, it changed my life.
• one can be strict with the kids while still showing love. I argued a lot with my dad in my teenager years but I never doubted how much he loved me.
• save save save. I think as every immigrant family, having enough saving is high priority because we were in a foreign country and without our social support, so we needed to be financially resilient to any shocks. I’ve inherited that from my dad and save more than half of my income.

I miss him a lot!

It was a busy work day with last meeting ending at 10:30pm but we got new book delivery

I finished Doughnut Economics in 2 days. While very interesting and innovative way to think about Economics, especially given the COVID pandemic, it’s a niche line of thought and still not convincing enough to influence policy.

And I started Big Friendship yesterday and LOVING IT! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book about friendship so it’s very refreshing. Friendship has became more important in my life as an adult than when I was an teenager (too busy with bfs), especially those long lasting friendships, where we shared all the ups and downs in life, exposed our flaws and struggles. Friends influence our lives more than we give them credit for.