high schools in Beijing

When I got my first

Have your parents ever said 'I'm proud of you'?

Well, mine never.

When I was still a kid, I was the best student in my class, and always got the highest GPA. My mom never said I'm proud of you. She wanted me to be the best student of in my school. When I graduated from high school, I got the highest score of in the College Entrance Examination of in the school, which is one of the best high schools in Beijing. The only thing I heard from them her was 'If you got 7 scores points more you could have been admitted to Peking U (the best university in China).  What a pity.'. When I got my first offer from SMU and also an offer of scholarship for $14,000, they [your parents? or mom?] said, 'because the ranking of SMU is low, they gave you the scholarship to encourage you to choose them, it's not because you are good'. And now, I'm was admitted to another Law school in America. My mom asked me that can to you stay in US after graduation? Can you get a job there?

I feel so frustrated and exhausted. It's like I'm in a competition that never ends and with no rewards at all. Frankly, now I don't want to do anything or pursue any goals. I have no desire for anything. OK I did it, so what? There still will be numerous other 'better things' waiting to be done. It never ends. The only thing in my head is I'm never gonna be good enough.

That sucks!

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Hey Ming.  This is just my opinion.

You're a fine person.  You're probably a pretty outstanding person.  It's your parents that suck.  Sorry to say that.  

1. It's your life.  

2. If you do what they tell you to do, and it makes you unhappy.  It's your fault.  You have to make the right choices for you.  It's your responsibility to figure out and act on what is important and meaningful in your life.

3. Going to the US (or anywhere else) is a good choice for many Chinese.  You can get some distance away from your parents, and get a chance to restart and experiment with a new way of life.  

4. Don't lose your passion for life.  So many Chinese are burned out, and exhausted from external pressure.  You can't do good work that way -- not in the long run.  Have the courage to choose for yourself.