the inheritance of expectations
Every generation, so the saying goes, hopes for a better life for the one after them.
“My kid will not have to live like this,” was the silent pledge that underpinned the actions of many parents.
They gave up many things they loved, so we could live with the illusion of choice. To allow us to dream freely, they stayed up late, not with dreams, but with obligations.
Yet somewhere along the way, despite the good intentions, the outcome fell short.
We were given freedom, but not the courage to use it.
We were offered choices, but were weighed down by expectations.
We were told to do what we love, but only if it brought prestige, profit and pride.
It's a painfully real contradiction. It is hard for a father who studied accounting for a steady job to accept that his son wants to be a writer. A mother who gave up her dream of becoming a dancer now frowns when her daughter talks about joining a performing arts school.
What, then, did we really inherit?
Not poverty, perhaps. But pressure.
Not hunger, but the fear of insignificance.
Not chains, sure, but invisible metrics - where are you working? What is your CTC? Have you bought a flat yet?
We inherited the burden of being more - more successful, more productive, more extraordinary…
Always more, never enough.
And now, as we stand at the same crossroads, will we pass on the same unspoken debt?
Or will we finally say: “Enough.”