A Letter to My Parents

Today, after a hectic day, I went to a quiet place far away from people to do some personal reflection. This is something which I enjoy doing and perhaps, I ought to do more often. Spent some time thinking through many things.

One of the things that stood out most is how much I appreciate the good life that I have. For the last couple of days, I have been meeting up with a few friends, and the sad thing is, they don't see how good their lives are. They complain and complain, but they don't realize that they have it good.

It's even sadder, when I look at myself, that I am culprit of the same crime. But here's the thing, I do appreciate the good life. I'm very, very fortunate to have awesome parents like you who have worked so hard to bring us up and enable us to live the way we want. Not many people can have the luxury of doing that. I'm very fortunate to be able to study in a world class institution like the University of Chicago and have the opportunity to see the world. Truly, I have it good. And I know that the good life may not last as the only constant in the world is change. This is why I am all the more grateful of it.

The problem lies in the fact that I rarely show it. I do realize I complain a lot too - the grass is greener on the other side as they say. I guess this is human nature - we love to complain, we always look on the bad side of things. But I do appreciate my good life a lot. And of course, this is all thanks to you. There are not many times when I have shown my appreciation, so here's one of them: Thank you so much for everything that you've done for me. I do realize that you have put in a lot - a lot of stress, a lot of hard work, a lot of effort into raising us kids and to making sure we have a good life. It's not easy sacrificing so much just for us.

Hence, from now on, I will do my best to complain less, and to make sure I show my appreciation more often. But the main message of this email is to tell you, yes, I am very grateful to the both of you for giving me only the very best. I do realize I have things good, and I do really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Love
Adrian