We are all entitled to our own share of mistakes and learning experiences in life. No one should take them away from us. Not even our parents.

Our parents are not the only people on this planet, and we should not base our life choices on what they want (what will bring them a peace of mind, satisfaction, and give them a reason to brag), but we should make those choices keeping in mind that there are upwards of 7,5 billion people in this world, and that we should use our talents and energy trying to improve the lives of as many of them as possible.

People have a much greater chance of finding something they’ll enjoy doing and making those greatest contributions when they trust themselves and are free to make their own life choices (are not marionettes in the hands of their parents).

They know a lot, but they don’t know everything, and they can’t advise you on anything.

They can only tell you what they believe worked / or didn’t work for them.

An approach, according to which children should fulfil their parents’ dreams/ do everything in order to make their parents happy/ provide their parents with a peace of mind, or whatever they want for themselves - because they owe it to them for all those years in which their parents took care of them - is utterly selfish.

If parents want “success stories” to share at gatherings they should provide themselves with those, and they should not use their children for that purpose.