Father’s Wishes for His Son

Animated JJ

JJ has been… energetic to say the least.  He’s anything but like me when I was a kid.  He’s very outgoing, highly energetic, and very sociable.  I was nothing like that when I was little.  I was a huge introvert, shy, and definitely not full of energy.

So when he was born, I wanted him to have a life that I failed to live.  I wanted him to enjoy life even from the young days.  I wanted him to be playful and enjoy each day, even if it meant him being … loud.  The picture above captures the essence of how I want my son to be… playful, enjoying being himself.

My days of childhood was too quiet.  Not sure what prompted me to be so shy but I was.  In some extreme years, I became a bookworm and stayed home all day reading books.  These days, I don’t think it’s enough to be just smart and intelligent.  As much as I’d love my kids to be smart, Soojin and I agree, that given the choices, we would prefer them to be sociable over smart any day.

I’ve come across many intelligent people in my life, both personally and professionally.  And my only conclusion thus far is that intelligent people are hard to work with, way too finicky, and are not open minded.  In this world, I want JJ to grow up expressing himself openly, no matter how the world treats him for it.  At the same time, being sociable to work with others and get along with others.

In short, I want him to enjoy life on a day to day basis.  Sure learning is important.  In fact, one should never stop learning.  However, beyond that step, living the day to its fullest potential (carpe diem) and being full of life is how I want him to be.  I would rather have him be bit more mischievous and hyper than shy and reclusive.  Perhaps that’s more due to the fact that that’s how I was and didn’t like it, but that’s what I would want for JJ.