Surely life isnt meant to be figured out on our own

Had a talk with one of my Singapore friends E over here.

The conversation inevitably gravitated to our family and we realized we had more in common than it seems. In our time in Atlantic City casino I have learnt that E came from a single-parent family. His Dad had chalked up and left the family a sizable debt from gambling. He said he had to face debtors ("Dai-yi-long" in Cantonese terms) knocking on his doors at a young age of 13. His younger sister is at home with him then while his Mum is out at work.

Im sure he is not alone. Many, too many, I know have a tough childhood story. Stuff that happen to us that no kid should be allowed to go through. Stuff that rob us of our childhood, stuff that force young boys to grow up way too quickly. E didnt say it, but as tears welled up in his eyes, I reckon he must have wished there's someone to father him. Someone to protect his mum and sister and him. Someone to show him the way so he didnt have to figure life out on his own.

I told him my story and that I felt for him. On hindsight, I wanted to tell him that surely this isnt how it should be. I wanted to tell him while we may not have a earthly father, there's one in heaven that can and will look out for us. I pray for another opportunity to talk again before we move on with our lives.

And in our short conversation, we talked about how our Mums work hard to support our family. We talked about how we want to bring our Mums to Europe and Taiwan respectively when we graduate and have a job and money. We talked about how important having money for our family in the future is for us, that sometimes those ard us in better situations dont always understand what that means. We talked about the importance of thrift and sacrifice, not having things our peers may have while growing up. We talked about how in the future we must reciprocate those who took care and love us when our families were in the doldrums.

And we talked about how we need not pity ourselves or feel down and out. That tough times does make tough men (and I humbly hope we are in that category). That the lessons we learn from the school of hard knocks are lessons money cant buy nor our professors can teach.

Cheers E!