Entering her room, I see paintings on the wall and handcrafts on her
desk, which was all made by her. But when I look upward at the shelf, I
see some books sharply entitled International Trade, Economics
or Accounting, which, in my sight, hardly have any direct
connection with the sophomore. Yet, it is these business matters that
now occupy the creative girl』s daily time--so much that she has not done
her arts for years. The girl, who now studies under the so-called
job-and-competition-oriented educational environment, is none other than
my admirable and talented cousin.
My
cousin has held a particular talent and passion for art creation since
childhood. Ever since I was a kid, I always liked to visit her, who was
2 years older. I could always see comic characters repainted by my
cousin for she enjoyed copying her favorite drawings with her own
paintbrushes. Sometimes using her own imagination and design, she made
cards for her friends』 birthdays or for her parents』 anniversaries. The
more time she spent on painting, the more proficiency she developed on
it. She started paying more attention to it, spending more money on art
materials, purchasing tools for more professional painting, and winning
awards at handicraft competitions time after time. She, however, never
gave up her schoolwork, either; she knew she needed to pass the entrance
exam first if she wanted to study subjects about art after junior high
education.
As
the time approached for entrance decisions, her parents, who never
restricted her hobby before, suddenly changed their attitude and refused
to let her enter the professional high schools, claiming that she was
still too young to make her own decision about her future. They
promised to let her follow her mind after three years when she finished
senior high school. As a good daughter, she trusted them and dutifully
finished middle education as her parents had decreed. During those
three-years, she kept her interest in painting, did a lot of practice,
and received numerous praises for her works. Still, her only dream
remained steadfast; she wanted to study art.
Now, she is a sophomore of the International Trade Department at some
university. She is not studying art, not because her hobby had changed
but because her parents』 mind had changed again. Two year ago, when she
was planning to apply to the Commercial Design Department, her parents
turned her down again by saying that the field was not promising enough
and couldn』t have an ensuring salary in the future. She fought back,
of course, for her principle and her dream. Whatever objections her
parents posed seemed to be of little consequence for her. Her father,
in full rage, commanded: 「I would rather cast my money into the lake
than offering it as your tuition if you insist on going to the design
department!」 Upon hearing such words, she realized that her dream will
never be realized. The highly appreciated would-be designer now spends
most of her time on business subjects and seldom picks up her
paintbrushes again.
In
recent years the Ministry of Education is advocating the logon: 「let
kids follow their talents and interests.」 But in reality, some students
still have no choice but to give up what they want to study, under their
parents』 command. In fact, parents are usually the ones responsible for
failing to give their kids room for breathing. I will always remember
my dear cousin whose promising career in art and design was crushed by
her parents who claim to love her. And I hope in the future I will help
make life easier for youngsters who still have dreams for themselves.