Local Asian Lottery Winner and My Personal Life

In Edmonton there has been a local lottery jackpot winner of Asian descent, and when questioned on what he is to do with the money, he explained his plans to pay down his mortgage and contribute to his child’s education.

This reminded me of my related personal life. I often feel guilty for not following cultural norms, as since I was a child, my loved ones tried their very best to craft me into what they ideally envisioned- the academic piece of perfection who would then proceed to work a high-paying white-collar job- full of elegance, precision, and handsomeness from having a tall figure with broad shoulders and a beautiful face.

However, in the last few years, economic and personal life conditions quickly bought this to a halt. I still care deeply about my future and my image as the superior man compared to my similar-aged counterparts- just that instead of going the traditional route of an university degree catered to a saturated job market and getting deep into debt, now I am to achieve the same result through the trades and investing. They know it means the world to me to be a young guy with a large portfolio of diversified investments, a nice home, and that Porsche or some other similar vehicle. Be something that every other young guy would only dream of. Have no equal, and be so far ahead that no one could even come close. And, I’d imagine that’s what they would like to see too.

Then at what point it becomes “wrong” to diverge from what makes people you care about, happy?