battle hymn of the tiger mother
i just reread this book online. i remember when it first came out a few years back, i refused to buy it although i super wanted to read it. instead i camped 1hour plus at the bookstore after training with my huge bag, just to finish it. okay #cheapo i know but i dont really believe in buying books cause i think it's a waste of money. unless it's like a whole series. even then, as a die hard harry potter fan, i only own the 4th book: goblet of fire. #loser hahaha i just really dont see the point in getting books cause im a super fast reader and i cannot rest until i finish the book. like i can skip meals and miss my sleep just to finish the book. and my family isnt exactly very well to do so i dont spend unnecessary money on books. i just borrow from my cousin and return them in pristine condition or ill er.... camp at the bookshop.
another reason why i hate buying books is cause my friends borrow from me and forget to return me. there was this hunger games series ''phase'' and i went crazy and bought all the books at one shot and finished everything in a day because i just had to find out what happened in the end lol. and out of 3 books, i think one of it is still with a friend and idk how to get it back. #losingfaithinhumanity LOL
anyway, after rereading BHOTM, i feel nostalgic and i feel like im in the same plight as her kids. only difference is they got to learn instruments and i didnt cause we couldnt afford it. but it's okay because i grew up to be an okay kid, i can differentiate right from wrong hahaha. think mum gave up on me after i got into sec sch because er i joined canoeing and things just went downhill from there.
growing up, as the eldest, i always had to set a good example. mum didnt like me to hang out with friends after school so she always made it a point to pick me up from sch. after that sissy got into the same school as i did and she fetched both of us home on the bicycle. i used to hate the fact that i had to go home straight after sch but now i know she just had our best interests. also, we were never allowed to go play at the playground when we were younger too.. reason being, she was afraid that we would fall down and injure ourselves. immensely proud to say that ive never fractured any part of myself before. dont count heartbreaks LOL. and er i only sprained my ankle once in my life at age 22.... swelled up like pig trotters haha i never wna go through that again.
compared to the book, i think mum was much much better. i would have rebelled long ago if i had the same mummy. but i think all chinese parents are pretty strict? mum always had high expectations of me. if i didnt get full marks for spelling, i wouldnt dare to tell her. she used to sit beside me when i had to practice writing chinese words and there was once my handwriting displeased her, i just kept writing the word improportionately and she kept erasing.. suddenly a hole appeared in the page and she got so pekchek. no prizes for guessing who got whacked with the cane.
rewards for doing well in exams would be more storybooks which i devoured greedily. i love reading and that was something mum didnt force me to do. she was never satisfied with me. always lamenting the fact that i got second in class instead of first. or second highest instead of highest. disappointed with me for getting 99/100 for maths due to a careless mistake. tiger mum told her kids to check their answers 3 times, maybe it was cause mum asked me to check twice only thats why i lost that 1 mark. after that test, i swore the next few exams i was gna get 100. and i did.. all because i didnt wanna make mum disappointed.
i remember being so nervous for psle cause i didnt think i'd do well. never had confidence to think better of myself. and thats cause mum always criticized me. during parent-teacher meetings, they would always say that i am a smart kid and hardworking but i am too chatty. hearing such things about myself, i always cry in front of my teacher and mummy cause i felt i wasnt good enough.
dad fetched me to sch on the morning that i was supposed to collect my results. i was so nervous. but when i looked at my results, i realised that i did fairly decent and exceeded my expectations. i was ecstatic and called mummy immediately. 2As 2A*s but she wasn't pleased because she said if i had good grades then my points shld have been higher so it meant that my A was a low A.... -_-
but mum was nice enough to let me choose for myself which sch i wanted to go to. and i guess i shldnt have made that choice myself because i believe mummy always knows best. look where i ended up...... if i ever become a mum, i know ill be a tiger mum too because sparing the rod spoils the child. and i know exactly what my child can be capable of and i am going to work my child in that direction. it doesnt matter if he/she hates me because at the end of the day, they will be thankful. just like how i am towards my mum now.
another reason why i hate buying books is cause my friends borrow from me and forget to return me. there was this hunger games series ''phase'' and i went crazy and bought all the books at one shot and finished everything in a day because i just had to find out what happened in the end lol. and out of 3 books, i think one of it is still with a friend and idk how to get it back. #losingfaithinhumanity LOL
anyway, after rereading BHOTM, i feel nostalgic and i feel like im in the same plight as her kids. only difference is they got to learn instruments and i didnt cause we couldnt afford it. but it's okay because i grew up to be an okay kid, i can differentiate right from wrong hahaha. think mum gave up on me after i got into sec sch because er i joined canoeing and things just went downhill from there.
growing up, as the eldest, i always had to set a good example. mum didnt like me to hang out with friends after school so she always made it a point to pick me up from sch. after that sissy got into the same school as i did and she fetched both of us home on the bicycle. i used to hate the fact that i had to go home straight after sch but now i know she just had our best interests. also, we were never allowed to go play at the playground when we were younger too.. reason being, she was afraid that we would fall down and injure ourselves. immensely proud to say that ive never fractured any part of myself before. dont count heartbreaks LOL. and er i only sprained my ankle once in my life at age 22.... swelled up like pig trotters haha i never wna go through that again.
compared to the book, i think mum was much much better. i would have rebelled long ago if i had the same mummy. but i think all chinese parents are pretty strict? mum always had high expectations of me. if i didnt get full marks for spelling, i wouldnt dare to tell her. she used to sit beside me when i had to practice writing chinese words and there was once my handwriting displeased her, i just kept writing the word improportionately and she kept erasing.. suddenly a hole appeared in the page and she got so pekchek. no prizes for guessing who got whacked with the cane.
rewards for doing well in exams would be more storybooks which i devoured greedily. i love reading and that was something mum didnt force me to do. she was never satisfied with me. always lamenting the fact that i got second in class instead of first. or second highest instead of highest. disappointed with me for getting 99/100 for maths due to a careless mistake. tiger mum told her kids to check their answers 3 times, maybe it was cause mum asked me to check twice only thats why i lost that 1 mark. after that test, i swore the next few exams i was gna get 100. and i did.. all because i didnt wanna make mum disappointed.
i remember being so nervous for psle cause i didnt think i'd do well. never had confidence to think better of myself. and thats cause mum always criticized me. during parent-teacher meetings, they would always say that i am a smart kid and hardworking but i am too chatty. hearing such things about myself, i always cry in front of my teacher and mummy cause i felt i wasnt good enough.
dad fetched me to sch on the morning that i was supposed to collect my results. i was so nervous. but when i looked at my results, i realised that i did fairly decent and exceeded my expectations. i was ecstatic and called mummy immediately. 2As 2A*s but she wasn't pleased because she said if i had good grades then my points shld have been higher so it meant that my A was a low A.... -_-
but mum was nice enough to let me choose for myself which sch i wanted to go to. and i guess i shldnt have made that choice myself because i believe mummy always knows best. look where i ended up...... if i ever become a mum, i know ill be a tiger mum too because sparing the rod spoils the child. and i know exactly what my child can be capable of and i am going to work my child in that direction. it doesnt matter if he/she hates me because at the end of the day, they will be thankful. just like how i am towards my mum now.
posted by Pam @ 5:45 PM
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