The pressures as the eldest male in the bloodline...

I don't know how it works with white folks, but this is what happens with traditional Chinese kids. Their parents raise em up til they are like 24+. The parents pay for education, and food, and clothing, etc. Then, when the parents get older and can't work anymore, it's up to the kids to take care of the parents, as a symbol of gratitude for all the sacrifices the parents had gone through to bring the kids up.

I am the eldest son of not just my family, but my entire bloodline both on my father's side and mother's side. Even if none of my family has great expectations of me, I have great expectations for myself not to fuck up my family line and to bring disgrace to the family (LOL soooo Asian, amirite?). I know down the road, I'll have to take care of not just my parents, but the parents of my future wife as well.



And on top of taking care of 4x elderly parents, I'll also have to take care of my wife, and our kids. So that's 7 people I have to provide a comfortable life with. And I know, you're gonna say, but convolutionx, these days families have dual income, so in reality you'd only have to take care of 3.5 people, or 4 people if you include yourself. Well, as a more traditional guy, I still believe the guy should be the main bread winner of the household. Not that I'd be against my wife making more than me, but it will just make me feel I slacked off somewhere, and I should pick up the pace and out earn my wife. The reason being is because I'll love her a lot, and I don't want her to exert any more force than necessary. I kind of want to baby her in a way haha. Sexist? I just call it love and affection.


Another thing is, it's not just about how many people you're carrying on your shoulders, but it's also about the quality of life you'll provide them. I was chatting with Ms. Zun last night again, and she told me she wanted 2 kids, and wanted to put them through the whole shebang for piano. That'll be $25k per kid. And honestly, I want that for my kids too. Actually, as a side note, I'm definitely gonna marry someone like Ms. Zun, or I'll straight up say it, Ms. Zun herself, because she shares very very similar ideals as me when it comes to raising le kids. Anyways, so not only do I just have to do the bare minimum to raise the kids, but I have to provide them with an exceptional head start in life as well. And of course my wife would also have dreams and aspirations she wants to fulfill as well, so I need money to help her reach her dreams. Again, as a side note, for Ms. Zun's case, she's quite the traveler, so hypothetically speaking, if she were to be my wife, I'd have to provide the vacation money as well.

So, that's approximately 1.24 x 10^3 ST (shit tonnes) of cash I need to make. And guess what's the hilarious part? I HAVE A BIOCHEM DEGREE LOOOLLLL. It's worthless, and I can't do anything with it that will help me make $70k+! HAAAAAA. So I currently have a goal I want to obtain, but I have no road to get there. I might have to make my own road... but how? I'm looking into bioinformatics for now... but yeah, soooo much pressure to be successful so I can have a happy family so I can be happy.

You might ask me, convolutionx, life is ultimately not about money. Yes, you're right when you say life is ultimately not about money. Life is about what the money can do for you, and if you think money isn't that important, then I'd have to argue, no, you're wrong, and. I derive happiness from seeing my family happy and prosperous. What does it take for a family to be happy? Often, it takes money. Money can be exchanged for experiences that enrich the lives of my loved ones, such as piano lessons, swimming lessons, karate lessons, badminton lessons (I'm a god damn tigerdad), providing my parents with the latest in elderly comforts, providing my wife with oversea adventures in the tropics of Amazon, or in the Outbacks down south in Australia.... everything needs money, man.

Think about it like this. Let's say I have an excited, energetic 5 year who wants to play piano. If you don't have enough money and if you can't afford the $25/hr+ lessons, then you're gonna have to look him in his bright eager eyes and say, "I'm sorry son. I can barely deal with the mortgage and car insurance. I don't have enough money to help you realize your childhood curiosities and aspirations. Your life has a limit because your father fucked up and didn't end up making as much money as he wanted."

Can you live with yourself if you had to do that?