Dear Jasmine,
I was happy that you called me yesterday morning and shared with me your excitements about having a grand piano in your rental home. I have not seen you so happy for a long time. I was deeply worried when you were in London, UK last November. You sounded weird and weak and distraught. I would hold the phone for hours so that you knew I was with you. Now you changed. You changed from one extreme to another, but a good kind of extremeness. You cried, but you cried with joy. I was happy for you, and I think I understood where you were coming from.
We wish we had purchased a grand piano for you when you were 9 years old, but we didn’t know you were so talented in music then. We sent you to study music, to train you in speech art, to learn how to draw, among other activities. You excelled at everything you were taught. Besides you had been selected as gifted student since Grade 1. When you were in Junior High, you delivered your award-winning essay in front of hundreds of people, using the public speaking skills your learned from speech art. You made me cry that day, and I was not the only one. When you performed at CMC or Kiwanis Music Festivals or EYO, you made me shed tears every time with the beautiful music coming out between your fingers. The drawing of your grandpa is another testimony of how artful you were.
There were too many special traits about you. We had never doubted in your ability to succeed in whatever you wanted to pursue. We may not have inspired you enough, but we have certainly tried to provide you with plenty of opportunities to expose you to different things in life.
You are an adult now, but you will forever be a child in our eyes., just like how my parents have been treating and looking after me. You are good at too many things. As you said, you could be a professor, software engineer at Google or Facebook, an artist, a pianist, or a CEO in a startup company. You want to be a pianist now and for the summer. It is the right time. You are gifted at piano but being a pianist may not be your best career choice. You don’t have to prove I am wrong. After you graduate from McGill this December, you may have to work full-time and play piano as your pastime. Long term that is probably how you can live comfortably: being a professional of some sort and enjoying piano in your leisure time.
In your recent podcast with Tyler Cowen, he spoke highly of you and did not know what you will do with your life. He also said persistence is everything for a person to succeed in one selected area. It is one thing to be good at many things so that your life is colorful and full of choices. It is another thing if you cannot make the right decision about your career and how to make a good living from it. It can be a challenge to find the balance when you are so talented at too many things. We will be watching you from far away with unspeakable love and always want you to be successful in whatever you elect to do with your life and career.
Love,
Dad
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