<p>are you vietnamese?</p>
<p>If they can't except your views, and your ability to chooses your own life they aren't acting like real parents should. I am Indian and my parents are fine with whatever I do. </p>
<p>If you really don't succeed, then go into to college for pre-med or pre law and major in whatever you want to......you will get your degree in anthropology or poli sci and then just don't apply to med school. if they don't accept your decision to not be a doctor then forget them. you have a college degree and the ability to make it in the real world. </p>
<p>Always follow your dreams....not someone elses.</p>
<p>My parents wanted me to go to Harvard and be a famous, rich lawyer.</p>
<p>I decided I didn't want to try that hard in school.</p>
<p>I'm going to either Bard or Hampshire to study Philosophy and Psychology. </p>
<p>Talk about how much they hate me...</p>
<p>I think that you should listen to your parents. I know many people who didnt listen to their parents and chose a career that they were into, but didnt have much future, and are now working several jobs while trying to pay college loans. Your parents are there for a reason. They went throught the path of adolescence and have their share of experiences. Dont be so egotisitcal by thinking that you know more than them or that you are from a "newer generation" or you will regret it in the future.</p>
<p>Um...sorry AznN3rd I wasn't trying to be egotistical =/...I guess it's weird cause I learned to read at age 4 through fashion magazines in the basement...fashion's just sorta woven into me but I guess I see what you're talking about...</p>
<p>wow compared to you my parents seem relatively normal... no offense. </p>
<p>i would say to make sure fashion is definitely what you want. i actually have an asian friend who wants to go into fashion business adn go to cali (we're in wi) but her grades aren't great, and i'm not sure it's a very solid thing to do. nevertheless, if you're definitely sure that's what you want, and you think you have the motivation and creativity to do it, then i'd say try it. have a backup plan just in case (just because it's so risky) but i think you should try it. you don't want to spend like 10 years in med school if you hate it so much. </p>
<p>i think i have a very stressful attitude and tend to freak out more than my parents. they often have to remind me to chill a little, but they push the pre-med route a lot too. they have never mentioned law or business because i think they believe that i would suck at it (kind of true). so yeah. also they tell me that 5'6", 115 is fat too, but whatevs. i love cookies.</p>
<p>my parents are completely convinced i am going to starve as an adult :-/, and today my mom told me that my goals used to be lofty, but now my goal is to live in a loft??!</p>
<p>Okay, I'm sorry to all those people saying things like 'Your parents know best' and 'you should obey your parents and spend 20-30 years following their dreams'. It does not work like that. Parents do NOT know best. Parents know as much as anyone else their age. I can understand why your parents don't want you to starve, but this isn't all about money. A degree in medicine is a safety, but if you absolutely do not want it, school will be a nightmare and your job may not be any better. Sure, you'll be rolling in dough, but most people would probably rather live in a box.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as safety. Make something of your life.</p>
<p>You could get an MD and then write articles about women's health in fassion magazines (anti eating disorder stuff, you know the things supposedly caused by fassion magazines). You could get a JD and write about the rights of a single mother, etc. Or you cuold pull off Columbia or Northwestern journalism and blow your parents away with the prestige.</p>
<p>Just have a talk with them. Make them listen by being patient. Show that you're the only one being civilized.</p>
<p>Use your sister as a sacrifice and then you yourself do whatever you want. That's basically the case with me.</p>
<p>I had a goal I wanted to pursue which my parents actually approved of (korean graphic novel artist) and after that they didn't really pursue me to make all A's. they let couple of B's slide by along with 2 C's (from AP Chem and AP calculus... the both killed me) </p>
<p>They were really onto me my freshman yr though. My bro was the sacrifice for me (he's the all A student, I'm the slacker, artsy(?) one.)</p>
<p>My parents are so open to things I want to do now, they would even let me be a professional singer if I wanted. (like try out for korean company's (SM, YG) singing auditions, etc which most asian parents would be against)</p>
<p>My dad wanted me to be a dentist once up on a time, but he never pushed it on me. i didn't even know it for a long time. I thought about being a dentist but taking classes like Organic Chem and bio in general would kill me. (i'm an art major btw)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Okay, I'm sorry to all those people saying things like 'Your parents know best' and 'you should obey your parents and spend 20-30 years following their dreams'. It does not work like that. Parents do NOT know best. Parents know as much as anyone else their age. I can understand why your parents don't want you to starve, but this isn't all about money. A degree in medicine is a safety, but if you absolutely do not want it, school will be a nightmare and your job may not be any better. Sure, you'll be rolling in dough, but most people would probably rather live in a box.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as safety. Make something of your life
[/quote]
Although most people want to do what they want, they also have materialistic goals. Few would want to live in poverty to do what they want.
But hey, when my kids do community service at the homeless shelter, I'll be sure to bring some canned beans for you, david.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, where did he go to school? What an inspiring story :).</p>
<p>I think the OPs parents have reasonable fears about a teenage kid saying she wants to go East and pursue a job in the fashion industry. It sure sounds like a wild and crazy thing a kid would say just because it sounds "cool" or they want an "adventure" without thinking reasonably about the kinds of things the decision entails. I'm not suggesting you're like that at all, though - I can just see where your parents are coming from. So, like others have said, you need to take the time to ask yourself why this appeals to you, and outline an intelligent plan for getting there, taking into account setbacks. If they don't listen to a logical argument and don't care about your passions, you have to take responsibility for your own life. If you turn out poor, hating fashion and end up coming back home to California and your parents call you a failure, I would believe they're the ones who failed, because they never took risks in their life and learned from them. Your parents may or may not learn the ills of their ways, but sometimes people are wrong and there's nothing you can do to change thier mind except go on with your life and do what you think is best. Lead a life you - not your parents - will be proud of.</p>
<p>As far as the weight - you're tiny! I'm 5'0 and weigh 116. And let's just say they pretty much don't make adult clothing small enough to fit me. I always randomly wanted to be a fashion designer so I could make a line of petite clothes that weren't frumpy old lady suits.</p>
<p>Your parents suck, but do your best in everything you do (never let your struggles with your parents' expectations bring down your own expectations or efforts) and you will find enough success to pursue your dreams. There is nothing you can do about terrible parenting except live through it</p>
<p>Parents know best on some issues but when it comes your own future you are the only one that can decide. Don't say things like if you take the road less traveled you will end up homeless because you are just acting as close-mided as the OPs Parents.</p>
<p>Plus, you should only pursue a career in law or medicine if you are passionate about it because in both these professions you can be dealing with the future of peoples lives.
A degree in journalism has plenty of opportunities and you should go for it.</p>
<p>I'm in (kind of) the same situation. My father wants me to go into business. He also is dead-set on my attending Harvard. I'm a reasonable person. I realize that Harvard is an extreme reach for me. I'm just too 'normal.' However, there are many other extremely good schools that I probably could gain admission to. My father only sees the prestige associated with the word 'Harvard,' though. This is mainly because he's engaged in a stupid competition with his partner at work, called "Who Can Get Their Daughter Into A More Prestigious College?" He has even demanded that I get a 'coach' to get me into a Harvard. It's ridiculous.</p>
<p>But, I have found the perfect way to deal with all of this... I just ignore him. I let him ramble on and on about how my extracurriculars aren't extraordinary enough now, and how I need to get an internship, and how blah blah blah... Pretty soon he reaches the end of his lecture, I nod, and I go on living the way that I want to live. =)</p>
<p>Back before I can remember, I went to a daycare/babysitter type thing at someone's house with a few other Indian boys. We are all applying to college now. One got into Stanford EA. I got into Penn ED. Two were deferred Stanford EA. My mom thinks that from those two, one will get into MIT and the other Princeton RD. She says that out of that group, I am probably going to the worst college. She doesn't care about my short comings though, but you can't please your parents all the time, no matter how great your accomplishments are.</p>
<p>how can you get deffered from stanford and have a chance at princeton?</p>
<p>Stanford is really selective, AznN3rd. It rejects a large number of EA applicants--not like Yale for example which defers 60+% of SCEA applicants and only rejects 18%. Getting deferred from Stanford is pretty darn good. The unique standards of this institution, coupled with the whole elite-college-crapshoot thing, mean it's very possible for that student to get into Princeton "despite" the deferral.</p>
<p>And yeah venkater, that sucks...but you're going to Penn :)</p>
<p>One of those kids goes to a school with a very good relationship with Princeton. The other goes to a school with a really good relationship with MIT (10 attending from the calss of 2006). Both of those schools have soso relationships with Stanford. Better than my school's where everyone was rejected except one deferral.</p>