Conflict Between Parents And Their Children Essay

Write an essay about an inner struggle you have experienced that reflects a cultural conflict between two of the following: the culture of your parents, your friends, your school, your school. Include the examples of ways that your inner conflict is reflected in your dreams and fantasies.
Conflicts between two generations are always part and parcel of everyday life and in China this is always very more pronounced. More often than not, the parents will hold traditionalist values in areas such as religion and other domestic ways and means and these will come into conflict with children.
Personally I passed through such an experience when I started attending University as my parents at first wanted me to continue adhering to the faith of their forefathers. This obviously meant that I was faced with an inner struggle and dilemma where I had long been having doubts about my religion and my life and could not bring myself to accept that life was generally how they viewed it.
I was experiencing great torments inside me as I could not accept what my parents were telling me about God as to me this had long been something of the past and I couldn’t feel in any way close with what they were saying. I felt estranged and without much hope of doing any good but I also felt that my life was crumbling inside and could not seem to accept that what they were saying was true in any respect.
I took to taking long walks in the country to attempt to shed myself from the problems I had created. My parents continued preaching and warning me that I was on the road to ruin, that I did not have any sort of future and that I was going to ruin myself both inside and outside. My struggle continued to dominate my life and I could not find a way to move forward as I was stuck in a rut without much hope of moving forward. This intrinsically also meant that I would have had to confront the demons within me and that my life would have to change if I was to have any hope of survival.
My parents continued to make life difficult for me especially in the context of the considerable problems which I was facing. Life was becoming extremely hard to face and everything seemed to be collapsing in every direction. I found that I could not concentrate at University as I was constantly being faced with the issues that were tormenting my inner self at home.
Life was now becoming a torment for me as I continued to face these issues with a certain amount of alacrity and apathy. There was nothing much one could do but continue to find out a path for myself in the innermost reaches of my soul which was continually being tormented by what my parents were telling to me. In the end I felt I had to take a decision and move forward without the backing and support of my family.
I began to go to counselling to observe what could be done to arrange my inner self and my life. Since it was sporadically all over the place, I knew something had to be done about this and that I could not continue facing life without any hope and without any means to do something with it. My counsellor advised a period of self-reflection and living alone where I could perhaps gather my thoughts and think harder about what it was that I really wanted to do in life. Although this would mean enduring a considerable amount of personal suffering, there was also the possibility that life could change for the better.
After a longish period of about six months living alone and surviving on bare essentials, I decided it was time to confront my parents. At first the encounter was hard and without much feeling or emotion but after a few minutes of conversation the visage cracked and we got along rather well. My mother inquired about my lifestyle and wanted to assist me in what I was doing to ensure that I had everything I needed and that I could continue my studies without much problems. My father was perhaps more circumspect and direct in his attitude but still one could sense that he rankled deep inside.
The meeting ended on a positive note and after leaving I decided that for the future, confrontation appears to be the best solution to solve pending issues which affect our lives. Through confrontation, one can solve problems as issues are seen in a clearer light whilst the main points of an argument are always solved much better when the truth is told and the cards are put on the table. My inner struggle was an experience which I would not like to go through again but which was definitely something which had to be done.