Out of all the wonderful people that I am fortunate enough to have in my life, no one holds my respect quite the way my dad does.
Yes, my dad can be quick to anger, and he always needs things to be done extremely quickly or else he gets irate. He's slightly anti-social, and my friends and all my sisters' friends are scared of him.
But he's also very smart, efficient, generous, caring, wise, good-hearted, and over all, a very good father.
I'm not going to lie, I haven't been (and doubt I will ever be), the best daughter. Yet my dad still puts up with me every single time that I screw up. He still takes time to sit me down and
lecture impart wisdom on me. But despite the fact that he thinks none of it actually sinks into my head, he still continues to lecture me in hopes that one day, I will finally learn from my mistakes.
How many people would actually spend a good 20 - 30 minutes trying teach someone else valuable life lessons? And not just do it once, but
multiple times. It takes real love to do something like that.
I have learned so many lessons from my my dad. I've learned about generosity, perseverance, efficiency, respect, and a whole host of other things.
Some of his words have had such an impact on me that they just stick in my head like glue:
"Average people learn from their mistakes, smart people learn from other people's mistakes, and dumb people never learn from their mistakes. Don't be a dumb person. Try to be smart."
"Don't ever like the boy more than he likes you."
"Sometimes you need to put your games down and pay attention to the world around you. Take in the scenery, observe the people. People are constantly changing and you can learn so much just by watching them. Your games will always be the same, but the world is forever changing."
- in regards to me always twiddling away on my ipod while travelling on the subway/bus.
It's also the subtle, little things my dad does that truly shows his good-hearted nature and how much he cares for me.
In order to get to and from our apartment in Hong Kong, we have to travel through several building stories. You can either take an elevator or a series of escalators. Usually, my dad takes the elevator (because it's more efficient, and he loves his efficiency). I always take the escalators because I hate cramming into an elevator with a dozen other sweaty people. But whenever I'm with my dad, he will always accompanies me on the escalators because he knows I hate the elevator.
It's just little things like that, which show my dad's thoughtful and generous nature, that makes me respect him even more.
My dad has been through so much in his life. He's had to face so many hardships to make ends meet, yet was still able to come out on top. He is most definitely a man fraught with wisdom and graced with an amazing personality. I can only hope that when I grow up, I will be an all around good character like him.
Thank you for everything, dad. I love you.
