Coffee Conversations: Persistence is a child

I forgot to include this cute present in my San Diego and Seattle haul post. This is a present from my little cousin, Ruth, who resides in San Diego.

The epic story of the mini Jack O’ Lantern globe: I had bought a pretty wallet for Ruth. Mom said she really liked it that she had to get me this cute souvenir as a way of thanking me for the wallet I gave her. Mom told me how Ruth has persisted to get me this present: In one of their shopping trips, Ruth tagged along. As they moseyed around the mall, Ruth grabbed anything in sight, pleading her dad to buy it for me. But my uncle (her dad) already got me Guerlain’s Shalimar, and he told Ruth that they already have a present for me.

But she wanted to get me something so bad, that she threw a wild tantrum in the mall while screaming “I wanna buy something for ate Martha!” repetitively. In the end, her dad gave her a few dollars. She got what she wanted, and this is what she got me. When they got home, Ruth politely asked my mom to wrap it nicely and securely in a box. She even insisted to see the actual wrapping just to be sure that this mini Jack O’ Lantern globe will reach me. It’s such a cute and funny story. And this Jack O’ Lantern is one of my favorite desk pieces to date.

With this story in mind, I’d like to talk about PERSISTENCE.

Photo credits: paulbern1.wordpress.com

Persistence is a child. When we were young, our imaginations ran wild and we had borderless dreams. We believed so much in anything that we chose to believe in, we never gave up no matter how much our parents reprimanded us, and we stood up no matter how many painful scars and bruises we got. We were so willing, so eager, so enthusiastic, and so passionate that at the end of the day, we always got what we had wanted whether it is a toy, a box of sweets, playtime with mom or dad, a turn on the computer, or even just a bed time story.

And as we grew older, that persistence was left behind. We have lost our ability to dream thinking that we are no longer children, and because society tells us to be “realistic”. Most of us end up stuck in the rat race, dreading the daily grind and dooming ourselves to this fate. Yet we are forever day-dreaming of buying that fancy sports car, that luxurious leather handbag, riding a yacht across the Carribean, or how life could get any better, at the very least. But alas, we tell ourselves. These are dreams--and dreaming is only for children.

The difference between you and your dreams is PERSISTENCE—child- like persistence, to be exact—Not a rich family background, not studying in top schools, and not even a wealthy Last Will and Testament under your name. No matter who you are, you can be more than what you are today as long as you persist to bridge the gap between you and your dreams.

This cute thing lights up, by the way. I turn it on every night and glance at and fiddle with it before I go to sleep. It serves as a reminder for me to constantly nourish that child-like persistence within me, and to have steadfast faith that someday, whatever I wish for will come true.