A Story of Hard Work
My mom grew up in Taiwan without a lot of money. My grandfather, the breadwinner of the family, passed away in a fishing accident when she was still an infant. In Taiwan, growing up without a father figure was extremely difficult. My grandma had to become the breadwinner and take care of the kids at the same time.
Mother grew up poor and she was bullied as a child, but the story I wanted to share was what happened when she got old enough to work. It’s extremely important to me because it taught me what is possible as far as achieving dreams. She started working at piano bars — she was interested in that kind of career. but she didn’t have a ton of money to start with. My mom practiced, and the way she practiced was crazy. She took newspapers and would draw piano keys onto the newspaper. Then she’d utilize that piano to practice the songs that were popular. I get chills and emotional when I think about it. I cannot imagine the grit and determination that it took.
My mom has taught me so much, but that story in of itself gives me so much inspiration and determination that I utilize in my day to day work. If I’m faced with problems, I just think back to the challenges my mom faced. She became the highest paid pianist in the piano bar within a year or two. That, to me, is extremely inspirational and a story I’ll carry with me my entire life.
