Dear Mary,
Thank you for your letter. I do miss you too. We haven’t met each other for so long. I’m quite O.K. these days and how about you? Let me tell you one thing – I have a new girlfriend. She’s called Wai Yee. She’s cute and I love her so much. I’ll let you see her if you come back to Hong Kong next time.
I know that you’re struggling between your interest and career prospect. I understand your dilemma because I have the same worry recently. You know what- I love drama but my parents just don’t let me study drama in university. They want me to study a degree that can lead me to a highly paid job. I’ve made up my mind and decided to study finance for a few reasons. I do think my experience may be useful in helping you solve your problem.
First of all, in a society composed of cut-throat competition, we have to bow to reality. As you know, drama is my life and I know you’re very much enthusiastic about music. Remember what we said three years ago? When I act the drama, you’ll play the background music for me. We’ll be the best partners ever in the world. This is our dream. But dreams should be based on real facts. Although I don’t want to say so, it’s true that it’s difficult to earn a living if we study some non-academic subjects, like drama or music. To be considerate to our families, putting ourselves in a subject which stands a higher chance to have a promising future is necessary. You know what – I’ve searched for information about the basic salary of an actor and that of a businessman and the result is just totally shocking. The latter is ten-fold higher than that of an actor, unless you’re very famous. But can I be a popular actor? I may or may not. It all depends greatly on luck. The major reason why I choose to study finance instead of drama is that I don’t want to determine my future by luck. As we’re grown up, we have to support our families. I don’t want to pursue my dream but set my family aside. As far as I know, musicians have the same plight. Though I do believe you’ll be a good musician, how long does it take? No one knows. So, in face of an academically-oriented society, sometimes we may have to put aside our dreams.
But putting aside our dreams does not mean giving up our hopes of becoming a musician or an actor. We can still continue with our interests but just treat them as hobbies. I’ve applied for a few acting courses and I’ve planned to use my spare time to take these courses. Though difficult, it’s worthwhile if I can balance my studies and interest at the same time. You’ve always done better than I have in studies. If I can do that, why can’t you? Just focus on your studies and you can still spare some time playing music. You don’t have to give up your dream and please don’t do so. Strive for a balance between academic and non-academic areas, so we can have better career prospects and at the same time, achieve our goals progressively.
You’ve learned the piano for so long and I think you know – studying music requires so much money. The same applies to drama. A professional drama course costs me $2,000 for a month. I know it adds a heavy financial burden to my parents. So, it comes to the third reasons why I choose to study finance – to find a well-paid job in the future to support my further studies in drama. In a money-oriented society, money is the key to everything. Without financial support, dreams cannot be reached. After I’ve graduated from university, I’ve planned to be a financial businessman and spend the money I’ve earned learning more advanced drama skills. These courses are pricey and if I can self-finance my studies, the financial burden to our family would be alleviated.
Also, though drama always comes before finance, I do have certain interest in finance. You must have some interest in accounting, right? Otherwise, you’ll not perceive accounting as one of your choices. I notice that it’s more common to find a drama course than a finance course outside schools and music courses are of course more commonly found than accounting courses. So, why don’t we grasp this chance to study a less easily found course in universities and learn music or drama as an extra-curricular activity? Finance or accounting courses should be much more professional than those provided outside schools. For such non-academic activities like drama or music, courses provided outside schools may have a larger variety and higher degrees of profession. So, it’s much easier to find a professional music course outside schools than to find a high-quality accounting course, so, isn’t it a better choice if we can take these rare opportunities to have training in accounting or finance?
As the old saying goes, all roads lead to Rome! Though we may not be able to study what we are most interested in for university education, it doesn’t mean we have to give up, nor do we stand no chance to be a good musician or an actor. Yet, reality is a determining factor. Hope that my advice and my experience can help you.
Hey! Haven’t you asked your parent’s opinions? They will provide good guidance to you. Just call a spade a spade. Tell them what you’re struggling about and ask for their advice. Well, I’ve gotta go now. I’ll have a date with Wai Yee tomorrow and I’d be in trouble if I were late. Bye for now!
Best wishes,
Chris
P.S. 1 I’m looking forward to your visit to Hong Kong.
P.S. 2 No matter what, I’ll always give you my greatest support.