Today’s article is written for your children — and it’s important.
I deeply understand the helpless anxiety parents feel when they don’t know how to guide their children’s development. Because if a child simply won’t open their eyes, no amount of energy or effort poured in will make any difference — the child remains like a stubborn stone, impervious to all persuasion.
So I’ve long since lost count of how many times, on some perfectly ordinary day, a friend has reached out to me — pleading, reminding me over and over — to please, please help wake their child up.
Through all these accumulated experiences, I’ve put together a summary specifically designed to shake teenagers awake.
These three-thousand-odd words are not suited for very young children. The ideal age range is 14 to 22 — the stage of adolescence and rebellion. If they can understand this article, it shows excellent perception. If they can’t, it simply means they’re better suited for a quiet, unremarkable life blending into the crowd — which is perfectly fine too. No need to force it.
With that, let’s begin.
First, child, the reason I’m here today to discuss your life with you is not because you’re particularly adorable, nor because I see anything especially remarkable about you.
The only reason is that I’m a good friend of your parents, and I’m doing this purely as a favor to them. That’s the reality, and you should recognize it first.
So if the words that follow feel harsh, heavy, or blunt — or if you feel I’m not exactly treating you with kid gloves — don’t complain to me about it. After all, I’m not your parent. I have absolutely no reason to coddle you.
Of course, if you think I’m here specifically to lecture you — don’t flatter yourself.
Because what I’m about to say is, compared to the hardships you’ll face when you eventually enter the real world, genuinely not worth mentioning.
Let me start by talking about your relationship with your parents.
I know you carry a lot of grievances. A lot of frustration. Maybe your parents are too strict, or they’ve stripped away too much of what makes you happy.
But you must always remember one unchanging truth: your parents may not have the most refined approach to raising you, but everything they do, at its core, comes from the fact that they love you deeply.
It’s precisely because they love you that they become impatient, anxious, and attentive to every little detail of your life.
I’m not asking you to fully understand them — at your age, truly grasping the weight of responsibility is still far off. But take a moment to look back at your life so far. Who else, besides your parents, has paid such close and careful attention to everything about you?
Oh, you might bring up an uncle who adores you. Or an aunt who’s always telling your parents to ease up on the pressure.
But here’s what you don’t see: in this world, the only two people who genuinely want your life to be easy and happy are, paradoxically, your parents.
And yet they push you so hard — precisely because they understand, more than anyone, that if you don’t achieve something academically and find stable ground in your career, you will truly spend your life suffering.
And when that day comes — if you ever do end up in that situation — you’ll find that those same uncles and aunts who showered you with affection will, at most, look at you with a polite smile and say, “The kid seems fine, totally fine!” — then turn around and slap their own child across the face, shouting, “You see that?! Never become that kind of useless waste!”
Always remember: this world, at its core, is a very harsh place. Look at any banquet table — aren’t the toasts always raised toward those with money and power?
I’m not forcing you to become one of those people everyone toasts. But I do hope you’ll at least have the standing to sit at that table — rather than becoming a bystander who can’t even get through the door, watching with a mixture of longing and loss.
Your parents want the same for you. That’s the root of their frustration — why they sometimes look at you and feel heartbreak over what you could be.
Of course, being young, you may not fully grasp this. But there’s one thing you surely can understand: if you don’t even make a basic effort with your studies, there’s a very high probability that you will become someone who is, in every dimension, weak.
By “weak,” I mean: far from wealth, far from real love, and far from happiness.
The fundamental reason is this — you will have missed the critical window when you should have been building the habit of learning. Without that inner foundation, everything you try to master later will come slowly and without real grasp.
From that point on: one step behind becomes every step behind. Life will grow increasingly difficult to navigate.
Since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about studying — the thing you probably hate most.
I’ll be honest with you: this Uncle Master Chi you’re talking to today is probably one of the most qualified people to speak on the “education is useless” argument — because anyone who knows me knows I once dropped out myself.
Why? Because in middle school, I thought I had awakened. I convinced myself that going to school, getting a degree — all of it was meaningless for a person’s life. What does a university degree even get you? You graduate, collect a salary, and do that until you die? Wouldn’t it be better to start learning actually valuable things earlier — like how to navigate the real world?
And you know what? Because of my personality, my parents genuinely couldn’t stop me from making that decision. Add to that a certain family safety net beneath me, and I did enter society early. I started trying to “make it.”
But the honest truth is: from the very moment I started “making it,” what greeted me was not the joyful rush of “I’m free! The sky’s the limit!” — it was an enormous, murky, engulfing tide of confusion.
“This… is it? I’m not ready. Where do I even go from here?”
In that state of complete, total disorientation, I immediately understood the value of education. Not that it guarantees wealth or success — but that it at least keeps your life on a track that doesn’t go off the rails.
But go back? Admit I was wrong? With my pride at the time? No chance. So I kept going, head down.
In that period, I worked some of the most bottom-rung jobs society has to offer. Mostly filthy, physical labor. Paid almost nothing.
I want to be clear — I have no contempt for manual workers or blue-collar labor. But I have to honestly admit: the moment any person with any other option finds themselves in that situation, they will do everything in their power to find a way out.
Oh, I should mention — this was in Vancouver, of all places. The city so many people dream of emigrating to.
So one night, after a 16-hour shift, walking home in the dark, it hit me like a lightning bolt: studying hard is really not that hard. Especially compared to the hardships of real life — it’s tiring, sure, but only tiring. Not genuinely crushing.
And more than that: if I ever wanted to go further, learning was still a wall I’d have to climb eventually. But trying to study seriously after you’ve entered the workforce? The mental and physical energy needed to truly focus — nearly impossible to gather.
The bottom line is this: if you give up on serious learning now, you’ll discover that the moment you want to improve your life, you’ll end up having to learn anyway. Just not classroom knowledge — social knowledge. And the difference is that classroom knowledge you acquire in a school. Social knowledge gets beaten into you through hardship, suppression, ridicule, and humiliation.
You’ll have taken the long way around — and arrived at exactly the same destination you started from.
Pretty foolish, right?
And look — I know young people today say college graduates can’t even find jobs, that there’s no hope, no path forward. But the premise of that complaint is that you’re at least a real university graduate.
What if you’re just a vocational school graduate? The road gets even harder. That’s an iron-clad fact.
So remember this: a decent diploma is like a train ticket. It seems ordinary — everyone seems to have one. But the moment you don’t have it, you get thrown off that train without a second glance.
One more thing about studying being hard: either don’t study at all, or if you’re going to study, make sure you’re actually doing it.
Because whether it’s math, language, science, history, or any other subject — every single one ultimately comes down to the same core: understand the logic behind the problems, build up your memory reserves, and then respond to whatever comes at you.
Don’t let anyone — not even your teachers or your parents — disrupt your learning rhythm. Find the pace that works for you and stick to it.
Is that so difficult? Honestly, it’s not.
And once you enter society, you’ll find that every single problem in life can be solved using this exact same kind of thinking. Master one approach, and it feeds you for life.
Build this learning habit, apply it to real life, and you’ll find you can handle things faster and better than the people around you. Your development will naturally outpace theirs. Simple logic, right?
Now, two more things that young people are especially prone to getting foolish about.
First: when you’re young, you have a remarkable talent for blowing small things wildly out of proportion. A bad exam score, a failed romance, even a harsh word from a parent — any of these can feel like an insurmountable emotional wall, or push you toward extremes.
My direct advice on this: the internet gives you the whole world at your fingertips. Gaming is great, sure — but look around more. Read more. See more.
The more you see, the more perspective you gain, and you’ll realize that your problems are genuinely not that serious. And you’re so young — there is no mistake you’ve made that can’t be corrected.
The one hard rule to set for yourself: if you ever feel that surge of heat rushing to your head — do not make any decisions in that moment. Find a library. Read something. Go home and take a shower. Clear your head. You’ll emerge clearer and more mature for it.
Second: before you’ve entered society, be careful not to let your head fill up with extreme views.
Many things that sound powerful, grand, and sweeping will set your blood pumping — and that’s completely normal. Every young person goes through this phase.
I was the same. In my youth, I thought I understood everything. In middle school I could recite passages from major classical texts, construct airtight arguments, cite from history — and several senior mentors couldn’t best me in debate.
Then I entered the real world, and discovered that everything I’d been so proud of was pure armchair theory. All that grand talk about currents of the times and the big picture — completely useless. Just being able to clearly understand your own social relationships is already a major achievement in itself.
Boldness is a label that only serves you in youth.
Pragmatism is the value that will never fade throughout your entire life.
Alright — this is where I wrap up. I’m an outsider; I’ve said what needs to be said. There’s no point spending more effort trying to enlighten you beyond this.
Let me leave you with a quick summary:
Treat your parents well. Even when they’re wrong, learn to respect their logic — then express your own views with calm and reason. Don’t let teenage rebellion make you push back just for the sake of it. That’s just foolish.
Put real effort into your studies. I’m not asking you to become a great scholar. Just don’t let a few wasted years cost you decades of catching up.
Society is not as easy to navigate as you think. If school difficulty is “challenging,” then social difficulty is “extreme.”
Don’t get rattled by every little thing. If you truly believe in yourself, learn what it means to stay calm in the face of high stakes.
Finally: if you think I’m wrong about any of this — don’t try to argue me down with logic right now. Go out there, enter society, build something real for yourself, and then come back and prove me wrong with the facts.
I look forward to that day.
Go get ’em — you little rascals.