When I walked into my West Orange High School back in Florida many emotions rolled over me: homesickness, confusion, and self-doubt along with confidence and fear. There was one thing that got my attention and was a little hard to shake off: teenagers (my age and older) had backpacks with cartoon characters on them. Being influenced by romantic comedies and American sitcoms my made-up stereotype of boys and girls dating by being rebellious and free was overwritten by some girl's Dora the Explorer backpack in my face. That didn't add up! My Ukrainian peers were trying so hard to 'hide' their childhoodness (like an unwanted pimple) by wearing their mother's heels, picking up clothes that made them look older, putting on makeup to hide that wrinkle-less skin while hugging their teddy bear before bed cause they couldn't fall asleep without it. In the US girls showed up with their 'childhood' attributes for everyone to see. You can understand that my mind was blown just a tiny bit.
When one is stuck in the middle of two cultures it sometimes gets difficult to differentiate and define what is actually right for you. It seems that in America parents help their kids pack up their lives and send them off to college so suddenly. American youth has to go from colorful Simba socks to dorm life with a roommate they have never seen before, underage drinking, rowdy neighbors, and 'you can't talk your way out of it' papers. According to collegeatlas.org, "70% of Americans will study at a 4-year college, but less than 2/3 will graduate." LESS THAN 2/3! In my humble (but come on, we all think we are special) opinion: is it in the US culture to baby children until a certain point and then cut the metaphorical umbilical cord fast and without looking back? Is it customary to release them into the world they were not prepared for? Does it make kids tougher? It does. Those 2/3 of the 70%. Those are the champs. What about the rest though?
Do Ukrainian parents baby their kids waaaay too much and for way too long? Hell yes. Children live at home while attending university or come home every weekend (exhibit A, aka me). I am friends with people who never left their parents' side (literally. Same house since the day they arrived on this planet). When I tried googling college drop out rates in Ukraine I didn't find any. Unfortunately, there is another problem Ukrainian children are faced with: being under their parents' wing for so long their folks are usually the ones who decide what is good for them. Only a few of my Ukrainian friends are actually using their degrees in 'real life' (hm, exhibit A, aka still me).
So where is that golden grey area or the silver middle, or whathaveyou? Everyone wants his child to succeed (hopefully). It just goes to show how different we all are in our own unique way. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your life. I do sound like a leader of a cult quite often but here it is again: the beauty of being an expat is that you can zoom out and see at least two cultures, figure out what you like and don't like, and copy and paste different parts to your own story. Maybe that is the moment of adulting. At least for an immigrant.
Do Ukrainian parents baby their kids waaaay too much and for way too long? Hell yes. Children live at home while attending university or come home every weekend (exhibit A, aka me). I am friends with people who never left their parents' side (literally. Same house since the day they arrived on this planet). When I tried googling college drop out rates in Ukraine I didn't find any. Unfortunately, there is another problem Ukrainian children are faced with: being under their parents' wing for so long their folks are usually the ones who decide what is good for them. Only a few of my Ukrainian friends are actually using their degrees in 'real life' (hm, exhibit A, aka still me).
So where is that golden grey area or the silver middle, or whathaveyou? Everyone wants his child to succeed (hopefully). It just goes to show how different we all are in our own unique way. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your life. I do sound like a leader of a cult quite often but here it is again: the beauty of being an expat is that you can zoom out and see at least two cultures, figure out what you like and don't like, and copy and paste different parts to your own story. Maybe that is the moment of adulting. At least for an immigrant.
