“ I've never been The one to raise my hand That was not me now that's who I amBecause of youI am standing tallMy heart is fullOf endless gratitudeYou were the oneThe one to guide me throughNow I can seeAnd I believeIt's only just beginning[Chorus:]This is what we dream aboutBut the only question with me nowIs do I make you proudStronger than I've ever been nowNever been afraid of standing outDo I make you proud[Verse 2:]I guess I've learnedTo question is to grow,That you still have faith,Is all I need to know,I've learned to love,My selfish part of me,And I've learned toWalk on the road I believe.Everybody needs to rise upEverybody needs to be lovedTo be lovedEverybody need to rise onEverybody needs to be loved, to be loved[Chorus:]This is what we dream aboutBut the only question with me nowIs do I make you, do I make you proudThis is what we dream aboutNever been afraid of standing outDo I make you proudStronger than I've ever beenNever been afraid of standing outDo I make you proudDo I make you proud You got it right. This is Taylor Hicks 'Do I Make You Proud' song which won him the American Idol title against Katherine McPhee. That song inspired me to write this article. Not many of the teenagers I knew (in this case, none!) asked their parents this question. "Do I make you proud?". They fear that they will faced another session of lecture. Indeed, this question brings a lot of meaning to both child and parents. A child will ask himself how proud his parents are towards them. He will then ask himself whether his parents appreciate him or not? Meanwhile, parents will think about how much their kid contribute to the family. Another one will be how excel he is in both studies and co-curriculum. Indeed, one simple "I am proud of you" can boast a child's confidence in attaining to daily life challenges. This will shows how much a parent actually care about their performances and is happy about it. I often wonder do I try my best to make my parents,family,teachers and friends proud of me? Am I important to them or am I just look upon as the last choice? Am I annoying? Am I irritating? Do they hate me? All this questions stay in my mind until I listen to this song. This song opens my mind to just let it be. Being the honcho, I know that it is really hard to raise and lead two-growing up teenagers. They try to verbalize their feelings and ideas with caring gestures. They inveigh against me most of the time because they want me to know that I still have room for improvement. I realize that my parents try their best to grin and bear my capricious attitude. I often expostulate with you when you don't grant my wishes and I regret it deeply now.They try their best to have an equanimity mindset so that we will not get hurt. Although they look grim all the time, but I know that you have a soft spot for us deep in their hearts. I know how hyped up they are when I am busy relaxing and studying for my exam week. I know that despite my calmness in facing the test in the school, they are sweating and praying, hoping for the best for me. Thank you so much. I promised you that I will go all out to score the best results just for you. Dear Mummy, You often tell me that your love to me is inexpressible. You try to verbalize your feelings and ideas into caring gesture. I admired your braveness in telling me "I love you". This is the biggest contribution to me in my success. You are also a staunch supporter of my articles and blog which keeps it running smoothly day after day. Without your utmost advice, I am sure this log will be left abandoned. Stressful workplace will not stop you from teaching sis and me. Whenever I have a problem with Math, you won't freak out and demand me to solve it myself...instead you volunteer and try your best to solve it... no matter how many questions I asked. You are willing to read a thick Math book, just to understand and make a solution to that problem. Piano class ain't cheap, especially when it involved two children. You never regretted sending us to piano class although the money can be used for other purposes. You always accompanied with us to the piano class and waste 1 hour strolling around just to wait for our class to end. You never get bored advising us on the importance on piano lessons and tell us not to give up no matter what has happened. Other than that, you are vigilant to my daily whereabouts and you won't stop reminding me of the consequences of joining the bad company. Every night, I cannot escape your question that is "What time are you going to school?" and "Why so early?". You never allowed me out with my friends and I know that was for my own good. I understand. Although you often sulk after I did something wrong, I knew that you just want me to taste my own medicine and let me learn something. You never wish for an affluent and la dolce vita life, instead you just want us to take care of you when you grow old, taking you out for dinners and shopping. I will do that, I promised. I asked my mum just now whether she is proud of me or not... " Yes, because you have a good command in English which I am proud of and I feel that my money on reading materials, novels and storybooks are paid off. But, you still have room for improvement. You also know what you are doing. You won't go astray. You can also tolerate mummy's nagging, hot tempered and over-emotions." Dear Daddy, You are quite similar to Joe Bloggs. Not only that, you are a Mr Fixit and Mr Clean. Sewing and cooking is not a problem to you. Despite most of the husbands only sit and relax, giving all the houseworks to poor wives, you are not one of them. You not only know how to cook, you even sew our clothes and help out in sweeping and mopping the floor. You always help me in my Arts and other crafts-making activities. I know I can count on you for that. You never complain or push the demand away. After a hard day at work, you are not lackadaisical, instead you are moxie all the time despite tension from workplace and two little kiddos. You can even shine a smile when you come back from work. You never let off your temper and I am really glad of that. The qualities make me feel cloud nine. Although I have done something wrong, you never rebuke me in a scary manner, instead you try to tackle the issue in a win-win situation. You always try your best to tell me my wrongdoings in a gentle way and not through scoldings and beatings. I never saw you holding the cane. You won't irate when you discover that I haven't or didn't eat up my lunch pack. You never rant about my Arts mark and a tiff with you never lasts long because you forgive and forget easily. At the same deep level of my psyche, I knew that I was always causing unnecessary trouble. Sorry... Come hell or high water, we will stay together and go through it all with tolerance and happiness.”