Dear 17-year-old self,
When your Laker dream comes true tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to invest in the future of your family. This sounds simple, and you may think it's a no-brainer, but take some time to think on it further.
I said INVEST.
I did not say GIVE
Let me explain.
Purely giving material things to your siblings(兄弟姐妹) may appear to be right decision. So you buy them a car, a big house, pay, all of their bill. You want them to live a beautiful comfortable life, right?
But the day will come when you realize that as much as you believed you were doing the right thing, you were actually holding them back.
You will come to understand that you were taking care of them because it made YOU feel good, it made YOU happy to see them smiling and without a care in the world﹣and that was extremely selfish of you. While you were feeling satisfied with yourself, you were slowly eating away at their own dreams and ambitions. You were adding material things to their lives, but subtracting the most precious gifts of all.
Invest in their future, don't just give.
Use your success, wealth and influence to put them in the best position to realize their own dreams and find their true purpose. Put them through school, set them up with job interviews and help them become leaders in their own right. Hold them to the same level of hard work and dedication that it took for you to get to where you are now, and where you will eventually go.
I'm writing you now so that you can begin this process immediately, and so that you don't have to deal with the hurt and struggle of weaning(断绝) them off of the addiction that you facilitated That addiction only leads to anger, hatred and jealousy from everybody involved, including yourself.
As time goes on, you will see them grow independently and have their own ambitions and their own lives, and your relationship with all of them will be much better as a result.
Trust me, setting things up right from the beginning will avoid a ton of tears and headache, some of which remains to this day.
Much love