DIRECT

The challenge fo r yow1gste rs and dieir parents is to find om what they enjoy and then do it Admittedly, ac times it may be difficult to get this right in die first go, bur over time one hopes that there wiU be a gradual shift to align personal passion witli professio nal endeavours.

Australia d oes offer die opportunity to learn from life experiences as perhaps c o mpared to India. In India, witli constant population press u res on the jo b market, along with social expectations, the ability to fine tune one's life journey is more restricted. Society and otlier pressmes make it cliflicul t to leave a stud y course midterm, whereas in Ausrrali,'l me ability to line rune is more acceptable. It is commonplace for young people co cake a gap year and enhance tlieir personal perspectives before embarking o n a tmivers ity course, whereas in l ndia, ro take time off after s ch ool to go trave lling i s u_nbeard off. Often long term professional happiness is s acrificed as the pathways for advancements are restricted

For parents of youn g Indian Australians, the realisa tion that die so cial systems are different between tlie two countries may help diem in guiding tlieir children as to tl1eir options as they go forward. For the parents helping meir children to chart out tl1e rest of their lives based o n tl1eir ATAR sco res, they need to take into account wbac their children enjoy doing, as well as balancing meir O'\v11 life experiences with the social optio ns in meir country of adoption.

They may well be advised to use the following w·ords o f wisdom from tl1e famous $Leve Jobs Stanford speech, ''1'm convinced that the o nl y thing that kept me going was char I loved what I did. You've go t to find what you love And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work i s going t o fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And che only way to do great work is to love wha t you do. If you haven't found ir yet, keep looking D o n't sertle. As with all matters o f the hearr, yo u'll know when you find it. And, like any great re lationship, it just gets better and better as the years roU o n. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle".

And pedrnps parencs might also want to review their own life choices. Would th ey have done dungs differently i f they had m ore flexibility with meir options?

Pawan Luthra is the 2012 Parliament of NSW Multicultural Journalist of the Year.

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