Mark Zuckerberg’s parents must be wearing gigantic grins these days. Their son is not only one of the world’s youngest billionaires after co-founding Facebook (the social networking site), he is also Time magazine’s Person of the Year 2010. According to Time, Mark received the honor “For connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them, for creating a new system of exchanging information and for changing how we live our lives…”
When Time unveils their annual person of significance cover, I kind of wonder why there can’t be a Parents of the Year recognition as well. With the honor bestowed on an accomplished and exemplary citizen like Mark, his parents have the right to the honorary spotlight. After all, Mark didn’t grow up to be the outstanding human being that he is without any help from mom and dad. There is no denying the fact that our family members, friends, teachers, classmates, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, faith healers, parish priests and significant others helped to mold us into what we have become. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has publicized her belief that it takes a village to raise child. Many citizens like me wholeheartedly support the village-raising-children alliance. That can’t be farther from the truth. It is the absolute truth!
That is perhaps precisely the reason that wealthy parents take pains in checking out the nanny backgrounds. In most cases, the hired nannies spend more time with the children than the parents themselves. Blame it on today’s thrust for material advancement! Therefore, it becomes imperative that nannies are qualified to fill in for the absentee parents.
I beg your forgiveness for stating this, but parents who can’t afford the nanny arrangement rely on technology to do their job. Thus we see the young ones these days attached to their electronic gadget of choice. The school kids I share the morning ride with are constantly texting on their cell phones, reading something on their mini laptops, or listening to some wild music on their iPods. Today we see generations of kids who don’t show any good manners and lack any respect for the elderly (perhaps no one taught them the courtesy of offering a seat to a senior citizen in a packed bus!). During one evening ride, the bus driver told a male kid to behave himself as he was screaming at another kid who he thought was messing with him. Instead of merely keeping quiet, he lashed loud at the woman on the wheel, calling her the “worst, fat ass driver” he had ever met. Such an outburst coming from a middle school boy was bizarre. I wonder how he'll handle constructive criticism when he got older? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our school system included Good Manners and Right Conduct in their curriculum? If it’s indeed already there, the evidence begs to be seen!
You see, when children behave badly, people are quick to point the finger on the people who raised them. Even the school system gets the blame. We were children once and as we all know, children are like sponges. They soak their environment and feed off of the people who surround them. If you hear a little kid scream a dirty word, it is most likely that he picked it up at home or from the television or from the other kids or adults whose company he keeps.
I have known families who didn’t have a lot of money when the children were growing up. But because there was more than enough love to go around, the children grew up with a great deal of confidence to conquer the world. It’s that kind of upbringing that allows children to get inspired to be ambitious, dreaming big dreams and raring to make something of themselves.
We only have to look at Oprah Winfrey to realize that anything is possible. She grew up in a broken home, shuttled between her mother and father in childhood, experienced abuse in her young age, but look at her now! In due time Oprah reformed her wayward ways, fulfilling the dreams that her God envisioned for her. In her own words, “God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can ever dream for yourself.” She certainly proved that statement right, not only once, but countless of times.
Being born into privileged surroundings may be an advantage in life. It can buy the best education, even get into the right connections. But there have been many great men and women who came from very humble beginnings. I won’t dare make a list as there are too many to mention. From nothing they managed to make something of themselves. They weren’t contented on merely scribbling on the sand, but carving etches of themselves on permanent walls of fame, blazing the trail for the children of tomorrow to emulate.
I’ve read that Mark Zuckenberg was raised in a comfortable, supportive home with a psychiatrist mom and a dentist dad. He’s not even 30 years old yet his accomplishments have far exceeded anyone’s expectations. His Harvard education may have influenced his desire for the kind of success he has already achieved at age 26. But because he followed his passion, the money flowed. He not only pursued his love of computer programming, he ended up making a monumental contribution to the world’s Information Age.
Facebook wasn’t a totally novel idea when it came to life during Mark's Harvard days. It is the enhanced version of the "Photo Address Book" student directory that generated much interest during Mark's time in high school. It most certainly must have provided the light bulb moment in his inquisitive mind. The photo directory which the students called "The Facebook" listed the students' profile, telephone numbers and personal attributes, pretty much what can be found in the social networking site we’re familiar with today. Facebook is basically a viral enhancement of that school directory concept. The germ of a brilliant idea was there. Mark seized the opportunity and polished the gem. He made it work, not only in one continent, but worldwide (wherever the Internet firewall would allow). The open information flow he created for the people of the world has enabled long-distance family members, friends and associates to keep in touch notwithstanding the gaps of time and distance, Life in war zone areas must have become bearable for the military personnel because of it.
There's no question that Mark has raised the bar for today’s 20-somethings. The young ones shouldn’t really feel intimidated. As long as they’re embraced in a nice, comfortable, loving village, they can be who they want to be someday. They should take their time getting there. No pressure! The important thing is to grow up and become a decent human being because success won’t mean much if a good heart is missing.
On the cover of Time, Mark looks just like any unassuming boy-next-door. It should be encouraging for any young man or woman wanting to reach for the stars.
When Time unveils their annual person of significance cover, I kind of wonder why there can’t be a Parents of the Year recognition as well. With the honor bestowed on an accomplished and exemplary citizen like Mark, his parents have the right to the honorary spotlight. After all, Mark didn’t grow up to be the outstanding human being that he is without any help from mom and dad. There is no denying the fact that our family members, friends, teachers, classmates, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, faith healers, parish priests and significant others helped to mold us into what we have become. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has publicized her belief that it takes a village to raise child. Many citizens like me wholeheartedly support the village-raising-children alliance. That can’t be farther from the truth. It is the absolute truth!
That is perhaps precisely the reason that wealthy parents take pains in checking out the nanny backgrounds. In most cases, the hired nannies spend more time with the children than the parents themselves. Blame it on today’s thrust for material advancement! Therefore, it becomes imperative that nannies are qualified to fill in for the absentee parents.
I beg your forgiveness for stating this, but parents who can’t afford the nanny arrangement rely on technology to do their job. Thus we see the young ones these days attached to their electronic gadget of choice. The school kids I share the morning ride with are constantly texting on their cell phones, reading something on their mini laptops, or listening to some wild music on their iPods. Today we see generations of kids who don’t show any good manners and lack any respect for the elderly (perhaps no one taught them the courtesy of offering a seat to a senior citizen in a packed bus!). During one evening ride, the bus driver told a male kid to behave himself as he was screaming at another kid who he thought was messing with him. Instead of merely keeping quiet, he lashed loud at the woman on the wheel, calling her the “worst, fat ass driver” he had ever met. Such an outburst coming from a middle school boy was bizarre. I wonder how he'll handle constructive criticism when he got older? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our school system included Good Manners and Right Conduct in their curriculum? If it’s indeed already there, the evidence begs to be seen!
You see, when children behave badly, people are quick to point the finger on the people who raised them. Even the school system gets the blame. We were children once and as we all know, children are like sponges. They soak their environment and feed off of the people who surround them. If you hear a little kid scream a dirty word, it is most likely that he picked it up at home or from the television or from the other kids or adults whose company he keeps.
I have known families who didn’t have a lot of money when the children were growing up. But because there was more than enough love to go around, the children grew up with a great deal of confidence to conquer the world. It’s that kind of upbringing that allows children to get inspired to be ambitious, dreaming big dreams and raring to make something of themselves.
We only have to look at Oprah Winfrey to realize that anything is possible. She grew up in a broken home, shuttled between her mother and father in childhood, experienced abuse in her young age, but look at her now! In due time Oprah reformed her wayward ways, fulfilling the dreams that her God envisioned for her. In her own words, “God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can ever dream for yourself.” She certainly proved that statement right, not only once, but countless of times.
Being born into privileged surroundings may be an advantage in life. It can buy the best education, even get into the right connections. But there have been many great men and women who came from very humble beginnings. I won’t dare make a list as there are too many to mention. From nothing they managed to make something of themselves. They weren’t contented on merely scribbling on the sand, but carving etches of themselves on permanent walls of fame, blazing the trail for the children of tomorrow to emulate.
I’ve read that Mark Zuckenberg was raised in a comfortable, supportive home with a psychiatrist mom and a dentist dad. He’s not even 30 years old yet his accomplishments have far exceeded anyone’s expectations. His Harvard education may have influenced his desire for the kind of success he has already achieved at age 26. But because he followed his passion, the money flowed. He not only pursued his love of computer programming, he ended up making a monumental contribution to the world’s Information Age.
Facebook wasn’t a totally novel idea when it came to life during Mark's Harvard days. It is the enhanced version of the "Photo Address Book" student directory that generated much interest during Mark's time in high school. It most certainly must have provided the light bulb moment in his inquisitive mind. The photo directory which the students called "The Facebook" listed the students' profile, telephone numbers and personal attributes, pretty much what can be found in the social networking site we’re familiar with today. Facebook is basically a viral enhancement of that school directory concept. The germ of a brilliant idea was there. Mark seized the opportunity and polished the gem. He made it work, not only in one continent, but worldwide (wherever the Internet firewall would allow). The open information flow he created for the people of the world has enabled long-distance family members, friends and associates to keep in touch notwithstanding the gaps of time and distance, Life in war zone areas must have become bearable for the military personnel because of it.
There's no question that Mark has raised the bar for today’s 20-somethings. The young ones shouldn’t really feel intimidated. As long as they’re embraced in a nice, comfortable, loving village, they can be who they want to be someday. They should take their time getting there. No pressure! The important thing is to grow up and become a decent human being because success won’t mean much if a good heart is missing.
On the cover of Time, Mark looks just like any unassuming boy-next-door. It should be encouraging for any young man or woman wanting to reach for the stars.
