Sunday, September 16, 2012
Resolving Interpersonal Conflict
This was an incident that happened to me in Secondary 3. I reached home late again after another dance rehearsal for an upcoming concert for my external dance troupe. Feeling exhausted and about to sleep, my father approached me. He felt that dancing had taken up too much of my time, resulting in me having insufficient rest as well as a drop in my grades. He also remarked that guys should spend more time focused on 'real work' rather than engaged in dancing. Being lethargic and having a short temper, I perceived my father's concern towards my well-being as a confrontation and interpreted his remarks negatively as a bid to stop me from dancing. A huge quarrel ensued, and it was the first time I raised my voice against my father over an issue I felt strongly against. Even though I had only picked up dancing when I was 'forcefully' recruited into the school dance troupe in secondary 1, I have gradually developed a real passion for it, and made lasting friendships with several fellow dancers (even being a groomsman to one of my close dance buddies tomorrow). Since that fateful day, returning home past midnight after school and external dance practices had become a norm. Knowing that my parents are both sensitive over my passion for dance, I would try to avoid the topic of dance in front of them and attempt to keep them from knowing the fact that I am still dancing up to this day. I've been committing much of my time in dancing, but always reluctant to use that as an excuse for submitting late assignments, even though sometimes it isn't too far from the truth. What should I do so that I could continue to enjoy dancing without compromising the quality of my school work as well as making my parents accept and support my pursuit of passion?
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This is an effective short post, Ray. You provide a clear context for the issue and focus it to one central problem --- the time you spend on dance and the perception of that to your parents (and others). Of course, this assignment is one week late, illustrating, perhaps, the very issue you write about. So the question you pose is very real.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to answers from your blog mates.