Passing Along a Passion
by Paula Renee Burzawa
I should have seen it coming. I should have known. What was I thinking playing foreign music in the house, the likes of Gipsy Kings, Andrea Boccelli, even traditional Greek folk singers like George Dalaras and Glykeria? Without contemplating the risks, I’ve created a love for all things international in the heart of my high school freshman son. As a baby 15 years ago, I thought introducing him to different cultures seemed open-minded, and patted myself on the back for passing along my passion for world travel, foreign food and music, hoping to build a curiosity in his mind for what exists “out there”. Now I realize the repercussions for planting that dangerous seed.
Discussing world events, laughing at political cartoons from Chicago Tribune’s Nation & World section, and most importantly, getting him a passport at the age of 5, thus teaching him to use foreign currency while enjoying the unique tastes, sounds and beauty of various lands— I have no one to blame but myself. He Skypes with his friends and cousins in Athens. His favorite music is on KPOP from South Korea, he’s active in his high school’s Model United Nations organization, and knows the flags of the world better than me. What on EARTH have I done?
This ship has sailed, and he’s already aboard. Next stop is nowhere near home. That’s what I get for discussing exotic travel destinations over a bowl of Fruit Loops. He’s an exact duplicate of the starry-eyed dreaming teenager I was, and as his far away future approaches, Dr. Seuss’s title, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”, rings in my ear. Suddenly, I want to slow down time, keep him young and dependent, and living in the upstairs bedroom he fills with mementos of our travels, while blasting the latest Italian or French rock song from his speakers. My husband ignores the foreign tunes as well as the obvious, but I think deep inside, he knows that although our son is an American through and through, the boy has an honest, complete and soul-encompassing love for the world beating in his heart.
Truthfully, this is my mother’s fault. She first took me to Greece to visit her homeland when I was five. We went again when I was 10, then again at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and finally at the age of 21. I visited France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, England, Monaco, Germany and the Netherlands. I would have kept seeing the wondrous world if it weren’t for the “reality” of graduating college and getting a job. To my horror, I was only given a 2-week vacation at my first job, but I made the best of it, believing to this day that there is no greater luxury than travel.
While I’m proud to have instilled a sense of global awareness in my son, I know reproach is near. He laughs when we talk about college locations, teasing, “What makes you think I’m going to college on this side of the ocean?” Have we raised a Peace Corp volunteer? An interpreter? A political activist? I remember feeling the pull between home and abroad when I was teen, wanting to become an international reporter, traveling the globe to tell stories of strange lands. In the end, however, “home” won my heart, and here I am. Fearfully, I believe his future path will stretch far beyond Euclid, Rand, or Northwest Highway.
With the world an ever-changing and sometimes scary place, I pray we laid the foundation that will carry his character and compass of right and wrong wherever his journey leads. I had a lot of stamps on my passport before I turned 21 and I’m certain his will have more.
Many say the goal of parents is to teach their children to reach further, helping them take the steps they never took, or were too scared to dare. Never did I imagine my son would love O’Hare airport as much as I do. That’s fine, I suppose, as long as he remembers, “there’s no place like home”.
Paula’s latest novel, “Tasso’s Journey” is available on B&N.com and amazon.com. Book-signing dates are listed at Seasonsofsun.com.
Paula’s debut novel, “Seasons of Sun”, has won the Editor’s Choice Award, Rising Star Award, and Reader’s Choice, and is available at B&N.com and Amazon.com. For more details, visit Seasonsofsun.com. Her second novel is due out this year.
Back to Paula's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved.
by Paula Renee Burzawa
I should have seen it coming. I should have known. What was I thinking playing foreign music in the house, the likes of Gipsy Kings, Andrea Boccelli, even traditional Greek folk singers like George Dalaras and Glykeria? Without contemplating the risks, I’ve created a love for all things international in the heart of my high school freshman son. As a baby 15 years ago, I thought introducing him to different cultures seemed open-minded, and patted myself on the back for passing along my passion for world travel, foreign food and music, hoping to build a curiosity in his mind for what exists “out there”. Now I realize the repercussions for planting that dangerous seed.
Discussing world events, laughing at political cartoons from Chicago Tribune’s Nation & World section, and most importantly, getting him a passport at the age of 5, thus teaching him to use foreign currency while enjoying the unique tastes, sounds and beauty of various lands— I have no one to blame but myself. He Skypes with his friends and cousins in Athens. His favorite music is on KPOP from South Korea, he’s active in his high school’s Model United Nations organization, and knows the flags of the world better than me. What on EARTH have I done?
This ship has sailed, and he’s already aboard. Next stop is nowhere near home. That’s what I get for discussing exotic travel destinations over a bowl of Fruit Loops. He’s an exact duplicate of the starry-eyed dreaming teenager I was, and as his far away future approaches, Dr. Seuss’s title, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”, rings in my ear. Suddenly, I want to slow down time, keep him young and dependent, and living in the upstairs bedroom he fills with mementos of our travels, while blasting the latest Italian or French rock song from his speakers. My husband ignores the foreign tunes as well as the obvious, but I think deep inside, he knows that although our son is an American through and through, the boy has an honest, complete and soul-encompassing love for the world beating in his heart.
Truthfully, this is my mother’s fault. She first took me to Greece to visit her homeland when I was five. We went again when I was 10, then again at 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and finally at the age of 21. I visited France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, England, Monaco, Germany and the Netherlands. I would have kept seeing the wondrous world if it weren’t for the “reality” of graduating college and getting a job. To my horror, I was only given a 2-week vacation at my first job, but I made the best of it, believing to this day that there is no greater luxury than travel.
While I’m proud to have instilled a sense of global awareness in my son, I know reproach is near. He laughs when we talk about college locations, teasing, “What makes you think I’m going to college on this side of the ocean?” Have we raised a Peace Corp volunteer? An interpreter? A political activist? I remember feeling the pull between home and abroad when I was teen, wanting to become an international reporter, traveling the globe to tell stories of strange lands. In the end, however, “home” won my heart, and here I am. Fearfully, I believe his future path will stretch far beyond Euclid, Rand, or Northwest Highway.
With the world an ever-changing and sometimes scary place, I pray we laid the foundation that will carry his character and compass of right and wrong wherever his journey leads. I had a lot of stamps on my passport before I turned 21 and I’m certain his will have more.
Many say the goal of parents is to teach their children to reach further, helping them take the steps they never took, or were too scared to dare. Never did I imagine my son would love O’Hare airport as much as I do. That’s fine, I suppose, as long as he remembers, “there’s no place like home”.
Paula’s latest novel, “Tasso’s Journey” is available on B&N.com and amazon.com. Book-signing dates are listed at Seasonsofsun.com.
Paula’s debut novel, “Seasons of Sun”, has won the Editor’s Choice Award, Rising Star Award, and Reader’s Choice, and is available at B&N.com and Amazon.com. For more details, visit Seasonsofsun.com. Her second novel is due out this year.
Back to Paula's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved.