Birthright

When my wife was a little girl in Taiwan, people in her village shared a lifestyle common to many Taiwanese families. They would arise early and breakfast on fried bread and soy milk. Then, after finishing their chores, they would sit in the yard with the other neighborhood children and make computers.

Okay, they didn’t. She took years of piano lessons, went to a boarding school, and then transferred to college in Taipei and majored in philosophy. But I like the other story better.

The truth is that our middle-class realities are all about the same for everyone. We have a set of aspirations, faith in our ability to achieve our goals, a basic knowledge of how to do so, and off we go. Fate helps or hinders us. Some try harder and some sleep in, and our lives take shape accordingly, to our satisfaction or horror.

My wife had the good fortune to grow up in a place where children are treasured. The families sacrifice everything to educate them. They are allowed to make mistakes, sometimes choreographed behind the scenes, in order to learn life’s lessons.

I was fortunate to grow up in the United States of America, a place where there are a thousand encouragements and rewards for effort. I lived on and off for ten years in Mexico, a country that I love dearly, but where effort may never be rewarded. The people who risk death in the Chihuahua desert don’t hate Mexico; they just can’t give their kids a decent start in life.

One of the many reasons I love programming is because it’s something that anyone can learn, if they apply themselves. And my great pleasure over the years has been to help young programmers around the world to grow their career and feel proud of themselves.

I get letters from young people. One recently wrote me and said “I consider you the father I never had, and thank you for encouraging me to take charge of my life.” I read it to my family, choking back tears. There’s not an honor handed out in my profession that I would take in trade for that letter. The girl who wrote that letter lives in Mexico, and I never sent her a penny. All I did was to encourage her and give her a little advice from time to time. Anyone can do that.

Every child deserves to have parents and others in their life who give them love and encouragement, and even words of wisdom that they may not want to hear. It’s their birthright.