Against the Wind

My parents always told me: “If you fall, fall on a mattress.”

This phrase wasn’t just a metaphor. It was their philosophy for life. For them, the safest way to navigate the future was to build a foundation made of certainty, tradition, and familiarity. They believed in creating a backup plan, a ‘soft landing’ for when things go wrong. That ‘mattress’ was their safeguard. It was passed down from my grandparents, trusted by my father, and expected to protect me too.

And for my father, it worked. He followed a clear path, and whenever life tested him, he landed safely. But life has changed. The world has changed. It is no longer predictable. The winds of change blow harder, and the paths are no longer straight. What happens if the uncertain winds blow too hard and I fall in a different direction? Somewhere far from the mattress they carefully laid for me?

That’s where my struggle began. My parents prepared only one kind of safety net, expecting me to fall in only one certain direction. I told them, time to time, that the world my generation face is different. That their safety might not be working anymore. But breaking tradition is tough. They only knew what had worked for them, and they believe it firmly. And I’ve come to realize: what worked for them won’t always work for me.

History has taught us, those who don’t change are bound to fail. So I decided: things must be done differently.

I don’t want to build a mattress in just one place. I don’t want to limit my preparation to a single outcome. I want to be ready for all of life’s uncertainties. When the wind blows and the ground trembles, I want to stand tall. And if I must fall, I will be ready to fall in any direction, because I will fall with a parachute.

My parachute is not built from tradition alone, but from adaptability. From flexibility. It’s built from learning, failing, recovering, and trying again. With this ‘parachute’, I can take calculated risks, explore new directions, and embrace change. This is my safeguard. It won’t stop me from falling, but at least this time I’ll be ready.

So yes, I will fall. I will have setbacks. I will break, rebuild, and rise again. I will not be afraid. Not anymore. I will get my parachute ready and jump bravely against the wind. Fuck the mattress. I will fucking fly.