The Story of Mathai's Parents

I was flipping through the channels the other night and stopped to watch my first full episode of The Voice. At the very end of the episode, these sweet South Asian parents were trying to get accustomed to the idea of their 18-year-old daughter dropping out college (or at least putting it on hold) to jump-start a singing career.

Now Mathai's mom and dad [who are apparently "super conservative Christians"] are a lot like the average Coptic parent. They are used to pushing their daughter to work hard and do her best--go beyond what she would normally expect of herself. Like the average Coptic parent, they wanted Mathai to prepare for med school (apparently like the rest of her family).

Mathai's mom was so nervous. What would her friends say about her daughter's career decisions?

Then Mathai took the stage, opened her mouth, and dropped the jaws of the entire audience. Her mom... well, you should watch her reaction.

Lesson Learned: Teach your children your values. Trust them take your advice and apply it to their own life, in their own way. For Mathai, clearly hard work, engagement and motivation, and a competitive streak are paying off. I like her "Rumor Has It" even better than Adele's! I'll be rooting for her and her adorable parents.