I've long heard that the K-Drama #SkyCastle is very good.  When I had the opportunity to see it on IFLIX, I immediately did.

The first episode was shocking.  What was more shocking are the episodes that followed.  I was shocked, surprised, overwhelmed and in disbelief of what I was seeing on the screen.  I was told that this happens in real life in Korea.  I then realized, this happens to in our local setting.

I remember when Kailee was still starting out in pre-school, I was being told to put her in various classes.  This was for Kailee's benefit, they said - because schooling now is quite competitive!  I laughed when I heard this - but then when I applied her in ICA, well - that's when I saw what they meant.  Kailee was in a midst of peers that knew how to read and etc!  But to be honest, I didn't want to burn her out - I knew my daughter would be able to catch up.  And I personally believed that if Kailee knew most everything that would be taught to her - what would the school do then, right?

Sky Castle is relatable to us parents simply because we want what is best for our child.  We want them to have the best form of education that we can afford.  Also here in the PH, there is the shame of not being able to follow the footsteps of successful parents.  I am curious - when did this 'shaming' start?  I never thought that for Koreans, it's the same thing.  I was so surprised at the level of eagerness the parents go through to 'help' out their children to the point of making it easy for them.

I felt that thais K-Drama was quite heavy and it honestly took me a while to finish the whole series.  I had to de-stress for a few days before I can watch another episode.  But I was able to finish the series.  It was a good eye opener to me as a parent.  I still shudder when I think about certain scenes from the series.  It's really too good to be true, but it happens in real life.

Sky Castle is an honest depiction of the cut throat life that is being a parent.  It transcends race and the message is universal.  Here are some of the lessons that I learned after watching the show.

1)  We need to let our children fail.  So they can learn that they can go back up.  We parents are there to guide and teach.  I know it's hard, but we need to control our helping them or else, they will give up at the first sign of hardship.

2)  Love is seen and felt differently by different people.  Love is a universal thing, but what I saw in the series let me to believe that we as children and parents see it differently.  Our parents work had for us so they can provide for our needs.  We children yearn for their presence and resent them from when they don't notice us.  I wonder, is there a way to balance this out?  It's quite hard honestly and sometime providing for physical needs is not enough.

3)  Compassion.  This is something I really feel is lacking in the world.  So many of us just go and do our thing without thinking of the effects on others.  As long as we're not directly affected - we just ignore things and let them be.  How I wish every human being is a socially responsible person - I think the world would be a better place.

4)  Stop the cycle.  If what is happening is not ideal or bad, learn to say no and STOP the cycle from happening again.  We tend to see what is wrong but we are too afraid to stop it from happening again.  It has to begin from us, we should learn to stop the cycle.  This has to be our intention - continue with the good and stop the not so good.