Sep 3 - Think about a moment when you challenged your parent(s)’ rules or expectations. How did you feel, and what was the outcome?

Response: The first thing I will say is that neither of my parents are strict in the slightest. I don't know any other kid who has this amount of freedom, but also love from their parents like my sister and I do. I'm allowed to stay out late (most days), I can have my girlfriend over whenever and wherever I want, I have free use of the car at all times, and ever since I turned 10, I have never had a bedtime. They're the type of parents to let me do as I please, as long as I am doing good in school and can stay responsible with the amount of freedom they give me. But even when I am slipping very badly in school (like last year and the year before), I've learned that they don't really care all too much if I am irresponsible with my choices and freedom. Maybe it's because I'm older now, and they don't feel like they need to worry about me too much anymore, but even with all this freedom, I still stay responsible and disciplined. And I do it not for them, but for myself. This is probably the "golden attitude" that parents have planned for their kids to have when they're older, and maybe I just reached it at a younger age than they thought. 

Regardless, we still have our clashes when it comes to some rules, but looking back, most of them were my fault. Last year, when it snowed in January, I asked if I could go play in the snow with a senior girl I liked at the time, because she was leaving for Alabama for college in the summer, and I felt like this was my last chance to do something like this with her. Obviously, she told me that it's too dangerous to drive in the snow, to which I got very frustrated about. I think it's because I don't like hearing "no" for an answer. After all, I've basically been able to do anything for my entire life. I'm not one to get mad, especially at my mom, but just like how there was a heart right in the center of my identity mask that I made, when it comes to someone that I like, I will do anything for that person, no matter how dumb it seems in the moment. I started cursing out my mom, saying her rules were unfair and unreasonable, she was acting irrationally, she never lets me do anything, and just all things like that. I threw the keys on the ground, breaking my mom's keychain she's had since she was a kid, I slammed the door on her (almost broke it too), and tore apart my room. I stormed out of the house in the middle of a blizzard and decided to walk to Wendy's without telling her where I was going. Keep in mind, this is LAST YEAR when I was 4 months away from turning 18. When I finally came back home, it was nighttime, and she had already gone to bed. I looked at the mess in my room and thought, "Did I really do that? That's... not who I am at all." And this is when I finally realized in my mind, I'm spoiled. Something snapped in my head that day that made me finally see how much freedom I really have been given by my parents, but I lack the responsibility and respect to manage it properly. In the days that followed, my mom didn't mention the incident at all. There was no punishment given, as this is what usually happens with my mom. I kept wondering, "Why am I not grounded, or at least in a little trouble?" This is when I realized the type of parenting style my mom has raised me on is one where I have to figure out these things in my own mind and see the difference between what is right and wrong. I've apologized to my mom over and over again after I realized all she's done for me all my life, and since then, I've tried to take on as many responsibilities in my life as possible without being asked. And not for my mom or anybody else, but for myself.

Summary: Today, we read a short story called "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan.

Reflection: Our parents have tried to raise us to be decent people all our lives, but sometimes it's hard to see the good intentions they have for us. Maybe when we all have kids one day, we'll understand.