17 Things My Parents Have Taught Me

This week marks my parents 17th wedding anniversary. It’s crazy to think that my mom has been able to put up with my dad for 17 years. Maybe that was why I was created not so long after the wedding night, or on the wedding night. Me and my math for that kind of stuff just gets confusing. But, in honor of my parent’s 17th anniversary, I thought that I would share with you 17 things that my parents have taught me so far in my life. My parents have been there for me for about everything. They know practically everything about me and I know about them pretty well – but we are always learning new stuff about them all the time. Without them, who knows where I would be! So, here are the 17 things that my parents have taught me.

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1. You should always push yourself harder than what you think you can – My parents are always telling me that you should not be average. You should make yourself something. People should be able to remember you and it has helped me so much in life. My parents push me to take the highest levels of classes, and take any chance I can to be on top. There are times where I think that I can’t do anything but with their help, I realize how easy it is to do it.

2. You should never take the easy way out – This sort of goes along with something that I said previously, but my parents push me to take the highest classes and always go the extra mile. In my high school, they have a Standards class and an Honors class for about every subject. Most people will go and take standards because they are typically a lot easier than the other classes. But, if I didn’t take the harder classes, or the classes that people think are weird, like Adobe, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t be certified in everything that I am, and will be in the next few weeks/months. I wouldn’t have the class ranking that I have. I wouldn’t have the friends that I have. If I took the easy route, who knows where I would be.

3. You don’t always have to do what your friends are doing – When we become 8th graders, the parents in the grade get together and organize something called a Formal, which is like a mini Prom. All of my friends where going to this dance but I really didn’t have the heart to do it. I debated about going but I thought that I would have a terrible time. I finally decided not to go and I sort of regret but I am fine now. It was like 2 years ago and I’m still happy I didn’t go. My mom was the one that told me that I didn’t have to go. It was all up to me. I should do what my own heart wants because I listen to what my friends do, who knows what that can lead me to do. And I wouldn’t have a good time doing it as well.

4. Money doesn’t mean everything – I have friends, well, I know people that their whole entire life revolves around money. And I hate them, well, I don’t care for them as much as others. They are all stuck up and are annoying to be around. I have always been told that money doesn’t bring happiness. Family brings happiness. You don’t need all the money in the world to be happy. You need enough money to survive and some saved up, just in case something happens. You can never go to the store and buy a new family. You better love them while you have them.

5. Follow Your Own Heart – Yes, everyone is told this at least a million times in their life but my parents really do pound this into my mind. Sometimes they tell me that I should go and do something else because you never know what will happen but they never beat me down. Sometimes, the response to when they try to tell you to follow your dreams will be better than what you thought.

6. You should always be the best there is – Literally, my parents expect my best in everything. When I take a test, they expect me to get the highest test score. When I participate in a competition, they expect me to be the best. For the most part, I do achieve that and it feels amazing. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way because life isn’t fair but what can you do about that. Have a small competition in life is always okay. Living your life like a competition will hurt you.

7. Life isn’t fair – I literally just said this and this is the best thing I have been taught. Your parents will not be there for you for everything. Sometimes they have to worry about themselves. You need to be able to fend for yourself. So many people don’t know how to do simple task because they have their parents to do it for them. I don’t want to be one of those people who are still living at home when I am 25, unless I am close to getting on my feet.

8. Do stuff you actually enjoy – When you are doing something you don’t like, it will make you feel like it will never end. Doing something that you enjoy will encourage you to do it more often and you will love doing it. You should live happy and doing things you enjoy will fulfill this hope.

9. Know the stupid facts – My dad and I know the stupidest things and for the most part, they come in handy. Sometimes I will be on the bus and sometimes someone will ask something and I know the answer. I spend way too much reading stuff online and because of this, I know a lot of the stuff I do. Sometimes I go and read an article and I have no idea what something is, so I go and look up that. I repeat the process several times in a row until I get bored, tired, or have to do something else.

10. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind – This was something I was taught not too long ago actually, because of the election. I have never talked about who I wanted to be president because I just don’t want to be in the middle of arguments up here but at school, yes. I will speak my mind. A guy I thought that I was annoying and rude actually became on of my friends because of the whole thing. If something isn’t right, I shouldn’t be afraid to speak my mind and tell someone about it. If I think that something else should happen instead, I will speak my mind.

11. Always do your research before you go somewhere or buy something – You have no idea how much research I did before I bought this laptop, or the camera I want, etc. You should never go into something without finding out the information. You should always go and make sure you read the reviews and all because you never know what it will be like. Pictures can be deceiving at time, and we learned that over the summer. I found this amazing beach house, which was right across the street. The house was cute and perfect for a little getaway. Since the photo was taken in 2012, we thought we would go and check it out. Yep, the house was run down and was not something you would want to rent for the price they were asking for. The website was still reliable, it was just the people up on the website that need to do some work.

12. It’s okay to get out of your comfort zone – You thought that I would make it through this whole entire list without talking about books? You were wrong! One of the earliest, or memories that stick out the most, of getting out of my comfort zone was back in 2014. My dad and I were in Books-A-Million because I am always needing a new book. I always need one. My dad was telling me about this author, Stephen King, telling me that I would really like his work. I really wasn’t sure because I really didn’t like scary stuff so I didn’t know if I would like it or not. I gave the book a try for my dad and I loved it. I was so comfy in my YA novels that I never tried a Stephen King novel. I probably wouldn’t watch most of the things that I do if it wasn’t for my dad pushing me from my comfort zone.

13. Always be prepared – Life will always be trying to throw you curve balls. You get stuck in a class with a person you don’t like. You get stuck in your home because of a hurricane, snow, or any other natural disaster. You could be trapped somewhere and have nothing to do. Always being prepared will help you get through whatever is going on. Before a storm, you should always make sure you have the essentials because you don’t know what will happen to you. What if the power goes off right now? Are you ready for that?

14. Know your current events – I had this teacher in 7th grade who made us do these current events and back then, I hated doing them. I would always have my dad do them for me. Well, he would tell me about these interesting articles, share his thoughts and I would expand on his thoughts. Now, I am happy that my dad had done these assignments. He has helped me become the person I am with how I see life. He has taught me that you should always read the news because you never know when something might be happening in your backdoor, literally. The last time that I did not check current events, there happened to be dynamite found across the street and they had to evacuate 95% of our neighborhood. Yah, it was pretty interesting.

15. Never talk about the expensive things you get in life – I have a cousin who talks about every little thing they get in life, no matter the cost of the object. The fact of the matter is, there are people out there, who will find you and if you say you got a certain thing, they will come after you. Talking about the expensive things you got in life is like opening the front door for robbers. They will come and try to take it from you and you don’t even realize you are doing it. Why do you think that I have never showed pictures of myself or my family up here? You never know what might happen when you do that?

16. Be grateful for the things that you have in your life – You have no idea how long you have on this earth. You have no clue when you will be done doing things you love to do. Life is actually short. Be grateful for the things next to you, even if you hate it. You have these little moments in your life and you might not believe it now but it will be amazing later. Like the first time that you messed up the carpet, it will come back to you and you will have a good laugh because of it.

17. Take care of yourself – Sometimes you need to have a breather from the world. You get way too stressed out in life and you have no idea what to do next. You might not have showered for three days. Sometimes you need to take a personal day. You need to get away from the poisonous people in your life and care about you. Do something that you enjoy that most people don’t know that you can do. Relax, watch tv, read a book, cook, etc. Do something that takes your mind off of the crazy things in the world today.

What are some things that your parents have taught you in your life? What is your favorite memory with your parents? What is one thing that you wish you listened to your parents about? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Happy Reading,