I grew up in a home that was very politically oriented, and I could not be more thankful to my parents for that.

The first thank you I want to give is for always making sure I was up to date on the current issues and how I felt about them. My parents are far leaning right wing republicans, but if I had a differing view point on an issue, they always made me explain why I believed the way I did, they accepted my points and moved on. I always had a grip on the topic at hand, and I was taught to gather all the facts before deciding on it.

The second thank you I’m giving is for always making sure I didn’t let the opinion of others sway my own. I cannot say thank you enough to my parents for always teaching me to stay strong on my beliefs, even when they did not coincide with their ideas. Now I’m not saying we had debates on every topic in my house, but I grew up in a much more progressive time than they did, and so differing ideas is to be expected in teenagers and adults.

The final thank you is centered on my parents teaching me to believe in myself, and my ability to choose wisely. I am happy to be able to say that I no longer jump to conclusions as often (like we all do, let’s not kid ourselves).

I appreciate late-night newscasts, presidential debates, and heated discussions in the kitchen; however, the thing I am most thankful for from having parents with strong opinions is that I learned to form my own opinions and back them with facts. I learned that it is more than ok to disagree with someone else, but only if you are prepared to explain why you believed the way you do. Lastly, I learned that being open minded is the most important skill to have when you are very opinionated. As long as you are willing to listen to someone, they will be willing to listen to you, even if that person is your parent.