"Oh my gosh, my parents are going to kill me."

I've heard my friends use this phrase many times throughout my life - when they did poorly on a test, when they cracked their phone screen, or when they just did something remotely disappointing.

I've been fortunate enough, however, that whenever something goes wrong for me, my first thought isn't how I'm going to tell my parents. It's not even what I'm going to tell them or how I can spin the story to make myself seem guiltless. Instead, my first thought is to tell my parents.

This past week, I had a French test I had been majorly stressing myself out over. I studied for days before, and just couldn't truly retain the information. When test time came, I had stressed myself out to such a degree that anything I did know went out the window. As you can imagine, I did not receive a very good grade on the exam.

I was already disappointed in myself with my performance. I can't imagine having to worry about my parents' disappointment, or even anger, as well.

Walking out of the classroom, I texted my mom about my poor grade. In response, however, she said, "It will be fine. You will make it up. Stuff happens."

When I continued to freak out about the grade, my mother told me "Rory got a D when she transferred to Chilton." Apparently, a "Gilmore Girls" reference was all it took to get me to relax a little.

I can't imagine if I had come to my mom in a time of distress, and she had criticized me instead of comforting me. I've been fortunate enough my entire life that both of my parents are my biggest supporters. Sure, they'll let me know when I've messed up, but they'll never make me feel worse for it.

All parents are different, and I've never been in their shoes so I can't pretend I know how to be a good parent. I do, however, know what good parents look like.

They support you. They comfort you. They motivate you.

I'm extremely grateful that when I'm stressed, I can come to my parents for support. I never have to hide bad grades from them - they're confident that I'm capable of fixing it on my own.