Let me begin by saying that I truly love my parents for everything that they have done for me. I would not trade them for the word. They have really sacrificed more for me than I will ever be able to repay them. Both of my parents are amazing people and as Latinos they have strong personalities. This made it really hard growing up.
My parents had no patience for anything and has some really strict and sometimes strange rules. One that caught my attention was no sleepovers. I was about 6 when I asked to go to a friends sleepover. My mom looked at me like I was insane and said no. She preceded to tell me that I had a bed to sleep on and didn't need to sleep on anyone else's bed but my mine. Let's just say I never asked after that.
The best worst rule of all really was when I started dating. Now if you have or know Latino parents you know there worst fear is for you to make a mistake while dating someone aka getting back pregnant. When I say my parents made sure this didn't happen I mean it. I was so embarrassed that at the age of 17 almost 18 I had to bring someone with me on dates. Whenever I went out with my boyfriend whether it was to the corner store or even Taco Bell I had to be with one of my siblings and since I have three smaller ones they are readily available. In retrospect I guess it was a good idea to keep two teenagers in check.
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One of the major fights we would have in my house was about curfews. Since we are in America I thought that turning 18 would be my ticket to freedom. Apparently that doesn't exist in Latino families. I really thought I was going to be able to come back whenever I wanted, go out whenever, and do whatever I wanted and I guess my Latino patentan were not about that life. Before I even tried to break my house rules I was politely and almost passive aggressively told that if planed on doing whatever I pleased I better have somewhere to go as it was their house and their rules. Honestly, I wasn't trying to get kicked out so I just left it at that.
As a teen all these rules seemed crazy to me. For the longest time so thought I was missing out on things like the night life. I have come to terms that it helped me be the person that I am today. I thank my parents for not letting me do what so wanted as I would have been in a different place in my life. Although their rules were a little strange, I thank them anyways.
