As I go through life, I have had multiple instances where I realize, "Wow, I am so thankful my parents raised me the way they did." I've always been a little stubborn, hard-headed, and incredibly driven. Some people have asked me where my drive comes from or why I'm so focused. It wasn't until recently that I realized that its just how my parents raised me to be. No crazy explanation outside of that. My parents raised three children that have an incomparable drive, significant hard-headedness, and a slightly (okay maybe more than slightly) stubborn personality. As big of a pain I'm sure this was for them when we were growing up, it has done nothing but help all three of us be successful.

1. I don't have issues talking to people.

My parents let us speak for ourselves the entirety of us growing up and they had no issues taking us places. Work event? Come with. Award trip? Bring an 11-year-old. I don't think they ever thought twice about it. We never got shunted to the "kids table." My parents always let us sit with the adults and never EVER tried to put words in our mouths or explain to people what we meant because they were embarrassed by what we said. They never laughed at what we said. Now I'm sure I tried to impress some adult with my bookworm 6th-grade knowledge and my parents cringed a little bit (yes, I was the science kid), but it was always on the inside and they always let me run with it. It allowed me to learn from conversations and know how to develop social skills. My dad left me with his boss at one point for a couple hours when I was 12 because we were having so much fun talking. It instilled a confidence in us at an incredibly young age and I have no fear in talking to anyone, no matter how important.

2. I have thick skin.

My parents raised me by the motto "It's lonely at the top." I never really understood this until later in life when I was leading things or ahead of the game in a sport and people started attacking me as an individual. Oftentimes it was colleagues, teammates, or friends. I realized that people often pull others down to try and make themselves look better. My parents taught me to let my actions show my work and never brag. When people tried to bring me down, I said nothing. I didn't play the games. I continued on and excelled at what I did, this made the talk all irrelevant.

3. I go for what I want.

Anytime my parents and I got into an disagreement, I would at first get upset. But I realized that if I talked through things with my parents and explained my point of view, they were more likely to compromise with me. If I had really good reasoning and points of view, then my parents would agree with me and the problem would be solved. It taught me to talk things through respectfully with people and maybe things will work out in my favor. My parents also always pushed us to go for whatever we wanted. Anything was possible if you worked hard enough. They did everything in their power to help my siblings and I achieve everything we could have ever wanted. Because of this I have the confidence to go for almost anything. There is no doubt in my mind that I can do something if I really want to. Sure I've experienced failure and rejection, but I've moved on and looked for the next venture. We also learned that one failure doesn't mean that it's all over. Look for the next opportunity. My parents also lead by example with this one. They are some of the hardest working people I know and have always found a way to get everything done to the best of their ability. Their hard work and determination turned me into a confident and hardheaded individual with that same determination.

4. I never quit.

Now my parents always pushed us to go after what we wanted, but they also taught us to be incredibly hard workers. And once you commit, you own it. I have never quit, even if I absolutely hated something. See quitting wasn't an option. Any time I commit to an activity I see it to the end. My parents always made my siblings and I stick to our word. If there was ever a time where we didn't, they would make us aware of how our decision to quit or not do our part affected those around us. And then we got the whole "We are disappointed in you" talk which is way worse than them being mad. I learned that my actions affected those around me and by not pulling my weight, I had made someone else's life more difficult. I always make sure to do things to the end and find a way to get things done, no matter how much I don't like something or if I feel like I don't have time. If it means getting up a couple hours early to finish something, fine the alarm gets set at 5am, but quitting or opting out isn't an option. Some people are fine with letting things slide, but my parents created me to realize it wasn't okay and now I am too hardheaded to quit.

5. I can multitask.

I have always been too stubborn to say no. In my mind, I can do it all. I take on as many tasks as possible because I love running around. This has allowed me to gain an infinite amount of leadership experience, work experience, and be involved in so many different things that have changed my life. My dad always said, "it's not what you know, it's who you know", so I have taken the time to be involved with a lot of different people. My parents always had a bunch of things going on, but they also never missed out on anything involving my siblings and me. My parents never missed an opportunity to support me my brother or my sister, even if it meant driving 6 hours in one day. They made time for us. It made me realize that although I may have a million things going on, my family comes first.

I am super thankful that my parents raised me to be stubborn and hard headed because it has done nothing but push my success forward as I move into being an adult.