Coming from a home where my father was absent for most of my life, has really taken it's toll on me. All I've ever wanted in life was to be accepted and loved by him. I never got that, and it took me until now to realize I never will. However, I also don't need him in my life.

When I was 12 years old my parents got a divorce. It hurt me and I thought it was my fault. I was wrong. It was his fault. He was the one doing drugs, he was the one not taking care of his kids, he was the one being a dead beat. Not me.

Kids need a two parent household to grow up and be normal and function properly. I never had that. I was raised by my mother, a strong-willed, determined, hard-working, loving woman. She was my mom and my dad. Yes we fight a lot and disagree on everything, but at the end of the day I love my mom.

I'm still missing something though. That earthly father figure. I have my pastor and my best friend who just got married. But they aren't my real dad. I don't miss my dad. I don't care how he is. I don't even want to talk to him half of the time. Not anymore. I wanted that when I was a kid. I would cry out for his attention and I never got it. I never got his approval on anything. But I didn't need it.

The reason a single parent is bad for a child is because the child needs that nurturing from both parents. If they don't have it, they cry out for attention, in any way. For example, I would fight when I was younger just so my dad would talk to me. Any attention from him, even negative, was enough for me. That's a horrible way to be.

So to all you kids in a single parent household, just remember, stay strong and love whichever parent you can, because if you don't then you're not going to reach your full potential of who you should be.