Growing up, the only thing I've known is to rely on family no matter what. Family is the most important aspect of my life; possibly more important than God (but I'm still skeptical on my religion so that is TBD at the moment and we'll save that topic for another week). Coming home to dinner every night at 8 pm on the dot to mom's home cooking, which typically consists of biryani/rice, salmon, broccoli and naan, catching up with my sister beside me at the dinner table and laughing with my dad over a cup of masala chai was a routine. It was and is a routine I cherish deeply because even if we have nothing juicy to talk about; it's still quality family time, and we're able to share comfortable silence.
My friends' relationships with their families in middle school and high school seemed a bit different than mine. They had a tendency to go out with other friends for dinner and not have a curfew. They didn't have to ask permission to go over to a friend's house or sleepover. They didn't have to constantly call their parents to remind them what time they're coming home. (By the way, I would always either use the school phone in the principal's office or my friends' phone because I didn't get my own until I was fourteen. And yes, it was embarrassing. But my older sister didn't get one until she was seventeen, so think of that!) They didn't need to keep an eye on time for being out too late. They seemed to have the freedom to go out wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.
I would always envy them. I felt that my family was very strict on timing and who I would be hanging out with. I knew countless people who dated in elementary, middle, and high school. I got my first boyfriend freshman year of college and let's just say, my family wasn't too thrilled to hear about that. I had this one best friend in middle school who went to concerts all the time. IN MIDDLE SCHOOL. If I asked my parents to go to one in middle school, or hell, if I even THOUGHT about asking, they would laugh, and I wouldn't even be surprised.
I didn't realize until the beginning of college how much I should appreciate and value the way I grew up and that there is no reason to envy other households. Having established rules taught me discipline and patience. But don't worry, I'm not here to boast about what a good noodle I am (I'm a mediocre noodle at best). My best friend from high school grew up the same way as me (and she is a better noodle than me): family-oriented and quiet. She recalled that one of her neighbors, who was fourteen at the time, was attending a boarding school out of state and every week her parents would send her money. We both admired this girl's independence and comfortability with being relatively alone at an early age, but we also both reflected on how neither of us could ever do that. We both treasure our grocery runs with our moms, shopping trips with our siblings, and listening to music with our dads. Hell, we didn't even go to college out of state. She commutes and I dorm; however, I come visit my family in the suburbs pretty much every week or every other week.
Anyways, I am not looking down on people who are not close to their families or who go to boarding school or college out of state or who grew up independently. This article is for those who dreaded having strict parents and for those who were jealous of their friends and their family dynamics. (Disclaimer: the following statement depends on your relationship and closeness with your family, I am not saying that this is any "universal truth"). Your family is strict for a reason; they want what is best for you. They are looking out for you and they want to be in the loop. They want to be involved in your life; so please, cherish every ounce of love and care they offer you.