Growing up in a household of many rules is a teenager's worst nightmare. It makes life just a little bit harder watching your friends have more freedom than you, and it's even worse when you kinda' sorta' hate your parents for it. But as I've grown up a little, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I have learned to appreciate the way my parents raised me in many ways.
1. They gave me a great example to follow.
Whether or not I choose to be as strict on my future children as my parents were on me, I can know and trust that all of the things they did taught me a valuable lesson that I realized later on in life. Sometimes parenting is not a matter of letting emotions get in the way — they have your best interest in mind. It's so important to remember that, yes, they do love you, and they do care — they only do those "crazy" things because they care.
2. They toughen you up.
My parents have never sugar coated anything. When I made a mistake (which was rather often), I had to own up to it and accept whatever consequences were to follow. That's a lesson I feel most people my age won't experience, because they had parents or guardians who bailed them out of everything. Because of my parents, I can confidently say that I will take whatever is thrown at me and handle it as best as I can by myself.
3. They're proud of you.
My parents pushed me hard, and they continue to do so every day. For other kids like me who have strict parents, you can relate. They're that voice in your ear telling you to study longer, work harder, and to try your absolute best. From our perspective, though, the expectations are always very high and it gets to be overwhelming. But when you finally make an A in a tough class or beat your personal record in a sport, your parents are the first ones to congratulate you, because they knew you could do it all along.
4. They love you more than anything in the entire world.
If your dad is like mine, he is tough but soft. When it comes to his baby girl, he will stop at nothing to make sure she has everything she deserves. But that requires some heavy lifting on your part. Having strict parents is difficult in this sense, because they show this thing called tough love. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair and they seem way too pushy, but it's only because they love you, and they will do anything for you.
5. You'll owe your success to them later on.
Here I am, writing about how strict my parents were and how much I hated it and also how much I love them for it. It'll be the same for you. Right now, it may seem ridiculous that you have an early curfew or that you weren't allowed to go to that party, but those things don't matter. On an important day in your life, when you make a speech or a thank you card, you'll mention your parents and how awesome they are for raising you the way they did — and you'll be saying you hope you can be half the parents they are one day.
