I grew up in a strict house hold. When I say strict, I mean strict. My curfew was 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends and I didn't go out on a school night. I was to be asleep by a certain time (I didn't always follow that one.) My shorts had to be a certain length, and there were to be NO V-neck shirts, especially to church. I wasn't allowed to go out with boys until I was 16, I hardly ever drove myself anywhere except church and school. Get this, my phone shuts itself off at 10:00 p.m.

Despite what you may think, I'm not complaining. Sure, I was annoyed and downright angry. But this is me trying as best as I can to show my gratitude.

My parents always tried the best they could. They always did what they thought was right.

Momma and Daddy: Thank you for setting rules and guidelines. Thank you for discipline and punishments. Thank you for preparing me for the future. I am this person today because you shaped and molded me with your hands at the expense of whatever it took. You weren't my friends, you were my parents. And that's how it should be. I will succeed in life because you worked to train me.

Now that I am off to college in a few months and won't be under the watchful eyes of my mom and dad, I'm looking at my childhood through rose-colored glasses. Things won't be much different, you see. I'll still be in my dorm by 10 p.m., I'll still eat a meal rather than sonic mozzarella sticks like I'm sometimes tempted. I'll do my own laundry and I'll clean my own messes. I'll do my homework first and I'll social media second. Things won't be that different.

Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way they should go and when he is older, he will not depart from it."

I will always be indebted to my parents. They took Proverbs 22:6 seriously. I am who I am because they took the time to make me that way. I am and will be forever grateful to my parents for being strict like they are.