Talking to Your Parents

The reason I say my parents are the best (and so are yours) is because of the amount of positive impact parents can have on our lives. Now, I recognize that not everyone is going to have the same parent situation as I do or have both parents still around like I have been blessed with so I apologize if anything I say in this post contradicts your specific situation… I am not saying that me and my parents have always had a perfect relationship or even at this moment in time have the best relationship, but two things happened today that showed me the importance of having parents or ‘parent-figures’ in your life to support you.

The first thing that happened today was after my soccer game I went out for lunch with my dad. Here’s the thing about my relationship with my dad – we are both guys (shocking!). What I mean by this is that like any guy relationship out there, it is difficult to first start off the relationship. What I mean by this is that guys tend to do things together to build relationships – you have to watch football, kick a soccer ball around etc… It is sometimes difficult, especially growing up, because the ‘dad role’ (or atleast what I have seen) is often stereotyped as the punisher or the feared one of your two parents.

It is a interesting thing when the relationship begins to change from a father to a kid into a father and son as almost equals. The older I get and when I start to begin to mature I can see the relationship with my father changing. It is less of him trying to control my life and more of him trying to offer advice when and where I need it.

Now this does not mean my dad does not try and run my life once in a while (what dad could resist this temptation, really?), but the majority of the time he is offering me advice on what I should do, how I should act, and possible improvements I can make to my character. As a side note, my dad also reads my blog and offers me professional advice for it all the time.

 So the reason I am talking about the importance of parents/mentors is because it is important to have someone to who is looking out for you & your life , someone who has through it before. Most of us growing up will go through a phase where we try to tell your parents absolutely nothing, first it starts off as being rebellious – not wanting to tell them anything – and then it just becomes difficult to start the conversation.

The second reason I have been thinking about this today is the fact that I was talking to a friend tonight and they mentioned that they’re having trouble sharing stuff with their parents. The hardest time I had sharing with my parents was the first time I started sharing the stuff I was struggling with. Yes we can all tell our parents about our day, but actually sharing is a scary thing.

I remember having to first tell my parents I was going through depression – that was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I think that as our parent’s children, we always have this built up idea in our mind that our parents will be disappointed or upset with us if we talk to them about our struggles or weaknesses – but we need to realize that this is not the case.

Our parents are more accepting than we think and we can learn a lot by sharing with them. As for right now, it is early and I am going to bed, but I wanted to just share this: there is a need for parents! shocking as that might be. They can be an amazing source of help, comfort and support throughout your life.

I know I am not the best example of what a parent and kid relationship is like but I encourage you to tell your parents about your life, your struggles and your goals. And if you do not have parents find someone to mentor you and help you through life – the impact they can have on you is monumental.

Christian Sawka

Christian struggled through and recovered from depression. He likes to write so others can hear his story and know there is hope. His goal is that through sharing, people will be able to see their story within his own.