the rents

The parents. For everyone, parents play a different role. For me, they play a huge role. And a relationship between parent and child isn't exclusively financial. This relationship starts from day 1 and spans until present.

I can admit now that for the first 18 years of my life, I didn't appreciate how lucky I really am. From day 1, I have been privileged with a mother who would give up it all for me. She from day 1 nurtured me and supported me. Throughout my middle and high school years, we were at odds. I was interested in everything but her, intrigued really in things that centered around sports, shopping, and boys. Typical teenage girl yes, but sometimes think about that time and want to take it back. But while it was happening, she was probably so keenly aware of what was happening and the processes of women and knew that my real self I would emerge soon enough. But through it all, her energy never faltered. She remained herself, and was ever patient.

My father, since day 1 has treated me like a queen. He wasn't necessarily the nurturer in my life, because my mother so diligently took over that role. But he was the ultimate support. I knew I had him always. I knew that he would push me to be the best that I could be, show me through his own ways that my inner strength enabled me to accomplish anything in this life that I wanted. He probably doesn't realize the confidence he has given me over the years through his fathering.

So for me, I have been blessed with parents who I never had to question. A gift that only last week I was truly about to appreciate. We had this exercise at Naropa in my Human Growth and Development course where we were asked to introduce ourselves from the perspective of one of our parents. Whew. This process did two things really. First of all, it allowed people to get to know one another on a relatively intense level from the start. Also, it gave the students an opportunity to express how they perceive the thoughts of their parents. Needless to say there were many good impressions, but then again there were many saddening ones. People in my classroom expressed quite willingly that their parents provided no support in their paths. There were two women in particular whose depictions of their mother/father pierced through me. It made me uncomfortable and saddened me.

But to be honest, this was one of the best exercises and lets me further emphasize why I love school right now. Both students and teachers in this program aren't afraid to be exactly who they are. They stood up and knew in their hearts that they were happy with their choices and didn't need the validation of their parents to progress forward. They aren't afraid of lacking the support net and don't require it to live a fulfilling life. They aren't fearful of vulnerability and that to me is one of the most attractive qualities in a human.