Parents.
They may not ask for a lot, but you know they expect a lot.
They want you to get all A’s, but B’s are OK, too.
Getting a C is average, but god forbid you get a C.
Some of your friends may get D’s and F’s, but your parents don’t care about those friends. Failure is not an option.
Your parents care about you — un- less of course your friends are doing something right, then they’re allowed to compare them to you. It makes complete sense, right?
You know your parents would be happy if you were a star athlete, so you practice every single day to improve.
You know your parents would be hap- pier if you had the same work-ethic some of your friends have, so you start to work harder at getting your homework done.
You know your parents will be happiest if you get all A’s, so you try to get all A’s.
Although they may not be pushing
you to do these things, the pressure is still there.
The initiative to wake up extra early to get to weights in the morning is still there. The staying up all night to study for a test is still there. The obsessive grade-checking every day is still there.
It’s all still there.
We live in a world where the only things that really seem to matter are grades and scores, but our parents don’t really seem to notice how hard we work for them.
But when you do something wrong, even if it’s the littlest thing, that’s when they notice. There’s always a lack of recog- nition for your hard work. Not to mention, it’s still expected that you’re in a good mood when you get home from school.
I’m not asking for a trophy. I’m just asking for a little understanding — maybe a little bit of leeway when I make a tiny mistake or when I want to lay in bed for the duration of a Saturday and not do anything.
Trust me, sometimes I’m really happy to have my parents push me and tell me what to do because I don’t want to grow up to be a lazy bum. I would just like a break every once in a while.
Your best is all you are capable of, and if that means making B-team, having a few missing assignments or not having ideal grades . . . well, your parents are just going to have to accept that.