Parents.

The phase of a child: 3 yrs old: "Mommy, I love you". 10 yrs old: "Mom whatever!" 16 yrs old:"My mom is so annoying"! 18 yrs old: "I wanna leave this house". 25 yrs old:"Mom, you were right". 30 yrs old: "I wanna go back to my Mom's house". 50 yrs old: "I dont wanna lose my Mom". 70 yrs old: "I would ...give up EVERYTHING for my Mom to be here with

Saw this on facebook this morning. Normally these 'likes' are just a reflection of pop culture and are completely trivial. For once, I actually 'liked' on these. It reminded me that I should really appreciate my parents more. You would think child/parent relationships would just be full of love, but its actually love/hate. Humans are a wonderfully odd specie. The more we love something the closer we are to destroying it. Humans are creature of contradiction and extremes without even realizing it. Our dualistic nature (need for distinction and separation) is what drives us into torment. Our duality is what sends us on these never-ending roller coaster that shoots us into a euphoric high and drives us down into a dirt low slump. Ironically we feel that distinction will provide us with organization, when it really just brings us more chaos.

My English teacher is a mirror for me. Whenever I talk to him he always shows me what I have been avoiding. He uncovered the parental issue I've been pushing aside for years. Most of conversations skewed off into how much parents were annoying me. We finally had to discuss the issue because it kept intruding into our conversations. I finally realized why my parents annoy me. My annoyance roots from the friction between us, and any other parent and child: The fight between child's yearning to leave the nest and the parent's desire of keeping the child safe in the nest for as long as they can. As a parent himself, my teacher reminded me that it is difficult for parents to release their child in the world, on their own, without fear invading. While most people parent's seem more comfortable letting go of their kid, my parents are having a difficult time. Even when I'm home, the restrict me. My parents have a immense amount of love for me. The more love someone has, the more they want to protect them. I also think that the relationship includes the tricky issue between freedom and security. Parents want to make sure their child receives all the protection they can get, but often times forget that the child needs freedom to experience the world for him or herself. Letting go is the universal solution for all human problems.

My two favorite words: acceptance and gratitude are back again. I have accepted my problem, and now I am grateful for it. If I wasn't annoyed with my parents I would become too comfortable at home and would not want to return to school for another semester. I would have no drive to create a life of my own. This annoyance I'm experiencing is just a part of life. It gives me a sense of peace in a way to know that I am just going though a right of passage and a phase of life and it will be so different in a few years. By the time I'm in my forties, I will be feeling sad that to see my folks growing old and I will be devastated when they pass away, no matter how many hardships I lived through with them, I have come to accept them and love them with all of my heart and being. With my desire for independence and my parent's constant love I will have the energy and support to make my life something beautiful and unique.