Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Identity

Today we were asked a question at school by our health teacher. He wanted to know why teenagers were so distant from their parents.

This got me thinking...

I mean, it's not like I'm that distant from my parents. We do talk, quite a bit actually, but I would never tell them everything about my life. I really respect people who do that, but I am just not able to.

Maybe this comes from the fact that my parents are always in my life. They're at my school, at my church, at my extracurricular events: they're everywhere! I don't want to become my parents. I respect them both, but I want to be my own person. Find my own identity.

Also (and I know this is a stupid lame excuse) THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!!! Cliche, right? But for me, I really feel like this is true. There are some areas in my life where my parents just can't relate. Like they don't understand what it's like to wake up and barely roll out of bed. Or to just collapse when you're walking. Or to fight off some of the things I'm fighting right now.

I guess where I'm going with this is that I want to break free of who everybody thinks I am and be who I really am. I love my dad so much, and I love basketball, but more than anything I don't want to be "Mr. Wall's Basketball Playing Daughter". That label drives me nuts. I want to play basketball, and I'm glad my dad is who he is, but I don't want people to know me as that. I want them to know me as Erika. That's it.

Labels: Just a Thought, Rant