When Our Parents are Strict…

When our parents are strict, they are only like that because they want to protect us. When they don’t want to let us do something or go somewhere, it’s not because they don’t trust us. It is our environment that they don’t trust, it is not us.

Before I go on, in case you don’t know my age, it’s seventeen (17). I am an only daughter and an only child.

When we want to go with friends in a place that’s far away from home and out parents won’t let us, it’s not because they don’t want us to enjoy, and it’s not always because they doubt that we can take care of ourselves or suspect that we’re going to do something bad. It’s simply because they are so worried about the unexpected negative things that may happen while we’re away. We can never tell when accidents can happen, right?

My parents are very strict. I’m not allowed to have unnecessary phone calls with boys. I’m not allowed to go with boys without any other female company. I’m not allowed to be out for so long if the destination is as far as the distance between Binondo (our home) and SM Mall of Asia, and never with less than 5 companions (remember, there should be another girl in the group!). They won’t let me be in a band where I’m the only girl. This is why sometimes I whine, “I just wish I were a boy!”

I used to really hate my parents for not allowing me to do a hell lot of things I wanna do. I wasn’t even allowed to go to Star City with my friends due to all those broadcasted malfunctions of their rides. They eventually allowed me to go though, even in Global Fun Carnival.

The annoying part about having strict parents is when your friends or other people complain about it. A guy friend was inviting me to join our org’s trip to Tagaytay but I’m not allowed to go that far and he said, “What? That’s so corny!”. And I remember Jenny telling me sarcastically, “My mom let me go anywhere coz she loves me and she wants me to enjoy.” Dang. I was so irritated. Can I just shout in their faces, “Shut up. You’re saying that coz your parents don’t prohibit you with anything. THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU, that’s why!” No offense to those who are the same age as I am but are liberated, okay? That’s just what I might say when I’m mad.

Not all parents are strict, really. There are some parents who love their children but got their hands loose on them. It really depends on the type of person one’s parents are. One reason of the strictness of a parent is his or her past. Maybe his or her parents were very strict, too. Or maybe he or she has a trauma on accidents, that’s why she/he’s always so worried about you. My mother had a girl friend who took a jeepney to go somewhere, got raped and killed. That’s one reason why she’s so strict about me going out.

It’s just lately that I found out that I have guy friends (16-20 year old) who are not allowed to go too far or stay out so late at night. They can only stay up to 6-8pm. Finding out about that was a surprise to me! I always say “I wish I were a boy” because of my parents’ strictness, and now I find out that even some boys are held by hands of strict parents. Those boys shared with me how their parents forbid them to go here and there and stay out this late. It’s a big relief to find out that I’m not the only one who has strict parents. I’m not alone!

I remember that old girl buddy of mine. She’s so liberated from her parents. They don’t mind anything that she does. Everything’s okay. That girl actually had cosmetic surgery in Houston Texas when they were having vacation there and got some cheek implant, and she didn’t even need to get permission from her parents. She didn’t get scolded anyway… Well, she’s obviously a rich girl coz she payed her own surgery.

I’ve been so sick of those people around me bragging about how loose their parents are. lol. My parents are different from their parents. Everyone can see, too, the difference between the kind of person I’ve been brought up and the kind of persons they have been brought up.