Left Out

When I was in middle school, my friend told me I was rich. Not because of the school we went to to, the clothes I wore, the things I had, but because of my relationship with my parents. My family is more American than Chinese. Let me try and explain this properly. In my family, education is very important, but it's also important not to force anything. My parents always encouraged me to do my best, although I was never forced to get good grades. My parents believed I should only get good grades if I wanted good grades, not to please them. When I came home with a C, my parents would tell me it was okay as long as I was trying my hardest. My friend came to the conclusion that if my parents didn't yell at me or anything for that C, they didn't care. Rich parents don't care about their kids grades, therefore I must have been rich... according to my friend. Because of this being pointed out, I always felt left out when my classmates were forced to do well in school.

Sometimes I look at the relationship other people have with their parents and I feel extremely lucky. I mean, I have two parents who have been married for twenty-four years. (Knock on wood) Their story is pretty cute because my mom was a nerd, my dad was a jock, and they both met in the Ecology club. I also have a brother who's four years older than me. So when you think about it, it's the perfect American family, right? I know I shouldn't be complaining, but it's because of that I feel so left out. So many different things that can tear apart a family: divorce, affairs, money, drugs, drinking, medical diseases, the list goes on and on. Most of the time I feel as if I'm really lucky, but sometimes I get instances where I feel left out. I don't know what to say or how to react when people complain to me about their parents, or their family. I'm not saying my family is perfect because it definitely isn't. I just think there are much worse things that could happen to my family and they just so happen to affect the families that surround me. For that, I am thankful. When I hear about all these horrible things happening to everyone around me, I have no idea how to react.... and I feel left out.

Here's another example. Last week, my friends and I were in the lounge and we got on the subject of discipline. It was more along the lines of what our parents did to us. Many things were mentioned: being locked out of the house, spending the night in the garage with no lights on, bamboo shoots, clothes hangers (both metal and plastic), back of feather dusters, and good old fashion spanking. Can I just say one thing? I felt extremely left out, to the point where it wasn't even funny. I can't remember a time where I was hit, or even really yelled at by my parents. My friends were telling me how it's a good thing to not be apart of it, but when everyone around me has some similar upbringing, it makes me feel really left out.