A message to parents from a student trying her best

By: Leela Hadwan

Education has been a huge passion of mine ever since I was a kid. I’ve always had this idea of how my life was going to be. I would graduate high school, go to college, become a doctor, or dentist and start a life of my own, but those goals have been hard to maintain due to the pressure my parents put on me to be this perfect student that I know I can’t be.

Everyone sees me as a determined student that won’t let anything get in the way of me getting my education. My friends and family have always been supportive of me which I am very grateful for, but it gets really hard living up to the high expectations my parents have for me.

Since my parents didn’t graduate or go to college, they made a promise to themselves that their children will not go down the same path they did and because of this, they’ve held these high expectations which has made it hard for me to make them proud. If I were to get a B or two on my report card, it would disappoint them and without realizing it, they make me feel like I’m not doing good enough even though I try my hardest to make them proud.

Some parents have a hard time realizing that teens go through a lot and school isn’t the only thing we’re focused on and because of this they pressure their children to be a perfect straight-A student without thinking about how that can make their children feel.

If you want your child to succeed and feel proud of their work you have to support them and make sure they know that you’re proud of them and understand that school can get hard at times because for students like me, the pressure takes a toll.