this is a safe space, spill it
I saw this tweet today about being raised by extremely strict parents, and it instantly brought up so many memories.
My male buddies often wonder why I never join the them to play PS5. What they don’t know is, I wasn’t allowed to play video games growing up. I wasn’t even allowed to watch TV.
My life was school. Just study, study, and study some more. And eventually, I started to hate school because it felt like the thief that stole all my joy.
Every now and then, my siblings and I would be given small time to play with toys, maybe watch some TV, or play a video game. But those moments never lasted. They were either cut short or taken away altogether.
I got used to a living room with an empty TV stand. A cabinet with nothing fun inside. I learned how to disappear into my room, and even deeper into my own head.
Even now, as an adult who can afford to buy a TV, I still prefer my laptop. I’ll sit on my bed and watch something there instead of turning on a big screen. It’s like that muscle I never trained.
I missed out on a lot collective teenage experiences that everyone seems to bond over. TV shows, video games, pop culture moments… I was always the one sitting those conversations out.
For a long time, I hated my parents for that. Truly hated them. But now I love them more than anything. Because I realized I’m not about to spend the rest of my adult life carrying resentment, not while they’re still here.
It ain’t worth it.
People that were raised by extremely strict parents, how has that affected you as an adult?
