How many teenagers really pay attention to their parents when they start up with one of their
nice, long lectures? I've been known to tune my parents out when it's something I don't care
about but I listen when I know it's about something important. There is one lecture that has
stayed with me and made an impact on the way I live my life.
When I was younger, my two older sisters were almost always in trouble. They would
back talk our parents, sneak out at night, lie and never obey our household rules. No matter how
many lectures they received, they would continue with their horrible behavior. So the first time I
so much as said something sarcastic, I received "the lecture".
At first I thought the lecture was pointless so I made it my goal to tune them out. As it
went on, it made sense and I agreed with them one hundred percent.
My mother started out by telling me a story about an old high school friend who acted
similar to the way my sisters were and how his actions caused him to be killed at the age of 17.
That part really scared me because I didn't want my sisters nor myself to end up like that.
She explained how behaving that way would get you nowhere you wanted, or needed, to
be. It would get you into too much trouble if it got too far, just like her friend had. She wanted
me to have a good life and have good friends and be smart.
Those choices were stupid and I am too smart to make them. Mom said she always
imagined me going to college and making something of myself and my life. She and my father just
wanted what was best for me and in the end, I did too.
That lecture really made me take a step back and look at where I was and what I had. I
knew I didn't want to take that path and lost it all because our parents had worked so hard to get
Today I have not talked back to them, snuck out or done anything that would make them
...