Hello,
I just feel like my dad doesn’t really care about my education or my goals. I remember back in elementary and middle school, I didn’t always get good grades. My mother would always get very upset and lecture me about how important it is to do well in school. My father would talk to me, but he would never really mention my grades it was more so about becoming a better person. I even asked him one day when he talked to me after receiving a not so good report card, “What about my grades?” He answered, “I don’t care about your grades, I care about how you’re going to become as a man”. Beginning in high school, I decided to make a change and start putting in my best effort in school. Needless to say my hard work paid off and I maintained a 3.9 GPA in high school and earned mostly A’s. Whenever I would show my dad my report card, he never really showed any enthusiasm, he would just say “good job”. My mother and my siblings, on the other hand, would be ecstatic.
Because I did so well in high school, I earned a $24,000 scholarship to my dream college. I am a Biology major with intentions to become a Physician Assistant, and I take challenging courses. Thus I have to spend a lot of time studying. Whenever I’m sitting down studying, my father will tell me things such as “You study 24/7, you need to get a life, you need to relax, etc.” I get upset when he says this. I have to study an adequate amount of time in order to do well in my classes. He makes it as if studying is a bad thing. My mother, however, tells me, “Son, study as much as you need to”. He asked me one day, “How are you enjoying college”. I answered, “I like it, so far it has been a good experience.” Then he told me, “Oh you’re going to end up being a janitor at your school”. I can’t believe he told me that. I think the reason why he said that was because he thinks I’m just college, college, college, or that I love college and my school so much. No. I don’t go around waving my school’s flag or wearing my school’s facepaint. He simply asked how was I enjoying school, and I gave an honest answer. Even when I was moving in on campus, he complained about how I had so much stuff to move in (And it wasn’t that much by the way) and that he’s not doing this again, even though my brother and I was helping him out. I wanted him to be happy to help me move in on campus, but instead he had an attitude.
I wouldn’t say my father is a bad father. He does tell me he loves me and he’s proud of me. However, at times I feel as though he doesn’t really express it. I just wish my father was more involved and supportive of my education and my goals. My mother isn’t like my father. She is very supportive of my education and goals and always pushes me to do my best. I am very grateful for that, but I wish my father was the same. When he makes comments like that I get upset. Shouldn’t a parent be happy or proud that their child is putting in a lot of effort in school and being on their way to achieve great things? Without a higher education and earning good grades, I wouldn’t be able to do what I would like to do for the rest of my life. I am the first person from my immediate family to go off to university. My father has never been to college, and he didn’t even finish high school. However, he got his GED. I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it. What do you guys think? I would love to hear your feedback.