Today we’d like to take a moment to applaud the parents who despite many challenges, did they best they could and did right by their kids. We asked folks to share stories of what they feel their parents got right and have shared highlights below.

Eric Brinkley Sr.

My mother raised me to explore everything that I curious about. From chemistry sets, model rockets, model cars, models of the human body, painting, drawing musical instruments, and everything with electricity. She took my brother and I to museums, the opera, live plays and anything with dancing in it. Read more>>

LaDonna Williams

My mom is my rock! I’m so grateful and thankful for every lesson she has taught me and continues to do now. We have so many fond memories but what I most remember is that she is ALWAYS there for me no matter what the circumstances. All these years that I lived in NC I never felt far from from her because I knew she was there rooting for me and loving me from a distance. If I needed her, she always made time for me. Read more>>

Tina Williams

My parents instilled the importance of having faith in God from a very young age. Throughout life people are going to let you down, whether it’s intentional or unintentional, it is most definitely going to happen. But, having faith in God is a win-win situation, because He’s incapable of not having our best interest at heart. Whatever choice God makes in our lies, it is always with our best interest in mind. Read more>>

Louisa Dunn

My parents are amazing – in most ways we could not be more different (they both are in medicine), but they nurtured all the soft skills in me that I would need to pursue something I was passionate about. They loved me and took me seriously, and I think that’s the most important thing. Anything I was interested in, they wanted me to pursue and believed that if you care about something enough and work at it enough – as unconventional as it may be – it’s worth doing and it’s possible. Read more>>

Charis Yost

My parents were always fostering my interests. They let me explore the things that I wanted to do rather than trying to force me into the things they thought would be good for me. If I wanted to swim, I was on the swim team. If I wanted to do theater, I would be in the next play at school. It taught me to always be curious and to try new things without hesitation. That fundamental trait they instilled in me was the reason why I fell into bagels. An interest turned into a hobby, and grew into Bears Bagels Read more>>

FVDGE NASTE

My mother raised me to be someone who doesn’t take any BS from anyone. She taught me how to create something from nothing and that is the basis of how I create now. Everything is from resources. I look at what I have and I find a way to work with it to get my desired result. She taught me that the sky’s the limit and believed in all of my creative expressions whether that was dance, making clothes, and creating art. Read more>>

Xtina Geri Jogoleff

My parents effortlessly served our community, vigilantly advocated for equitable justice, and courageously leaned into betterment despite all that we endured and had against us. I come from a diverse family of activism, drug abuse, gangs, and violence. My parent’s values transformed our family and gave birth to new possibilities. Their love is truly unconditional, devoted, and supportive. Read more>>

Shania Robinson

My departed mother, Jamie Holmes was a single mother to me and my two younger brothers. In words, she was and is the most selfless, nurturing, devoted and compassionate person I’ve ever had the privilege to experience. A true reflection of love. Without her encouragement and endless support, I wouldn’t have continued to share my testimony and desire to build a community through Honee mecca Co. Read more>>

Raicheen Blanks

What a great question. One of the things that my parents definitely did right was instill in me the value of treating people with respect and having integrity. These two aspects of life have helped me out both personally and professionally. Having respect for people and carrying myself with integrity have been some of the keys to my success. Read more>>

Meghan Gonoude

I owe so much to my parents, especially when it comes to how I run my small business! Both of my parents worked in Customer Service, and throughout my life, I remember their stories about their jobs and experiences at work! I used to love seeing what a day in my dad’s work life was like when the company he worked for had “Take Your Daughter to Work Day”! I learned so much from them in terms of how to talk to people, and how to assist customers with any questions, concerns, or problems! Read more>>

Shayna Tomlinson

Ever since I can remember my parents always taught me to be kind, work hard, and keep my standards high. This carried me throughout my school years into my career. They pushed me to give everything 100% no matter what it was & to never give up. If I didn’t like what I was doing I had to finish it through & know to go in a different direction when I was finished. Whether it was in sports, or starting my own business they have always supported and pushed me to be the best version of myself. Read more>>

Peiru Kim

My parents are my heroes, growing up watching them work tirelessly to provide for our family made me who I am today. They taught me work ethic by their actions. They showed me dedication and what unconditional love looks like by example. My parents met as young teenagers, my father gave a promise to cherish my mom for life and has kept his promise for their entire 55 years of marriage. Read more>>

Camille Scott

One of the best things my parents did for me while growing up, is instilling in me the concept of exercising your gifts for the benefits of others, and not yourself. Through countless acts of service and support, I watched them pour into others without expectation, which has molded me into who I am as a woman and business owner. Both being born (1950 & 1953) and raised in the South with large families, I think it was something always instilled even through my grandparents to look out for whoever needed to be looked out for, not just family. Read more>>

Shelby John

My parents taught us values that were not only important for “being a good person”, but carved the trajectory for our moral code and ability to be successful and productive humans. They consistently honed in on the importance of honesty. We were taught not to lie steal or cheat. This placed honesty on the highest pedestal. I can remember my dad repeating this regularly, and in the event we were caught in any of these, it was a HUGE situation. They also taught us how to set goals for our lives. Read more>>

Jeff Maronilla-Seva Quintano

I am blessed to be raised by two amazing people who stuck together through thick and thin. Our family business requires both of them to be up at 4am and to work even if they are not feeling well. They were dedicated to sending my siblings and I to the top schools in the Philippines even if finances were tight. They did all these in honorable ways and without stepping on someone’s toes. Read more>>

Benjamin Howard

I don’t put much value in describing an artist as having natural talent. I am a firm believer that you need to be inclined towards the discipline of creating, while practice and consistency sharpens skills. Read more>>

Nekhbet Nurta-t Ra

My mother was a single parent and there are two things she has done right. First thing she did was allow me space to understand myself while parenting me with boundaries as to not harm myself in the process with a strict hand most of the time. The era I grew up in she used what she knew. The second thing she is doing now, and that is addressing herself and her life in order to create a wider road for me to walk my path, without carrying her burdens. Read more>>

Steve Pillberg

Well out of so many, one thing my parents did right was allow my creativity to grow and blossom. I was raised by my mother, stepfather, and was with my pops on weekends until he moved to Las Vegas, then it was summers. But they all let me live out my ideas from being a kid using my eye to draw to taking photography classes in high school and understanding lighting. Read more>>

Kanchana

I’m very thankful to my parents for letting me pursue my happiness and not being strict with anything. I am very lucky that I have all the freedom in the world to do whatever I love: I have to admit most south Asian parents are very strict with their child’s education and freedom :) Read more>>

Christa Downey

I love this question. As I’m working to build my business and helping others build their businesses, I’ve become acutely aware of the faith and confidence I have in my ability to be successful. Certainly, praise from colleagues and clients confirms that I’m on the right path at this time. Read more>>

Mackenzie Myrick

My parents did many things right (they are amazing!), and I credit them with helping me to find my creativity as well as providing me with the support and ability to start my business. My parents are both artists (my mom creates oil paintings, my dad is a graphic designer), which means that growing up, I was always surrounded by art and plenty of creativity. Read more>>

Ivy Grant

I was introduced to the real estate industry at the age of 10 when my mom became a relator in 1999. My mom established our family-owned real estate brokerage, St. Louis Metro Realtors in 2022. I can remember working the front desk at the office, answering calls, and stuffing envelopes to out calendars for the Holidays. I can’t forget the many long days and hours riding around St. Louis using paper maps (we didn’t have google maps back then lol) to show houses. Read more>>

Laura Kern

My parents have greatly impacted my life and career. My mother and father both grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. My father is a truck driver, and my mother works as a support professional at a college. When I was three, my parents moved from Bucks County, Pa, to Wayne County, Pa, a highly rural and agricultural area. It was their dream to move to this area and raise my sister and I in this type of setting. Read more>>

Joanna Andres

My parents both came to the United States from Italy. They only had an education up to the 8th grade and did not know the English language. They came here to live the American Dream. They had a lot of struggles but learned to work hard. When I was 12 years old my parents purchased their first pizzeria in their small town of Monroe, Michigan. I remember getting picked up from middle school and going straight to my family’s restaurant to work every day except for Mondays as that was the only day they were closed. Read more>>

Viva Vidalia

I like to believe that my strength of character comes from my parents. I am the child of immigrants that came to the United States escaping a civil war in El Salvador. Like many latinx people who immigrated here can attest to, the conditions and circumstances of the travel here is not an easy one. Growing up I was fortunate to have both of my parents in my life and now as an adult I can start to make sense of all the difficult decicions they made to provide for myself and my brothers. Read more>>