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.
Sophia Winter
I feel so fortunate to have parents who are immensely supportive and imaginative. From an early age, I never liked doing what my peers were doing and I think my parents recognized this and fostered my desire to do things differently. Whether it was letting me dress myself from an early age or allowing me to explore non-traditional sports, my parents encouraged creative thinking and worked to mindfully create a home environment that reflected this. They helped me to become comfortable living outside of the “norm.” Read more>>
Kailani Raye
If I’m honest, it was everything they did wrong. Your eyebrow may have raised there but hear me out. If my parents had done everything I expected that “perfect parents” should do, I wouldn’t be here today having this conversation with you. What would be considered their bad decisions, was the exact formula that not only led to my actual existence but my ultimate development. Read more>>
RoJay Armstead
My mom (Debbrah Darby) raised three boys on her own and I never really understood how hard that must have been until I got older. She made sure she did whatever was necessary to make sure we had food, clothing and shelter. I watched my mom work a lot of jobs, and that is probably part of the reason I do so much. lol. Read more>>
Ashlynn Racquel
While many individuals originate from prosperous dual-parent households, I hail from a single-parent household. One aspect that I have come to appreciate more as I reflect on my upbringing is the unwavering faith that my mother had in me long before I could muster it myself. My mother’s parenting style was characterized by firmness, as she remained focused on achieving her own goals in life. Read more>>
Britt Morrison
My parents, Rock and Bonnie Morrison, are successful entrepreneurs. They own several companies that they built from the ground up, including Morrison Geothermal and American Classic Golf Club. Through seeing this, they taught me how to dream, execute, and work hard to achieve success. My parents are the hardest workers I know. Read more>>
Shannon Panszi
My dad was born and raised in Mexico City. He came to this country in his early 30’s after marrying my mother. My mom was born in Germany and raised in the U.S. They both had humble beginnings with parents who did not have the opportunity for traditional education. My parents were raised with the belief that knowledge is power, because nobody can take it away from you. They raised me to value education, hard work, and compassion. Read more>>
Tessa Scissorhands
Haha, is this a question to get someone to spill their family drama? Kidding, I’m kidding. It started with my great grandfather, or maybe great-great grandfather. Our family had a hat store in New York, I joke that it’s why we’re all crazy artists (musicians mostly) with “Mad Hatters” disease. At the time, mercury was used in the glue to bind the hats together and would absorb into someones skin and over time mercury poisoning lead to people being crazy. Just a fun tidbit. Read more>>
Anthea Winston
Inspired and encouraged me. They have been supportive and encouraging of me, as an artist, since I was able to draw my first stick figure. No matter what it was, if I brought it to them, they hung it up. Our refrigerator was covered in my art. They inspiring me by showing me how to perservere. As an artist, sometimes you can get in your head about your work, to the point where you might want to just quit on that project or altogether. But you have to perservere, because the end result will almost always be amazing. Read more>>
DeVonte Bennett Bey
My parents taught me to never quit. That was undoubtedly the best thing they ever taught me. Growing up wasn’t exactly easy. I got picked on, I changed schools multiple times and my parents always worked so we didn’t spend much time together. Not unless it came to sports. With sports they were always there for me, took me to every practice, every game. They always had me in the proper gear. They also made sure I had good training. Early on when I first learned to play baseball my father noticed I could throw with both hands. Read more>>
Nicole Steen
My parents were very adamant about me doing well in school, in addition to staying active and doing what I loved. To make sure this happened, they enrolled me in the best schools and had me work with the top coaches for my extracurricular activities. At a young age, I started reading and excelling academically. I began dancing at age 3, and by age 10, I had already won numerous awards, Read more>>
Bebe Panian
As a young entrepreneur, juggling school and sports every day is difficult. My parents taught me that academics always come first and planning out my day with that in mind is what my parents do right. Moreover, they taught me time management and their consistent undeniable support are key points my parents did right. Read more>>
Dr. Bridgette Moody
Vicky Stromee
I was very fortunate to be born into a family with many permissions and few restrictions. My parents were intellectually curious and encouraged me to follow my many interests. From an early age I was immersed in the arts. Our home was a gathering place for artists, dancers, musicians, philosophers and theologians. Read more>>
Tunisia Macklin
My parents allowed me to experience their journey in pregnancy, labor and parenting. My mother and great grand Mother are why I am a Doula and started my business. I am the oldest of 4 and I was able to walk through my mother’s pregnancy and breastfeeding journey with each pregnancy. It was one of the best experiences of my childhood. My mother taught me about having power in picking your provider, Read more>>
Jeremaine Luber
My parents met in nursing school in Metro Manila, Philippines back in the summer of 1990. Though they experienced getting an education, both of them didn’t exactly have the wealthiest upbringing. My dad grew up in Quezon City and my mom moved around Manila in her teenage years. Like most Asian children, they worked hard all throughout school to be successful and inherited perseverance skills from their parents. When they had me, it wasn’t exactly planned. So when you’re in your mid-twenties and focused on getting your career into gear, you don’t exactly have raising a kid as part of your life plan. Read more>>
Nicole Moan
My parents are both artist. My mother is a mural impressionist painted and my father is a cubist surreal painter and sculpture. From a young age I experienced what it was like day to day as a artist. You have to push yourself and there are many types of ups and downs being a artist owning your own business. They also provided different mediums for me to try out. Working with foam and a hot knife to making your own molds. They are very supportive and we spitball ideas still to this day. Both of my parents are in their late 70’s. Read more>>
Maggie Macdonald
As with most things in life, uncertainty is scary. Uncertainty in a career, however, seems to present itself as a whole other level of “Scary”. The most amazing thing my parents did for the, really the biggest gift they could’ve ever given, was that they never transferred their concerns about the uncertainty of a future in the arts to me. they never complained or doubted my dream. Read more>>
Annie Simcoe
My parents did a lot of things right. I can often be heard saying “I won the parents lottery”. If I have to choose one thing though, it would be that they have always encouraged me to pursue my passions. In college I planted myself firmly in a science tract, first engineering, then Geology. When I asked my advisors about taking archeology, ancient religion, or ART classes, Read more>>
Connie Costa
“No matter how often you fail, get back up and try again!” As a child or young adult, it’s rare to truly appreciate and understand the pearls of wisdom passed on by your parents. I certainly did not. However, the older I got, and with my own family in tow, I finally understood how much I learned from these two brilliant individuals. Read more>>
Dan Olivo
You often here stories of people growing up in a household that discouraged kids pursuing dreams of becoming an artist for a living. That opposite was true for me growing up. It could just be that my parents were both actors who started thier own theater company. The Italian Theatre of Arts in Los Angeles. I grew up surrounded by artist and watching my parents put on plays and even being in a few. Read more>>
Marthese Fenech
I won the family lottery. My Maltese parents celebrated the arts and cultivated a love for them within our home. My dad is very creative and highly adept at all forms of media. For almost five decades, he hosted a television program that provided the Maltese diaspora with news from home, and in the many years he anchored the show, he sat across many highly-esteemed guests, including former Maltese Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. My dad is also an accomplished organist, serving the Maltese community parish since his arrival in Canada in 1958. Read more>>
LaRenda Woods
I was raised in a small town in East Texas (Nacogdoches) by my maternal grandmother Christine Scourten, after my mother suddenly passed away, 12 days after I was born. Everything that I know of how to be a wife, a mother and a Christian woman I learned from watching her. My grandmother led with love, but she was always firm. Read more>>
Dean Nelson
My folks are amazing! The older I get the easier it is to see how hard it is to raise a child (let alone 8 children). We spent a lot of time traveling as kids. They showed us a good amount of the world and we were able to take in a cool amount of culture even at a young age. A sense of acceptance and love towards all. A lot was censored, haha! I’m not going to lie about that. But I see that they had some love (and fear) and did what they thought was right. Read more>>
Marisa Figueroa
Growing up with two parents who were entrepreneurs gave me little choice but to be an entrepreneur myself. I grew up watching both my mother and father running their own businesses and building their businesses from the ground up. Although they may not realize how much of an impact that made on me while I was growing up, I learned so many valuable life lessons from just being in that environment. Read more>>